Kpop Behind | All the Stories Behind Kpop Stars

Who do you think are considered as top 2 female k-pop idols among people in the k-pop industry these days? Well, those are Irene of Red Velvet and Jennie of BLACKPINK. Irene is enjoying great popularity in the advertising world. The female idol has become one of the most desired TV commercial female idols, while she is receiving love calls from a variety of brands. Basically, the reason for her great popularity in the advertising world is because she is so pretty. She is now considered as one of the prettiest female idols, while many people in the Korean entertainment world even say "She's strikingly beautiful". You know, there are so many beautiful idols and actresses in the Korean entertainment world, and it's very unusual for a k-pop idol to be praised in such a way. And actually, she looks even better in real life. That's why there are many actors and male idols who adore Irene. And, yeah, Jennie is rising to super stardom in the Korean advertis...

Jennie of BLACKPINK is making a debut as a solo singer. The attractive female k-pop idol has already finished filming the music video of her solo debut song, which means her debut is almost ready. When k-pop idols release their new albums, they record their new songs first, and then they practice their choreography. And lastly, they film their music videos. According to YG Entertainment, home to Jennie, her solo debut album will be released soon. Her chances of success are high. As I've written about before, she is very unique. She's sexy and beautiful, but that's not all. She's cute, and you know, she's really lovely. In addition to her stunning appearance, she's a great singer and rapper too. She's a wannabe star among female fans, and at the same time, she's a dream girl among male fans. There are not many female kpop idols who are loved by both male and female fans. In addition, she's receiving the full support of YG, one of th...

On November 8, it was reported that IU has been offered the title role of tvN's new drama "My Ajeossi". The female k-pop star has been active not only as a singer but also as an actress since her debut, and it is expected that she will make a comeback as an actress soon. By the way, it seems many fans of IU don't want her to make an appearance in the drama. Like the title suggests, "My Ajeossi" portrays the romance between a man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s, and it seems it's a very unpleasant theme for IU's fans. They're worried because IU will have to act with an old actor Lee Sunkyun, who is 18 years older than her and may be treated as a sexual object of old males if she decides to appear in the drama. I understand their concerns. Then, should IU refuse to appear in the drama? Well, it's not that simple. The drama will be written by Park Hae Young, who is known for the hit drama "Another Miss Oh", and Kim Won Su...

Who do you think is the most influential person in the k-pop world? Who do you think is the best kpop idol group? Well, here's an interesting survey about those questions. Sports Seoul has recently conducted its 32nd anniversary special survey of k-pop agency officials. A total of 32 people who are working for famous k-pop agencies such as SM, YG, JYP, FNC and Starship took part in the survey, and they answered to questions such as "Who is the most influential person in the kpop world?", "Who is the best music producer?", "Who is the best k-pop boy group?", "Who is the best k-pop girl group?", "Who is the best male solo singer?", "Who is the best female solo singer? and "Who is the most promising idol group?". Below are the results of the survey. <K-pop Secret Vol.1: 40 Korean Stars’ Real Personality> K-pop Secret Vol.1 contains stories about the real personality of 40 Korean stars....

The new era of k-pop has begun. There are many young popular idol groups these days, while they're fiercely competing to survive. Who's your favorite kpop idol group? By the way, great attention is now focused on the competition among three girl groups who will make a comeback around the same. Yeah, the competition among BLACKPINK, MAMAMOO and APINK. They will make a comeback soon and will compete on various music charts. Reason why much attention is being given to the competition among the three teams is not only because they're now the most popular girl groups in the kpop world but also because they're totally different from each other. You know, BLACKPINK is a charismatic hip hop girl group, while MAMAMOO is a girl group who has outstanding singing ability. And Apink is well known as a lovely and innocent girl group. There is a good chance that the trend of kpop girl groups will change depending on which girl group will be the winner of the competition beca...

T-ara is coming back. The girl group will release its new song "What's My Name" on June 14. By the way, you know, a lot of things happened to T-ara during its hiatus. On March 16, 2017, MBK Entertainment, home to T-ara announced that the girl group members' contract with the agency will expire in May and their new album to be released in the month will be T-ara's last album as a 6-member group. But, things didn't go as planned, and Boram and Soyeon left the team even before the album is released. Qri, Eunjung, Hyomin and Jiyeon had to prepare for their comeback as a 4-member group, and their album to be released soon will be their first ever album since Boram and Soyeon left them. And before Boram and Soyeon left T-ara, there was another incident. On February 9, 2017, a controversy over T-ara's bullying problem has been re-ignited due to ex-staff member's disclosure. The staff member posted a long piece of writing on the Internet, stating, ...

TWICE and BLACKPINK, two of the most popular young k-pop girl groups will make an official debut in Japan. TWICE will release its best album "Hashtag TWICE" on June 28, and after then, the girl group will hold its debut showcase "Touchdown in Japan" at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on July 2. Actually, TWICE has been promoting itself in Japan since early this year. TWICE's picture was displayed on a big scoreboard in downtown Tokyo, while the country's morning shows also have introduced about the girl group. In the country, TWICE's TT dance is in vogue among youngsters. BLACKPINK will hold "BLACKPINK PREMIUM DEBUT SHOWCASE" at Budokan in Tokyo on July 20. It is unusual for a foreign rookie group to hold its debut showcase at Budokan, while it's notable that "Tokyo Girls Collection", the biggest fashion event in Japan will sponsor BLACKPINK's debut event. After holding the debut showcase, BLACKPINK will release its d...

A neck and neck match between two of the most popular young k-pop boy groups will begin soon. Both iKON and SEVENTEEN will make a comeback on May 22. It has been a year since iKON released its previous hit "#WYD", while the group members have expressed strong confidence in their new album, saying "We have really awesome song and choreography". Yang Hyun Suk, CEO of YG also stated "It will be the best song among all the iKON's songs", encouraging and supporting the young and talented members. According to YG, the title of iKON's new album "NEW KIDS:BEGIN" means fresh start and new style of the team, while the boy group is planning to release "NEW KIDS" series albums continuously in 2017. SEVENTEEN will release its 4th mini album "Al1" on the same day. The album will contain a total of 8 tracks, while the title song is "Don't wanna cry". According to Pledis, home to the boy group, SEVENTEEN'...

Who is your favorite k-pop female solo singer? Who do you think is the best? Well, there can be many different voices, but one thing is certain, Taeyeon and IU are two of the strongest candidates for the best k-pop female solo singer. Since she released her first ever solo album in 2015, Taeyeon has been on a roll as a solo singer. Whenever she released her solo songs, she topped a variety of online music charts, proving she's very competitive not only as a member of Girls' Generation but also as a solo singer. A notable thing about Taeyeon is she has successfully changed from "Taeyeon of Girls' Generation" to "solo singer Taeyeon", while it is also notable she still maintains strong popularity even though it has been about 10 years since she debuted. Taeyeon's strength lies in her great singing ability. She has good basic skills and a powerful voice. And she is good at singing high-pitched tones too. There are few k-pop female idols who can cov...

Each k-pop agency has different marketing strategies to promote its singers. And chief of all, SM Entertainment is recognized as having the most sophisticated marketing strategy. As the originator of the modern k-pop training and marketing system, SM has been a role model for latecomers. With its well-calculated strategy, the agency has produced many k-pop stars such as TVXQ, BoA, Super Junior, SHINee and Girls’ Generation. And in 2012, SM’s new boy group EXO made a debut, and yeah, the boy group soon became the most popular k-pop idol group and is now leading the k-pop industry. Actually, many k-pop agencies have tried to produce as popular young idol group as EXO for the past few years, but they failed, and there is no doubt that EXO is now an idol group without equal, while it’s unusual for a k-pop idol group to maintain such an overwhelming popularity for years. Recent Achievements Exo's third studio album, Ex'Act, along with its singles "Lucky One" and ...

It's k-pop queens' war. Miss A's Suzy will release her first ever solo album on January 24, while her warm-up single will be released on January 17. And Girls' Generation's Seohyun, who is considered as one of the most famous female k-pop idol stars, will also make a debut as a solo singer on January 17. So, the two k-pop queens will have a head-to-head contest on the day, and extra attention is now focused on who's going to be the winner of the k-pop queens' war. No doubt, Suzy is one of the most successful female k-pop idol stars. She's been on a roll since her debut, while she's achieved many things as a member of Miss A, actress, and CF model. In addition, contrary to popular opinion, she is a good enough singer. She has attractive and beautiful voice, and she has a good basic skills as a singer. It seems like there's no doubt about Suzy's success as a solo singer. Seohyun is well known for her great singing ability. As a member of...

2016 MAMA made its nomination announcement on October 28. Did you  check out the full list of nominees? So many kpop idol stars are on the list, and it is expected that there will be some fierce competition for the awards. By the way, in the kpop world, extra attention is now only focused on who's going to win 2016 MAMA for Best New Female Artist. Do you know why? You know, five attractive female groups, BLACKPINK, Gugudan, Bolbbalgan4, I.O.I, and WJSN are nominated for 2016 MAMA Best New Female Artist, while BLACKPINK and I.O.I are the two strongest candidates for the award. BLACKPINK made a very successful debut in August by topping various music charts with its debut song "Whistle." You know, t he 4-member girl group is YG Entertainment's first girl group since 2NE1 debuted in 2009, and enormous interest has been currently showering the team. And I.O.I, comprised of  11 members from 8 different kpop agencies, was absolutely the hottest kpop girl grou...

As a new girl groups of JYP Entertainment, one of the biggest k-pop agencies, TWICE has been on a roll since its debut in October 2015, while the girl group's rapid growth in a short period of time brings back the memory of Wonder Girls, JYP’s another girl group who debuted in 2007 and went straight to the top place as the most popular k-pop girl group. JYP is greatly encouraged by TWICE's success because the agency has had a few failures for the past few years. JYP has produced super star Suzy but couldn't gain a complete success with Miss A, while GOT7 wasn't as successful as expected. TWICE is now the future of JYP, and of course, the girl group is considered as the successor of Wonder Girls by people in the agency. By the way, some people in the k-pop industry say TWICE is the successor of Girls’ Generation, not Wonder Girls. Well, some might say it's ridiculous to say TWICE is the successor of Girls' Generation because they belong to different age...

By apppearing in "Produce 101" and being active as a member of I.O.I, Somi received great public attention. The talented 15-year old idol's joining TWICE will give a boost to the girl group. Furthermore, Somi, who has been trained in JYP with the TWICE members and appeared in "SIXTEEN" as a potential member of the team has a very close relationship with the members. TWICE has been on a roll since its debut, while the girl group has already become one of the hottest kpop idol groups. In this situation, it can't be said that the girl group really needs Somi. Another problem is that there could be  a firestorm of criticism if JYP lets Somi join TWICE because she's been already eliminated from the competition among the potential members of TWICE more than a year ago.