BoA to release her first Japanese single in two and a half years

BoA has announced that she will be releasing a new Japanese single next year! This will be her first Japanese single in about two and a half years.

BoA’s anticipated single will be titled “Only One” and is slated for release on February 20th. It will include the Japanese version of “Only One” and “The Shadow“, which were included in her latest Korean album, “Only One”. Both songs are written and composed by BoA herself.

Check out the track list below!

<CD+DVD>
CD:
01. Only One
02. The Shadow
03. Only One(INST)
04. The Shadow(INST)
(Total of 4 versions for the 2 songs)
DVD:
01. Only One(Music Video)
02. The Shadow(Music Video)
03. Only One(Making Footage)
04. The Shadow(Making)
(Total 25 minutes)

<CD-Only>
CD:
01. Only One
02. The Shadow
03. Only One(INST)
04. The Shadow(INST)
(Total of 4 versions for the 2 songs)

Leeteuk sends handwritten letter to ‘Strong Heart’

Super Junior’s Leeteuk, who started his army service in October, has sent the SBS ‘Strong Heart’ family a handwritten letter from the army.

Leeteuk’s handwritten letter sent from his training camp will be revealed on the December 11th broadcast of ‘Strong Heart’. The letter was addressed to “the ‘Strong Heart’ family and viewers,” and it’s said to talked about his basic military training as well as his greetings for the show.

Leeteuk recently attracted a lot of attention since being drafted for being the top shooter in his rank.

Guests who made an appearance on this episode of ‘Strong Heart’ included Jo Hye Ryun, Hye Park, Lee Sang Yeop, Kim So Hyun, Yang Ik Joon, Park Chan Min and his daughter Park Min Ha, Lee Eui Jung, ZE:A’s Kwanghee, Rainbow’s Jisook, and My Name’s Insoo.

Kang Min Kyung wows fans with her stunning beauty

On December 07, Davichi's Kang Min Kyung attended the "DHC Healing House" event in Shinsa-dong,Gangnam-gu, Seoul. 

She wowed everyone at the event with her perfect long legs and flawless white skin. Netizens commented, "Kang Min Kyung's skin is an art", "The reality is better than advertising", "I thought she was a doll", etc. 

Besides, in this event, DHC Korea introduced their best-selling products, helping DHC make a name and the 10-year history in cosmetic industry, there are also a lot of special programs held for their customers.

BoA to hold first solo concert in Korea

Singer BoA will be holding her first exclusive concert in Korea next year!

On December 11th, SM Entertainment confirmed that BoA will hold her solo concert titled ‘BoA Special Live 2013~ Here I Am’ on January 26th at the Seoul’s Olympics Park Gymnastic Hall.

Korean fans have been excited for the concert, as it is her first concert in Korea since her debut. Having performed several nationwide concert tours in Japan, BoA is planning to give passionate live performance and charismatic live performances for her domestic fans.

The ticket sales will open on December 20th at 8PM through G Market, and many fans are tediously waiting for the date.

Super Junior dominates physical album sales for 2012

Super Junior dominated the physical album sales for 2012.

Even though digital sales have been steadily taking over the physical album sales, this year many idols sold more than 100,000 physical copies of their albums. Even though the digital trend is still growing, more fans bought physical albums in 2012 as compared to recent years.

According to Hanteo, there are 8 groups who sold more than 100,000 physical albums from January 1, 2012, to December 9, 2012. In 2011, only 5 groups had sold more than 100,000 physical copies for the entire year, showing the increase of physical album sales in 2012. In 2009 and 2010, only 2 groups had sold more than 100,000 copies.

Super Junior is the king of album sales as the group has ranked at #1 on the physical album sales for 3 consecutive years. In 2010, they sold more than 130,000 copies of the A version of ‘Bonamana‘, and in 2011 sold more than 200,000 copies of the A version of ‘Mr. Simple‘, ranking #1 for both years. Super Junior came back in the latter half of the year with ‘Sexy, Free & Single‘ on July 4th, but sold 177,718 physical copies so far, ranking at #1 for the entire year. Not only so, but they sold a total of 357,633 physical albums this year, including the versions of all their past albums. Super Junior ranked #1 in the ’2012 Singer Award’ category.

Following in 2nd place was Big Bang with 156,382 copies of their mini album ‘Alive‘. G-Dragonhimself sold 113,038 copies of ‘One of a Kind‘, ranking 7th. They ranked #2 in the ’2012 Singer Award’ category as well, selling a total of 271,544 physical albums this year.

TVXQ ranked 3rd overall with 152,112 copies of ‘Catch Me‘, and also ranked 3rd in the ’2012 Singer Award’ by selling 240,862 total albums. SHINee ranked 4th with ‘Sherlock‘, selling 138,810 copies.B2ST ranked 5th with ‘Midnight Sun‘ and sold 118,490 copies. INFINITE ranked 6th with 115,746 copies of ‘Infinitize‘, and Busker Busker ranked 8th with ‘Busker Busker: Spring Wind‘ selling 109,237 copies.

Even though EXO-K and Jay Park have not yet reached over 100,000 physical album sales they are running close in fast with 99,047 and 90,653 copies sold respectively. Four of the top 10 sellers are fromSM Entertainment and 2 are from YG Entertainment, proving the power of the big companies. Additionally, the male idols were very popular in 2012 as evidenced by fact that the entire top 10 of physical album sales were by male idol artists.

All the numbers above are from just physical album sales (digital album sale figures are not included).

Hanteo TOP 10 as of December 9th
1. Super Junior – ‘Sexy, Free & Single’ – 177,718 copies (SM Entertainment)
2. Big Bang – ‘Alive’ – 156,382 copies (YG Entertainment)
3. TVXQ – ‘Catch Me’ – 152,112 copies (SM Entertainment)
4. SHINee – ‘Sherlock’ – 138,810 copies (SM Entertainment)
5. B2ST – ‘Midnight Sun’ – 118,490 copies (Cube Entertainment)
6. INFINITE – ‘Infinitize’ – 115,746 copies (Woollim Entertainment)
7. G-Dragon – ‘One Of A Kind’ – 113,038 copies (YG Entertainment)
8. Busker Busker – ‘Busker Busker: Spring Wind’ – 109,237 copies (CJ E&M)
9. EXO-K ‘MAMA’ – 99,047 copies (SM Entertainment)
10. Jay Park – ‘New Breed’ – 90,653 copies (SidusHQ)

Ailee reveals her new style

Singer Ailee showed a different image of herself on her latest selca. 

On December 9th, Ailee posted on her Twitter, “Changed my hair color!”, and attached a new photo of herself, revealing her new style.

In the photo, Ailee is sporting a blonde, wavy hair matched with her unique style of makeup and skyblue-colored contacts. Especially, her flawless and milky white skin is getting much attention, giving her a doll-like appearance.

Netizens commented, “I think she got sexier,” “I wonder why she changed it” and “It’s a fresh look!”

SHINee holds successful concert in Singapore

SHINee ended its concert in Singapore with great success last weekend!

On December 8, the group held its ‘SHINee Concert SHINee World Ⅱ’ in Singapore at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Even before the concert started, the group showed their immense popularity overseas being welcomed by thousands of fans and media.

At the concert, SHINee performed a total of 29 songs including their hits “Love Like Oxygen”, “Ring Ding Dong” and “Sherlock”, as well as other tracks of the albums. The also got an explosive response from the audiences with each member’s unit stages.

The fans cheerfully sang along to the Korean lyrics and even shouted the official fan chants. They also prepared a special event for members Minho and Onew, who both have their birthdays in December.