Girls’ Generation forms subgroup

Girls’ Generation members Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun

Girls’ Generation members Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun have formed a subgroup and will release an EP titled “Twinkle” on May 2. SM Entertainment announced on Thursday that the trio, informally dubbed “TaeTiSeo,” will take to promoting the album after its release.

Although the girl band members have previously performed individually for various projects, this is the first time that a subunit group has been formed. The agency said that it will become more proactive in pursuing subunit group projects.

Thus it appears that SM Entertainment is following in the steps of competing agencies such as Cube Entertainment and Pledis Entertainment, creators of subunit groups Trouble Maker and Orange Caramel.

“Not just in music, but in performance, fashion and style, the subunit group will be unlike others on the market by its distinct flavor,” SM asserted. “The EP contains the charisma and unique personalities of the three girls.”

Since releasing their third album “The Boys” back in October, Girls’ Generation members have all taken some time to pursue projects outside of the girl group.

Girls’ Generation picked as best female act by small, local survey

Girls’ Generation was picked as the nations’ favorite female act in a survey conducted by Leespiar Marketing Research Company for the first half of 2012.
The girl band won 26.9 percent of votes while IU (15.3 percent) came in at second and Wonder Girls at third (7.3 percent). The results came out on April 18 and the survey was taken by 1,329 respondents.

In the male segment, Big Bang won first place (18.1 percent) with singer Lee Seung-gi coming in at second (11.3 percent) and 2PM (8.1 percent) at third. Meanwhile, Wonbin was the favorite male actor and Kim Tae-hee was the most preferred actress despite the fact that both stars have been relatively inactive as of late.

Big Bang and 2NE1, the most popular K-pop acts in France

In a recent survey conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization, Big Bang was the most-preferred boy band while 2NE1 was the favorite girl group among Hallyu fans in France.

The French branch of the organization’s Web site, visitkorea.or.kr, surveyed more than 3,775 K-pop fans in France in January.

Big Bang, preferred by male fans in their twenties, chalked up 49.9 percent of votes in the male group category.

Following Big Bang’s lead were the bands Super Junior (45 percent), SHINee (35.5 percent) and Beast (33.8 percent).

Meanwhile, 2NE1 had around the same amount of male and female fans, garnering 64.8 percent of votes in the female group category.

Following behind a 19 percent gap was Girls’ Generation (45.4 percent), and further behind was Miss A (31.5 percent).

SM meets L.A.

SM Entertainment’s hottest groups, Girls’ Generation, TVXQ, SHINee, f(x) and Super Junior are set to perform at a concert in Los Angeles on May 20.
The event, co-hosted by MBC and SM Entertainment, will be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim under the title “MBC Korean Music Wave in L.A.”

MBC made the announcement on April 3 that the performance will be full of dynamic acts by SM’s top performing stars. The program will also be broadcasted on the MBC network. 

The Los Angeles performance is but a portion of the world tour launched by SM Entertainment.

The world tour began in 2008 and the agency has hosted two concerts so far under the banner of “SM Town,” featuring a bill of the aforementioned groups. 
After the Los Angeles performance the K-pop groups will tour Korea and Japan in August and various other locations in Asia. The dates for other venues have yet to be confirmed.

Jessica of Girls’ Generation didn’t have plastic surgery, agency says

SM Entertainment has spoken out against escalating rumors that Jessica of Girls’ Generation recently went under the knife.

Yesterday, a shot of Jessica in Malaysia circulated online along with a comparison shot of the singer in her role on the KBS drama “Wild Romance.”

Netizens who examined the picture instantly started saying that the 22-year-old star looked remarkably different in the two shots. 

In the screen capture of the drama, Jessica looks significantly slimmer than she does in the up-to-date picture, where her face appears rounder.

“Of course she hasn’t had any work done. She was just gaunt for a while because she was busy with the drama and jet-setting around the world,” a representative of SM Entertainment told Star News on Wednesday.

“After the drama, Jessica was able to put on weight due to her improved health.”

Jessica starred in the drama that aired from Jan. 4 until Feb. 23. 

Jang Keun-suk and Yoona of Girls’ Generation to play lovers in new drama

Hallyu star Jang Keun-suk will partner with Yoona from Girls’ Generation to play a pair of lovers on the new KBS drama “Love Rain,” which airs from Monday. 

In the highly anticipated collaboration, the two stars will play characters that weave in and out of the 1970s and the present. Filming for the 1970s part of the program has been completed, while the portion representing the present is still being made. 

A press conference for the program was held at the Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Thursday, during which the cast and crew spoke about the project.

“It was challenging trying to play a character from an era before my time, but it was also a lot of fun, and it was truly an honor to be a part of such an epic tale,” Jang said of his work in the 1970s portion.

Yoona said she was a bit daunted at first, but her nerves settled down once filming began. “Previously, I’ve only worked with co-stars who were way older than me, and so they always took care of me. The thought of working with people my age was frightening.”