Source: smile7022
Thursday, February 10, 2011
GD&TOP #5 on Gaon's top selling albums for 2010
Source: Gaon via bbvipz
(via bigbangupdates)
Big Bang and SNSD are the #1 stars fans want to spend Valentine's Day
A poll held on IKaraoke, a music portal site (www.ikaraoke.kr), took place from January 27th to February 6th, and asked fans who they want to spend their Valentine’s Day with. Girls Generation and Big Bang were chosen respectively in the female and male stars section.
Girls Generation took first place with 41% of the votes and IU took second place with 32% of the votes. Big Bang as well took the #1 spot, but in the male category. Big Bang won with 27% of the votes, followed closely by 2pm at 18%. The last time Big Bang got #1 was back in 2009, because last year the title went to 2AM’s Jo Kwon. G-Dragon & TOP are currently promoting their duo album, and Seungri is promoting as well with his new mini album. Big Bang is currently in Las Vegas filming a music video for their highly-anticipated comeback album set to be released on February 24th.
Another section of the poll, “The most enviable drama couple” went to Hyunbin and Ha Ji Won from “Secret Garden” and at second place was Yoon Sang Hyun and Kim Sa Rang from Secret Garden as well.
Source: Naver and iBigBang via Koreaboo
Sent in by TOPsy via bigbangupdates
Big Bang earns 3.6 billion won a year through game character sales... T.O.P is on top
In July of 2009, Big Bang were released as game characters for online FPS game "Sudden Attack". Gamers are able to control game characters similar to stars and listen to around 80 sound effects recorded by the stars themselves.
According to the developers of "Sudden Attack", Game High, Big Bang sold 1.03 million characters (including random boxes) between July and December of 2009. The characters cost from 1,300 to 18,900 won.
The fact that collecting all the Big Bang characters caused the characters of gamers to become stronger also affected the sales. When all the characters were collected, players would gain a special primary weapon and gain unlimited grenades.
The sales rankings were in the order of TOP (38%), Daesung (27%), Taeyang (22%), Seungri (13%). G-Dragon was not counted in the rankings as his character was not on sale as a single item.
According to Game High, Big Bang characters earned 300 million won a month on average. Representatives stated that they started with star marketing in 2008 with singer Rain, and the revenue generated in the first two weeks since release was in the order of Big Bang, 2NE1, and Rain.
Big Bang is estimated to have earned around 3.6 billion won (3.25 million USD) in one year from "Sudden Attack". The revenue from game characters based on stars is usually split 7:3 or 8:2 between the game providers and the entertainment companies, so YG Entertainment could have earned around 1.1 billion won from game character sales.
When taking into account that the revenue from concerts earned by Big Bang's company, YG Entertainment, in 2009 was 4.9 billion won, the revenue earned from games is a significant amount. According to the game research company, Game Tricks, "Sudden Attack" holds over 10% of the time market share in PC rooms and is one of the top games in Korea. Because of this, it's estimated that Big Bang is the celebrity to have earned the most from game characters.
Given that stars are paid around 200~300 million won for a 6 month contract involving CF shooting and modeling for games, it's certain that Big Bang has hit the jackpot with "Sudden Attack". Especially TOP has managed to earn both popularity and money thanks to his intense eyes and strong character in the game.
Source: MT via Flibbertigibbet @ 6theory forums
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Big Bang flies to America for comeback MV filming
Big Bang’s album is scheduled to drop in a couple of weeks, but the group is already kicking into high gear for their long awaited comeback.
They’re currently in the United States, and plan to stay a week to film their MV, after which they’ll be returning to Korea to perform at Seoul Olympic Park Stadium from February 25th to 27th. The total cost of the MV wasn’t given, but sources say that it’ll cost the company a hefty sum of money.
Why is the MV being filmed in the United States? The group apparently wants a “foreign influence” to their video – I’ll leave that up to the fans to imagine!
Looks as if YG Entertainment is sparing no expense for the group’s comeback – who’s excited?
Source: Sports Hankook via Daum
(via allkpop)
Big Bang records biggest sales day for UNIQLO
The Harajuku UNIQLO store was decorated with special Big Bang material and one floor was specifically dedicated to the group as well. More than 1,200 people were in line for the Harajuku store opening.
Starting in May, Big Bang’s “Love & Pain Tour” will make stops in Osaka, Chiba, and Nagoya for a total of seven concerts. The tour is expected to bring in a 90,000 member audience.
It seems the group is starting to cause a Big Bang in Japan.
Source: Oricon via tokyohive
G-Dragon feels uncomfortable when he gets called a ‘genius’
Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon is, without a doubt, one of the hottest icons of Korean pop culture today. Possessing an abundance of skills and talents, the boy also owns a modern-day Midas touch, as everything he creates immediately becomes a coveted trend by the next day.
Though he’s only 23 years old, he’s managed to garner enough experience to be praised by both pop culture critics and industry representatives as ‘the musician whose future they anticipate the most’.
Considering all his accomplishments, he sounds like an intimidating figure – but when the interviewer met the golden boy, G-Dragon proved to be a thoughtful, modest soul who laughed shyly and had a tendency to bite his lips when in thought.
That is, until the topic of music came up.
G-Dragon’s eyes lit up with anticipation when the reporter observed, “The way you express your reality through your raps is quite meaningful.”
G-Dragon responded, “I wanted to show my true self, not how I wanted to be seen by others. Stories full of my own thoughts and experiences are what I wanted to share. Just very freely and comfortably, I wanted to say ‘this is who I am.’ As Big Bang’s leader, I’m under the pressure to lead the group, but recently, I’ve had a lot of fun just enjoying myself. Music has to be enjoyed, not regarded as work. If you’re squeezed under the pressure of work, it’s difficult to produce good music. Regardless, as I experienced different things, I was able to organize a bit of my thoughts, as well as come up with some things to say.”
At the mention of ‘experiencing different things,’ the reporter asked him to elaborate. “I’ve earned a lot of compliments, but I also think I’ve received a lot of hateful replies as well. At the time, I was extremely hurt and placed in a difficult situation.”
G-Dragon’s first solo concert came under fire for sexually suggestive content, and the reporter inquired how the star managed to overcome the painful experience.
He explained, “What’s shown on stage is ultimately up to the artist. The situation arose because of me, so I needed to take responsibility of it. There’s no need to say this or that through words or talk, all that is needed is to present better music next time.”
The reporter mused, “You sound like a person who has reached nirvana.”
G-Dragon responded, “My seniors were a great source of strength, and time helped in healing. I also heard ever since I was little that I seemed older than I looked.”
“I think it’s ‘High High‘,” he said. “I stand on stage as a singer, but the stage is not a job to me. When I go on stage, I go crazy and play. It makes me feel as if I’ve returned to the ‘Kid Roo’Ra‘ stage, dancing around like that.”
(For reference, when G-Dragon was seven years old, he made his first TV debut by parodying the popular group ‘Roo’Ra‘ under the nickname ‘Kid Roo’Ra.’ At 13, he joined YG Entertainment.)
G-Dragon then elaborated on the pressures which come with high praise and expectations. “I once read that someone called me a ‘genius,’ but that’s a misunderstanding. It’s uncomfortable, and it puts a lot of pressure on me when people see me like that. I learned about music at an earlier age than most, and through my own efforts, came across good luck and opportunity; that’s all it is. I might’ve shined more because there weren’t many like me then.”
The reporter then asked about Big Bang’s comeback, and what fans should look forward to.
“I’d like for you to anticipate a bigger Big Bang,” said G-Dragon. “We’re planning to show cool, rock-influenced songs. Up until ‘Red Sunset,’ we might’ve looked like kids, but this latest release will show how much more manlier we’ve become. Big Bang’s last album earned a lot of love, but we’re hoping to take a bigger shot this time.”
Didn’t they already show the crowd their big shot? “No,” he replied, “Everything just happened to fall in place, but there was a bit of luck and exaggeration. What we’re worried about is not what we show, but how we live up to the expectations in the back.”
To wrap up the interview, G-Dragon was asked to share one hardship that his celebrity life forces him to endure.
“It’s eating. I always have to have a stew when I eat, but people look at me weird when I eat like that. It’s also upsetting that I can’t go to those delicious seolleongtang and stew restaurants as I wish.”
Source: KyungHang.com via Nate
(via allkpop)
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