Big Bang and 2NE1 have been selected as the male and female groups most loved by the Hallyu fans in France.The Paris office of Korean Tourism Organization has conducted ‘A survey to identify the status and distribution of Hallyu wave in France and the behavior of the Hallyu fans’ targeting 3,775 of local Hallyu fans. Big Bang and 2NE1 have each received 49.9% and 64.8% support coming in at #1.The age range and gender of the fans who prefer 2NE1 and Big Bang were different. Big Bang was relatively highly preferred by male fans of Hallyu in France. As far a the age goes, Hallyu fans in their early 20′s seemed to prefer Big Bang. 2NE1 enjoyed most support of the Hallyu fans who are teenagers and those in their early 20′s and there was no significant difference between the genders.
Big Bang has taken over the Taiwan music chart as well.Big Bang has topped Taiwan’s G-Music and Five Music weekly chart with fifth mini album ‘Alive.’ G-Music includes Korea and Japan music chart but also topped the chart with albums released in Taiwan as well. The share is almost 22.28%. The group topped the charts stepping over Taiwan’s popular singer Huang Xiaohu with an overwhelming difference of 4.8%.Big Bang also before placed #2 even in Japan daily chart and 2nd on iTunes chart, the group has proven their big popularity in Asia by also sweeping the Taiwan music chart as well.
Big Bang and 2NE1 are the "Popular Artists of the Week" on Oricon Japan. After releasing their new albums on March 28, Big Bang took the 2nd place in Oricon chart for ALIVE and 2NE1 got the 4th place for SCREAM. On the 29th, their albums have seized the 1st (BIGBANG) and 2nd (2NE1) places on Japan's iTunes chart.Both groups are going scheduled to attend the 'Spring Groove' Festival in Japan.
YG Entertainment‘s Big Bang and 2NE1 have both topped the iTunes charts in Japan.
On March 29th, Big Bang and 2NE1 respectively ranked 1st and 2nd on the Japan iTunes Album chart, additionally KARA placed 4th with ‘Speed Up / Girls Power‘.
Ahead of this achievement, Big Bang secured the #2 and 2NE1 the #4 position on the Oricon Daily Album chart for March 28th.
It goes without saying that fierce competition exists on the Korean music charts. There is a new song seizing the #1 spot with each day, and different charts rank the same songs differently.But of the many competitors, there are two names that continue to maintain their status on the charts, and they are none other than idol group Big Bang, and legendary singer Lee Seung Chul.Even an entire month after releasing new albums, these two artists still rank high on the charts, and this sort of outcome was almost expected by fans and music professionals alike.Lee Seung Chul managed to stay popular on the charts for 40 days after releasing his new ‘Feast of the Gods‘ OST, “Did You Forget“, on the 17th of last month. And as of March 27th at 6:00PM KST, “Did You Forget” ranked #5 on charts such as Melon, Mnet, and more. When it comes to the call-back ringtone download charts, he is way ahead of most of the popular idol groups out there today, and the Youtube video for the track has already passed the 750,000 hit-mark.
JYP Entertainment's president Park Jinyoung has praised Yang Hyunsuk of YG Entertainment for Big Bang's "Bad Boy"He showed interest in idol group YG Entertainment's Big Bang's "Bad Boy" while talking in SBS' "Kpop Star."
Yang Hyunsuk told Star News that "Park Jinyoung asked me who made "Bad Boy" because he thinks its the best song from the past year. I was happy to hear this from such an influential producer."
5 member group Big Bang has become a hot topic in both Korea and Japan recently. Big Bang is taking the concept of "from Asia to the World" and is releasing their album on the coming 28th. The album is going to have Japanese versions of the songs from the Korean fifth mini album, as well as 2 additional new songs.
Big Bang is very busy considering they are promoting in Korea while starting their Japanese promotions. It is said they will be visiting Thailand as well, amidst their programs and interviews happening in Japan.
Big Bang will be putting on an extravagant performance for the famous R&B Hip Hop Festival in Japan called the "2012 Spring Groove." This event will also feature 2NE1, LMFAO, David Guetta, and more worldwide stars.
Translator's Note: This is a piece of writing, or more like a series of memos, that I found in Myoungseok Kang’s blog (Kang is the editor of 10asia Magazine). I thought it was interesting so I wanted to share with other overseas fans too.1. Blue doesn’t seem very appropriate for the streets. It is neither fast nor striking enough to overcome the noise on the street. ‘Bad Boy’ is a similar case. Nevertheless, ‘Fantastic Baby’, which has a fast tempo, will probably be the most suitable for the streets out of the tracks. In other words, the tracks are not catchy enough for everyone to sing along like IU’s ‘Good Day’. Was this risk necessary for Big Bang?
