Park Jae-bum scandal covered in local Seattle media

Couldn’t they have done a better job?

Recently, HOTTESTS tried to send a message to former 2PM leader Park Jae-bum. A group of international fans hired an airplane to fly a sky banner around the singer’s hometown of Seattle with the message “J. What time is it now?” The message hit the skies at exactly 2 P.M. on September 28th and flew for a reported two hours.

Well, apparently the banner caught the attention of Seattle’s KOMO News who wrote a rather uninformed and quite insensitive piece on Jae-bum’s current situation. For starters, the article (which has been heavilyedited since its original publication) refers to “2-PM” as “the Korean version of the Jonas Brothers”…give me a break! The rest of the article is riddled with questionable reporting and unnecessary exaggerations. Note: since when does going back to your own hometown equal going into “seclusion”.

Apparently the article got so much global traffic after publication that the website’s server overloaded. The attention then prompted station to feature the story on the local evening news. Reporters filmed Jae-bum’s parents’ home and interviewed local fans, as well as his neighbors. Hmm…I guess it must have been a slow news day.

In other Jae-bum news, a forum recently set up Seattle Glory Presbyterian church (where Jay and his family attend) has already been shut down (just 4 days after its September 23rd debut) due to numerous negative comments and bashes directed toward the singer. It’s kind of a shame since the forum was set up to encourage him, not bring him down.

On another note, a (more reliable) source has reported that JYP himself has flown to Seattle. It has been confirmed that the CEO will have a dinner meeting with Jae-bum and his family on September 30th before heading back to New York for work. I’m sure they’ll have lots to talk about!

Watch the piece KOMO 4 TV did on the Jae-bum controversy here~

The Verdict is In

Will 2PM perform at the 2009 Dream Concert without former leaderJaebum? Will Dong Bang Shin Ki perform at all? The verdict has finally arrived!

Remember last year’s live taping of Dream Concert on SBS when Girls’ Generation was embarrassingly shunned by the audience? Can we expect another controversy at this years? Unfortunately, I wouldn’t doubt it.

Dream Concert has released today, September 29th, that with 3 Dong Bang Shin Ki members currently undergoing court trials with SM Entertainment, the group will not appear at this year’s Dream Concert. As far as beastly idols 2PM, the current members will perform officially as an 6-member group.

Many fans are unsurprisingly upset with Dong Bang Shin Ki’s withdrawal from the program. Also, with the 2PM boycott currently active, how can we expect to see the audience behave during their performance?

What do you think of such controversy surrounding Korea’s current top boy bands?

Check out the uncomfortable Girls’ Generation performance last year. My, how far a group can come within 1 year?

Girls’ Generation to sing “Into the New World” live

For the first time in 2 years.

As part of the “SBS Chuseok (Thanksgiving) Special Idol Big Show,” airing October 3rd, Girls’ Generation will perform their not-so-popular 2007 debut single “Into the New World.” Considering the song is quite melodramatic, I’m excited to see the members expressions when re-performing this you-can-do-it song after reaching such success in the music market with “Gee,” their latest “Tell Me Your Wish” and numerous, successful side projects.

This show is going to be quite the talk of the town, featuring other immensely popular idols such as G-Dragon, 2NE1, KARA, SHINee,4minute, After School, Lee Seung-ki 2AM, as well as some hush-hush idol group currently active overseas. Who can it be…..?

Check out the girls in their debut music video before hitting stardom~

Have you forgotten that Girls Generation has already said goodbye? Yeah, me too considering they’ve still been performing all over the place. What showcase are you most excited for?

Jung Ryu-won is “Vogue Girl”

What a doll.

Jung Ryu-won shows you what fall fashion is all about in the October issue of Vogue Girl Korea.

She looks like an Asian doll - porcelain skin, blank expression, and all. The girl knows how to ensemble outfits to make Eryn Brinie’s 2009 fall/winter collection naturally blend into the dilapidated, chaparral backyard.

When Jung Ryu-Won chose what she wanted to wear for the shoot, the staff thought it was so “Jung Ryu-won.” They thoroughly enjoyed working with someone who was truly into fashion and knew how to wear clothes.

Jung Ryu-won was in Los Angeles, USA for this shoot and she kept it professional despite wearing thick clothing under the scorching sun.

Check her out~

[Pop Quiz] Who is rocking hot pink?

Why, it is none other than our sexy fashionista, Lee Hyo-ri.

It was September 25th at Incheon University, and Lee Hyo-ri received the honor of being the host for the University Music Festival.

What did you guys think? Love the hot pink or is it too plain for this diva?

Mr. and Mrs. Kwon’s Sexy Photoshoot

Woo child!

W Magazine has become notorious for sexy couples showing off their chemistry, such as the Beckhams (UK royalty) and Brangelina (U.S. royalty). Proving that Korean couples can be just as steaming hot, Kwon Sang-woo and Sang Tae-young made love (with the camera of course) for W Korea’s October issue along with their baby boy Luke.

Check out the gorgeous family~

How precious
Family fun
Babies are the hottest fashion accessories!








My oh my.. What do you have to say about their risque editorial?

4minute Finally Wins #1

Bring the water works!

Precisely 100 days after their debut, Cube Entertainment’s cash cows4minute finally got to experience the joy of winning a Mutizen award. Today, September 26th, 2009, a lonely-looking Ha Yeon-joo announced 4minute as SBS Inkigayo’s #1 winners. By their expressions and discombobulation the announcement clearly came as a shock.

When asked about the win, a Cube Entertainment representative stated, “Not just the members themselves but even the company staff weren’t expecting them to win #1. We congratulated the girls on their 100th day [since their debut] but they received great excitement from also winning #1 on the show. The members would like to thank their fans for their support and promise to work harder in the future.”

After the win, fellow girl groups f(x) and KARA gave the members personal-looking embraces. Admist their current imaging controversy, it’s nice to see the group get some positive spotlight.

Check out their awkwardly genuine acceptance speech:

Winning performance

After School has some persistent fans

…including a biker gang?

The girls of After School were followed by some rather…um, ” unique” fans while returning to Seoul from a performance at a university music festival at Anyang University.

Apparently, a 20-member biker gang trailed the girls’ van and bumped into it in an attempt to stop the vehicle. The girls’ manager (who was driving at the time) was forced to slow down the vehicle to prevent a major accident.

Though their actions were dangerous, it was revealed that the bikers had no intention of harming After School. Rather, they were fans of the sporty girl group. A representative for the girls’ company spoke up about the incident (which took place on September 25th) stating that “the members were really shocked, but fortunately no one was injured”.

Now, I know it can be exciting to be in the presence of your favorite celebrities, but I don’t think scaring the everliving out of them is the best way to get an autograph. Perhaps these fan-bikers would have gotten better results if they’d just asked nicely….just a suggestion.

4minute’s Hyun-ah’s stage outfits are still a “hot issue”

That’s just not right!

I’m talking about the whole outfit, not just the clearly visible safety short line.

Remember the Hyun-ah dress incident from a while back? Well, more unflattering photos of the 4minute rapper have been revealed, posing the question: What’s up with Hyun-ah’s too-short mini dresses?!

Now I understand wanting to maintain a sexy image, but there’s a limit. She’s still a minor at 17, after all. Yes, she’s wearing safety shorts, but those are meant to be hidden! Didn’t her stylist get it the memo after the initial Music Bank wardrobe malfunction?

In my opinion, there’s really only two possible solutions to this “hot issue”, longer hemlines…or pants! What are your thoughts on Hyun-ah’s questionable hemlines?

2AM has Men’s Health covered

…but their abs are out for show!

The hotties of 2AM posed for the October issue of Men’s Healthmagazine, displaying their adorable faces, impressive physiques and…oh yeah, their chocolate abs!

The group appears in a lengthy spread and interview for the the magazine and yes, the photos were taken at the same time this hot video was shot.

Now, I don’t know what these boys do to stay in such amazing shape, but whatever it is, it’s working!

See more shots of the hard-bodied boys here~

After School’s Uee and JunJin present their “case”

“The Case of that Man and that Woman” to be exact.

After School cutie Uee and Shinhwa’s JunJin have recently released a project single titled”The Case of that Man and that Woman“. The single was released on September 24th.

In case you think this pairing is a bit odd, rest assured that it’s for a good cause. The two are working together as part of a project by the Young Producer’s Association. The project is part of an initiative to help fight illegal file sharing and other practices that are detrimental to the changing music industry. The new project will be composed of pictorials, digital music and music videos featuring other stars like Brown Eyed Girls, K-Will, Tei and Kan Mi-yeon. It’s goal is to create a new entertainment platform to compete in the ever changed digital media business.

I haven’t yet heard the entire single yet so I’ll hold my judgments, but do you think these two can make beautiful music together?

Check out the pair in the (slightly awkward) MV teaser here~

BoA chops it all off

Her hair, we mean.

BoA fans may have noticed the pint-sized singer rocking a shorter hairstyle on the cover of her latest Japanese single “Bump Bump!” Well, if you were wondering if the chop was real or not rest assured, it is!

The singer showed up at the Tokyo Game Show 2009, sporting a shorter ‘do, confirming that she had indeed cut her trademark long locks in favor of a shorter style. BoA has had shorter styles for MVs the past (remember “Eien“), but she has never really cut her hair to achieve the look.

According to the singer, the shorter style was her idea. She had it cut because she wanted a change.

In other BoA news, the singer recently appeared at the Tokyo Game Show 2009 to perform her next Japanese single “White Wishes“. Why? Well, because it has been chosen as the theme song for Wii game “Tales of Graces“.

Now that we know the cut is for real, are you liking BoA’s new ‘do or do you wish she never made the chop in the first place?

For reference, BoA’s “Bump Bump!” cover~

Why did Lee Hyori turn down 2 billion won?

Find out why she rejected all that cash.

With her contract with Mnet Media coming to a close at the end of this year, Lee Hyori has no shortage of options when it comes to who she will sign with next. It has even been rumored that the diva has been offered amounts as large as 2 billion won to sign with a number of management companies.

The sexy singer has, however, rejected those offers and decided to work with Kil Jung-hwa, the former manager of Fin.K.L, the four-member girl group that launched Hyori’s career. Kil has recently started a production company to officially represent Hyori and the two have reportedly been in talks about working together since last summer.

Hyori working with her old manager, looks like the diva is taking a cue from another American diva (…ahem, Christina) and going “back to basics”.

Teddy speaks up on accusations of plagiarism

What else can he do but deny it?

YG producer and former 1TYM leader Teddy Park has spoken up about the current plagiarism accusations surrounding YG Entertainment. In a phone interview with AM 7, the rapper/producer firmly denied accusations of plagiarism.

Teddy produced “I Don’t Care“, the 2NE1 hit that is now under scrutiny for allegedly borrowing from Lionel Richie’s song “Just Go“.

Teddy told AM 7:

“I did listen to the Lionel Richie song following the controversy over “I Don’t Care.” You can’t say it is plagiarism just because the feel, not the melody, of the two songs is similar. Two people living on the opposite sides of the world could have similar facial features. It is not right to say it is plagiarism just because the feel of the songs is similar. I feel frustrated that some people are convinced that I used the Richie song as a reference, if not plagiarized.”

Teddy added:

“When you write a song and if that song is similar to another song then it is the composer’s responsibility to make changes. However, as far as this song (”I Don’t Care”) is concerned, heaven knows and I know that I have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of so I will not discuss it at length.”

Thus far, Teddy, Yang Hyun-suk and Park Myung-soo have all spoken up about the plagiarism issue. Who’s next in line to give their two cents?

Big Bang’s Tae-yang wants to know “Where U At”

He says so in his brand new, soon-to-be-released single.

We announced earlier that Big Bang member Tae-yang would be releasing his second solo album sometime in October.

Though the exact date of the album’s release has yet to be revealed, YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk has revealed that the R&B crooner will be working with director Seo Hyung-seung on the MV for the album’s title track “Where U At“. Shooting for the video will take place this weekend.

Yang Goon also confirmed that Tae-yang will likely be releasing the song as a digital single, saying “It is being planned that the song will be released with a music video as digital media first. The estimated date for Tae-yang’s full volume CD is still to be announced. I will keep you posted about Tae-yang soon”. There has still been no word from YG on what the track will sound like.

Anyhow, current ontroversy aside, YG acts like 2NE1 and G-Dragonreleased some huge hits this summer. I wonder if Tae-yang will be able to follow suit?

Stars show up in droves for “Strong Heart”

No, it’s not a charity. It’s a variety show!

We reported earlier that singer/actor Lee Seung-ki and funnyman Kang Ho-dong would co-host a new SBS program called “Kang Shim Jang“, which translates to “Strong Heart“.

The show’s first episode is slated to feature a bevy of celebrity guests, including G-Dragon and Seung-ri of Big Bang and Epik High, among others. Kang Ho-dong will be the show’s main host with Lee Seung-ki as his co-host, quite an…um, interesting and potentially entertaining pairing if you ask me. The program will feature 24 guests who will discuss difficulties they’ve faced in their respective pasts.

The first episode of “Strong Heart” will air on SBS on October 6th. Will you tune in?