K-pop: (Korean: 가요, Gayo) (an abbreviation of Korean pop or Korean popular music) is a musical genre consisting of dance, electronic, electropop, hip hop, rock, and R&B music originating in South Korea.[6][7][8][9][10] In addition to music, K-pop has grown into a popular subculture among teenagers and young adults around the world, resulting in widespread interest in the fashion and style of Korean idol groups and singers.[11] Through the presence of Facebook fan pages, availability on iTunes, Twitter profiles, and music videos on YouTube, the ability of K-pop to reach a previously inaccessible audience via the Internet is driving a paradigm shift in the exposure and popularity of the genre.[12] South Korean popular culture is today serving as a major driver of youth culture all across the Pacific Rim and Eurasia, with special reference to China, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, see also Korean wave. The genre is currently moving towards a position in the region, similar to that of American music in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s.
 Girls' Generation (Sonyeo Shidae or So Nyuh Shi Dae) is a nine-member South Korean pop girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2007.[1][2] They are also referred to as SoShi (소시) or SNSD by their fans, both abbreviated forms of the group's Korean name. F.T. Island (Korean: 에프티 아일랜드 Japanese: エフティー・アイランド; stylized as FTISLAND), short for Five Treasure Island, is a five-member South Korean pop/rock band. The members are Choi Jong Hun (guitar and keyboard), Lee Hongki (lead vocals) Lee Jae Jin (bass and vocals), Song Seung Hyun (guitar and vocals), and Choi Min Hwan (drums). Their debut album, titled "Cheerful Sensibility", was the sixth best-selling album in 2007. Their debut song "Lovesick" topped the K-Pop charts for eight consecutive weeks.[2] Oh Won Bin was a member of the band until the beginning of 2009. Career2007: Debut and Cheerful SensibilityAlthough F.T. Island's first album, Cheerful Sensibility, was scheduled to be released commercially in May 2007, the members appeared on the show "Wanna be my girlfriend?" (Korean: 두근두근 여친만들기) on the Korean television channel MNet. The band also performed on stage live at Rolling Hall and held their first official showcase at Live House Melon-AX, Gwangjang-dong in Seoul on May 27, 2007.[3] On June 7, 2007 the group performed their debut song Love Sick on the music television program M!Countdown; their debut album, Cheerful Sensibility, was released on the same day. Cheerful Sensibility combined 13 songs that were loosely divided into two parts, “Emotional Chapter” and “F.T. Island Chapter”, according to the genre of the songs.[4] The “Emotional Chapter” consists of rock ballads. The "F.T. Island Chapter" was produced by the Japanese composers who worked with the Japanese band, SMAP and is composed of a variety of pop rock songs.[5] Selling over 79,000 copies in 2007, it was the sixth best-selling album of the year.[6] The album was re-released on December 3, 2007, titled The Refreshment, with three extra songs, a photobook, a stack of photocards, and a mixing program called Music 2.0 which allows one to adjust the levels of the instruments and vocals. This edition sold 25,724 copies in December 2007.[6]  tumblr_lzei8l0WMk1qadt4wo1_r2.mp3 |
 CN Blue (Korean: 씨엔블루 Japanese: シーエヌブルー ), stylized as CNBLUE, is a South Korean rock band formed in Seoul in 2009. The band consists of Jung Yong Hwa (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Lee Jong Hyun (lead guitar, vocals), Lee Jung Shin (bass guitar, vocals) and Kang Min Hyuk (drums, vocals). "CN is an abbreviation of ‘Code Name’ while BLUE is an abbreviation of the members’ individual images," said by one of the members. ‘Burning’ represents Lee Jong Hyun, ‘Lovely’ represents Kang Min Hyuk, ‘Untouchable’ represents Lee Jung Shin, and ‘Emotional’ represents Jung Yong Hwa. Debuted on August 19, 2009 in Japan with the band's first mini album, Now or Never. The group released four teasers for their 1st mini album Bluetory, starring one member per each of the videos in the sequence of Jonghyun, Minhyuk, Jungshin and lastly, Yonghwa on the 6th, 8th, 11 and 13 January 2010 respectively. On January 14, 2010 CN Blue debuted their first mini-album in Korea with the lead single "I'm a Loner" (Korean: 외톨이야). 
After School (Korean: 애프터스쿨; Japanese: アフタースクール and stylized as AFTERSCHOOL in Japan) is a South Korean girl group formed by Pledis Entertainment in 2009.[1] They are the first group to debut with a unique admissions and graduation concept in Korea, where members are added or withdrawn in a “natural” manner.[2] The band consists of eight members: Kim JungAh, Lee Jooyeon, Uee, Raina, Nana, Lizzy, E-Young and Kaeun. Former member Soyoung withdrew from the group in fall 2009 and Bekah officially graduated from the group in July 2011.[3][4] After School had their first performance alongside label mate Son Dam Bi in 2008 and their official debut occurred on January 2009 with the song "AH!". The group became popular with the release of their hit single, "Because of You", which attained No. 1 and a triple crown on SBS's Inkigayo. After School went on to win various awards at the Billboard Japan Music Awards and the Seoul Music Awards. Other hits by After School include "Diva", "Bang!" and "Shampoo". Three members of After School have also formed a sub-group with a different concept known as Orange Caramel. The group began a foray into the Japanese music scene in 2011 under Avex Trax with a remake of their Korean hits "Bang!", "Diva" and "Because of You". The group also released an original Japanese song titled "Rambling Girls" in January 2012. Their debut in Japan[5][6] was quite a success, as the group managed to enter the Oricon Weekly Chart at number seven.[7] The group's debut Japanese album, Playgirlz, debuted at number eight on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart. In April 2012, Pledis confirmed the addition of Kaeun. It was also confirmed that After School will have a comeback in Korea in June.[8] On June 5, 2012, it was reported that Kahi will graduate from the group. She will stay with the group for Japanese promotions until September before her official graduation, however was confirmed to not appear with the group in Korea for their June comeback. Infinite (Korean: 인피니트, Japanese: インフィニット; stylized as INFINITE) is a seven member South Korean pop boy group under Woollim Entertainment, which is also home to other talents such as Epik High and Nell. The group consists of 7 members: Sunggyu, Dongwoo, Woohyun, Hoya, Sungyeol, L, and Sungjong. The group is known for their highly synchronized dancing as well as the 'Scorpion Dance' in their "Before The Dawn" MV. With 2011 being their breakout year, Infinite continues to become successful and gain more popularity amongst other idol groups in both South Korea and Japan. 2010: First InvasionIn 2010, Infinite first appeared in the reality show "You Are My Oppa" introducing the group before making their debut in June (9th). They performed songs from their first EP First Invasion with the singles "Come Back Again" and "She's Back"[1] 2011: Evolution, Over the Top, and Japanese debutOn January 7, 2011, the band debuted the single Before the Dawn (BTD) from their second EP Evolution. Promotions for BTD (Before the Dawn) ended on the February 17, 2011 on Inkigayo where Infinite performed a remix version of the song. The MV teaser for their next title song Nothing's Over, off their first single album Inspirit, was released on March 7, 2011. The full version was later released on March 16, 2011 ahead of their comeback stage on M! Countdown on March 17, 2011 where they performed both Nothing's Over and part of Shot. Infinite then continued promotions with their follow-up track Can U Smile on May 12 on Mnet’s "M! Countdown". |
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