Trainees Euna Kim and Kim Eunbi confirmed for YG’s upcoming girl group
Recently, YG Entertainment released a practice clip of their two female trainees, Euna Kim and Kim Eunbi. Through OSEN, officials have confirmed that the two have been given the go by CEO Yang Hyun Suk as the new members of their upcoming girl group.
The girls showed the world their new and improved talents through a cover of Sam Sparro‘s “Black & Gold” through a video update on the YG blog. Fans that had been following the girls since their audition program (‘Superstar K’) days knew immediately just how much they had improved with their natural flow and solid skills.
Being chosen as a trainee alone is a big accomplishment, so for the girls to earn the ‘OK’ from Yang Hyun Suk himself means they’re already on to well paved road with their futures.
With Kim Eunbi already having been confirmed previously, and with signs pointing for the same with Euna Kim, fans are already anticipating the upcoming girl group.
Park Jinyoung to Yang Hyunsuk: “Big Bang ‘Bad Boy’ is the best”
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.”
He went on to say “I also personally like “Bad Boy” out of all the Big Bang songs, and I think Park Jinyoung likes this song because he has an interest in Hip Hop and R&B.”
Park Jinyoung’s praise to Big Bang was very heart-warming, considering Big Bang is an idol group from a rival company.
Yang Hyun Suk explains ‘Why YG Artists avoid TV Appearances’!
YG Entertainment was in the spotlight for being selective against certain TV shows or channels. It was revealed that YG artists were focusing on appearances on SBS channel only.
Regarding the criticism YG Entertainment has received, Yang Hyun Suk stated, “If stars schedule appearances as much as they are requested, they might be scheduled for way too many appearances. Not only do the stars get exhausted but their back dancers, stylist, manager and all the staff become exhausted. And it’s not like they can appear on each event looking the same way. They have to look unique and different for each appearance. Sometimes when stars appear on too many shows, they begin to look the same in each appearance, which is a problem.”
And “Instead of scheduling as many events possible, we decided to choose and focus on the shows that the artist will be appearing in. We’re trying to schedule about two appearances per week for the stars. For the stars to perform in their best condition, they need to maintain their strength but if they get overwhelmed, they won’t be able to show perfect performances. Even if I get criticized, it just has to be done this way for the artists.”
Even though Yang Hyun Suk is being criticized for being selective against certain shows, he explains that it is for the best. He will not overwhelm and exhaust the stars by over scheduling them. Instead, Yang Hyun Suk wants his stars to perform at their 100% to show their fans a perfect performance.
Big Bang talks about their comeback & YG’s new diet on ‘One Night of TV Entertainment’
Idol group Big Bang talked their comeback plans for 2012, and also revealed that YG CEO Yang Hyun Suk is on a diet.
On the March 7th episode of SBS ‘One Night of TV Entertainment‘, the members shared their thoughts on returning to the K-pop scene after a long 10-month hiatus.
“We went through a lot of things last year, but like the lyrics to “Blue“, the winter has passed and Spring is now upon us,” they said. “We hope that 2012 will only be full of warm Spring days for us.”
“This is the first time in a long while that the five of us are promoting together, and we hope this year will be full of abundant promotions and activities,” they continued.
Yang Hyun Suk on his plans for Big Bang, 2NE1 & new groups
Yang Hyun Suk, member of the legendary group Seo Taiji and the Boys during the 1990’s has since reinvented himself as a leader in K-Pop’s global success. Fifteen years ago Yang Hyun Suk founded YG Entertainment which currently houses some of K-Pop’s biggest stars Se7en, Big Bang, and 2NE1.
“I am not a child of a tycoon, so I began with nothing. Originally, I started out with little money and YG was just a tiny corner shop, which was up until I discovered Jinusean and 1TYM.” YG Entertainment is now considered to be one of the top three record labels in Korea.
A lot has changed around Yang Hyun Suk since the early days. He maintains a beginner’s mindset in the sense that he remains curious about new things, as he shared his motto, “Live better tomorrow than you did today.”
Yang Hyun Suk revealed his upcoming global plans for his artists, “Big Bang and 2NE1 will focus more on performing at festivals to further their global promotion. The United States and Europe are more fitting for 2NE1 and Big Bang. Meanwhile, Se7en will concentrate on his Japanese promotions. Each of our artists have strengths that match the local as well as global markets.”
Yang Hyun Suk, “I don’t have the courage to make another group like Big Bang anymore.”
YG Entertainment’s CEO, Yang Hyun Suk (43), has revealed, “I don’t have the strength or courage to create a group like Big Bang anymore.”
When CEO Yang recently held an interview at the Seoul Mapo-Gu YG Building, he stated, “Although I will be producing more groups in the future, I don’t think I will ever be able to find new group members that could harmonize with each other as well as Big Bang does. All of them match up to each other perfectly like a man and woman would do when they are in love.”
According to his explanation, Big Bang may not be the best looking and may not be the best dancers out there, but each member holds a distinct individuality as a weapon that allows them to perform freely, which is the main reason why they receive so much love from their fans in and out of our country.
“Usually in both Korea and Japan, group dancing (synchronized dancing) is the most popular characteristic people look for in groups. However, Big Bang shows a lot of free moves and dances within their performances. That is why I think they receive a lot more response from different countries outside of Korea and Japan.”
Yang Hyun Suk talks about Big Bang’s “Alive Tour” preparations Read
YG Entertainment’s president, Yang Hyun Suk, shared his confidence and excitement over Big Bang’s fast approaching comeback.
Big Bang is scheduled to begin their promotions in early March. The group is to hold concerts on March 2 through 4 at Korea’s largest indoor venue, the Seoul Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium.
Big Bang’s highly-anticipated comeback to the music scene will be nothing short of big. There are plans set for the group to perform in 20 cities around the world. Their “Alive World Tour 2012” will take them to Asia, North America, South America, and Europe. The fact that they are planning on having a World Tour is adding to the public’s excitement.
Even though Big Bang has many things to prepare for between the promotion of six title tracks and the concert dates in March, the members along with YG are ready. This is an extremely meaningful comeback for the members, their company, as well as the music industry.
Big Bang’s Rise in Worldwide Popularity
Big Bang’s comeback is causing a syndrome at home in Korea and abroad.
The announcement of Big Bang’s fifth mini album, “Alive,” has been attracting much attention all over the world. On February 22, the first single, “Blue,” was released and since has been doing very well on domestic charts as well as overseas through iTunes. The single’s music video has gained immense viewership on Youtube as well reaching over 6 million views in three days.
The single “Blue” was made available at the same time on digital music sites such as MelOn, Naver, and MNET. Within an hour the newly released track had achieved an “all-kill” on the domestic music sites. “Blue” has continued to be at the top spot since its release.
The music video for the single also was released on February 22. After a day of being revealed to the public the video pulled in over 1 million views. Currently, the view count stands at over 6 million views. The popularity of the video is spreading worldwide and continues to grow even higher. The map shows where exactly the popularity of “Blue” is the strongest.
Big Bang’s impending comeback results in doubled stock prices for YG
It appears that the anticipation for Big Bang‘s comeback has helped YG Entertainment record its highest share price yet.
YG’s current stock price is 67,000 KRW per share. The prices of the shares have been constantly rising for the past three days. This is most likely due to the news of Big Bang’s comeback, which will be commence officially on February 29th. The group will be releasing a mini-album comprised of six songs in addition to their world tour, ‘Alive‘, which will be launched in March. Many investors are expecting a nice string of CFs to follow suit.
With the sudden increase in stock price, financial reports believe that Yang Hyun Suk’s gross stock value will exceed 200 billion KRW (~177.6 million USD). Yang Hyun Suk along with his brother, Yang Min Suk (CEO and major shareholder of YG), are one of the top 5 first generation self-made Chaebols in South Korea.
In an interview, Yang Hyun Suk shared, “To bring K-pop onto the world stage and compete on a global level, competition amongst [K-pop label] companies is necessary. And that’s why we’ve strived to get YG on KOSPI. Ten years after SM’s enlistment on the index, YG made it to the stock market as well. It feels very rewarding.”
YG Reveals Big Bang Will be Promoting a Total of 6 Title Tracks?
President Yang Hyun Suk, of YG Entertainment, has another update for fans regarding Big Bang’s comeback.
Big Bang to shoot new MV in New York + YG talks about Big Bang’s comeback and solo plans starting with Daesung
Yang Hyunsuk, producer and CEO of YG Entertainment, who just celebrated their 15th anniversary, remembers 2011 as a very difficult year. Daesung and G-Dragon, two friends who he has been taking care of since they were young, got involved in some troubles. Even though they’re better now, Yang admits that at that time, it was really difficult.
“Last year was the worst year for us. They were friends who I took care of from when they were 13, and even I, found it difficult. Those were my thoughts as a parent. When I was running YG for 15 years, I wanted to give the kids a lot of freedom. However, I started finding restriction important too.”
He says that since these never happened during his days with “Seotaeji and Boys“, he found it hard to handle. But what happened already happened and he had to quickly admit that and get over it. As YG said himself, he both disciplined and supported BIGBANG like a parent or an uncle, rather than an older brother, and that’s why he feels the most guilt towards BIGBANG.”
“Not only did I learn a lot, I feel BIGBANG did too. Last year, BIGBANG hardly went outside and just stayed together in the studio, making them closer to each other. If nothing happened, they probably would have spent more time outside the studio and not show this much determination. It became an extremely bitter, but the best medicine. Most singers find it difficult to stay together for 5 years but with them, time only made them stronger.”
Yang Hyun Suk sheds tears as he compares Big Bang and ‘K-Pop Star’ SuPearls
YG Entertainment CEO and ‘K-Pop Star’ judge, Yang Hyun Suk, shed tears during the February 4th broadcast of the program. While he’s previously stated that “emotions should not interfere with the decisions made in the show,” Yang found that he couldn’t stop tears from brimming as he observed the passion of the contestants.
The emotional response stems from YG Entertainment’s early years. Yang founded the company in hopes of scouting talented star-hopefuls who would help the K-Pop industry to advance and prosper. This same motive allowed him to become one of three judges for SBS‘s audition program.
Yet Yang’s method of looking for “quality over quantity” has caused him much grief. Yang stated that he was at first skeptical about debuting Big Bang, as there were much talk on whether or not the group would survive in the idol industry. As he watched over the contestants on ‘K-Pop Star’, Yang said that he felt the same about SuPearls, a group assembled by several contestants on the show.
“At first, I was worried for the SuPearls members,” says Yang, “I thought their skills were not polished enough to guide them through the competition and that they would not be able to develop their skills in such a short time.”
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Daesung and Taeyang cuts on SBS KPOP Star Survival (120129)
Big Bang’s Daesung appears on ‘K-Pop Star’, pointed but thoughtful
Big Bang member Daesung appeared on a variety show after a long while away.
On the January 29th installment of SBS’s ‘K-Pop Star’, the YG training system was revealed with the casting audition finals coming up. The contestants attended the monthly evaluations.
Those who set out as the judges next to Yang Hyun Suk were 2NE1′s Park Bom & CL, and Big Bang’s Taeyang & Daesung. After the car accident last year, Daesung had been taking time for introspection. Recently Daesung has started working through MBN’s ‘What’s Up’ and Big Bang is about to make their comeback but it has been a long while since his appearance on a variety show.
Yang Hyun Suk would welcome Jung Hyung Don into YG Entertainment
On a recent recording of MBC Every1‘s ‘Weekly Idol‘, comedian Jung Hyung Don had jokingly asked if YG Entertainment recruited gagmen in hopes of joining the label.
The episode featured a segment where Jung Hyung Don called up YG Entertainment officials to tell them news of G-Dragon winning yet another poll held amongst idols. During the call, he asked, “Does YG not recruit gagmen?”
Although it was said as a joke, YG Entertainment’s Yang Hyun Suk readily welcomed the gagman. On January 27th, in an interview with E-Daily, he revealed, “If Jung Hyung Don really meant what he said, I would like to discuss a management contract with him.”
He continued, “Not only myself, but the majority of our company staff are fans of Jung Hyung Don. If he would come, I think I’d actually be really thankful.”
Yang Hyun Suk promises, “This year, I will do my very best for Big Bang”
A representative of YG CEO Yang Hyun Suk stated that he will have the upmost enthusiasm and pour his heart out for Big Bang’s comeback in February of 2012.
In OSEN’s recent phone conversation with Yang’s representative, it was stated, “This year’s first priority is Big Bang…I want to do everything I can for Big Bang. Even though there are preparations for new groups, we have almost been fully occupied with Big Bang’s music, so the plans [for the new groups] have been running late.” The debut of YG’s new groups, which were originally planned for the spring of this year, have a high probability of being pushed back to the second half of the year.
Big Bang had a difficult year in 2011. In February, the mini-album that they released for the first time in 2 years achieved an all-kill on the charts as they were off to a refreshing start, and they even stood in the limelight in overseas performances in Japan.
However, promotions were halted for Daesung after his involvement in a sudden car accident in May, and G-Dragon, who was on the brink of beginning his solo promotions, was swept in a marijuana smoking controversy in October. Although the issue was cleared after the Seoul District Public Prosecutor’s Office declared that G-Dragon’s suspension of indictment was cleared, in reality, Big Bang as a whole announced a period of “self-reflection” and became engrossed with working on their new album.
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“J.Y. Park & I are like brothers,” says YG on ‘K-POP Star’ tension concerns
Yang Hyun Suk spoke up recently to assure fans that although he and J.Y. Park may not see eye-to-eye all the time when judging contestants, they’re still as close as ever.
The two producers, along with singer BoA of SM Entertainment, became judges for SBS‘s new survival audition contest, ‘K-POP Star‘. The atmosphere was fairly comfortable until the most recent episode, when viewers saw Yang Hyun Suk and J.Y. Park butt heads over the star quality of some contestants.
It began with French contestant Julie, to whom J.Y. Park said, “I love singers who look comfortable on stage. However, I do not enjoy watching those who cannot sing be that comfortable.” Yang, however, disagreed. “I think differently. You have an amazing voice,” he said.
For contestant Kim Ha Eun, Yang stated, “I was more attracted to your pansori (Korean traditional music) act than your singing. You should stay on that road instead,” while J.Y. Park expressed, “You were so good. I feel like your pansori style is very similar to R&B/soul, and you nailed it.”
J.Y. Park frustrated over Yang Hyun Suk’s qualification of ‘French Amber’?
On December 18th, the third episode of SBS ‘K-POP Star‘ aired and viewers were able to watch French contestant, Julie Chabrol perform “Forget You” by Cee Lo Green.
After finishing her live performance, the three judges of the show gave varying opinions from praises to disapproval. For those who have seen the previous episodes, you should have noticed the striking difference between J. Y. Park and Yang Hyun Suk‘s criteria for qualifying contestants. This episode was another example of that dissimilarity between the two producers.
First, judge BoA commented, “You have f(x) Amber‘s vibe. You seem like a tomboy. You have a good voice as a foreigner, but skill wise..I don’t know. I’ll be honest, you would be good as a visual. I want to see you sing in Korean in the next round and I’ll make a final decision then. So for now, I’ll pass you to the next round.”
However, producer J.Y. Park disqualified the foreign contestant revealing, “I like it when an artist is comfortable on stage, but I don’t like it when they are comfortable without any skills. You have the attitude of a star, but don’t have the skills like one. That is very frustrating to me.” Regarding this statement, the contestant showed her determination as she stated, “I want to go further in the contest. I haven’t shown my fullest potential yet.”
YG’s Yang Hyun Suk & Lee Eun Joo are expecting a second child
Soon after YG Entertainment wrapped up their jubilant ‘YG Family Concert‘ this past weekend, the company’s CEO Yang Hyun Suk revealed that he and his wife, Lee Eun Joo, are expecting a new addition to their family!
“My wife is pregnant with our second child. I’m so happy,” said Yang during a phone interview.”We need to be careful since it’s still early, but I wanted to share the good news immediately.”
Though known to be intimidating in the professional realm, it’s been reported that Yang Hyun Suk is a devoted family man, looking closely after his daughter despite his busy schedule.
In March of last year, Yang Hyun Suk revealed to the public that he had been in a 9-year relationship with Lee Eun Joo, a member of the former girl group Swi.T. The couple welcomed their first child, Yoo Jin, to the world on August 5th, 2010.
YG’s Yang Hyun Suk on judging for SBS’s ‘K-Pop Star’
With the first episode of SBS‘s ‘K-Pop Star‘ drawing near, anticipation has been rising for the new survival audition show, which holds the grand opportunity for a contestant to become an idol.
As one of the judges for the program, YG Entertainment‘s Yang Hyun Suk was pleasantly surprised by the new experience. “Seeing the singer-hopefuls onstage, I was reminded of my juniors and praised and nurtured them,” he said. Chuckling, Yang continued, “I’ve heard from those around me that I would definitely curse at the entrants if I were ever to become a judge. In reality, I do go tough on my trainees but I never curse at them.”
When asked why he took up the role of a judge, the CEO replied that it was originally his idea to start an audition program. “I had this idea from a long time ago, about starting up a singer audition program. Coincidentally, SBS was producing a program that closely matched the format that I was thinking of, so I accepted their offer,” he said.
‘K-Pop Star’ has also influenced his schedule, Yang Hyun Suk said. “Although I usually don’t have any meetings or outside appointments, I’ve spent the last few days shuttling between the studio, YG headquarters, and my house,” he laughed. “Since it’s my first broadcast appearance in a while, I’m both nervous and anxious.”
BoA, Yang Hyun Suk and J.Y. Park hold a press conference for SBS’s “Survival Audition K-Pop Star”
On the afternoon of November 24th, SM’s BoA, YG’s Yang Hyun Suk and JYP‘s J.Y. Park attended the official press conference for SBS‘s“Survival Audition K-Pop Star”, which took place at the SBS headquarters in Seoul.
When asked if there were any contestants that stood out in her memory, BoA answered, “To be honest, there were a lot. There were two contestants that I can recall clearly. One of them was physically disabled and it would’ve been difficult for him to dance, but his efforts moved me to tears.”
“When we mentored the contestants, I gave one contestant some advice and the next day, his singing improved to an extent that was impossible to put in words. Seeing things like that gave great joy to the producers, as it was these moments that gave them hope of digging up truly hidden talents. Although I’m a singer, for a moment I was able to feel the bliss that the show’s producer felt,” she added.
With regards to being part of the judging panel of the contest, CEO Yang Hyun Suk revealed, “Contestants who could’ve gotten first place in other singing programs were cut. Also, contestants who we weren’t fully convinced with proceeded to the top rounds. I think our vision is a lot different to that of the mass public. (The final contestants) aren’t like former ‘Superstar K’ contestants Kang Seung Yoon and Kim Eun Bi, who we signed into our agency last year.”
BoA, Yang Hyun Suk, & J.Y. Park finally record together for SBS’s ‘K-POP STAR’
Hyped as one of the biggest audition shows yet, SBS‘s ‘Survival Audition K-POP Star” (or “K-POP Star”) finally saw all three of its judges record an episode together for the first time.
On November 7th, Yang Hyun Suk, J.Y. Park, and BoA came together as judges and representatives of the ‘Big 3′ agencies in Korea (YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and SM Entertainment). BoA and J.Y. Park already started the audition process for overseas hopefuls, with BoA flying out to L.A. and J.Y. Park coming to New York City.
On this day, however, all three judges came together to oversee auditions as a trio. The first time the judges came on set, they couldn’t help but feel nostalgic over their own audition process. The three thought back to the first time they auditioned to be a star, and shared their personal experiences.
A staff member of the program remarked, ”Judges Yang Hyun Suk, J.Y. Park, and BoA judged the contestants honestly and fairly; while they pointed out strengths, they weren’t afraid to criticize any shortcomings as well. There are a lot of highly qualified contestants so the competition is fierce, and we feel as though this will be the greatest survival audition to find the world’s best K-Pop star. We hope you will look forward to the season, which will kick off in December.”
Yang Hyun Suk reveals how YG Entertainment picks their trainees
YG Entertainment‘s Yang Hyun Suk recently joined SBS‘s ‘Survival Audition K-Pop Star‘, a program that seeks to stand out from all other audition shows by finding and cultivating the next star, and putting them on an elite course to success.
A lot of attention is now being focused on the criteria for the program. Yang Hyun Suk recently sat down with OSEN for an interview detailing what he looks for in a trainee.
He first revealed that trainees join YG in two different ways: talented individuals will be approached by the company first, while others are chosen out of the hundreds that apply for the company.
He began, “YG only had a select few trainees, but we’ve been increasing the number since 2011. If you look at it one way, we get outstanding talent for free. Even though people know that it’s extremely hard to get into YG, kids from all over the nation will still come and try out on their own. The reason we’re increasing the number of trainees is because I realized that after 2NE1 debuted, we had no trainees left. We have about 40 now, and most of them were people we contacted first because they were famous for their skills. A few of them will definitely go on to become the next Big Bang or 2NE1, albeit they’ll be different in music and style.”
Yang Hyun Suk wanted a G-Dragon, Taeyang and Jay Park unit?
Yang Hyun Suk revealed that there were once plans for a Big Bang + Jay Park unit.
On SBS‘s ‘One Night of TV Entertainment’ that aired on the 7th, two of the judges from SBS’s ‘KPOP STAR’, YG Entertainment’s Yang Hyun Suk and JYP Entertainment’s J.Y. Park, came together as guests on the show.
Yang Hyun Suk astounded the viewers by saying, “This is the first time I’ve revealed this secret, but during the beginning stages of Big Bang, we were thinking about having a separate G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Jay Park unit“. He further explained, “But in the end, separate teams were formed due to their busy schedules, and they weren’t combined“.
J.Y. Park also talked about what it was like to engage with Yang Hyun Suk on a program stating, “In addition to liking him as a person, I think that he is a producer who has a good sense for things and is better than me in certain areas, so collaborating with hyung is quite enjoyable for me“.
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Yang Hyun Suk opens up about why he’s participating as a judge on ‘KPOP STAR’
YG Entertainment’s Yang Hyun Suk revealed some background information behind his decision to participate as a judge on SBS’s upcoming talent show, ‘KPOP STAR‘.
On August 28th, Yang Hyun Suk met with reporters after 2NE1’s concert and said, “The public’s interest in audition programs is huge. However, once stars leave the program, they aren’t able to make a noteworthy impact. I felt regretful that they couldn’t easily appear on music programs or expand their talents. That is why I decided to participate as a judge“.
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