Korean bands have many Malaysian fans but only a handful have visited the country.
WHO can deny the appeal of boybands? With hordes of screaming fans, girls want to be with them and boys want to be like them.
Although the Korean wave (Hallyu or Hanryu) started during the 1990s with popular TV series and pop music, it has taken a little longer for its artistes to make it to Malaysian shores.
Apart from a recent visit by SS501, other Korean boybands that have made their way here include top acts TVXQ, Super Junior and FT Island.
SS501
The popular boyband has been nominated for the Samsung Yepp Popularity Award and has two songs up for the digital song of the year award at the Annual Golden Disc Awards (AGDA): Because I Am Stupid (theme song for Boys Over Flowers) and Love Like This (Rebirth).
The five-member band comprises band leader Kim Hyun-joong, Heo Young-saeng, Kim Kyu-jong, Park Jung-min and Kim Hyung-joon – all in their early 20s.
Superstars: South Korean boyband SS501 was the first South Korean act to promote its album in Malaysia.
The band’s unusual name is pronounced as “double-S 501”. The first “S” stands for “super” while the second “S” is for “star”. The numerals 5, 0 and 1 mean “five members united as one forever”.
The band’s official fan club is known as Triple S and its official colour is light green.
SS501 was the first Korean act to promote its album here in August.
TVXQ
One of the hottest acts in Asia in recent years, TVXQ or TVfXQ, the acronym for Tong Vfang Xien Qi, stands for “Gods Rising From The East” in Mandarin.
Recently, the band was named the Best Asian Star at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Award (MAMA). The members, comprising Xiah, U-Know, Hero, Max and Micky, are in their early 20s. The band’s fan club is known as Cassiopeia and its official colour is pearl red.
TVXQ was the first Korean act to have staged two concerts in Malaysia a couple of years back – Rising Sun 1st Asia Tour and 2nd Asia Tour Concert ‘O’.
The boys sing mainly in Korean and Japanese and occasionally in Mandarin and English.
TVXQ became the first foreign male group to have a No.1 single on Japan’s Oricon single chart with the release of its 16th single Purple Line. It has since extended its record to six No.1 singles on the Oricon.
The band even made its way into the Guinness Book Of World Records for having the world’s largest official fan club with over 800,000 members (2008) and also as the most photographed celebrities this year (500 million times since their debut).
Sizzling: South Korean boy band TVXQ has been one of the hottest Asian acts in recent years and was the first Korean band to stage a concert here.
Super Junior
The 13-member band’s third album Sorry Sorry is in the running for the album of the year at the AGDA and its hit title track Sorry Sorry is up for digital song of the year.
Super Junior (also known as Suju) consists of Leeteuk, Heechul, Hankyung, Yesung, Kang-in, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, Kibum and Kyuhyun.
The boys were guest performers for label-mate TVXQ’s Rising Sun 1st Asia Tour concert. Their second visit to Malaysia was last year when they were named Favourite Artiste of Korea at the sixth MTV Asia Awards.
The band’s fanclub is E.L.F. (short for Ever-Lasting Friends) and its official colour is pearl sapphire blue.
The band has released three studio albums and four singles with several contributions to Korean TV drama soundtracks.
FT Island
Also in the running for the Samsung Yepp Popularity Award at the AGDA, FT Island’s Cross and Change have been nominated for album of the year.
The teenage five-member band comprises Lee Hong-ki, Choi Jong-hun, Lee Jae-jin, Choi Min-kwan and Song Seung-hyun. The band’s name is short for Five Treasure Island (FTI) and refers to the members being regarded as treasures. Its official colour is sunshine yellow and their fanclub is known as Primadonna.
This rock band started performing in 2007 and its debut song Lovesick on music television programme M!Countdown became an instant hit and its debut album was Cheerful Sensibility.
Named South Korea’s Best New Group of 2007, the guys’ concert at Sunway Lagoon Amphitheater, in Selangor, last year was cancelled at the last minute though they managed to meet their fans in an earlier autograph-signing session.
source: star-ecentral
shared by: sharingyoochun@wordpress
Hehe, there are many kpop fans in Malaysia and singapore...Lots of people didnt show it out, there are no rankings and Medias seldom promote kpop here.Lots of people do listen to kpop music,an example is by seeing your friends MSN's PM songs.Thankfully some music stores, like speedy, tower of records and CD shops which sells imported CD
With the rising popularity of U-Kiss after releasing Man Man Hani,the boys have gained many new fans just over a month!
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