K-Pop Journalist. Online Editor.
Monsta X’s member Wonho has departed from the K-Pop band amid a string of accusations against him on social media concerning his past behaviour during his pre-debut days. On October 31, the South Korean label announced the news through Twitter in a Korean and English …
Celebrate Halloween differently this year by dressing up like your favourite K-Pop artists. To help prepare you for the spooky day, here are seven outfits inspired by some of the most popular artists around that will make everyone take notice: 1. SuperM — The K-Pop …
A number of K-Pop acts debut every year, vying for a chance to make it big in the highly competitive industry. But D-Crunch — short for Diamond-Crunch — are hitting the ground running and are starting to get a foothold in the K-Pop scene.
Much like their name implies, the hip hop oriented group are proving to be unbreakable through their youthful and hard-hitting songs and performances that can virtually crush the strongest gemstones, diamonds. And it seems to be working; it earned them the Focus Award at the 2018 Asia Artist Awards in just four months since their debut in August 2018 under talent agency All-S Company.
The nine-piece group spoke with Gulf News tabloid! in an exclusive interview before their performance in Abu Dhabi on October 24 as part of Korea Festival 2019.
O.V: First, I was excited as it’s our first time to perform in the Middle East then I thought we should prepare it very well to give the good first impression.
Hyunwoo: An idol group that keeps growing.
Chanyoung: We have changed some parts of our choreography to fit the Middle Eastern culture, and of course we will be doing our best as always so please look forward to our powerful performance!
Hyunwook: ‘M0527’ came out from the thought we always had on the stage: ‘We want to communicate more and have fun with the fans!’ We always write songs based on this idea.
Jeongseung: We usually write songs first. We gather ideas of all the members to write a song, then create choreography of the song.
Hyunwook: I love Bruno Mars’ songs, he’s one of my favourite artists and role models.
Hyunho: I listen to ballads a lot. Especially I like ‘11:11’ of Taeyeon, I feel relaxed listening to this song.
O.V: Recently I’m into ‘Circles’ of Post Malone, who is one of the hottest artists in the US these days. It brilliantly describes the situation of a couple going round and round the same things although they don’t have feelings anymore.
Hyunwoo: I get excited and really enjoy when I listen to songs of OH MY GIRL.
Minhyuk: Paul Kim’s songs make me peaceful. I especially like ‘So Long’.
Chanyoung: I listen to Lee Ba Da’s songs a lot these days, her voice is intriguing.
Jeongseung: I listen to ‘Acid Dreams’ of MAX. I like the mood of the music and lyrics, and it perfectly shows MAX’s unique vocal.
Dylan: I recently got interested in R‘n’B, and listen to songs of Crush often as it’s also good for my vocal practice.
Hyunwook: I’ve grown up listening to Michael Jackson, so I think he’s the artist who influenced me the most.
Hyunho: I love IU’s wide scope of musical skills.
O.V: Dynamic Duo for me.
Hyunwoo: I love the tones of Busker Busker and BOL4.
Hyunoh: Since I’ve started dancing, I put a lot of efforts to be as good as Jimin of BTS and he’s still my role model.
Minhyuk: I love Exo! I started to like Exo when my friends in school showed me a video of their ‘Growl’ performance and it was just so cool, so I even practiced the choreography.
Hyunwook: I heard lamb chop is the must try food in the UAE and I don’t want to miss it!
Hyunho: I want to try kofta, which I was told is really good. Maybe at the restaurant called Abu Shakra, I heard it’s really popular among Koreans.
O.V: I really want to visit Ferrari World, the biggest indoor theme park. It sounds really exciting with all the rides, experiences, and all the Ferraris displayed.
Hyunwoo: I want to see the great view and the Dubai Fountain at Burj Khalifa. I’ve seen a video of the Dubai Fountain show and it looked amazing.
Hyunoh: I’ve always wanted to visit Abu Dhabi and I’m really excited that I’m actually coming.
Minhyuk: I want try lamb chops and hummus. I want to see the leisure side of the UAE as well.
Chanyoung: I want to try all the food of the UAE, but especially falafels.
Jeongseung: I’d like to visit the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It seems to be a really fascinating architecture, want to see both at day light and dark.
Dylan: I hope to have a desert tour in Al Ain. Only a photo of the desert is also very peaceful and beautiful. For food, I want to try machboos.
O.V: First, we will never stop creating our own works, which is a part of our identity, and we will go anywhere on earth to perform so that more people could know of D-Crunch. Also, we would like to try more diverse genres. Please expect more charms of D-Crunch like chameleons.
D-Crunch perform at the Cultural Foundation, Al Hosn, Abu Dhabi, as part of the Korea Festival on October 24. The event is free to attend but prior registration is mandatory at KoreaFestivalUAE.com.
FULL INTERVIEW HERE
K-Pop fans in the UAE were in for a treat on October 17. The weekend kicked off with an unforgettable K-Pop concert featuring Korea’s talented and prolific artists, including boy bands SF9 and Seventeen. Stand-up comedian and media personality, Wonho Chung, welcomed the first artist …
Since the start of their career, SF9 have showcased creative concepts and sonic styles in the K-Pop scene. It’s hard to deny the nine-member male group has a following in the UAE, seen when #SF9inDubai was one of the trending topics on Twitter in the UAE ….
Seventeen is one of K-Pop’s most dynamic groups and most popular boy act. The multifaceted members will take centrestage in Dubai for the first time. Ahead of their debut performance on October 17 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, here are five things you need to know about the all-male pop sensation:
1. They are 13 members
Despite the act’s name, Seventeen consists of thirteen multinational members signed under Pledis Entertainment. The group is divided into three sub-units that focuses on hip hop (Mingyu, S.coups, Wonwoo, and Vernon), vocal (Jeonghan, Woozi, Joshua, DK and Seungkwan) and performance (Jun, Hoshi, The 8 and Dino).
2. They were formed on the ‘Seventeen TV’
During their pre-debut days, the members were part of an online show ‘Seventeen TV’ and appeared on MBC’s reality programme ‘Seventeen Project: Big Debut Plan’. In 2015, they were formally introduced to the K-Pop scene with EP ‘17 Carat’ and bright lead single ‘Adore U’.
3. Their epithet is ‘self-producing idols’
The multi-faceted entity captivated audiences and built a beloved fan base known as Carats for their raw talent, synergy and signature ebullience.
Nicknamed ‘self-producing idols’, the group is known to single-handedly work on their overall production of their discographies — spearheaded by member Woozi — as well as their own choreographies. Some of their hits include ‘Very Nice’, ‘A-Teen’, ‘Home’ and ‘Don’t Want to Cry’.
4. Their latest release is the group’s best-selling album to date
They’ve released a myriad of powerful Korean and Japanese releases, one being their third full-length album, ‘An Ode’ fronted by lead single ‘Fear’. It not only topped the UAE iTunes albums chart but also broke their own record by surpassing 700,863 copies in the first week of sales in on Korea’s Hanteo Chart. This feat has made them the third Korean artist to achieve this following BTS and EXO.
5. They’re on a ‘Ode To You’ world tour
The 13-member outfit kicked off their second world tour in Seoul and performed in two cities for the Japan leg of their tour. After Dubai’s debut performance, the act will continue their ‘Ode To You’ tour in Japan and make stops across Asia before taking their tour to North America next year.
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Seventeen is performing in Dubai as part of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), joining boy group SF9, South Korean actress Ha Ji Won as well as singer Punch and duo Beatpella. Entry to the event is free. Concerts kick off post 6pm.
Client: Gulf News tabloid!
SF9 is a rising K-Pop act consisting of nine well-rounded members ready to conquer the music scene their own way. As part of their brand ambassador duties for ‘Korea Brand & Content Expo 2019 Dubai’, the members are ready to make their mark in the …
Nicknamed the Avengers of K-Pop, SuperM made an electric debut with new track ‘Jopping’ and a self-titled mini-album accompanied by a futuristic music video, which was filmed in Dubai over the summer. Within eight hours of its big Hollywood launch, the music video had already …
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Dubai has officially confirmed to Gulf News tabloid! that K-Pop boy groups Seventeen and SF9, South Korean actress Ha Ji Won as well as singer Punch and duo Beatpella will be flying down to Dubai next month.
The surprising announcement came after Seventeen, SF9 and Ha Ji Won were formally appointed as the official honorary ambassadors for ‘Korea Brand & Content Expo 2019 Dubai’, which is considered one of the world’s largest Korean wave or Hallyu expositions, in Seoul on September 23.
Hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Republic of Korea and organised by KOTRA, the cultural expo is taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from October 17-18.
As ambassadors, the three Korean artists will further promote the growing popularity of the Korean wave, including the cultural phenomenon, in the UAE market and take part in various activities at the event.
Client: Gulf News tabloid!
The remaining SuperM members have arrived down in Dubai yesterday. Following Exo members Baekhyun and Kai’s arrival on Sunday, Lucas and Ten from NCT’s Chinese sub-unit WayV were seen striding Dubai International Airport yesterday early afternoon and were joined by SHINee’s Taemin and NCT 127’s …