Big Bang to hold “Alive World Tour 2012″ with Live Nation!

Big Bang will be holding its Alive Tour 2012, a world tour which will travel through 25 cities in 16 countries including those in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The tour will launch with the Seoul concerts to be held from March 2-4.

And so, after being crowned as a representative agent of the global K-Pop boom by the MTV Europe Music Awards with the Worldwide Act Award, Big Bang will finally be stepping out to a bigger world to meet with its global fans.

The Alive Tour 2012 is to be hosted with the global entertainment company Live Nation, which is expected to help the group showcase bigger and better stages and performances for its first world tour.

Live Nation is known as the world’s best concert production company, and has steered the world tours of Madonna and U2 to success. It recently took part in K-Pop performances by helping with promotion in one or two areas of America and Europe, but Big Bang’s tour will be its first Asian venture for which it will be investing in, and thus, will put together an exclusive production team.

Alan Ridgeway, president of Live Nation International, told enews through YG Entertainment on February 7, “We’re happy to be the ones to showcase YG Entertainment and Big Bang to K-Pop fans around the world. These concerts will be a great starting point for the Korea branch we found in December 2011, and we expect it will help expand the K-Pop boom.”

Concert director Laurieann Gibson, a creative director active in directing, choreography and acting, has joined the world tour team as the head director. She most recently took the helm of Lady Gaga’s The Monster Ball Tour, and choreographed her hits Poker Face, Judas and Telephone. She also previously worked with such stars as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Beyonce and Katy Perry and took part in MTV′s Making the Band.

Stage and lighting designer Leroy Bennett, who collaborated with Madonna, Paul McCartney and the Eagles, will also be pitching in along with sound engineer Ken Van Druten, who was in charge of the sound for Eminem, Jay-Z and Linkin Park concerts, and the visual contents production team Possible Production, which produced videos for Kanye West, Jay-Z and Eminem.

A rep from YG Entertainment said, “As it’s the first concert through which Big Bang will be meeting with its fans from around the world, we’re preparing to show them the best concert with the best production team. The world tour, which will start with the release of the group’s new album, will be a set of concerts in which you’ll be able to see how much Big Bang has matured in skill.”

Big Bang will be making a comeback 10 months since its last album with its fifth mini album Alive on February 29.

Source: YG-Life & enewsworld.com via bigbangupdates, ibigbang

Gary tries to run through Harry Potter’s ‘Platform 9 3/4′ on Running Man

Leessang‘s Kang Gary had the privilege of going on a vacation to Europe after scoring a triumphant win on Running Man‘s December 25th episode. On February 12th, the show released some footage from Gary’s adventures overseas, one of which included paying a visit to ‘Platform 3/4′, one of the most famous landmarks in children’s literature.

Gary stopped by London’s King’s Cross railway station, where he was then taken to Platform 9 3/4, a secret platform which ‘Harry Potter‘ used as a portal to reach the Hogwarts Express and the world of wizards.

Gary was thrilled at first, but that all changed when the Running Man staff forced him to pass through the brick wall that leads to Platform 9 3/4. They even bought a pair of nerd-like glasses to replicate the very scene in both the book and the movie.

Unfortunately, Gary lacked Harry’s magical ability, and he failed to pass through the wall. Ultimately, the staff had to help him, and Gary managed to pass through…

Check out his attempt below!

Source + Photos: Naver

via allkpop

KARA’s Nicole welcomes SHINee’s Jonghyun to Twitter

Earlier today, we announced the ongoing rumors about SHINee‘s Jonghyun creating his very first Twitter account. The account was created under the ID, ‘realjonghyun90′ which brought some doubt if the account belonged to Jonghyun as there are quite a few accounts named ‘REALjonghyun’ floating out there.

Well it turns out the account does indeed belong to him, unless Nicole is mistaken.

An hour ago, KARA‘s Nicole congratulated the idol for opening up his new account in an unusual way by tweeting, “Opppaaa!!! Welcome, woohoo ham hocks” to which puzzled Jonghyun replied back, “Eh what? Ham hocks?”

Furthermore, Jonghyun finally revealed a 4-set selca upon the request of numerous fans. Along with the photos, he wrote, “Is this pretty or is this pretty?”

Jonghyun seems to be really enjoying the Twitter life. He has been posting non-stop for the past hour. Go and welcome him here!

Source + Photos: SHINee Jonghyun’s Twitter

MBLAQ’s Thunder wants his sister, Dara, to marry late

MBLAQ‘s Thunder has revealed that he’s very protective of his older sister, 2NE1‘s Sandara Park.

On February 13th, Thunder guested on YTN‘s ‘News and Issue‘ alongside his fellow MBLAQ members. During the interview, Thunder was asked about Sandara’s plans for marriage.

Thunder replied, “I want my older sister to marry late.” He continued, “As a younger brother, I want to directly choose someone I approve of to be my sister’s spouse.”

Fans and viewers alike expressed that they were charmed by Thunder’s unique attachment to his older sister.

Source: My Daily via Naver

Se7en wins ‘Inkigayo’ mutizen + Performances from February 12th!

SBS‘s ‘Inkigayo‘ is back once again with a new show full of exciting performances from the artists you adore, brought to you by the lovely IU, and KARA‘s Goo Hara and Nicole.

Aside from the usual stages on tonight’s episode, Ailee takes the stage once more to debut with her new song “Heaven“, while SPICA makes their debut with “Russian Roulette“.

As for today’s comeback stages, Davichi makes their return with “I’ll Think Of You“, while Mariocomes back with “Text Message“, with a special feature from 4minute‘s Gayoon.

Furthermore, Rainbow Pixie bid farewell with “Hoi Hoi“, while Boyfriend also says goodbye with “I’ll Be There“. MBLAQ, too, held their goodbye stage today with one last performance of “This Is War“.

Artists from this week’s ‘Take 7′ include: Rainbow Pixie, Sunny Hill, B.A.P, TEEN TOP, MBLAQ, F.T. Island, and Se7en!

As for today’s mutizen winner, it was Se7en for “When I Can’t Sing“. Congratulations Se7en!

via : ALLkpop

Goo Hara, IU, and Nicole try to shuffle dance on ‘Inkigayo’

On February 12th, girl group T-ara delivered yet another fun stage for their latest song, “Lovey Dovey“, on SBS‘s ‘Inkigayo‘. The energy was so infectious, in fact, that the show’s three MCs couldn’t help but shuffle along to the song!

Goo Hara, Nicole, and IU were caught trying to shuffle dance along with the T-ara members from the MC stand near the stage. Since the girls wore cocktail dresses and kill heels, they weren’t able to carry out the moves completely. Nevertheless, they charmed viewers with their pluck and bright smiles.

If you haven’t seen T-ara’s performance yet, check out the video below!

Grab the Look: Become a “Trouble Maker” this Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, this edition of ‘Grab the Look‘ was inspired by one of K-Pop’s hottest on-stage couples, Trouble Maker!

Cube Entertainment‘s sexy duo — comprised of B2ST‘s Hyunseung and 4minute‘s HyunA — galvanized the K-Pop community with their sizzling choreography and music video. Trouble Maker’s modern spin on secret agent films from the 1960s can also be found in their fashion, which combines classic lines with contemporary patterns.

Hyunseung presented a classic silhouette with his tuxedo jacket, but made it trendy by choosing a bold animal print. To make this easier to wear, go with a less formal silhouette (such as a blazer) and select prints with colors that are more toned down (such as navy blue or black). Doing this also makes the jacket more of a wardrobe staple than a once-in-a-blue-moon piece.

The jacket can be dressed up with a light colored shirt and dark jeans, or dressed down with a graphic tee and sneakers. Finish the outfit with a cool belt buckle to add personality and a great pair of shoes that can go with anything.

Hyunseung’s partner, HyunA, wore a matching animal print in a sexy and seductive shape. Bold and vibrant, this dress can only be worn on special occasions, but it’ll be totally worth it since jaws will drop.

Find a great jacket to cover up the dress when travelling. You should look for a piece with strong construction and architectural lines, but is fitted to help bring out that feminine silhouette and show off the waistline. A cute heart wristlet will keep all your things close at hand while playing with the holiday theme.

Finally, add a fiery pop with red pumps to seal the deal. These are also a great wardrobe builder since they can be paired with other dresses and skirts, or dressed down with jeans.

Valentine’s Day is all about couples, so we’ve got some tips on how to wear ‘couple outfits’.

The ”Trouble Maker” video gives great insight on how to wear couple outfits — the ensembles all play with similar patterns, but are used in different ways to avoid a look that’s ‘matchy matchy’. The key to wearing couple outfits on today’s streets is to keep it subtle and let the details do the talking. Try wearing similar patterns or colors in different parts of the outfit, such as shoes or accessories.

And if you’re single this Valentine’s Day? Follow this style guideline and you definitely won’t be! (Although we hope your date will turn out better than HyunA and Hyunseung’s in the music video).

Happy Valentine’s Day!