Panda Kun

Hallyu star Song Hye-kyo teams up with Michelle Yeoh from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Memories of a Geisha" fame to target the Asian public.

According to the film magazine "Variety," Song recently signed a contract with Stella Entertainment, located near Taiwan, for her work overseas.

Stella Entertainment was established by Yeoh, Terrance Chang (who produced "Mission: Impossible 2" and "Face-Off") and entertainment agent David Tang.

Variety magazine wrote that "Song Hye-gyo became extremely popular [with the Asian public] after co-starring with Rain in the TV drama, 'Full House.' She also starred in 'My Girl and I,' as well as 'Hwangjinyi.' She was also cast in the director Sohn Su-beom's independent film which was also his U.S.A. debut, 'Fetish.'"

Song also signed a new contract with Eden Nine, the Korean agency representing Won Bin. Won Bin and Song both plan on more active participation in the Asian entertainment industry.

Source: KBS Global

The popularity of young Korean singers are soaring in Asia, especially in Japan.

The Korea Japan Cultural Exchange said it plans to invite some of Korea's most talented artists to the "Hallyu Music Festival" slated to be held September 3 in Shibuya, Tokyo. Among the artists who will likely take part in the special concert are Kim Beom-soo, Wheesung and the group Paran.

Kim, who attended Jiseong's first fan meeting in Japan in May as a close friend, also took part in recording the original soundtrack of the Korean film "Sukmyeong" in Japanese. Kim also plans to officially launch his music career in Japan.

Wheesung, who successfully wrapped up his first concert in Osaka on June 15, also plans to dazzle his Japanese fans with new songs from his latest album due out in September.

Meanwhile, the group Paran, which successfully completed three concerts in May, is quickly becoming a household name with its sweet and heartbreaking tunes.

Source: KBS Global

To praise Hong Kong people's professional attitude towards their jobs, Commercial Radio organised "Hong Kong Klala!" activity, to encourage retail, tourism + hotel, insurance, property and communications industry. Miriam was invited as "Klala Captain", in charge of singing the theme song.

Recently Miriam filmed the music video for the theme song and the studio was filled with her signature laughter. The theme song's message is to promote the ideal of work hard, play hard in different industries, hence the director found many actors who played roles in different industries to perform together with Miriam, including life-guard, SDU member, postman, doctor, nurse. When Miriam sees the SDU member dancing while holding the props gun, or the life-guard making funny poses, she couldn't help laughing a lot of times, totally displaying the work hard, play hard spirit. Miriam said, "Hong Kong people's work hours are long and have heavy work pressures. Therefore I encourage all employees to find fun in work, and can also go sing karaoke with bunch of colleagues after work."

[East Weekly 253] Charmaine Sheh: Still waiting for the best

Credits: http://idlemindsehseh.blogspot.com

The weather on the day of the interview is clear and beautiful just like Charmaine Sheh's coordination. Earlier in the morning she attended a charity function for Sichuan Earthquake victims and rushed over during noon. The moment she sat down, she said: "The hair and makeup stylist haven't arrive yet, so let's do the interview first!"

She is a speedy person, not only her actions are quick, she talks quite fast too. She is clear about her goal and acts precisely.

No? Similar ranking fadan like Jessica Hsuan, Kenix Kwok, Ada Choi etc have either left the competition or faded from Hong Kong scene.

She is still very spirited and sat firmly on TVB 1st sister throne. Her coyness, flirtatious is merely packaging.

"I've always been self-dependent. You can't survive in the entertainment circle if you are weak." She admits that she is willful. Though she is at top of her game, she still lacks the feeling of security.

Popular musician Avril Lavigne has already worked together with pop duo Puffy, and now she will be teaming up with singer Ai Otsuka as well. When Avril returns to Japan for a concert at the Tokyo Dome on September 16, both Puffy and Ai Otsuka will be making guest appearances on stage.

Avril remarked that she wanted her show to be like a "rock party." Puffy was a natural choice as a guest, as she and producer Butch Walker previously worked with the duo on the song "All Because of You," released this past May. Ai Otsuka is said to have been chosen due to her status as a symbol of the "girls rock" scene.

source: tokyograph

"Hong Kong and Sichuan unite, Rebuild new homes" event

Miriam attended a sharing event for Sichuan home rebuilding. She said, "Natural disaster is heartless. The Sichuan earthquake had give me a big impact but at the same time let me understand that human is not just living individuals. Although one person's strength is little, if everyone is towards a same goal, there'll be a big effect. And this does not have difference in places."

Even since the earthquake happened, Miriam had been concerned about the development of the matter and found out from some organisations in what ways she could help.

Miriam continued, "On 30th May I participated in a big scale fund-raising event called 'In the Name of Life'. The organiser arranged for a little girl who survived in the earthquake to read out her experience. She appeared on wheelchair because her legs were covered by tiles for too long and lost the feel. What left the most impression on me was, when the rescuers found her but couldn't get her out immediately

Note: Credit to ELF Philippines for the translation if posted elsewhere. Do not edit anything on this article.

Tall, freshly-shaven and still blooming from a 4-hour sleep, 21 year old Super Junior member Choi Si Won, sohu discovers, has an appeal difficult to resist.

But beyond his looks, what's more charming about this Seoul-born lad is his penchant for his religious acts (Protestant), unconsciously-gestured behavior and for always looking at the bright side of life which inspire his bandmates more.

Si Won in real life has been transformed by love... love for his family and friends. Let's just say that he had his heart broken in the past, but he'd rather not dwell on that. He'd rather concentrate on the good breaks pouring in. "I'm happy when people recognize me. I feel fulfilled everytime they appreciate me."

For Si Won - who says there's nothing like watching the sun rise and set. It's like start of a new day, end of a day well-spent with his loved-ones and fans supporting him.

sohu.com

Source : Mingpao
Translated By: Edward @ http://asianuniverse.net/forums

Tracy Ip says Everything is possible

Tracy Ip was at a promotion event for a sports product yesterday. She expresses that she likes to exercise because it can reduce stress and pressure and discloses that she enjoyed horse riding, golf and bowling the most.
Tracy had been criticized by the reporters directly for only liking expensive sports. She says that she enjoys jogging and cycling too. Although she does not own a bicycle, she will rent it from shops.

Tracy had clarified her recent rumours of purchasing apartments thats worth 300 million HKD again. She expresses that the media have too much misunderstandings regarding this news and says that she is innocent as she did not earn 300 million HKD instantly. She says she paid the mansions in installments and she is still currently doing investments in the stock market. She discloses that she pays a 5 figure amount for the monthly installments of her new mansions and she can afford it herself.

Nicholas Tse, Joey Yung, Charlene Choi (Ah Sa) and Jackie Chan were at the Hong Kong race course yesterday for the "? ? ? ?" event. Jackie Chan appeared as the White prince and was seen chatting a lot with Yumiko Cheng, who had been previously rumoured with him. Joey Yung and Charlene were also very popular with the jockeys.

There were rumours that Nicholas's younger sister Jennifer Tse Ting Ting is going to join the entertainment circle. Nicholas states "She has seen what our parents and myself have been through while working in the entertainment industry yet she still considers to join the circle. One reason would be that she's really interested in the industry. The second reason would be that she has no choice, I don't know how her finance is but maybe she hasn't got enough funds to pay the rent. If she hasn't got any choice then it's right to look for a job"

02 Jul 2008
Translated by: http://www.jaychoustudio.com
Source: Liberty Times

Jay Chou, who is the biggest winner this year with 8 nominations at the GMAs, has a schedule clash with his Wenzhou concert, all he can do is let his "best partner" Vincent Fang go collect the awards in his place.

At last year's GMAs and Golden Horse Awards, Vincent Fang attended in place of Jay Chou, he helped him collect the awards "Best Single Producer" and the Golden Horse Awards "Excellence in Filming for the year in Taiwan", "Best Original Soundtrack", you can say he is Jay's best award collector; this year Jay once again doesn't have time to attend the GMAs, Vincent Fang might have 8 chances to go onstage.

Jay Chou isn't too concerned about winning or losing, JVR Music expect him to get 4 awards, if they achieve this goal, the workers at the concert will hold a celebration party for him after the concert, but he won't celebrate again when returning to Taiwan.