Koda Kumi has hit yet another major career milestone recently, after winning the Nihon Golden Disk Award for best selling Japanese artist of 2006. Koda has won the award an incredible two years straight, and won by a long shot–which was nothing to sneeze at considering she was up against the likes of pop veteran Ayumi Hamasaki. To do this, Koda sold 3.5 million albums, 2.4 million singles, and a plethora of other merchandise, totaling ¥20 billion. She’s considered one the hardest working women in all of Asian entertainment, so this was most definitely well deserved.
Archive for May, 2007
Koda Kumi, best selling Japanese artist of 2006
Monday, May 21st, 2007Japanese group Morning Musume to add first non-Japanese members
Thursday, May 10th, 2007Popular Japanese group Morning Musume, are mixing things up for the first time in their long illustrious history, by adding the first non-Japanese members to their lineup. This comes, after several semi-secret auditions were held throughout China, in which the entire Chinese countryside was scoured, looking for just the right girls that fit the Morning Musume mold. The two lucky girls, 16 year old Qian Lin, and 19 year old Li Chun were handpicked from the most promising of the lot, and both have been sent for intensive training in dance, singing, and the Japanese language. Producers are wanting them primed and ready as quickly as possible, as they’re gearing them up for a national Japanese debut sometime very soon.
Calvin Klein and Korean star Lee Hyori team up
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007She’s not just a hugely successful pop singer in Korea, but Lee Hyori will be getting an enormous boost of international attention as well, after Calvin Klein recently announced that she’ll be their next model representative for Asia. She will be receiving a quite lucrative sum for such a brief 6 month contract, but the CK brand, well aware of her tremendous influence over Asian teenage fashion, knows that the investment will be well worth the cost. When asked why Lee Hyori was chosen over other attractive candidates, Calvin Klein representatives responded, that when they envisioned their new Asian model, they visualized someone with “a sexy, modern and fresh image,” and Lee Hyori was their top choice..