[News] IU is practicing ice skating really hard!

'The nation's little sister' IU is hooked on figure skating practice.

A spokesperson from IU's agency met with reporters on the 4th and expressed, "IU can't set aside specific times to practice, but whenever she can find spare time between her schedules, she is really practising hard."

On May 3rd, IU, together with other celebrities, had their first profile shoot for the SBS Program, "Kim Yuna's Kiss and Cry". Currently undergoing intensive training in ice skating, they are now able to put on their skates and adopt natural poses and give mature impressions. In particular, on this day, IU put on her skates and adopted a relaxed pose while balancing on one foot.

The production crew also revealed, "Initially, IU absolutely could not iceskate, but now her skill has improved so much that she can even balance on one foot." They also added, "She herself is putting in a considerable amount of effort and making quick progress as a result."

It was previously revealed that Kim Yuna, being a fan of IU, also recommended her for the show. According to the PD of the program, Kim Yuna enjoys listening to and singing IU's songs. On an episode of the SBS program 'Kim Jung Eun's Chocolate' broadcasted last year, when Kim Yuna appeared on the show, she sang IU's "Riding on a Train" and considers herself to be an 'IU fan'.

During the shoot on May 3rd, Kim Yuna and IU met for the first time as mentor and mentee. On this day, one of the studios at the Ilsan SBS Production Centre was remodelled into a skating rink to record interviews with the members on the show. It is also rumoured that Kim Yuna showcased her vocal skills by singing IU's "Riding on a Train" again during their first meeting, which lightened the mood during filming. The production crew stated, "Although it was their first meeting, it felt like they had known each other for a long time. There was no awkwardness at all as and filming went smoothly" and "Kim Yuna was quite satisfied with what she saw of the skills everyone had mastered so far."


Translation: squishyblob @ WeHeartIU
Sources: Seoul NTN and DongAh

[News] Miss A will perform "Love Alone" on the ice rink with Yuna Kim

On 2 May, miss A's agency, AQ Entertainment revelaed that from the sixth through the eighth, in the Jamshil indoor gymnasium, miss A will be performing on the ice rink with Yuna Kim, for the "Yuna Kim ice show - KCC Seuwaechaen (스위첸) all that skate spring 2011."

miss A has already publicized online their new song "Love Alone" in the new album which will be performed in the Yuna Kim ice show.

"Love alone" is a pop style trend dance number. It was composed by the famous American producer Fuego. He also composed Jason DeRulo's "Whatcha say," which was number one on the billboard single chart for November 2009.

The lyrics were written by Ursula Yancy, who also wrote Rihanna's "Skin". In order to keep the feeling of the original song, the lyrics were not translated into Korean. So miss A sang it in English.

AQ entertainment also added, "The combination of Yuna Kim's ice show plus miss A's stage means a performance of queens that will make a fantastic stage."

Many netizens said, "We are really looking forward to seeing the meeting of Yuna Kim and miss A, and we are curious what kind of performance will be performed."

In the other hand, miss A's first album including "Love alone" will be published in late May.



Source: Medical Today My Star News 유지윤 reporter: jiyoon225@mdtoday.co.kr)
Translation: Jo Inseok
Video Credit: NaNeunRandy@YT.com
Editing: jbenvenga@ultimate-adora.com
Take out with full credits!

[News] 'Kiss and Cry' PD, "Kim Yuna wanted IU to be on the show"

Kim Jae Hyuk, PD of 'Kim Yuna's Kiss and Cry' which will be broadcasted starting from May 22nd, revealed his reason for casting IU on the show. Through a phone conversation with '10Asia', Kim Jae Hyuk PD said, "Yuna has always liked IU. Even when I first started discussing the show with her, she told me it would be great if she could be on the show with IU. On hearing that, I assumed that the response from IU's side would be good. Furthermore, since IU is the current trend, as long as it is alright with IU's side, there would be no reason for me to refuse."

(The rest of the article was omitted from the translation as the content has already been reported previously.)


Translation: squishyblob @ WeHeartIU
Source: 10Asia via Nate
Original article: http://news.nate.com.../20110502n22512

[NEWS] The cheaper option is inferior? IU vs Kim Yuna!

Such reasoning doesn't seem to work in the advertising industry. Rather than stars who require high endorsement fees, those who require relatively lower fees are producing stronger advertising impacts.

In February 2011, singer IU and Kim Yuna were both chosen as models for Samsung Anycall's Galaxy S series, endorsing the 'Hoppin' and 'Wave II' models respectively, but reactions to their endorsements differed significantly.

According to sources from the advertising industry, IU is worth 200 million won ($185,000 USD) in endorsement fees, while Kim Yuna is worth almost 5 times more, at 1000 million won ($925,000 USD).

However, netizens who have seen the CFs gave responses such as, "No matter how we look at it, as IU receives attention from her uncle fans, she emerges as the winner in this series of advertisements" and "The nation's little sister is now IU".

Kyung Won Sik, Director of Korea's Consumer Mind Strategic Research Institute, explained, "If there is double casting of models, inevitably, such a phenomenon will occur" and "even though you may be advertising for just one brand, from the consumer perspective, their preferences for CF models and content will be divided."

(Parts of the article irrelevant to IU were omitted from the translation.)

Translation: squishyblob @ WeHeartIU
Source: Hankyung via Nate