[news] SUJU’s Yesung replaces SHINee’s Jonghyun

CR: johnnydorama @ allkpop

Pls credit the sources and all sites when reposting. Do not hotlink the graphics.



NOT Permanently, but just for one performance of Ring Ding Dong on the November 6th episode of Music Bank!

The reason? Because Jonghyun is currently recovering from swine flu and Super Junior Yesung wanted to support his little dongsaengs.

Yesung will sing all of Jonghyun's parts live, which we are highly anticipating. Will Yesung be able to mesh well and keep up with the energetic members of SHINee?

[news] Cassiopeia releases statement about SME’s allegations

CR: delacroix @ allkpop

Pls credit the sources and all sites when reposting. Do not hotlink the graphics.

Members of the Korean Cassiopeia, TVXQ/DBSK's official fanclub, have released their official statement regarding SM Entertainment's press conference regarding legal dispute involving DBSK which took place yesterday. Here is the translated version of their statement:

We 800,000 Cassiopeians would like to announce our official view in this statement. With accusations and allegations flying everywhere, we announce this in order to show the fanclub's official standing on this matter. This statement is made by union of numerous DBSK fan cafes and we present this in the name of Cassiopeia.

First of all, we would like to say that, as fans of DBSK, we support DBSK and will not do anything to betray their trust in us. We will not trust anything besides words that come out of the DBSK members' mouths, and we ask SME to stop actions that are intended to confuse and divide the fans.

We Cassiopeians are very disappointed in SME for holding press conference and releasing signed documents in the name of Yunho and Changmin. As the management company of DBSK, SME must not forget their job and must stop their actions intended to defame the members of DBSK and break the group apart. Also, according the the court ruling made on the 27th, SME must not make deals with third parties in the name of the three members and cannot interfere with individual works or those members. Please keep the court's order.

To everyone who is reading this statement, please remember: the members did not take legal actions because of the issues regarding the cosmetics business. They started this lawsuit because of illegal contract length of 13 years. We fans do not understand why SME is silent about the issue of the contract length and is trying to focus everyone's attention on the cosmetics fiasco. The goal of this lawsuit was to nullify or edit contract between SME and the three members, and we believe that they did not intend to end DBSK or move onto another management company. Also, we would like to address to reporters who sensationalize and create rumours related to this press conference. Please be careful with your sources.

We would like to ask SME one more time to not make the three members' reputation and rights suffer with claims that have never been proven, and we would like to ask the citizens of Korea to stop creating rumours and defame DBSK. We would like to show our condolences toward this controversy.

As Cassiopeians, the fans of DBSK, we will keep our attention focused to the future actions of DBSK and SME. We will continue to side with DBSK. DBSK and fans never doubt.

-- November 2nd, 2009, Cassiopeia, the fanclub of DBSK

[news] MNET responds to MAMA boycott by SM and Inwoo

CR:delacroix @ allkpop

Pls credit the sources and all sites when reposting. Do not hotlink the graphics.



In a phone interview with Money Today on the 3rd, a MNET representative said:

Inwoo and SM Entertainment mentioned that the fairness in selection of candidates was questionable, but that is not true. All candidates were selected fairly through the music charts and data collected on Mnet.com.

If we were to try and exclude artists of certain company, we wouldn't have put artists of those companies on our candidate list to begin with. Also, we would be risking our reputation and fairness if we were to change things just because major entertainment companies disagree with our system. If companies keep complaining about year end ceremonies, then such event cannot exist. The point of this ceremony is celebration by all artists who shined this year with their hard work, so I wish that artists would forget about receiving award or not and just put on an amazing show.


Regarding the fee to vote, the representative explained, "This was done to prevent fans from casting multiple votes on specific artists. It was not done for profit. We are planning on donating profit earned from the voting process back to the music industry."

[news] SM boycotts MAMA

CR: delacroix

Pls credit the sources and all sites when reposting. Do not hotlink the graphics.



Artistes of SM Entertainment will not be taking part in the 2009 MAMA.

SME announced on November 3rd that their artistes including Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee and f(x) will not be attending MAMA. The reason given was that MAMA will be using a process similar to how MNET's music program M! Countdown selects its winners, and SME does not trust the method nor believe that it is fair.

This latest statement comes as SME does not trust in M! Countdown because of what happened with SNSD's massive hit Gee. While the song topped charts of other television networks for 9 weeks in a row, it failed to reach number one in M! Countdown even once. It only made the top 10, one whole month after the song's release date.

SME thus feel that MNET's method of deciding on their winners cannot be trusted.

Also, there is a MAMA-related popularity poll happening on Mnet's website at the moment. The catch is that you must be registered as a paid member of the website in order to cast a vote. SME feels that fans of SME's artistes should not be spending too much money just to cast votes for their favourite artistes and has hence asked MNET to withdraw SME's artistes from the categories for which they are nominated in MAMA.

~~ and to add to this... SHINee is not nominated to any entries!

[news] SHINee says SM is a family

CR:delacroix @ allkpop

Pls credit the sources and all sites when reposting. Do not hotlink the graphics.



SHINee, who recently returned with their 3rd mini-album 2009, Year Of Us and title track Ring Ding Dong, has spoken up on behalf of SM Entertainment.

Joynews24 had conducted an interview with the members of SHINee and asked if they knew about them being called the "puppets" of SME.

SHINee responded with a resounding statement:

That's prejudice against SM Entertainment. SME gives us a lot of say and freedom. Even during our album preparations, they ask us for our opinions. The albums are released under our name and thus it is our music. The public appear to have a predjudice against idols. Just like how the same song, Chocolate Love, can be presented differently by two different groups, SNSD and f(x), we have our own opinion and own colour. The company supports us, no doubt. However, being forced to do something does not and should not happen.

SME helped us a lot in the beginning as we didn't really know what to do. But as we gained more experience, we start to express our opinions. The company reflects our opinions on many things such as the lyrics, pairing of members and our style. Without such supportive environment, we won't be able to sing our songs like we sing them now.


They also expressed their pride in their company:

SME listens to the artists' opinions and everyone is close, unlike other entertainment companies. Everyone respects each other and supports each other, just like you can see in Dream Concert or SM Concert. Artists of SME are trained well from the beginning to the point where people say that SME's artists are very well mannered.


Regarding f(x), a recent rookie group that debuted from SME, SHINee said;

We've seen them since they were trainees but didn't expect them to debut so quickly. Did not think Sulli would be so tall and beautiful, haha. Now we know what it feels like to have juniors, and we can see why groups that are senior to us have been so nice and caring to us. We're following the tradition by giving lots of advice to f(x).

[news] Yunho and Changmin’s fathers express strong disapproval of other members

CR:delacroix

Pls credit the sources and all sites when reposting. Do not hotlink the graphics.

The fathers of Yunho and Changmin, the two TVXQ members who were not involved with the controversial lawsuit earlier this year, spoke up in support of their sons and SME while condemning other three members and their parents. They claim that the dispute has more to do with the trouble that has arisen from the beauty product business rather than mere contractual matters.

Mr. Chung, the father of Yunho, stated:

The two members who did not involve themselves in this legal dispute are the real victims here. They suffered from financial loss, psychological suffering and most importantly they lost their reputation. Who is to compensate them for their losses? I intend to ask the other three members this: Whatever the reason, why do you intend to cause such great controversy and drive DBSK, an international brand name, into a break-up? Do you care at all about the other two members and their suffering?

The beauty product business wasn't something that was supervised by SME. On top of that, the beauty product company itself wasn't very trustworthy. When it was started, I felt that DBSK's reputation could potentially suffer from involvement with that company and advised my son of the issue. He shared my concerns as well, and that is why he did not involve himself in the business. SME later asked the three members to withdraw from the business but their parents resisted unreasonably. Mr. Shim (Changmin's father) and I tried to convince them as well but they simply refused to change their minds. I later learned that the three members took up legal actions against SME without consulting me nor Mr. Shim. DBSK is not owned by those three members only. They ignored not only the controversy that would rise but also the rights of other two members.


Mr. Shim, father of Changmin, stated:

Simply put, the other three members took legal actions against SM because of the beauty product business matter and other reasons which involve their financial gains. What they claim as their reasons, reasons such as unfair contract and unclear profit division are merely excuses to hide the true reason behind their actions. After the three members started the beauty product business, one of the parents called me and told me shenanigans like "This business can be worth millions or even billions in the future. When we tell the media that DBSK has started a business, share price of our company will hit the roof - we will tell you in advance so you can profit from the information."

Three members claim that the contract is unfair and calculations are unclear, but my son and I have read over the contract with SM clearly and agreed to all clauses, from the very first contract through all five revisions that have been made. For every income my son has received I reviewed all of the the numbers. I feel sorry for the three members and their parents as they must know of the truth but they continue to make false claims."

[news] Changmin and Yunho of DBSK support SM Entertainment

CR: delacroix @ allkpop

Pls credit the sources and all sites when reposting. Do not hotlink the graphics.

Yunho and Changmin of DBSK/TVXQ have stated that they are on SM Entertainment's side on the legal dispute between the company and other three members.

They said that they trust SM Entertainment and will be with them in the future. The two also gave a deadline to the other members (Junsu, Yoochun, Jaejoong), expressing that DBSK will come back to promote in Korea next spring, so the other three members must make a decision before the 12th of this month.

The two members' thoughts were delivered through a document compiled by Yunho and Changmin themselves, which stated:

We five members of DBSK signed the same contract with the same clauses for the past five years, and have worked together under same conditions with utmost trust in the company, each other and our dreams. We intend to share our dream and future with the company and keep the promises we made in the contract. DBSK was made by SME and we intend to work as DBSK with SME.

No other company can create DBSK, as only SME can provide the best production and management team available. The three members should know better than anyone else that SME is the one who knows DBSK the best and made us the best. We intend to keep trust and promise and thus intend to stay. DBSK's grand future will be with SME.

We believe that our Korean promotion, planned for next spring, should be prepared at least 6 months in advance before our future as one becomes unclear. If the other three members truly want to stay as one DBSK, they must make a decision before it's too late.

They also commented on the beauty product controversy which sparked this legal dispute between the DBSK trio and SM Entertainment:

The beauty product business changed everything. We are not familiar with the matters but we believe that a legitimate company that seeks to do business with DBSK must consult with SME first. It is common sense. We did not get involved because being such a relationship without SME would have meant that trouble was ahead.

We did not want the reputation and pride of DBSK, earned by our hard work, to be ruined by a company that did not work in a legally respectable manner. We are not aware of the contract between that company and the three members, nor do we know what those members were told or how much they have earned through their deal. What we do know is that the fact that DBSK, forged together for five years by all of our dreams, has fallen into its current state because of an unethical company that is simply unacceptable.

With DBSK crumbling away like this, the current situation is unbelievable. It is sad to see that this was all caused by some beauty product company, and we hope that the three members would come back to the days when we were all working hard for our dreams.

[photo] SM’s “Dinosaur” Gang

CR: kimchisteve @ allkpop

Pls credit the sources and all sites when reposting. Do not hotlink the graphics.



Jonghyun of SHINee had recently posted a photo of him, f(x)'s Amber, and Super Junior's Donghae on his new me2DAY account.

Along with the photo, he had posted a comment, saying "Where am I?" stating that the 3 look very alike.

Netizens have been saying that they have the same eyes, and overall face structure. They have also been saying that the 3 resembled dinosaurs, which gave them the nickname of "The SM Dinosaur Threesome".

I also think that the 3 look very similar in the photo, especially Amber and Jonghyun. Except Jonghyun looks slightly manlier.

SM Entertainment puts Kangin on hiatus

Super Junior's Kangin will go on a hiatus until the end of the year.

SM Entertainment released a statement on the 18th saying, "For now, we don't think Kangin can work as a member of Super Junior until later on. Even his fans are disappointed so until the end of the year, he will take a break to think about what he did."

After two big accidents, netizens are angry at Kangin for his careless actions. It would be difficult for him to return on TV shortly after these events.

The police have talked with Kangin, but a lengthier investigation process is in order.

Kangin did not only disappoint his fans but also his members. Leeteuk wrote short but meaningful things on his minihompy, to show how he's feeling about the situation.

The good news is that he is not leaving the group as of yet. Kangin will just not be part of the groups activities until the end of the year, but who knows how everything will turn out, it is still premature to come to a conclusion.

CR: ISplus + heartfacee @ allkpop