We interviewed Korean American rapper, IZ, a few months ago. Check it out here!

IZ recently came out with a new song called Paper Chaser and all we can say is that it’s smooth and a nice change of pace from his other material.  We can see this song being a nice song to dance to at the club and think the music video is creative.  Check out the music video below and for more info go to: http://454life-ent.com

Big props for Johnny Noh and AllKpop for knowing that Kpop was going to be big and Time Magazine is now recognizing that.  Time interviewed Johnny and others about the growing popularity of Korean pop music.

“Korean artists are now out there,” says Johnny Noh, who runs the (AllKpop) site. “People like [Korean artists] and want to know more about them.”

For many artists in Korea’s booming music industry, social media like YouTube and Twitter have become crucial tools to reach audiences in formerly hard-to-access markets like the U.S. and Europe. Korean artists are bypassing traditional outlets like radio and television, “aggressively steering their efforts to go international via the Internet,” says Bernie Cho, president of DFSB Kollective, a Seoul-based agency specializing in the international marketing of Korean pop acts. “Social-media-savvy K-pop stars are now tweeting, YouTubing and Facebooking their way up music charts across and beyond Asia.”

Source: Time Magazine

Daniel Cho, the talented musician and composer, passed away recently.  He had reportedly drowned while swimming in Lake Geneva in Switzerland.  He was an occasional writer for ESPN’s Soccernet.  The Soccernet staff paid tribute to Daniel in their obit.

Daniel Cho was well-known as a session/touring musician and brilliant composer, most recently touring with Regina Spektor, and previously working with Coldplay, John Mayer and Katy Perry. But ESPNsoccernet‘s army of readers will remember him for his passion for the beautiful game. There is nothing he loved more than writing about football. He launched his own writing career by independently contacting players’ managers and interviewing top Korean players. One of Daniel’s first interviews for Soccernet came back in January 2007 when he quizzed South Korea’s Seol Ki-Hyeon about life in the Premier League, and he later spoke to Tottenham Hotspur’s Lee Young-Pyo about his experiences in the English top flight. He was an admirer of Bill Simmons but wrote in a style that was also all his own – with humour and emotion, and a deep knowledge of the game. He spent hours researching, writing and editing his ESPN posts for the 2010 World Cup. Daniel was also a key contributor for the 2006 World Cup. He said the day the World Cup began was like Christmas morning for him. He loved football because it united the world in a special way – whatever your race, colour or creed, soccer is something everyone can enjoy. Daniel Cho passed away in a swimming accident July 6, 2010, in Switzerland while on Regina Spektor’s European tour. He leaves behind his wife and baby daughter, who were the true loves of his life. Words cannot describe the way he adored his wife and doted on his little girl. If you’ve met him, he’s shown you a video of his little girl. He lived with great passion and was driven to do the things he loved and was called to do, no matter what. He will be greatly missed by all of the lives he’s touched and changed forever. His time here was way too short, and the world has lost not only a huge talent, but a kind and gentle soul. For more information Daniel’s memorial service or to add your thoughts to the family’s memorial book please click here.

Pop phenomenon Wonder Girls have made it into the Billboard charts once again with mini-album “2 Different Tears” released in mid-June ranked 21st on the Heatseekers Albums chart.

The Heatseekers chart ranks top-selling albums “by new or developing acts, defined as those who have never been appeared on the top 100 of the Billboard 200″ or the top 10 of other genre albums.

Ye-eun, a member of the Wonder Girls, wrote on her Twitter, “Did you know that we are in the Heatseekers Albums chart? Nobody took four months to get to the Billboard, and this time it took two months less. Thank you everybody.”

Wonder Girls’ U.S. debut song “Nobody” was ranked 76th in the Billboard Chart Hot 100 in October last year. The group is currently on a nationwide concert tour of the U.S.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Jay Park, the Korean-American kid who once sang in front of thousands of girls in South Korea, has just released a short video of “Nothin’ on You.”  He was formerly of the Korean all boys pop band, 2PM, but he was kicked out and returned to the US.  After hanging out, chillin’ and singing, he did a cover of this song a few months ago and it has since garnered well over 5 million views on YouTube.

Source: AllKpop

Our friends over at MTV Iggy have been covering the Wonder Girls and they’ve got some good material for all you Wonder Girls fans.  Do you know what diet Yubin is on?  Want to see some good video clips of their latest concerts?  And of course some good one on one interviews.  Check it all out at MTV Iggy.

Korean-American and former Korean pop singer Jay Park is set to release a single in collaboration with American artists B.o.B.  Jay Park made headlines in the Kpop world when he left the group 2PM in a controversial move.  He moved back to the U.S. and collaborated on some songs which were posted on YouTube.   It looks like someone noticed and now Jay Park is hooking up with B.o.B. who has a few big hits as of late on the airwaves with “Nothin’ On You” and “Airplanes.”    Jay Park is set to sing vocals on “Nothin’ On You.”  So is this the first time a Korean-American is teaming up with a big rapper on a song?  Check out their music below.

Check out Clara Chung’s behind the scenes video in the making of her recent album at the Paramount studios.  She’s the young gal who made a big splash at Kollaboration in LA.

ESPN decided to do a poll on the best World Cup inspired song since every country has one and guess who ended up #1 by an overwhelming majority.  When I mean overwhelming, they had over 90% of ALL VOTES!!!  That would be Super Junior’s “Victory Korea.”  The next closest song only had 2% of the vote.  Wow!  Check out Super Junior’s “Victory Korea.”  For the results, go to ESPN.com.

Check out AllKpop’s coverage of the Wonder Girl’s tour through the U.S.  Our good friend Cat Chung gets behind the scenes with the Wonder Girls as they performed at the Hammerstein ballroom in New York City.

At the end of the night, allkpop sat down with the Wonder Girls.  Although they had a very long day singing, dancing and meeting hundreds of fans, the ladies still remained gracious and enthusiastic. Their smiles and laughter were so genuine and they welcomed us warmly to speak with them. Check out our interview and photos from the Sunday night NYC show! Stay tuned fans, we’ll be bringing you more exclusives along the tour!

For full coverage of the Wonder Girls, go to AllKpop.com.