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Mimi leaves the Wonder Girls, Replaced by New Trainee
I imagine most of you have already read this news elsewhere but in a surprising turn of events, Mimi aka Sunmi, has opted to leave the Wonder Girls in lieu of continuing her education. She will be replaced by a new trainee, Lim.
JYP Entertainment has announced that Mimi from the Wonder Girls has decided to postpone her musical career to pursue an academic career.
Mimi, the rest of the Wonder Girls members, her family, and JYP Entertainment have collectively decided to postpone her musical career for the time being.
JYP Entertainment said, “Mimi had a truly memorable, once in a lifetime experience while living in the U.S. and touring over 50 cities. We support her decision to pursue an academic career at this time. We will also support Mimi if she chooses to return to singing after her academics are complete. In the meantime, she plans to frequent JYP facilities and continue her dance and vocal classes.”
Mimi will remain with the Wonder Girls in the U.S., continuing with any scheduled performances and activities until the end of February. As of March, she will return to Korea and prepare to focus on her studies. JYP has named 17 year old Lim as the newest member to the quintet. Lim has gone through extensive training at the JYP Academy for three years and is fluent in four languages: English, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese.
At the age of 17, I imagine it was a difficult decision for the young star though I applaud her appreciation for higher learning (if this is in fact the real reason she is leaving the group). Most KPOP stars do indeed have an expiration date, though I’m sure many question if her depature is premature. She’s one of the youngest members of the group but had some potential for growth although it could be argued she was the least noticed of the bunch. Regardless she’s been part of a hugely influential group, especially as one of the first Asian acts to make a sizeable dent in the US market.
We at a-Tunes wish her the best, both in front and out of the spotlight.
Source: AllKPOP
JYP USA 2009 Auditions
According to AllKPOP, JYPE, the famous home to KPOP acts like the Wonder Girls, 2AM, 2PM and more are holding US auditions this October and November.
Interested? Take a look at the following dates & locations:
Audition Categories: Singer, Actor, VJ, MC, Model
Qualifications for Audition: Any resident in US an Canada may participate regardless of nationality or gender. Candidates should be born from 1982 to 2000.
Audition Schedule Stops:
October 25th: Hawaii
October 31st: Los Angeles
November 4th: San Francisco
November 7th: Seattle
November 11th: Vancouver
November 13th: Denver
November 15th: Chicago
November 18th: Washington D.C.
November 21st: New York
November 24th: Toronto
For more information, check out AllKPOP where they have all the details. If you plan on auditioning, a-Tunes wishes you the best of luck!
Jaebeom x Local Seattle News
So, I’ve refrained from writing about Korean-American Jaebeom leaving (being forced out of?) KPOP 2PM and all the drama that followed. While I do admit it was a rather large and complex ordeal, I think nearly every aspect of the situation is rediculously blown out of proportion, including everyone’s reactions to the group.
But I saw this little clip on OMGKPOP where a local news station in Washington actually covered the story..
What really caught my attention was how someone in his house was poking through the blinds and immediately shut them when they realized they were being filmed.
Regardless who was wrong or right, or what happened, it sucks to have to deal with consequences under a microscope.
Wonder Girls CD Now Available for Pre-Order
Fresh off their tour, The Wonder Girls CD is now available for pre-order courtesy of Jonas Brothers Merchandise. JYP’s master plan is all starting to become clear. The dude is a marketing genius.
Two Cents: The Wonder Girls – Defenders of the Universe
After watching the clip of the Wonder Girls goofing off backstage with Jordin Sparks I realized these girls are TINY in comparison.
I mean look at them standing next to Jordin! And they are all roughly the same age! Although to be fair, Jordin is not small by any means but she still completely dwarfs the Wonder Girls. I feel like if all of the Wonder Girls combined into one person then they would almost be the same size as Jordin. Almost.
Maybe they all secretly form to make one single world dominating super star. Wonder Girls UNITE!
Hmmm… Maybe that was JYP’s plan all along.
PS. Did anyone else get the sense that JYP is like a crazy stage dad? Listen to him “encouraging” the Wonder Girls to teach Jordin their dance. It’s like watching parents forcing the kids to do a talent show at a family gathering.
Wonder Girls feature w/ Entertainment Weekly
Bump This has got the scoop on the Wonder Girls being covered and featured on the Entertainment Weekly website. Also, in case you missed it you can get the 30 second preview of their upcoming English release for “Nobody” after the jump. I’m honestly a little excited and a little pessimistic about their US debut & tour with the Jonas Brothers. They definitely have the charm, but is it enough to grab non asian audiences? And if they do alter their image for a western demographic, will they lose their initial appeal?
Wonder Girls <3 the Jonas Brothers
Image Credit: KPOP JJANG
Uh wow, I gotta be honest I did NOT expect this one but various sources are now reporting that JYPE’s little darlings the Wonder Girls will be opening on tour for Disney tween sensations the Jonas Brothers.
I’m not entirely sure where the cross marketing value lies in this endeavor other than the massive new exposure it will bring to the group. I’m gonna be the first to admit that as much as I love ‘Nobody’, I will not be attending any of these tour dates. Too much tween screaming for my tastes but regardless, a great experience for these young ladies as they embark on taking over the world.
It’s a dream come true for every 13 yr old korean american!
News Quickies 5-23-09 KPOP invades US pt II edition
It’s been a little crazy for me lately as I’ve been preparing for 3 performances in 5 days so I’m bringing you another quickie post instead of 10 separate detailed ones. Let’s just say there’s been an influx of minor exposure for the KPOP crossover to the US. I immediately haven’t had a chance to watch everything yet but I’ll post my thoughts later.
Wonder Girls Launch Youtube Channel
OK, so I know every blog in the world has posted this and I didnt pay any attention to it because I didnt think it was news worthy.
I finally watched their launch video and gotta say I’m sort of surprised they did it in english. They had pretty think accidents(“launch-eed on youtube”) but it went pretty… smoothly overall.
credit: every KPOP blog in the entire world
JYP & The Wonder Girls to hold US mini-tour
Ningin has posted information about JYP & The Wonder Girls’ official 2009 US tour.
Details after the jump.
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