Top 10 Most Outstanding Artists Of The Year

The ‘Korea Gallup‘ polls has released the results for its surveys on the most popular K-Pop songs and artists of the year!
The gallup polls surveyed 3,401 Koreans between the ages of 13 and 59. As expected, the top three most favorite songs of the year were IU‘s “Good Day” (3.9%), T-ara‘s “Roly Poly” (3.3%), and Girls’ Generation‘s “The Boys” (2.7%).
Check out the full list below!
1. IU – “Good Day” (3.9%)
2. T-ara – “Roly Poly” (3.3%)
3. Girls’ Generation – “The Boys” (2.7%)
4. CNBLUE – “Intuition” (2.6%)
5. SISTAR – “So Cool” (2.1%)
6. Big Bang – “Tonight”
7. INFINITE – “Be Mine”
8. Wonder Girls – “Be My Baby”
9. Super Junior – “Mr. Simple”
10. Kim Bum Soo – “Please”
The following is the list of the top 10 most outstanding artists of the year:
1. Girls’ Generation – 26.1%
2. Big Bang
3. Jang Yoon Jung
4. Kim Bum Soo
5. IU
6. Im Jae Bum
7. 2PM
8. Park Jung Hyun
9. T-ara
10. Wonder Girls

Some Interesting Facts About Lee Ji Ah’s Family

Lee Ji Ah

Ever since Lee Ji Ah’s relationship with Seo Taiji was made public last April, many fans and press have tried to dig up more facts about this enigmatic woman, who rarely went public with her personal background.

On December 19, local media revealed some interesting facts about Lee Ji Ah’s family background, which largely remained unknown until now. It turns out her grandfather was a business tycoon that made huge contributions in the educational field, with strong connections to politicians as well.

“It is true that Lee Ji Ah is the granddaughter of the late Kim Soon Heung, and he did donate his own land to the Seoul Arts High School,” Key East Entertainment told local media.

According to Chung Dae Chul, a former lawmaker and close friend of Kim Soon Heung, Lee Ji Ah comes from an affluent family background that was wealthy even during the Japanese colonial period. They owned one of the two 6000 sq. ft. houses in the Sa Dae Moon area (the other house was owned by former Korean President Yoon Bo Sun). “Their wealth would be comparable to semi-conglomerate level,” he said.

Kim Soon Heung first made his fortune off his successful silk business. The business later grew huge, and after retirement, he spent the rest of his life on improving Korea’s educational system, as he served as the director of the prestigious Kyung Gi High School and donated land for the Seoul Arts High School.

“Most of the reports are true but we cannot tell you when Lee Ji Ah’s parents moved to the U.S. or how much fortune she personally owns since those are personal matters,” Key East said.Meanwhile, Lee Ji Ah has comeback through MBC drama “I’m a Flower, Too,” after her brief hiatus since the divorce scandal with Seo Taiji.

Britney Has A Ring Fit For A Princess

What do you tell the jewelry designer about Britney Spears when you are creating a custom-made engagement ring? In her new fiance’s case, you don’t talk about her being a “pop princess,” but rather his “everyday princess.”

Brit’s beau Jason Trawick went to celebrity jeweler Neil Lane to come up with the perfect ring for his bride-to-be. “Jason is a romantic,” Lane tells PEOPLE. “When I asked him to tell me about Britney and what the ring would represent to them so I could find inspiration, his response was always the same — she is his princess!”

After their conversation, Lane was hard at work coming up with the delicate design, which he created from scratch, of a tiara-motif sparkler with a round and perfect white diamond in a handmade platinum setting that “looks like a mini crown.” The jewelry designer added 90 small round diamonds around the eternity band. “Jason didn’t want an over-the-top ring with a giant stone,” adds Lane.
Lane and Trawick exchanged phone calls, text messages and emails over the past month about the ring, getting it fit for his “princess.” Once Spears and her main squeeze returned home from her Femme Fatale tour, Trawick stopped into Lane’s Los Angeles store to pick up the ring, which happened less than a week before he popped the question.

“He loved it,” Lane recalls. “The guy was so excited and nervous. At the end of the day, even with all the fame, he’s still a normal guy who was about to propose to the woman he loves. He’s deeply in love with her. Britney is his princess and he is her knight in shining armor. Jason’s protective of her. He adores her. Every good fairytale needs a princess, and now Britney has a ring fit for a princess!”

Believe It Or Not, Machine Gun Kelly Is Hottest Breakthrough MC Of 2011

Hate it or love it, the underdog is on top! Since he first began to make noise with his 2010 mixtape Lace Up, Machine Gun Kelly has worked his way into hip-hop's collective consciousness. It wasn't always pretty (see MGK's August flash-mob arrest or his tiff with Yelawolf), but it's always been passionate.

Now, thanks to that passion, Machine Gun Kelly can stand alone as MTV News' Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2011, it was revealed on "RapFix Live."

The competition was tough, and ever since the fan-driven Hottest Breakthrough poll opened on the RapFix blog last week, Kells was jockeying for the #1 position, fighting off Lil Twist and Mac Miller. A$AP Rocky, Future, French Montana, Freddie Gibbs, Kendrick Lamar, Meek Mill and Roscoe Dash were also in contention, but in the end, it was MGK who held the crown after hundreds of thousands of votes were tallied. When all the math was complete, MGK finished with 44 percent of the vote.

Miller, whose Blue Slide Park debuted at #1 last month, was an early favorite. Twist, who finished in the #2 spot with 39 percent of the vote, proved to be MGK's most formidable competition, thanks to his die-hard fans, Young Money team and best friend Justin Bieber, who all tweeted in support.

In August, MGK appeared on "RapFix Live" and announced that he had signed with Diddy's storied Bad Boy label, but rather than try to force him into the marketplace before his time, it was decided that the record company would continue to grow Kells organically. One of the things that first impressed Puff was Kelly's dedicated fanbase, the same one that voted him the Hottest Breakthrough MC.

"He has just such a movement, just hundreds and thousands of loyal fans that came from the place he came from in different parts of the country,"Diddy gushed during that "RapFix Live" appearance. "He wasn't always the coolest kid in school, and just the process of growing up and the problems that they all encounter, they relate to him in such a way."

Influenced by DMX, Cleveland's Machine Gun Kelly began battle-rapping around 2004 while he was still in high school. His passion grew from the corner ciphers to the studio, where he would lay tracks for his 2006 mixtape, Stamp of Approval. Back then, the MC (who got the Machine Gun part of his moniker because of his rapid-fire raps) was just getting his feet wet. In 2010, MGK would drop two mixtapes, 100 Words and Runnin' and, his most notable tape, Lace Up. From there, the energetic spitter would develop his following thanks to his spirited live performances.

From the very beginning of the competition, MGK had his eyes set on the #1 spot. "To be considered for the Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2011, it's obviously an honor, but I want to be the hottest. I've never been comfortable with sharing anything: I was a single child," Machine Gun Kelly said on "RapFix Live."
Congratulations, MGK!

Lady Gaga Light Up Z100 Jingle Ball

Without skipping a beat, Z100's annual Jingle Ball kicked off at exactly 7:30 p.m. Friday night to an arena full of screaming fans. The head-turning lineup featured Demi Lovato, Kelly Clarkson, LMFAO, Pitbull, Foster the People, Mindless Behavior, the Script, David Guetta, Gym Class Heroes and Lady Gaga, who brought some of the year's biggest hits to the Madison Square Garden stage.

ZI00's Elvis Duran and the Morning Crew personally came onstage to introduce the night's most-anticipated performance.

"Years ago, there was a young girl in the audience watching the Z100 Jingle Ball [and] she told her mom she wanted to be a singer," Duran said to the squealing concertgoers. "Three years ago, she opened up the show with her hit Just Dance. It gives me pleasure to say that a lifelong Z100 fan has now become one of the most important artists of our generation."

With the crowd chanting "Gaga," the New York City native opened with Edge of Glory. But in true Lady Gaga fashion, she didn't appear onstage right away. Instead, she emerged from a Christmas tree mid-song, decked out in a studded leather outfit. She then belted her way through "Bad Romance."

"When I was 11, I came to this very concert and told my mom I wanted to be a singer, and guys ... here I am," she said, launching into "Just Dance."

"Some people thought I was just going to be a one-hit wonder," Gaga continued as she moved on to mega-hits "Poker Face," "Telephone" and "Judas."

The pop diva then paid homage to the holidays with a naughty rendition of "White Christmas," gyrating her way across a holiday-themed set, complete with antlers, Christmas trees and lights.

Mother Monster danced through "Born This Way," before closing out the show with her latest, the Fernando Garibay-produced "Marry the Night", for which she channeled the video by changing into a a hospital gown and carting an IV stand onstage. As the song ended, fireworks went off and red confetti shot out all over the jubilant crowd.

Jingle Ball 2011's stellar lineup was more than just Gaga, of course.

During a short break in the show, fans took to their phones and begantweeting furiously in anticipation of another act: Demi Lovato. Finally, after what seemed like years in tween time, Big Time Rush introduced the 19-year-old, who took the stage looking classy in an all-black, gem-studded blazer.

Lovato, joined by her backup dancers, opened with "All Night Long," and followed up with her new single, Give Your Heart a Break, to the delight of screaming Lovatics. Demi turned serious, though, for her comeback ballad "Skyscraper," and the whole room sang along. She closed out her set by ripping off her blazer, all the better to shimmy to and sing the finale, "Unbroken."

"Thank you guys!" she told her adoring fans. "You all have been so amazing!"

Turns out Kelly Clarkson, who took it back with her massive uptempo hit "Since You Been Gone," is also a Lovatic. "I've been waiting for a long time to do a duet with Demi," Kelly said. "Wow, she can sing her butt off!" she added as Demi returned for the classic "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Needless to say, the two power singers ... killed it. (Lovato has long cited Clarkson as an inspiration.)

Clarkson then switched gears, dipping into her latest album, Stronger, for the sassy "Mr. Know It All," and chart-toppers like "My Life Would Suck Without You."

Gym Class Heroes opened with their staple "Cupid's Chokehold," but the hip-hop/rock band also rolled out numbers from their new album, The Papercut Chronicles. They said goodbye with frontman Travie McCoy rapping his solo hit "Billionaire," as the crowd eagerly sang Bruno Mars' hook.

Reality star Khloe Kardashian was one of the night's guest hosts, and she told MTV News she has "a passion for music." Dressed in LMFAO-approved leopard tights, Kardashian introduced the electro-pop duo, who were short one party-rocker. "SkyBlu couldn't be here with us tonight because he hurt himself wiggling," RedFoo explained.

Although he was without his partner in crime, RedFoo held it down, kicking off with "Sorry for Party Rocking" as he danced with two giant plastic zebras in the background. Foo went on to perform "Shots Shots" and "I'm in Miami" (a New York version, of course). He finished up with explosive -- there were fireworks -- versions of the LMFAO hits "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It," as fans wiggled in their seats.

Youtube sensations Karmin also performed -- but not onstage. They surprised everyone by rocking right in the crowd.

Kim Hee Chul Will Collaborate With An Underground Hip-hop Group?

It has been reported that Super Junior’s prettiest member, Kim Hee Chul will collaborate with an underground hip-hop group, Defconn. Such collaborations, where an idol member is working with a hardcore rap group, is the first in K-pop history. Their joint effort will be displayed through the song “King Wang Zzang”, set to release end of this month (11/30). Apparently Kim Hee Chul is not only featured in the number, but he also helped write the lyrics.

I’m not sure about anybody else, but I was dumbfounded when I first encountered the news and had to mull over it for a couple of days before writing about it. All snarky jokes and mean commentary aside, is Kim Hee Chul seriously suffering from a multiple personality disorder?

According to wikipedia, “[multiple personality disorder] diagnosis requires that at least two personalities routinely take control of the individual’s behavior.” Any K-pop fan would agree that Kim Hee Chul has at lest three distinct personalities that we are all familiar with.

It appears self-evident that Kim Hee Chul may be suffering from a multiple personality disorder. Despite that fact that seeking a shrink to relieve such psychological disorder is not the norm in Korea, I think we should all do Kim Hee Chul a favor and recommend the best shrink money can buy. Better yet, we should set up a donation fund so the boy can address these issues.

Trace Adkins Ready to Co-Host 2011

Trace Adkins says he expects nothing but smooth sailing and lots of fun when he co-hosts this year’s 2011 American Country Awards with Kristin Chenoweth, which will air live on FOX on Monday (Dec. 5) at 8PM ET.

Although Adkins was visibly nervous when he hosted last year’s inaugural fan-voted award show, he feels more in the groove this year. Not only is that because he has one hosting gig under his belt, but this year’s he been very involved in pre-production for the show. “Last year was the first time that I had ever done that,” he tells Billboard. “I had done a couple of CMT things before, but they were very controlled and very structured. I was very anxious and apprehensive coming into it, but after an hour or so, I thought ‘I can do this.’ I calmed down and settled into it. This year, it’s more of a sense of looking forward to doing it. I did have a lot of fun doing it.”

Although Adkins says he hasn’t worked with Chenoweth before, he thinks the pairing will be a good match, and somewhat comical, too, since she stands just under five feet tall and he reportedly stands about 6′ 6″ tall. “As far as I know, they’re not making any special provisions,” he says of the height difference. “Maybe somebody will have to carry around an apple box for her. I’ve seen her on television, and I’m aware of who she is. She’s very funny, very pretty, and very petite, so it would be a huge contrast.”

Toby Keith will perform the network debut of his song ‘Red Solo Cup‘ during the show. Other scheduled performers include Scotty McCreery, Blake Shelton, Pistol Annies, Thompson Square, Eli Young Band and the Band Perry.