BTOB (Born to Beat) is a seven-member male idol group from South Korea. The members are: SeoEunkwang, Lee Minhyuk, Lee Changsub, Lim Hyunsik, Peniel D.Shin, Jung Ilhoon and YookSung Jae.Managed by Cube Entertainment,BTOB made its debut on the 21stof March this year with the simultaneous release of two singlesInsane and Imagine.A week after their official debut, the group was featured in the K-pop segments of Spain’s Tele5 TV and Cuatro TV, with the former describing them as the new rising stars of K-pop.
BTOB launched its self-titled mini album Born to Beatin April. This was followed by the release of a special Asian edition of the album in conjunction with their promotional tours in Asia. They last performed in Singaporein May at the global music conference, “Music Matters 2012”.
The group’s second mini album Press Play was launched in September and the lead single, Wow has garnered much attention andpraisefor its ‘90s-inspired “New Jack Swing” sound.
Anthony Neely (倪安东)is aTaiwanese-American Mandopopsinging sensation who began his music career as a participant in the fifth season of Taiwan’s popular reality singing competition, One Million Star. His outstanding performances saw him securing full marks on three occasions. Most notably, his acoustic renditionof Damien Rice’s The Blower’s Daughter impressed the judges so much that they awarded him a total of thirty-three out of a possible twenty-five marks, a first in the competition’s history.
Neely signed on with HIM International Music in 2009 and released his debut album Lesson Onein November 2010. It featuredhis cover of The Blower’s Daughterand spawned popular singles such as Sorry That I Loved You and Nightmares. The album debuted at second place on both the G-Music and Five Music album sales charts in Taiwan following its launch. His latest album Wake Upwas released in February this year and includes the track You Are My Baby from the movie “The Soul of the Bread” (爱的面包魂), which Neely co-starred in.
Liu Li Yang (刘力扬), also known as Jeno Liu, made her debut as a singer in the third season of China’s singing contest, Super Girls (超级女声) in 2006.Her on-stage charisma, androgynous appearance and soulful vocals won her many fans and she clinched the second runner-up spot in the final round of the competition.Shelaunched her debut EP String Puppets with EE-Media in 2007 before joining HIM International Music in 2008. Liu has released three albums in the last four years, I Am Who I Am (2008), Forward EP (2009) and Journey – Songs From The HeartSelection (2011).
Alice Nine is a five-member Japanese rock and visual-kei band founded in 2004. The band consistsof members Shou (band leader and lead vocalist), Hiroto (lead guitarist), Tora (rhythm guitarist), Saga (bassist) and Nao (drummer). Alice Nine has experimented boldly with their visual and music styles since their debut, producing a diverse musical portfolio of tracks ranging from rock and heavy metal to dance,popand even slow ballads.
The band achieved critical success with the release of the track Jewels in March 2007 and was invited to perform with other Japanese bands at the JRock Revolution festival in Los Angeles, California in May. Their October single Tsubasapeaked at number six on Japan’s Oricon Weekly Singles Chartand the band capped a successful year with the November release of their second album Alpha, which sold over 17,000 copies in its first week and clinched the ninth spot on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.Other notable releases include the single Rainbows (2008), which peaked at number three on the Oricon Singles Chartand their fourth studio album Gemini (2011) also ranked number three on the Oricon Albums Chart.
Alice Nine released their latest album 9 in February this year and is currently embarking on their Alice Nine <Court of 9>Live Tour 2012 in Japan.
Raymond Lam (林峰)is a top Hong Kong TVB actor and award-winning singer. Lam made his acting debut in the TVB serial At The Threshold Of An Era (1999) and was given his first leading role in Eternal Happiness (2002). He has since garnered numerous TVB popularity awards and regional acting accolades from Chinaand Malaysia.
Apart from singing the theme songs of the TVB dramasfor which he hadstarring roles, Lam is also a multi-platinum record artiste with Emperor Entertainment Group’s (EEG) Music Plus and has released seven albums to date. His 2007 debut album Love Is Finding You in Memories sold more than 20,000 copies in a week and received the IFPI Gold Disk Award. His sophomore effort Your Love (2008) and its second edition scored a double IFPI Platinum Award. His subsequent works include Come 2 Me (2010), his first Mandarin album First (2011)which reached Quadruple Platinum status and LF (2011).Self-Portrait, Lam’s latest and seventh album was released in August this year.He has won awards at the Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards and TVB8 Golden Melody Music Awards, amongst others.
Lam has heldthree sell-out concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and is planning to hold his fourth concert there next year in January.
