[News] JKS promotes new album & reveals ideal girlfriend type is Shu Qi

“You are Beautiful” made Korean star Jang Keun Suk popular throughout Asia. Outside of acting, at times seductive and at times cute, he continues to win hearts with his pretty boy image. Two days ago, he was in Shanghai to attend HS Media’s contract-signing press conference and to launch his Asia Tour 2011. The event venue, IFC Mall, was packed with nearly 2000 fans who were there to catch a glimpse of their idol, testament to Jang Keun Suk’s popularity.

The first present he is giving to Chinese fans is the upcoming release of his first single in China and Asia – “Lounge H the 1st”, and on 9 July, he will be back in Shanghai as a singer. Being the norm in showbiz for actors to venture into singing, Jang Keun Suk manages the transition even more smoothly as firstly, he had recorded two songs before while hosting a regular music programme previously, and secondly, attentive fans would have discovered that his roles are often related to singing as the band leader. But when JKS chose to announce in Shanghai the news of his first EP “Lounge H the 1st”, the crowd almost went wild with excitement.

While in China, he used Chinese and even Shanghai-ese sweet sayings to bridge the gap with fans, and reveals that the female Chinese artiste he admires most is Shu Qi. He even asked reporters for the latest update on Shu Qi, and when he learnt that she is rumoured to be romantically linked with Eddie Peng, he pretended to be jealous.

According to Jang Keun Suk, this album contains the essence of the best performances of JKS and his music partner Big Brother. The hit song “Gotta Get Cha”, with its strong melody and rap, creates a contrasting atmosphere of mass appeal and individuality. “Shake it” is a song that surprises the listeners with sharper elements and alternative music. The other two songs in the album are “Run Away” that shows off JKS’ rap part and “Victory” that is full of Big Brother’s distinctive personality.

“This album released in China is different. The album that I released in Japan is of a band style similar to my image in my previous dramas. Within a short time, pre-order sales had exceeded 100,000 – it still has more mass appeal. This album is a special attempt by Big Brother and me to share our music with everyone; this is a gift in reciprocation to Chinese fans.”

JKS adds that the whole album contains different elements, and the album name “Lounge H the 1st” represents his origin. “ ‘H’ refers to my school – Korea’s Hanyang University. My first stage performance was at Hanyang University, ‘Lounge H’ is to commemorate my first performance. After that, I used the name ‘Lounge H’ many times for my personal performances and some related charity performances. Gradually, ‘Lounge H’ has become synonymous with my performances.”

Inviting good friends Kim Hee-chul and Lee Hong-ki to Shanghai stop

Last year, JKS had completed his tour in Asia. The new Asia Tour 2011 will see breakthroughs and differences to last year’s. As to whether he will invite friends from showbiz to perform in his Tour, JKS mentioned two equally popular names in Asia. “If I invite friends from showbiz, it would be Lee Hong-ki of FT Island and Kim Hee-chul of Super Junior. If they can come, I’ll be very happy. A pity they are too expensive. But I am more expensive than them (laughs).”

Pretty boy loves Shu Qi, won’t announce romance

From opening Sina account in China to saying “I love you” in Shanghai-ese, one sees the importance of the Chinese market to JKS. At the recently concluded 15th Global Chinese Music Awards, Jang Keun Suk won the “Most Influential Korean Artiste” award with an overwhelming vote over Hyun Bin and Kim Hyun Joong, thereby increasing his confidence. JKS said frankly that he hopes to develop his career in China, and especially looks forward to collaborate with good movie and music producers. JKS is not unfamiliar with the Chinese entertainment circle – amongst all the actors, he loves Jackie Chan best and he has seen many major Chinese films.

The topic turned to female artistes and without hesitation, JKS told reporters that his ideal type is the naturally frank, beautiful and sexy Shu Qi. He even asked for her latest updates and when he heard that Shu Qi is rumoured to be romantically linked to Eddie Peng, JKS opened his eyes wide and asked agitatedly “Is it Wilbur Pan?” He also pretended to be jealous, and laughed shyly. Although he was only joking, it stirred the media’s curiosity towards his love life. JKS said that even if he has a girlfriend, he will not make the relationship public. “I will not make public the relationship in order to protect her. I don’t want her to be under so much stress, and it does not bring any benefit to our relationship.” JKS said that he has not been in a relationship all these years as an artiste, and seeing that no one believed him, he laughed.

From the domineering role in “You are Beautiful” to the comic character image in “Marry me Mary”, JKS said the change in image is due to the drama. “I wanted to be closer to the musician character in the comic. The role in my upcoming movie is even more cute. To complement my character, I’m dieting and keeping my hair long.”

To many people, this looks the same – Jang Keun Suk is an idol with a pretty boy image. But JKS denies this. He emphasizes to the reporters that he is not an idol. He did have a vain streak in the past but he’s slowly getting rid of that. His work (acting) is everything to him. We wonder whether this kind of pretty boy will find his position in China?

Credits: Daily News
http://www.ahradio.com.cn 2011-04-19 11:11

[新闻]11.04.19张根硕宣传新专辑 自曝舒淇是理想女友类型

张根硕宣传新专辑
　　新报记者|丰彦|文|朱良城|摄

《原来是美男啊》让韩星张根硕红透亚洲，戏外的他时而妖媚时而可爱，同样以“美男”的风情掳获人心。日前他抵沪签约经纪公司HS Media启动全亚洲演艺活动，即将发行的首张EP专辑《蓄势待发第一击》就是第一份送给中国粉丝的礼物，7月9日还将来沪真正以歌手之姿开唱。对于中国，他以中文甚至上海话的甜言蜜语拉近距离，直言最欣赏的女艺人是舒淇，还向记者追问舒淇的近况，得知舒淇正与彭于晏闹绯闻，他甚至撇嘴装吃醋。
张根硕日前在商场举办记者会，近2000名粉丝为见偶像一面，将整个商场包了里三层外三层，抬头望去四层楼全是人头——足见张根硕的人气。其实，演而优则唱是娱乐圈通畅的惯例，不过张根硕歌手身份似乎更顺水推舟，一来曾经固定主持音乐节目的他也玩票地录过两首歌，二来细心的影迷总能发现他所主演的角色常常与乐队主唱脱不了干系。不过当张根硕正式举起麦克风，选择在上海首度公开自己即将发行的首张EP专辑《蓄势待发第一击》，满场粉丝还是陷入了几近疯狂的状态。
据张根硕介绍，这张专辑汇集了他和他的音乐伙伴Big brother多个表演中的精华，专辑主打曲《gotta getcha》以较强旋律及强劲说唱营造出一种既大众又有强烈个性的两种不一样的氛围。《shake it》则是整个曲子里面夹着的一些较尖锐、另类的旋律给听众带来震撼。另外专辑中还有强调了张根硕独特的说唱部分的“run away” , Big brother的个性鲜明的“Victory”等。
　　 “在中国发行这个唱片是相当不同的，此前我在日本发行的专辑与自己在之前电视剧中的形象比较相似的，是以乐队的形式，短短时间预售已经超过十万张，看来还是比较受欢迎。而这张我与朋友Big Brother自己做的特别尝试，将我们的这种音乐感受分享给大家，这张CD是回馈中国歌迷的礼物。”
张根硕表示整张专辑加入了很多不同元素，而专辑名称《LOUNGE H the 1st》也代表了他出发之地，“‘H’指我的母校——韩国汉阳大学，我把第一次的舞台演出献给了汉阳大学，‘LOUNGE H’也是为纪念我那场处女秀。此后我多次用‘LOUNGE H’这个名字举行自己的个性演出以及相关的一些慈善表演，无形中‘LOUNGE H’变成了我表演的代名词。”
想请好友金希澈、李弘基助阵上海巡演
　

　　去年张根硕在亚洲做过一轮巡演，当天启动的新一轮亚洲巡演则有极大突破和不同，在圈内人缘甚好的他会不会邀请一杆好友来参加新的巡演，张根硕提到了两个同样红遍亚洲的名字：“如果我要邀请圈内好友的话，会是FTISLAND的李弘基和SUPER JUNIOR的金希澈，如果他们能来捧场的话我会非常高兴，可惜他们太贵了，虽然我比他们更贵(笑)。”
　　美男爱舒淇 恋爱不会公开
　　要在中国开微博，用上海话说“我爱你”，可见中国市场在张根硕眼中分量极重。在刚刚结束的第15届全球华语榜中榜颁奖礼中，他力压玄彬和金贤重，获得“亚洲影响力最受欢迎韩国男艺人”，更让他有了底气。张根硕坦言，自己希望能在中国市场中有所发展，尤其很期待能与中国优秀的影人、音乐人合作，擦出不一样的火花。对中国演艺圈他并不陌生，他说所有演员中成龙是他的最爱，中国很多大制作片子都看过。

　　谈到女艺人，张根硕不假思索地告诉记者率真自然又美艳性感的舒淇是自己的理想型，还追问自己舒淇最近的情况，当听到舒淇正与彭于晏传绯闻，张根硕瞪大了眼睛，激动地乌龙发问“是不是潘玮柏？”最后，更是撇撇嘴表现出吃醋的一面，有些害羞地笑了。虽然这反应只是玩笑，倒是引发了大家对张根硕自己的感情世界的猜想，张根硕坦言自己有女友也不会公开：“为了保护女方我是不会公开的，不想她承受太大的压力，对我们的感情也没有好处。”说到这里，他还自爆从艺多年自己从来没谈过恋爱，见无人相信自己笑开了花。

从《原来是美男》强势形象到了《玛丽外宿中》的漫画形象，张根硕说形象的改变是为了戏路：“我要贴近漫画里的音乐人角色，正筹备的电影就更可爱，现在我为了配合角色正在减肥留头发。”然而在很多人看来这其实都一样，他就是顶着花美男帽子的偶像。可是张根硕并不承认，他跟记者强调自己不是偶像，从前曾有过的爱美之心也在慢慢消磨，作品才是他的一切。不知道这样的美男，会不会在中国找到自己的位置？

稿源： 天天新报