K-Pop stars storm Oricon Anew

CHUKKAHAE Hyun Joong~ssi! DAEBAK!!!

By Catherine Deen | oK Pop
Kim Hyun Joong (Publicity photo)
Hallyu stars 2NE1 and Kim Hyun Joong led the latest Korean invasion of Japan's Oricon charts, alongside idol group MBLAQ and girl group SECRET.

Ahead of his anticipated eight-city Japanese fan meeting tour, Kim Hyun Joong's new mini-album "Lucky" debuted at #1 on the Oricon import albums chart dated November 14. "Lucky" sold more copies that week than many other internationally renowned artists including Lady Gaga and Coldplay. This cemented the star's status as a definite Asian megastar. In a press statement, the actor/singer best known for his work on the Korean romantic drama "Boys Over Flowers" stated that his debuting atop the Oricon import albums chart has made him "even happier." It is Kim Hyun Joong's second #1 debut; his initial solo release, "Breakdown," also debuted top the Oricon album charts when it was released earlier this year.

Top row: 2ne1 (SportsKorea), Bottom row: Secret (Publicity photo)

Meanwhile, Korean girl groups 2NE1 and SECRET are leading their own chart on the Oricon daily charts. 2NE1's "Go Away," while not exactly a new song in the girls' native Korea, is the latest release from the YG Entertainment megastars. CL, Minzy, Bom, and Dara blasted into the Top 10 of the Singles Daily Chart at #9, not too shabby a showing for the girls. SECRET, on the other hand, debuted at an impressive #5 on the Albums Daily Chart with their "Shy Boy" album. Hyosung, Jieun, Zinger, and Sunhwa are releasing in Japan a separate Yuletide single, "Christmas Magic," based on the girls' original #1 Korean hit, "Starlight Moonlight."

MBLAQ (SportsKorea)

Finally, holding up the fort for the male groups, we have J. Tune artists MBLAQ. While "Baby U!" debuted at #2 on the Oricon Daily Charts the week of its release a few weeks ago, selling a little over 22,000 copies, what is noteworthy is that more than 23,000 fans greeted Seung Ho, Joon, G.O., Mir, and Thunder at their groundbreaking three-city High Five tour. "Baby U!" also debuted atop Billboard's Japan Animation chart, not too shabby, considering the high chart performance of "Your Luv" atop the Oricon charts when it was released last May.