Japan’s Sankei Sports emblazoned its Wednesday edition with the headline “Asia No. 1, 2PM to debut in Japan.”
The six-member JYP Entertainment stalwart will make its official Japanese debut in November in a move largely seen as an attempt to capitalize on the resurgent interest in K-pop through the recent success of Girls’ Generation.
To kick off their first venture into foreign territory, the band is set to release a music video DVD containing seven of their biggest hits on Nov. 24, awkwardly titled “Hottest-2PM 1st Music Video Collection & The History.”
Following the DVD release, the band will hold a meet-and-greet with fans at the Ryokoku Kokikan ― a sports arena known to host sumo events ― in Tokyo on Dec. 8.
That event will also coincide with the release of the Japanese version of the group’s 2009 album “01:59PM.”
The band is set to release a new album next spring.
Over 10 record labels in Japan reportedly entered into a fierce bidding war for the band according to Sankei Sports.
The winning bid was made by Ariola Japan ― a subsidiary of Sony BMG.
“It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say it is rare to find artists like (2PM) who have the looks, quality of music, vocal talent and phenomenal dance performance anywhere in the world,” a spokesperson for the Tokyo-based record company was quoted as saying.
Earlier this month, K-pop began enjoying something of a rebound in Japan.
Girls Generation’s sensational debut in previous weeks had the media pouncing on every bit of news coming out of SM Entertainment’s camp.
It all began with the nine-member group’s performance at Tokyo’s Ariake Stadium on Aug. 31 which attracted a reported 22,000 fans.
“Genie,” the group’s debut Japanese single, notched a top five debut and climbed as high as No. 2 on the Oricon charts.
No doubt, a cavalry of K-pop artists will look to ride on their coattails by scrambling to enter the lucrative Japanese music scene.
This resurgence comes at a time when members of popular bands like TVXQ have been abandoned by their Japanese management companies.
AVEX, the company that represents Micky Yoochun, Xiah Junsu and Hero Jaejoong announced last week they would halt all promotional activities for the group.
Source: The Korea Herald
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