- February 12, 2011 -

TOTAL PHOTOS: 9

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MTOWN LIVE In TOKYO – Confirmed!
It has been decided that 「SMTOWN LIVE in TOKYO」 will hold its first performance in Tokyo. The stages of SM ENTERTAINMENT’s artists, who are active all over Asia, will begin at SMTOWN LIVE and this is the only place where you can see collaborations between the artists. It is a large-scale music festival where you can enjoy all the diverse stage performances by all the artists.
Please be sure to come down.
Information on the concert and the purchase of tickets will be available at 9am, 8 December 2010 (JST), at the URL below, so please stay tuned.

http://tickebo.jp/201012-02_smtown/

Please understand that there will be no pre-sale ticket bookings for any artist’s fan club.

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Source: Bigeast
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On the November 8th, MTV Taiwan’s Top Entertainment show covered SHINee‘s recent visit to Taiwan.
Among some of the things shown was an announcement saying that SM Town will be making a stop in Taiwan next year!
The show talks about how SHINee went out for Taiwanese food and they love bubble tea and noodles before their first fan meeting. Although one of the members had to sit and sing because of a foot injury, the presence of so many fans made the boys very emotional.
The show mentions how the fans were being really creative in trying to draw their attention and some were even wearing Korean clothes.
Of course, they also covered how Jonghyun cried during the meeting and the Korean media has said that it was because of the pressure he’s under but MTV Taiwan believes it was because of the warmth of the fans. All five said they want to come to Taiwan next year.

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Asia’s most popular group Super Junior celebrates 5th anniversary of their debut.

They first appeared on November 6th 2005 through SBS Inkigayo. Since then, they have become Asia’s super star through various activities. Super Junior will hold their 5th year anniversary party in Korea College, Seoul on the 6th. Let’s take a look at the activities they had for the past 5 years.

▶Multi-talented entertainer group’s ‘separately and together’ strategy

Super Junior is made of multi-talented members who work in various areas as actors, MCs, DJs, gagmans, composers and models in addition to working as singers. Since the debut, they had a catch phrase ‘separately and together’ and performed various activities. Many were suspicious of this strategy. But now, it has become a trend.

Siwon, Heechul, Kibum and Donghae are working as actors, while Leeteuk, Eunhyuk and Shindong are working as radio DJs and are appearing various variety shows. Kyuhyun, Yesung, Sungmin and Ryeowook are actively participating in musicals and OSTs.

▶First to introduce unit system

Super Junior is a pioneer in introducing unit system to Korean music industry. Along with their ‘separately and together’ activities, unit system was also unfamiliar. However, it has now become aground breaking system that other singers have also tried this system.

Starting with the ballad unit, Super Junior-K.R.Y. made up of Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung who have great singing abilities, there was also Super Junior-T who was the first showcase trot as idols. Super Junior-M worked in China and achieved grand slam at Chinese award shows. Lastly, Super Junior-Happy showcased bright and fun music. The group transformed itself through various genres and performances that their diverse music and charms received recognition.

▶Breaking records in Asia

Super Junior is receiving overwhelming interests from all of Asia.

Also, the fourth album Miinah released this year is expected to have their highest CD sales. The album has been ranked number one for 22 weeks on KKBOX.

Moreover, Super Show 2 which was held in 9 cities in Asia for a total of 15 shows had cumulative audience of 2,000,000. Their third Asia tour, Super Show 3 will be held in 13 cities in Asia for a total of 16 shows.

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Source: Sports Chosun
Translated by Minnie @ SUJUISM.BLOGSPOT.COM

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So what really happened with SNSD and Super Junior when a plane was specially chartered for SMTown?

All of the artists from SMTown World Tour of whom you saw in the Incheon Airport, will appear once again on the MBC Chuseok Special ‘Good Day’ aired on September 24!

On the plane trip to Los Angeles, Leeteuk and Yoona took over the commentary for the ride, whereas Eunhyuk, Heechul and Kyuhyun immediately went to sleep after boarding. People who kept watching them were Kangta and Kim Min Jong, who also transformed into flight attendants that day.

Other than that, SNSD’s respective ways of passing the plane ride will also be revealed, with Sunny playing games, Seohyun organizing her scheldue, Sooyoung watching a movie and Tiffany reading a book.
The show will be broadcasted on September 24 9:30pm.

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Original source: Newsen
Chinese Translation: lolipop0621@fanyhii.com
English Translation: heart_beat327@Super-Legacy.com

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Worthy of the name of ‘Korea’s Best Boy Band’, specializing in all 18 arts of variety. Full of ‘points’, with accurate all-kill skills, the Super Show-hand which had no boredom for three hours straight!

In a sea of sapphire blue light, performing in the Seoul Olympic Stadium, Super Junior started their concert with their hit song ‘Sorry Sorry’ among blasts of fireworks on a unique stage, blinding the eyes of all that were watching!

Members took turns hanging from metal wires five yards above the air, and when they were performing ‘No Other’, Leeteuk and Sungmin flew into the air amidst spurts of bright fireworks and moved to the center of the stage to throw flowers and confetti at their fans, and even before the fireworks were over, the pretty boys floated around like angels appearing out of nowhere.

Besides the extended stage that allowed the boys to get closer to their fans, the stage directors Shindong and Eunhyuk designed countless stages using the elevator that brought them up to the stage, making them ‘appear out of nowhere’, as well as riding around in carts to interact with their fans, these ideas making it so that there was no awkwardness whatsoever within the first half hour of the starting of the show. The 10 boys who were full of ‘dance’* power did not forget about their personal talents, with Heechul banging on his drums and Sungmin playing the guitar, they put their entire heart into performing their 34 songs, proving the fact that they indeed are idol singers.

*A Cantonese pun; it doesn’t make sense when translated into English.


Laughing point! Super Hilarious!

Seeing the members work to make everyone laugh is a sure hit of their concert. Last time, they danced ‘Gee’ and that wasn’t even enough, this time they just decided to play it big and transform into Beyonce and Lady Gaga! Heechul, who is known for his determination and slogan of ‘If I do it, I might as well do it to the best of my ability’ completely changed into Lady Gaga, with the fishnet tights and fiery red lipstick- the best thing was, he looked even better than the original! Compared to the beauty of ‘Lady Heehee’, Shindong’s ‘Shinyonce’ won the laughter of the fans, working with Eunhyuk and Donghae and their exaggerated M-shaped leg movements, they caused their entire stadium burst out into laugher. The colourful variety did not just end there, as the trot-specializing Super Junior T sang their new song ‘Tok Tok Tok’ (Knock Knock Knock) and made everyone laugh until they had no air left. The idols seemed to throw their image away and made everyone laugh, and afterwards they put on a performance of ‘The Terminator’ and ‘Ninja Assassin’, extending the laughter coming from their fans. The funniest part of the show was definitely the ‘fruit basket’, where the 10 boys appeared dressed up as vegetables, and upon seeing the pretty boys dressed up as life-sized bean sprouts, chillies, grapes, onions, and more, it was definitely a new sight to see. The members who reached the high point of their concert with their fans gave it their all on the stage, joking around with each other, spraying dry ice, and attacking each other with water, exposing their playful sides and their brotherly bonds, bringing warmth within explosive laughter.


Crying point! Super touching!

Kangin entered the army in July because of his drunk driving incident, Super Junior especially designed a stage using 3D technology to have a ‘reunion’ with him. In the video message*, it showed leader Leeteuk crying while declaring that he would protect everyone as they waited for Kangin to return from the army. At this moment, there was a crying noise, and looking back, the ELF (Super Junior’s fanclub) were already streaming tears to make a river. This type of crying, it is seriously no lie.

*There was actually a song title, but I didn’t know how to translate it into either romanized Korean or English.

After the sad moment, Super Junior KRY’s best singers Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, and Yesung once again drew out their talent – R&B method of luring tears out, the princes of romance’s soothing voice entering the ear and shaking the heart; Yesung who had been chosen by SM Entertainment as the best singer in Super Junior sang his OST ‘It Has To Be You’, showcasing his sturdy singing skills, and ‘Little Prince of Singing’ Kyuhyun, who was all dressed up in a suit, and Ryeowook with a high-pitched but soothing voice performed as well.


Exposing point! Super sexy!

Summer has arrived again, besides the heavy-bodied Shindong who isn’t in a position to showcase his body, the other nine boys let their fans have a large serving of ice cream. Of course, there was definitely Siwon who claims ownership of the best body. The entire point of the stage outfits was to let the fans have their money’s worth of looking, and Siwon showed off his tight abs and chiseled stomach muscles, presenting a gift of chocolate abs to the fans, as well as swelling chest muscles, and even causing a ripple effect when he ripped his shirt off his back. It was definitely something worth seeing*, and the girl fans who watched until the blood was pulsing through their veins and they nearly contracted nosebleeds’ heart rates definitely rose to above 100 beats per minute. ‘Dancing machine’ Eunhyuk and ‘pretty boy’ Donghae did not lose in any of the action, fighting for a girl onstage, with an explosion of manliness and sexiness. Even Sungmin who is a little more feminine let out an explosion of manliness, under the direction of leader Leeteuk, he performed a sexy dance with four female dancers onstage, with the hardly-seen man power all onstage. Leeteuk’s body isn’t as good as the other members’, and he who was wearing a wife beater onstage showed his muscles and bare back while sending looks at the fans, using his expressions to catch others’ attention, he is definitely the group’s leader!

*Cantonese pun inserted here; it doesn’t make sense when translated into English.


Oops! The imperfectness in the perfectness!

When they were singing ‘A Man In Love’ at the end of the concert, Siwon who is the most fit began to take off his clothes, working hard to be the most handsome he could be, when sudddenly, the elevator ‘suddenly’ began to descent, and Siwon tripped over the small gap and twisted his ankle; however, he withstood the pain, stood up, and continued to perform. Ouch! On another hand, another member, Sungmin, also got his shoe stuck in the elevator, and as a result he had to take it off and walk around with only one shoe on. Eunhyuk who saw the situation quickly ran over to help, and used all of his strength to pull the shoe out, points added for that!


During the press conference cute lunchboxes were provided, as well as cookies, cakes, and fruit baskets. The charisma of Super Junior is unstoppable, attracting millions of international fans to watch their concert. The ‘luggage safe’ outside the concert venue allowed fans from overseas to dump their luggage right away and rush to go watch the concert.

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Original Source: 貴州信息港
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“YouTube plays an important role in attracting fans from all around the world.” -A representative of SM Entertainment

A representative of SM Entertainment (hereafter refers to SM), Kim Young Min, said, “The world’s famous video-sharing website, YouTube, has played the role of an engine to attract fans from all around the world.”

On September 3 (hereafter indicates local time), Kim was interviewed at a restaurant located in Los Angeles and said, “SM signed a contract for providing content to YouTube last year. We built an official website within YouTube which already has an established variety of users worldwide, and people all around the world could watch the content from singers who belong to SM through the YouTube website.”

Actually, many audience members and fans who participated in the “SM Town Live 2010 World Tour in LA” held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, USA on September 4 said that they had become to know singers from SM and watch SM’s content through many Internet websites such as YouTube and Facebook.

An American member of Dong Bang Shin Ki’s fan club entitled Cassiopeia, Luisa Houdek (18) said, “After I watched the music videos of Dong Bang Shin Ki on YouTube, I also came to like the music of Super Junior and Shinee, who also belong to SM, as well. Every singer in SM is showcasing excellent singing and dancing, and they all look very cute. I usually enjoy listening to K-POP instead of American pop music.”

Another fan named Yosophi (18), who came from Spain via a 27-hour flight, said, “I happened to know Super Junior through the Internet.” He was holding the national flag of Spain on which the name of Lee Teuk, a member of Super Junior, was written in Korean.

If the quality of the content spread through the Internet had not been good enough, this kind of favorable response could not have been expected, according to SM. A person at SM explained that the high quality of content produced from the well-established system used to produce star singers by SM, which has been operating for 15 years, could be verified as high-quality content by many people abroad, many of whom have become SM fans.

An American fan named Herisa (19) interviewed at the Staples Center also said, “I listened to the songs of Big Bang at first on the Internet, and now I am a huge fan of Super Junior and f(x). I like both the melodies and the lyrics of their songs.” An advantage of using the Internet is that fans abroad can obtain the information on new songs from their favorite singers in real time.

Thanks to the Internet, fans of Super Junior and Shinee living in East Asian countries could sing and dance along with Super Junior and Shinee even when they first visited their country. And the Internet also established the foundation that could attract 20,000 fans to the debut showcase of Girls Generation held in Japan. The representative of SM Japan, Nam So Young, said, “At this moment, even before the official debut of Girls Generation, there are continuous inquiries from many music stores in Japan including Tower Record about the new album from Girls Generation that will be released in Japan. Girls Generation has already become famous in Japan as they have been publicized through the Internet so far, and so they are performing activities in Japan not as rookie singers, but as ‘Asia’s number one star girl group.’”

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Around the turn of the millennium, Korean pop culture and entertainment started popping up everywhere in Asia. Korean Cinema saw a new renaissance with the domestic and regional popularity of movies like My Sassy Girl, Friend, and My Wife is a Gangster. The music industry ushered in a new generation of teen idols whose fame extended beyond Korea. Most significantly, Korean dramas invaded televisions across Asia, with series like Winter Sonata and Dae Jang Geum reaching an unprecedented level of Pan-Asian popularity. The fervor for Korean dramas and Korean television stars like Bae Yong Joon, Choi Ji Woo, and Lee Young Ae was so great, the phenomenon was dubbed the Korean Wave. Fast forward to 2010, Korean entertainment is still spreading its sphere of influence in Asia and beyond, but the focus is shifting away from Korean dramas. There’s a new wave sweeping out of Korea, and this wave is led by K-pop.

The K-pop wave isn’t content with just niche markets, dubbed soap operas, and Japanese fan meetings, not when domestic album sales are flagging and there’s a world out there for the taking. We’re now in a time when Rain can star in a Hollywood movie, Dong Bang Shin Ki can top the Oricon charts, Wonder Girls can tour with the Jonas Brothers, and Nobody and Sorry Sorry can be heard from every karaoke box in Asia. K-pop is more popular than ever in Asia, and thanks to the Internet and the proliferation of online social media, it’s also traveled farther outside of Asia and inspired dedicated fanbases in every region imaginable. Standing at the forefront of this K-pop wave is entertainment juggernaut SM Entertainment.
Founded in 1995 by former singer Lee Soo Man, SM Entertainment has produced some of the biggest K-pop stars of the past decade including H.O.T, S.E.S, BoA, Shinhwa, Dong Bang Shin Ki, Super Junior, and Girls’ Generation. Though K-pop’s other two giants JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment also have their own formidable lineup of stars, as a talent label SM Entertainment is clearly the biggest player in K-pop. According to year-to-date domestic sales figures reported by the Hanteo chart in mid-August, SM Entertainment artists own the top seven best-selling albums of 2010 so far. SM does everything bigger – bigger groups, bigger stars, bigger sales, bigger fandoms, bigger controversies, bigger heartbreaks – and it’s been doing it bigger and better than the rest for a while.

Super Junior, Strength in Numbers

With TVXQ splitting their time between Korea and Japan, SM introduced another group in 2005, Super Junior 05. Comprised of a whopping 12 members, the band was originally conceived as a rotating-membership unit, with plans for a different “Super Junior 06″ lineup the following year. The group’s great popularity after the release of their first album, however, prompted SM to rethink their plans. Much to the relief of fans, in 2006 Super Junior became an official group, with one more member added (the youngest, Kyu Hyun) to bring the count to 13. As K-pop’s biggest group, Super Junior vaunted to the top with the hit single U, and they’ve stayed there ever since.


Super Junior’s smorgasbord of vastly different talents and personalities opened up whole new possibilities. Like in most groups, there were some members better known for singing (Kyu Hyun, Ryeo Wook, Ye Sung), dancing (Dong Hae, Eun Hyuk, Han Geng, Shin Dong), and rapping (Ki Bum, Eun Hyuk). But Super Junior’s deep lineup also included actors (Ki Bum, Hee Chul, Si Won) and talkers who quickly emerged as new-generation emcees (Lee Teuk, Kang In, Hee Chul, Shin Dong). The group’s hosting and variety show prowess, in particular, created an image different than the typical idols. Super Junior is also the first group to debut with a foreign member, Han Geng, starting a precedent that is now quite common in K-pop.
Super Junior’s strength in numbers made them a formidable force that grew with every album. The releases of Don’t Don, Sorry Sorry, and their most recent Bonamana were all big events in K-pop. Sorry Sorry, in particularly, launched the super-sized boy band to a new level of fame in Asia. Other than group and individual activities, Super Junior have also formed sub-units targeting different musical styles. K.R.Y, the first Super Junior unit introduced, is a ballad group, while Super Junior T tackles trot and Super Junior Happy makes, er, happy music.

The most significant Super Junior unit though is its Chinese spin-off, Super Junior M. With a Chinese member in the group, Super Junior has had a foot in the Chinese market since their debut. In 2008, SM made a full-fledged foray into Chinese music with the formation of Super Junior M comprised of Han Geng, Si Won, Ryeo Wook, Dong Hae, Kyu Hyun, plus two additional new members, Chinese-Canadian Henry Lau and Mainland native Zhou Mi. The addition of two non-Super Junior members into Super Junior M created a good deal of controversy among Super Junior’s famously dedicated fanbase, but the project went ahead with the members spending significant time promoting and performing in China. Most fans were won over by the time they released their first mini-album Super Girl which garnered the group a Golden Melody nomination.
Other than Super Junior M, SM also debuted Chinese female artist Zhang Li Yin in 2006. The young R&B singer’s Korean single Timeless won her the Best New Solo Artist award at the M.net Asian Music Awards, a first for a foreign artist. After making her mark in Korea, she released her first Chinese album I Will two years later.

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From drama, variety, movies, radio to public performances, the opportunities that idols see these days have increased. It has become an age where idols have to explore other areas and not just stay in one to show off their charms. And these idols will need to spend their energy in the various areas they are exploring into.
The phrase ‘one source multi use’ is just the right one to use on idols. Even though they debuted as singers, they don’t show just the features of a singer. If the stage is not ‘wide’ enough for one, one move on to look at drama, movie, theatre and musicals etc, to show more of one’s charms and talents one cannot show in just the short duration of 3 minutes on stage. In the midst of achieving that, these idols will need the strength of that of an ‘iron man’. Even though this is a chance for the singers to up their rich and fame, without the energy to do so is also useless.

Of the idols, Super Junior has many unique group activities – Super Junior K.R.Y, Super Junior T, Super Junior M, Super Junior Happy. Members Choi SiWon is also exploring into other areas like drama and movie.
Another example is girlgroup So Nyeo Shi Dae with the members doing various other solo activities, they also had unique group ‘Room mate’ consisting of members Jessica, Tiffany and SeoHyun. Member YoonA is also seen doing various drama appearances, showing various features through those appearances.
Group KARA member Goo Hara, who joined the group later, is enjoying increasing popularity through her appearance on KBS Invincible Youth previously. And GyuRi is also showing a different charming side of her through her DJ activities on MBC radio ‘ShinDong GyuRi‘s ShimShimTaPa’. SHINee member Onew has also recently taken up the challenge of musical acting.
This is one of the strategies that agencies adopt for their idols. Idols showing various charms is one of the ways to money and wealth creation for the agencies. But under the directing of their agencies, the energy of these idols will obviously run out one day. Even though we cannot say that all idols promote in such manner, but there are a considerable number of them promoting under such strategies by their agencies.
But if these idols are to take a moment to rest, they will quickly be forgotten by the masses. A music critic commented, “Nowadays, we call the way the singers promote without much rest as ‘lightning attack’. Not even talking about 1 year, even if they are to rest for a few months, they will be forgotten quickly. And to maintain their popularity, these people have to show themselves constantly on TV in various forms. Also, because of that, singers also don’t release full length album but minialbums more often as they will mean using up lesser time and costs.”
In order to keep up to speed of changing tastes of the masses and media, and as contracted under agencies, these idols are only moving in the directions told to them.

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Twenty-year-old Henry Lau may not be a name you instantly recognize. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, he’s an up and coming star in both the Korean and Chinese music industries as a member of Super Junior-M, the Mando-pop extension of the widely popular Korean boy band, Super Junior.

Henry was discovered when Korean management label, SM Entertainment, held auditions in Toronto. Showcasing the violin and popping, he was featured in Super Junior’s “Don’t Don” music video and on popular variety shows, such as Korea’s “Star King.”

Amidst all this success, how would it feel to be his brother? A-Line got the chance to talk to Henry’s older brother*, a Canadian college student, about Henry’s success.

Before SM…
J.CHAN: It must be thrilling that your brother is becoming a success in Asia.
C.LAU: It’s definitely cool to see Henry have an opportunity to rise to stardom. Before he started out, I did not know anything about SM or the Asian music industry, but I knew he was going somewhere.

J.CHAN: When did he start taking up music?
C.LAU: He started taking piano lessons from my mom at about four and violin lessons at seven. I think he was indifferent towards music up until junior high when his talent for performing started to show.

J.CHAN: As a violinist, I”m pretty envious of Henry’s technique. He must’ve won some awards, right?
C.LAU: On top of local and regional violin solo competitions, he received the Silver Medal for the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada. The Silver Medal is awarded to the soloist who obtained the highest mark in the Level 10 category.

J.CHAN: Maybe I should practice more. Do you think that if Henry were a college student he would continue his passion in music?
C.LAU: Definitely, specifically in music production, jazz, composition or arrangement. As a back-up, he would probably enroll in violin performance.

J.CHAN: Henry was in his final year of high school before auditioning for SM, did he apply to any universities?
C.LAU: After the SM auditions, Henry applied to the University of Toronto for Music Education and actually received two letters of acceptance: one for Music Education and one for Violin Performance. Currently, he’s planning to enroll part-time at Berklee College of Music in Boston during the summer to improve on his music production abilities.

The Audition and More…
J.CHAN: What was Henry’s path once he was recruited by SM Entertainment?
C.LAU: Henry was first engaged as a trainee at SM Entertainment and then debuted four months later with Super Junior-M.

J.CHAN: How did you feel when Henry auditioned for SM?
C.LAU: I didn’t even know that he was auditioning or was serious about it! Henry always did popping and violin performances for school events and had a lot of close Korean friends who danced with him. I suspect that his friends made him aware about the auditions.

J.CHAN: How did your family and friends react to the news?
C.LAU: Everyone was excited to have a potential celebrity family member or friend. A month after the auditions, a Chinese speaker at SM contacted my mother. The company offered our family an all-expense included trip to Korea for us to see the environment that Henry would train in. However, only my mother and Henry were able to go. Upon returning, all doubts were put to rest and my brother had the full support of my mom.

J.CHAN: I find it interesting that Henry, raised as a Chinese-Canadian, entered the Korean music industry. What were your feelings?
C.LAU: Entering the Korean market was an extremely good chance to engage in a culture that he otherwise might not have had the opportunity to. There weren’t any type of prejudice that we held towards the Korean market. We only had positive connotations associated with Korea as we both love Korean food.

Getting a Bit Personal…
J.CHAN: Who are Henry’s music idols?
C.LAU: Especially as he is focused in producing his own music, I feel that he admires the work of J.R. Rotem and Lady Gaga’s producer. I would also think he would like to collaborate with Usher.

J.CHAN: There is always a concern that young celebrities are caught up in the entertainment industry. Do you think fame has gotten to him at all?
C.LAU: I think the fame definitely has taken a toll on him but not in the way you’d expect. Since he’s pretty much always on tour in Asia, he doesn’t have a lot of free time and when he does, he’s usually working on his own music.

J.CHAN: Considering your brother’s success, how many people have gone up to you about him?
C.LAU: Not as many people as most would expect. I do get random Facebook and MSN adds from his fans in Asia, but in person, only friends of friends ask and even then, it is more curiosity.

J.CHAN: Do you usually introduce yourself as Henry’s brother?
C.LAU: I usually don’t. If I do, it’s because I want to find some common ground between a new person I meet, especially if I’m abroad or meet someone from Asia.

J.CHAN: Funny that I’m asking this question, but for A-Line’s female audience, what qualities does Henry like in a girl?
C.LAU: One value that Henry holds highest in girl’s qualities is kindness towards others. He likes girls that are more so than average, kinder towards everyone.

J.CHAN: I’ve always wondered do you ever get jealous of his spotlight?
C.LAU: No. When I see Henry, he’s doing something that’s maximizing his potential and it’s not something that everyone has a chance to do. I also know that our strengths lie in different areas so when I see him in the spotlight, I am excited and proud more than anything else.

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