IU’s teacher talks about the singer as a high school student

Singer IU (19, birth name Lee Ji Eun) graduated from Dongduk Girls’ High School, which now makes her an official adult.

Despite her busy schedule, IU spared the time to attend her graduation with her peers on February 9th.

The singer spent her last day as a student by taking pictures with her friends and wishing them future success.

After the ceremony, MyDaily caught up with IU’s homeroom teacher Lim Sung Woo to ask about the kind of student IU was over these past few years.

Lim remarked, “Ji Eun was a really sweet girl, and was always a sincere student. She got along with her peers extremely well.”

In regards to IU postponing college to focus on her singing career, Lim admitted, “I had really hoped that she would go to school.”

“I think some of the elite universities had made offers to her, and Ji Eun did say she wanted to continue studying,” Lim continued. “Personally, I would like her to begin her college career maybe next year.”

And when asked what kind of singer she expects IU to become, Lim said in closing, “I would like her to become a national gem, a singer that represents our country. She will also be extremely successful in Japan.”

Source & Image: MyDaily

credit: allkpop

New Photo Shoot Revealed of IU for Brand "Le Coq Sportif"

Versatile Idol IU is a prefect representative for fashion brands.

The French heritage sports brand “Le Coq Sportif” chose IU as their new model. “Le Coq Sportif” released a photo shoot staring singer IU. She was encouraged to put together her own ensembles for the photo shoot. The ad focuses on IU’s own style which is fun and fresh as opposed to that of a stylist.

IU kept up with the theme of the ads as she encourages you to start a fun new school semester with the “Le Le Le Begins” style. In the photos she wore her favorite styles such as long tops and tight leggings, which only highlighted her slender legs. Her flair throughout the shoot also allowed her charming personality to shine through.

IU who usually enjoys wearing normal and comfortable outfits, had fun adding some fresh color with her running shoes which was a perfect touch showing that she also has style and fashion sense. Her casual style was further completed with a black colored square backpack.

A spokesperson for “Le Coq Sportif” complimented IU saying, “IU has selected shoes featuring a unique color scheme which consumers have already given them the nickname of ‘IU shoes.’ Within a month of distribution we have sold nearly 60% of all units. We are already getting orders in for stores wanting to re-stock. It hasn’t taken long at all for us to see the ‘IU effect’’s benefits.”

Currently, IU had been promoting her hit single “You and I.”  Her label is working on plans for IU’s follow up song and promotions.

 

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Composer of “You & I” reveals the grunt in the song came from IU

If you’ve listened to IU‘s latest song, “You & I“, you would’ve heard a loud grunt right before the bridge. Netizens amused by the “Argh” sound have been trying to figure out who made it, and it was revealed to be none other than IU herself!

The song’s composer, Lee Minsoo, recently revealed that “The voice behind the grunt belongs to IU herself. It was planned before the song was recorded.”

He explained that the frustrated cry was meant to be a dramatic expression of frustration over the space-time issue in the song’s story.

Lee Minsoo went on to state that IU expresses different emotions every time she sings the lyrics, “Say my name“. The first verse represents the past, the second the present, and the third represents the future.

The first held a note of hope, while the second is meant to be a conveyance of frustration and irritation. The third verse is an expression of IU’s desperate yearning for her love to call for her. The producing team decided that to really punctuate her feelings of frustration after the second version, they decided to toss in the grunt.

Check it out again below! (The sound is heard around the 3:50 mark)

Source & Image: MaxMovie via Nate, KJ Today via Nate

 credit: allkpop

Flower boy actors + IU to make an appearance on Running Man

Four handsome fellas will be making an appearance on the January 8th broadcast of SBS‘s ‘Running Man‘.

Their dashing appearance has already earned them the title, ‘F4′ as depicted on the popular Korean drama, ‘Boys over Flowers‘.  The four guests will be: Ji Jin Hee, Lee Chun Hee, Kim Sung Soo, and Joo Sang Wook.

The recording took place at Yeosu, Jeonnam where the ‘F4′ carried out missions in two teams; Ji Jin Hee teamed up with Joo Sang Wook while Lee Chun Hee was partnered with Kim Sung Soo. Singer IUjoined in on the fun on the second day, adding a new flavor to the show.

It was reported that on the first day, people swarmed to the filming area when they recognized the identity of the ‘F4′.  This caused the traffic to slow down as the locals swarmed in by the hundreds.  Photos of the recording were spread like wildfire on online blogs and community sites.

Ji Jin Hee and Lee Chun Hee, who are currently enrolled in the new drama ‘Take care of us, Captain‘, made a comment during the recording of the show. “In light of the new year, we are trying to show our fun sides through ‘Running Man’.  We are running hard so please anticipate us and watch our drama.”

Meanwhile actor Joo Sang Wook, who is busy acting in the OCN drama ‘Special Crimes Force Ten‘, expressed, “‘Running Man’ was a new experience. I can’t remember how the one night and two days passed by because it was all so fun.  It was such a fun time that I even wanted to be a permanent member on the show.”

Lastly, Kim Sung Soo commented, “I frequently enjoy and watch ‘Running Man’.  I had a great time recording the show. As hard as I ran, I think the broadcast will be a lot of fun to watch.  First weekend of the new year with ‘Running Man’~!”

Don’t miss the show this Sunday and check out the preview below!

Source + Photos: sportsworldi via Nate

credit: allkpop

Super Junior’s cumulative album sales for 2011 reaches 350,000 units – crowned “Album King”

Asia’s hottest idol group Super Junior set a new record, becoming the top artist to sell the most albums over the past 3 years.

The ‘2011 Singer Awards‘ reflects the artists that sold the most albums according to sales data from Hanteo, and Super Junior sold 355,900 albums between January 1st, 2011 and December 27th, 2011.

Super Junior’s cumulative album sales (of all 32 singles and albums they’ve released to date) for 2011 amounted to 350,000 units. This was the highest number of sales since the ‘Singer Awards’ were established back in 2009. Seo Taiji boasted 248,800 units in 2009, while Girls’ Generation set a new record last year by moving 309,400 units.

Super Junior’s full length album ‘Mr.Simple‘ was a big factor that contributed to their impressive sales numbers. ‘Mr Simple’ Type A alone sold 199,300 copies while Type B sold 53,500 copies and their repackaged album sold 73,900 copies. All together, their fifth album alone sold 326,800 units. Behind Super Junior was TVXQ who sold 230,000 units and Girls’ Generation who sold 226,700 units.

The two names that stood out on the list, however, were INFINITE and IU. The boys of INFINITE came in at 7th place selling 124,100 units while singer IU was the only soloist to break the top 10, selling 92,900 units at #9.

Hanteo charts calculates the data by collecting 85% of their information from nationwide music sales and 15% from accumulations in their own information database along with national sale estimates.

Source & Image: SportsKorea via Nate

credit: allkpop

IU hints at possible “Good Day” remixes for year-end shows

‘Korea’s sweetheart’ IU recently gave a Starcall to her fans from the recording studio.

On December 21st, IU revealed that remixes of her hit track “Good Day” were in the works for her year-end performances and award shows.

IU said,

“Because it’s the end of the year and there are many award ceremonies, I sang a variety of versions for ‘Good Day’. I’m here today to listen to the arrangements/recordings.

The weather has gotten very cold and many of you became sick, huh? Please be careful not to catch a cold and since it’s Christmas soon, enjoy your Christmas. Though I won’t be able to play on Christmas because I have schedules, I will be here and there on TV. Have a merry Christmas while watching me on TV!“

Check out her call below!

credit: allkpop

IU reveals her experiences with ghosts

Singer IU shocked the guests on the set of SBS ‘Strong Heart‘ by revealing she had seen ghosts in the past.

On the episode that aired on December 20th, IU remarked that she had seen a ghost while recording her new song, “You & I“.

“There was a small argument with the song composer, so we temporarily put the recording session on hold. I saw that my manager headed into the recording booth, but when I checked, there was no one in there. He came out of a completely different room,” she said, shocking everyone on set.

“And when I was sleeping at the dorms while recording “Good Day“, I experienced a ghost that would whisper “I love you” and blow into my ear. I saw the ghost in my dream later on, and he was very handsome,” she continued.

She especially scared everyone on set when she described another ghost she saw. “I had a dream in which Seo In Young unni kept walking towards me laughing in her high pitched tone. I suddenly had a feeling that this wasn’t a dream. I opened my eyes and saw a girl sitting next to my bed. Her hair was disheveled and wore baggy old clothes. She was looking down, but at that moment, she lifted her head… and she was me. I was so scared and told the CEO that I really couldn’t stand living there anymore and that I even saw myself. So, he allowed me to go live at home.”

IU revealed that her labelmates Sunny Hill, is currently using her dorm, but they too also experienced the same ghost that whispers “I love you”.

Check out the episode below! (IU segment starts around 49:45)

Photo : XportsNews via Nate

credit: allkpop