The Korean agency DSP Media, the home to hit k-pop girl groups KARA and Rainbow, has announced that they will be debuting their next girl group simultaneously in Korea and Japan!

The five member girl group is temporarily nicknamed ‘DSP Girls‘ and will be making their debut through an animation series titled, ‘Pretty Rhythm, Dear My Future‘. They’ll be attending the production conference in Tokyo on January 31st, and this will mark the first girl group debut through an animation show in both Korea and Japan.

The group is comprised of Haein (18), Shiyoon, Chaekyung, Somin (all 16), and Jae Eun (14). Despite still being in the debut preparation stage, they have been receiving CF casting offers from Nintendo and Whisper. At the production conference, the ladies will be performing their own cover of KARA’s “Pretty Girl“.

‘Pretty Rhythm’ is an animation and comic series detailing the debut process of girl group trainees. The members will be unveiled one by one before their debut, and their debut single itself will be released within the animation show.

The girls will be competing against avex’s girl group Prism, and also have a collaboration down the line once they both make their debuts. Prism will also be making an appearance in the animation show.

‘Pretty Rhythm’ will air on TV Tokyo starting April, and their Japanese debut single is scheduled for release in July.

On January 28th’s episode of TBS’s music program, ‘CDTV‘, two popular idol groups delivered their latest hits!

First up was SKE48 with “Kataomoi Finally“, followed by 9nine with “Shoujo Traveler“.

Check out their exciting performances below!

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<”Shoujo Traveler” – 9nine>

EXILE’s sister group FLOWER has announced that they will be releasing their second single, “SAKURA Regret“, on February 29th!

“SAKURA Regret” will be produced by Matsuo Kiyoshi, who was also in charge of the group’s debut single, “Still“. The limited edition will come with a DVD and photo book.

Stay tuned for more details on this upcoming release. In the meantime, check out the jacket covers and track list below!

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<Limited Edition>

<Regular Edition>

<Track List>

DVD:
01. SAKURA Regret
02. be with you
03. Just a Little Bit
04. SAKURA Regret (instrumental)

DVD:
01. SAKURA Regret (Music Video)
02. SAKURA Regret (Music Video Making)

WOWOW recently updated the official site of the upcoming action-suspense drama, ‘Strangers 6‘, with a new teaser!

‘Strangers 6′ is a joint production between Japan, South Korea, and China. It aims to reach new heights in terms of pace and sheer scale for a TV drama, by utilizing production skills and acting prowess from all three countries. WOWOW will broadcast the drama in Japan, and aside from South Korea and China, ‘Strangers 6′ will also air in a total of ten countries.

Speaking of acting prowess, the main cast consists of Karasawa Toshiaki, Oh Ji Ho, Kim Hyo Jin, Kikawada Masaya, Bowie Lam, and Liu Xuan as the six protagonists.

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As for the plot, “Strangers 6″ is set in the near future and centers around the fictional Chinese city of ‘Haiwan’, a huge economical hub without any national boundaries for companies from South Korea, Japan, and China. However, the city is doomed to collapse under a gigantic earthquake predicted to hit the city within the next three months. There’s a chance to prevent the disaster by installing a special device underneath the city, but this would require cutting-edge technology and an unimaginable sum of money from all three countries.

Believing that this is the only way to protect their economy, the countries are quick to agree on this joint-operation and hasten their efforts in order to complete the device as soon as possible. However, somebody is trying to interfere with the project and attempts to assassinate the people involved. In order to protect the project and to find out who is behind the assassination plot, the three countries form a top-secret group, ‘Strangers 6′, which is made up of their best experts and agents.

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Japanese musician and guitarist Hotei Tomoyasu has written the main theme, “Strangers 6 Theme“, and an insert song, “Dancing With Strangers“, for the drama. South Korean boy group SHINee provides the theme song, “Stranger“, from their album “SHINee JAPAN 1ST ALBUM「THE FIRST“, while the South Korean girl group KARA sweetens up the suspense with various insert songs, such as “Sweetune” and “My Prayer“.

WOWOW will air the first of fifteen episodes in Japan on January 27th.

Check out the trailer below!

On January 20th, idol group C-ute’s “Hitorijime Shitakatta Dake na no ni” and “Shiawase no Tochuu” played throughout radio stations in Japan.

The two songs can be found on C-ute’s upcoming album, “Dai Nana Sho 「Utsukushikutte gomen ne」“, which will drop on February 8th.

Check out them out below, and let us know what you think!

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<Hitorijime Shitakatta Dake na no ni>

<Shiawase no Tochuu>

In memory of the tragic Tohoku Earthquake that shook Japan last March, NHK will be holding a live concert called “Shinsai Kara 1nen ‘Ashita e’ Concert” (1 Year After the Earthquake ‘For Tomorrow’ Concert).

The concert will be held on March 10th at Makuhari Messe Event Hall in Chiba and Sukagawa City Cultural Center in Fukushima simultaneously. It will feature a gorgeous line-up of artists to deliver a message to the disaster-stricken areas through the power of music. This concert will also broadcast live as a 6-hour program with SMAP’s Nakai Masahiro as the host.

The artists that will be performing at Makuhari Messe are SMAP, AKB48, and Perfume. Meanwhile, Sukagawa City Cultural Center will feature performances by Kitajima Saburo, Sakamoto Fuyumi, Hitoto Yo, and Hirahara Ayaka. More artists will be added to the line-up at a later date.

NHK’s official website is currently accepting applications to attend the concert at Makuhari Messe. At the same time, NHK will be collecting return postcards to attend the concert at Sukagawa City Cultural Center.

On the January 21st episode of CDTV, group Ikimonogakari and singer JuJu took the stage.

First up, JuJu with her new single “Sign“.  After her Ikimonogakari wowed with “Itsudatte Bokura wa“.

< JuJu – ‘Sign’ >

< Ikimonogakari – ‘Itsudatte Bokura wa’ >