YG Japan’s President Says, “Is BIGBANG a K-POP Star? Japanese Have Different Idea”
[enews24 오사카=이진호 기자] “BIGBANG is more of a global artist, rather than a K-Pop star.”
Watanabe Yoshimi (46), the president of YG Entertainment Japan, made remarks on BIGBANG (T.O.P, G-DRAGON, SEUNGRI, DAESUNG, and TAEYANG)’s status in Japan.
President Yoshimi had a press conference on the 13 at 3pm, before the last concert of BIGBANG Japan six dome tour, which was held in Osaka. He told about BIGBANG’s status in Japan and the reason behind BIGBANG’s popularity in the country.
To a question “What is the difference between other K-Pop stars and BIGBANG?”, President Yoshimi answered, “Differently from other K-Pop stars, BIGBANG is mostly seen as a global artist. Japanese music fans are mainly divided into two groups, those who like domestic music, and those who like Western music. And both of the two groups tend to like BIGBANG’s music and fashion.”
BIGBANG began Japan six dome tour on November 16 last year, at Saitama Seibu Dome in Japan. For about a month, BIGBANG held concerts in six domes in the country, including domes in Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Tokyo, and Sapporo. BIGBANG boasted their strong status in Japan by attracting total 771,000 fans to 17 concerts in the tour.
Such success of BIGBANG’s six dome tour was all the more meaningful, because it was first of such a case for a foreign artist.
President Yoshimi explained, “Japanese people especially like BIGBANG because they think BIGBANG has remarkably high-quality capabilities in singing, fashion, and dance. Naturally, BIGBANG attracted young fans who love their fashion and music.”
He added, “BIGBANG’s recognition in Japan has heightened as more people have come to see their dance and music. Then, people got familiar with BIGBANG, seeing them in Japan’s most popular entertainment shows.”
About BIGBANG’s status in Japan, Yoshimi said, “When you turn on the TV in the prime time, you can see MC SEUNGRI of an entertainment program. BIGBANG has already been absorbed into Japanese life style. As five members with strong individuality come together and create harmony in live performance, they create a bigger synergy.”
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