SM Entertainment has over the years certainly produced its fair share of bubblegum pop singing, teenage-targeted boy bands and girl groups. They were behind the making of the now disbanded groups H.O.T, S.E.S and Shinhwa, who are now under contract at Good Entertainment; and the R&B duo Fly to the Sky. Today, they are promoting Dong Bang Shin Ki and TSZX. And then of course there is BoA. Now comes their newest creation: Super Junior, a 12-person group set to release their first album later this year. According to SM Entertainment, Super Junior is more than your regular pop band. "It will be the gateway to success for other up and coming talents in Asia," the agency said in a press release. The current 12 members are made up of 11 locals (some of which have made a name for themselves acting, VJ-ing and modeling) and one Chinese teenager, who was picked up by SM through a national talent search held in the Mainland in 2001. And they are just the first of many Super Junior groups to come, the agency said. By holding auditions under the name of Super Junior right across Asia, we hope to see that "the talents to become tomorrow's Asian stars go by way of the Super Junior project," they said. Super Junior made their first television appearance on SBS Inky Gayo on November 6 where they performed their first single, "TWINS (Knock Out)." This and a second song "You Are the One" have been released online on November 11. A six track single album was originally supposed to come out on November 6 but due to a need for a more complete package, a full first album has been tenuously scheduled to be released in late November instead. A female version of the Super Junior group is i-13, organized by Lime Music, which is headed by Jung Won-gwan. Jung's major accomplishments include being a part of 1980s pop sensation Sobangcha, one of Kpop's first dance groups. After he switched to producing, Jung came up with Hamo Hamo and NRG. NRG was a Hallyu forerunner, having already performed in China long before BoA put her first song on the Japanese Orion charts. After two years of dance lessons and vocal training, Lime Music recently unveiled i-13, a new pop group made up 13 girls ranging from age 12 to 18. While other pop groups opt to live in the same quarters out of convenience, this group of 13 young girls are separately dropped off at Lime Music's Seoul headquarters where they hop on a touring bus that can easily be identified from afar as their own bigger-than-life pictures of the members plastered on the vehicle's sides. There they head to local TV and radio stations, eating lunch boxes, chatting and some studying on their way. The young girls say that while sometimes they are met with words of encouragement from fans and other performers, they are at other times looked upon with expressions of concern. "But we're one step closer to fulfilling our dreams than our friends. 'They just started their professional careers a little early,' is what we hope people will look at us and say," the group said in a recent interview with the Yonhap News Agency. Their first album was released last month and they are currently promoting their first single "One More Time." Follow up news: NRG will release their 7th album on November 22 as a three member group after the fallout of Moon Sung Hoon. Five of the songs in the new album "One of Five" will be solo songs by the remaining three members. More new releases: Ballad specialist Tei will release his 3rd album on November 21. Female dance artist Chae Yun will also release her long awaited 3rd album on November 18 with title song "Only You." credits Solid07
