Thursday, March 7, 2013

Tiffany Taeyeon's New Movie Bombs at the Box Office!


Tiffany Taeyeon's highly-hyped theatrical film debut, Confessions of a Slightly Single Shopaholic in Seoul, has tanked at the Korean box office. 

The movie debuted at No. 6 at the weekly box office, and is predicted to fall out of the top ten by next week. Confessions, which also stars Hwang Jihyun of Gangkiz, Taewoon of SPEED, and White Entertainment CEO Trina Villota, took a huge gamble by having Tiffany Taeyeon as the headliner and only known star of the cast, and it clearly didn't pay off. 

On top of the Confession's dismal box office performance, it's also been universally panned by critics, who have labelled the film "cheap," "cliched," and "insipid," among other harsh things.

In an excerpt from his review for the Chosun Ilbo, Korea's top film critic, Robert Egert, wrote: "'Confessions of a Slightly Single Shopaholic in Seoul' may very well be the biggest turkey of the year. It's a prime example of just why the Korean film industry is going down the drain due to unskilled idols stealing acting jobs away from real actors."

He continued: "The promise that Tiffany Taeyeon showed in her role as the villainous Amber in 2011's hit drama 'Busan Heights' was nowhere to be found here, with the songstress delivering a poor and uninspired performance in her leading role as Selena. However, Tiffany was almost Kim Tae Hee when compared to the rest of the cast -- in particular Trina Villota, whose role as Selena's demanding boss was almost as awkward and embarrassing as the many cliches and plot holes that littered this cinematic stinker."

Despite the movie's bad reviews, some media analysts speculate that there could be other reasons to blame for its poor performance. 

Pop culture expert and public relations kingpin, Kim Jinwoo, says: "The public isn't interested in Tiffany Taeyeon the actress; they only want Tiffany Taeyeon the celebrity. Tiffany's biggest mistake this past year has been to let her fame come from her personal life and from frivolous things like her airport fashion and red carpet looks, rather than from being active as a singer and actress like she used to be. Now that she's trying to work again and put the focus back on her real career, people don't want to know about it because they only see her scandals in the media and are unable to view her as a real actress -- or as any other character outside of the one she has created for herself through tabloid magazines."

He added: "It's also hard the public to take her seriously because she never explained her controversial disappearance. Her plane crash was the most newsworthy event of 2012, but she hasn't discussed it or revealed the truth behind what happened since she miraculously returned alive and well after months of being missing. People are suspicious and wary of her now, and if she's not going to talk about what happened, then it's going to take a lot more time for the public to move on and start seeing her as an idol again."

With Tiffany's film flop severely damaging her career, many people are now questioning whether her time as a top star has passed. The only light at the end of the tunnel is her new OST song from Confessions, "My Secret Love," which has been doing well on the digital charts despite the movie's failure. White Entertainment is reportedly planning to rush out a physical maxi-single and music video for the song in the next few days to try and salvage some kind of success from Confessions.

As always, netizens have been eager to voice their thoughts on Tiffany's box office bomb. Comments included: "She thought she could just disappear and then walk right back into success. How arrogant of her," "I would tell Tiffany to stick to singing, but then I remember that she can't sing and got all her fame from her looks," "Her new girl group will be a failure just like her acting career," and "Am I the only one who thought this movie was actually really good?"

Monday, March 4, 2013

White Entertainment officially announces the debut of Nicole Naeun a.k.a. Peach Bomb!



White Entertainment has revealed the face of its newest artist, Nicole Naeun!

After Nicole made headlines last month when paparazzi caught her out shopping, White Entertainment has finally made an official announcement on the idol previously dubbed "Peach Bomb" by the press. Nicole has been secretly training with White for several years, and is said to be a multi-talented artist who has not only been trained as a singer, but also as a rapper, supermodel, and actress. Nicole will debut as a solo artist, in addition to serving as a member of White's new Girls' Revolution sub-unit, KARAMEL, which had its rumored lineup revealed when Tiffany Taeyeon released a twitpic of herself posing with Nicole and Suzy Sooyoung alongside the hashtagged word "#KARAMEL".

True to White's signature style, Nicole's teaser images have been driving netizens crazy with their ambiguous and confusing messages. The first teaser shows Nicole sticking her tongue out with a big caption that reads: "Nicole Naeun a.k.a. Peach Bomb." Next to it are three more captions that read: "Old?","New?", and "Renewed?," with no clear indication of the meaning behind the mysterious messages. The second teaser is even more confusing, as Nicole can be seen rocking a cute, girl-next-door concept with another three big captions surrounding her that say: "Debut?""Comeback?", and"Redebut?".

Rumor has it that Nicole will be making her debut at the end of this month with a Teddy-produced song called "5.6.7.8 (Let's Dance)," but White has currently refused to confirm or deny this. 

Speaking exclusively to allkflop, reps for White Entertainment revealed: "Nicole Naeun is set to release her first song very soon. Fans will be able to enjoy her cute and unique charms through various activities we have planned. CEO Trina Villota has purposely marketed Nicole as the rival of Lee Hi, so expectations are high that her upcoming single will easily out-chart "1.2.3.4." Once the preparations are wrapped up, you will be able to meet a Nicole Naeun who is not only known for her breathtaking beauty and S-line figure, but also a Nicole Naeun who is able to show emotions in her music video. Please look forward to her!"

Upon hearing the news, netizens flooded our forum to share their thoughts. Comments included, "Nicole is prettier than Yoona, Suzy, Hara, and Chanmi unnie combined. She's the new #1 visual member in K-pop!" "Ripping off Lee Hi is just shameless media play. Doesn't White know that media play will only gain Nicole antis?" "Why aren't Jessica Jiyeon and HyunA Knowles in KARAMEL, too?" and "What does all this redebut and renew stuff mean? It makes me think there is more to Nicole Naeun than meets the eye."

With everything up in the air now, it seems like we don't have much of a choice but to wait for updates. One thing for certain though, fans have certainly been teased. What do you think the teasers mean?

Stay tuned to allkflop for more details on this much-anticipated comeback.