7 December 2011 Pledis CEO Han Sung Soo is one of 2011′s Best Producers

As the end of the year draws ever closer, the unavoidable year-end lists and rankings are starting to be released. Korean media label Star News recently compiled a list of the most successful producers of 2011, based on the monthly Melon charts.

Instead of simply counting album sales, the list was based on how many songs each producer managed to land in the Melon monthly chart’s top 50 ranking from January to November of this year. A total of 315 tracks were qualified to be considered for the ranking.

[omitted info that doesn't pertain - - ]

#8. Han Sung Soo, PLEDIS Entertainment – 6 tracks

With its numerous sub-units, After School propelled PLEDIS Entertainment to a good year with its offspring Orange Caramel charting strongly with “Aing” (January, 32nd), “Bangkok City” (April, 8th), and “Shanghai Romance” (November, 24th), as well as their experimental After School Blue and After School Red sub-units with “In the Night Sky” (September, 48th) and “Wonder Boy” (August, 36th), respectively.

After School itself also pulled in a decent year, with last year’s Christmas single “Love Love Love” (January, 46th) and “Shampoo” (May, 5th) both performing strongly.
 

Source: Star News via AllKPop via AfterSchoolDaze

 

23 November 2011 Pledis Family Featured in Ceci Magazine

Credit: As tagged via fyafterschool

21 November 2011 Pledis Family Featured in CéCi Magazine December Issue

Credit: http://ceci.joinsmsn.com/article/article.asp?aid=9854 via AS-Fan

3 November 2011 Pledis CEO Han Sung Soo Talks about Success with After School and Son Dambi Plus Reveals New Group Plans

In a recent interview with Hankyung news the CEO of Pledis Han Sung Soo talked about past success with Son Dambi, After School and Orange Caramel. He also revealed plans to debut two new idol groups in the coming year.

2 November 2011 Pledis to debut 2 new groups next year

[Excerpt]

According to Pledis’ CEO Han Sung Soo in this article, they are both male idol groups, they’re tentatively titled “New East” and “Tempest”, both having 5 members and are currently training.

Also, Pledis recently recruited four trainees from the US from their recent auditions in L.A. & San Francisco.

Via: fyafterschool

 

27 October 2011 Pledis' Official Facebook fan page

https://www.facebook.com/pledisworld

Via fyafterschool 

 

23 October 2011 Daishi Dance Twitter Update – Meeting at Coffee Chu

@daishidance7 updated his twitter today about a meeting at Coffee Chu with the president of Pledis:

次の打ち合わせスタート！またまた強力事務所の会長さんと本格的な制作打ち合わせです。

Starting the next meeting! It’s yet another production meeting with the CEO of a powerful company

Daishi is behind After School’s hit song “Shampoo” so it’s no surprise Pledis is tapping the popular DJ to work on upcoming material.

Trans: pledisAStrans via AfterSchoolDaze
 

20 September 2011 Pledis to hold auditions in LA & San Francisco!

With only a few days left until the audition starts we wanted to let our readers know that there’s still time left to apply!

Pledis, the home of top artists, Son Dambi, After School, and Orange Caramel has informed allkpop on their upcoming auditions in the United States.

Dubbed the “PLEDIS U.S.A. Personal Audition”, they hope to meet highly inspired and talented people through these auditions.

Differing from the usual auditions, the Pledis auditions will be a bit more personal as the applicants will be have more of a 1 on 1 audition with the Pledis staff. Compared with other auditions where you have to showcase yourself in a short limited amount of time, you will have ample opportunity to showcase all your talents and skills.

The two audition locations will take place in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Check below for more information.

Schedule:
L.A.: 9/22~9/30
San Francisco: 10/1~10/3

How to apply:
E-mail: pacemaker@pledis.co.kr
[Send us your Profile (Name, Date of birth, Gender, Nationality, School, Phone Number)]

A more detailed audition schedule and exact location will be revealed when contacted individually by phone.

Field of application:
Song, Dance, Actor, Model

Source + Image: Pledis
Credit: Allkpop 
 

2 September 2011 Pledis Entertainment to Hold Private Auditions in California

Pledis Entertainment, the label behind stars like Son Dam Bi and After School, has announced that they will be holding auditions this month in cities across California!

Titled "U.S.A. Personal Audition," Pledis Entertainment officials will be personally visiting applicants that hope to become their next big star for private, 1:1 auditions.

"We've received so many audition requests from fans in the U.S. every time we held auditions for After School's ninth member, After School Boys, and evenHappy Pledis. The distance made it impossible for them to try out, and we feel grateful for their interest and support, which is why we decided to go to them for 1:1 private auditions," the casting director for Pledis revealed.

Fans in the L.A. and San Francisco area will be able to submit their applications (in the areas of singing, dancing, acting, and modeling) starting from September 22 to 30 for L.A. and October 1 through 3 for San Francisco.

E-mails detailing name, age, gender, nationality, education, and contact information should be sent to pacemaker@pledis.co.kr. Further information regarding the date and location of your audition will be sent individually to your phone number. 

Credit: Soompi 
 

28 August 2011 Pledis U.S.A Personal Audition

Credit: AfterSchoolDaze

Well... Quite irrelevant to our country huh... Treat it as a new photo~

 

21 August 2011 Pledis Twitter Photo Update (feat. Kahi)

Credit: AfterSchoolDaze

3 August 2011 Pledis Entertainment on After School’s graduation system and ‘After School Boys’

As one of the more successful entertainment companies in Korea, Pledis Entertainment has given birth to the likes of After School and Son Dambi. The general manager of Pledis, Han Sung Su, recently spoke out about their strategum for one of K-Pop’s most popular girl groups.

After School’s unique ‘graduation’ concept is what makes them special, Han said. “It seemed like too much of a waste for the talents of the individual if a group disappears just because one person leaves. That is why we created this group.”

Han said each member of After School had their own specialty. The leader, Kahi, was known even before her debut for her energetic and fiery dancing, and E-Young, the most recent member to join After School’s ranks, has enormous musical talent as well as singing prowess.

“There are some views that say that the image of the girl group, in itself, is not viable in the long run,” Han said. “That’s why we are using individuality and diversity as a weapon.”

One of the ways Pledis is utilizing their strength is by dividing up the group into two sub-units, both with their own unique concepts of sexy and sweet, respectively.

Speaking on the upcoming debut of After School Boys, Han said that the group will not employ a graduation and entrance system, but will spotlight the talents of the individual. “It’s getting harder to secure a place for male idol groups in Korea,” said Han. “But with After School Boys, we will put up a fight using our diversity.”

And what about After School’s debut in Japan? “After School is gaining a good response in Japan. They are becoming more competitive, not only domestically, but internationally as well. Please look forward to our new attempts in the future.”

Source: E Today 

Tip: Lily

Credit: Allkpop

24 July 2011 Pledisboss Twitter Profile Picture Update

Credit: AfterSchoolDaze
 

22 July 2011 Pledis responds to criticisms of AS Blue’s ‘too sexy’ look

On July 20th, After School’s new sub-unit, ‘A.S. Blue‘, finally unveiled their debut music video for “Wonder Boy“. As the unit is in charge of the ‘innocent’ concept, fans were surprised to see the girls donning garter stockings, which is usually associated with a sexier image.

In the music video, the ladies were seen wearing a ‘pajama lingerie look’ involving a blouse, hot pants, and garter stockings. Netizens thought that the look was a bit suggestive for a unit that’s going for the innocent concept and raised a bit of controversy over the issue.

Pledis spoke up on the issue by explaining, “It’s not a garter belt but a ‘leggy look’ knee-socks fashion. In order to improve the style, we added a white connecting string from the pants to the stockings.”

Source + Photos: Star N News via Naver

Credit: Allkpop

*Gosh... Why there are so many criticisms regarding AS Blue.. =(

21 July 2011 Pledis responds to accusations of AS Blue copying Fin.K.L.

After School’s new sub-unit AS Blue is caught in a controversy that allege they copied old school K-pop girl group, Fin.K.L.

AS Blue released their new song “Wonder Boy” on July 20th, and the song quickly garnered accusations of how it was too similar to Fin.K.L.’s 1999 hit song, “Forever Love“. Not only does the song have a similar concept, but the last line which states “Promise me” can also be found in Fin.K.L.’s work as well.

Pledis Entertainment explained,

“It is true that we set Fin.K.L’s ‘Forever Love’ as the concept, since it had a huge ripple effect in the ’90s. However, we were only paying to the innocence and bubbly feel of ‘Forever Love’. We did not intend to cause a controversy over plagiarism.

‘Forever Love’ was able to receive much love because it had easy lyrics to sing along to and a fun melody. We wanted to recreate that positive effect through ‘Wonder Boy’.

 ‘Wonder Boy’ is a pop song that can be joyfully listened to, and is easy to sing along to. If you watch a performance, you will see that AS Blue has a own charm totally different from Fin.K.L’s.“

Unfortunately for AS Blue, their connection to Fin.K.L. isn’t the only controversy they have to face. The girls really sought to exude a sense of innocence in their image, but netizens were thrown off by how they donned white garter belts in the music video.

Many people are expressing that garter belts, often considered to be a sexy, if not racy fashion item, are inappropriate for AS Blue’s innocent and cute concept.

Source: Newsen via Nate, Newsen

Credit: Allkpop

18 July 2011 Pledis Entertainment to hold ‘2011 Summer Vacation Happy Pledis Audition’

After School and Son Dambi’s agency, Pledis Entertainment, will be holding their ‘2011 Summer Vacation Happy Pledis Audition‘. This audition will be following their previous ‘2010 Finding After School’s 9th Member‘ and ‘2011 After School Boys‘ auditions.

Whoever gets selected in this audition will be given the opportunity to participate in the ‘Happy PLEDIS‘ album alongside Son Dambi, After School, Orange Caramel, and After School Boys.

‘Happy PLEDIS’ is a seasonal album where Pledis Entertainment artists contribute songs that give off warm feelings during the cold winter. A portion of the albums sales are then donated to charity.

Every Pledis Entertainment audition has drawn in about 7,000 applicants. Many are wondering exactly how many people will be auditioning for this upcoming audition.

A Pledis Entertainment representative revealed,

“This ‘Happy PLEDIS’ audition will begin accepting applications on July 18th through the Pledis email and Cyworld C-log. This is an opportunity to discover your talents in a variety of areas such as singing, dancing, acting, and modeling. We are looking for stars who have passion and talent.“

Meanwhile, Son Dambi is currently preparing for her next album and After School is gearing up for their comeback with their A.S. Red and A.S. Blue sub-unit teams.

Source: Newsen via Nate

Credit: Allkpop

Audition details here~

18 July 2011 Happy Pledis Summer 2011 Audition

2011 Summer Vacation – - ”HAPPY PLEDIS” AUDITION

Pledis Entertainment the home of Son Dambi, After School, Orange Caramel and the After School Boys (tentative name) will be holding auditions this summer for individuals to be featured in the upcoming “Happy PLEDIS album”.

Schedule/Auditions will take place as follows:

Applications will be received from: Mon, July 18 to Sun, Aug 7
First Announcement of accepted applicants - Tues, August 9
Second round of auditions - Sat, August 13
Second Announcement of accepted applicants - Tues, August 16
Third In-depth audition - Thurs, August 18
Final Announcement with winning candidates - Sat, August 20

Eligibility: Ten to Twenty years of age [Korean, Chinese, Japanese, etc ...]

Support areas: singing, dancing, acting, and modelling

Profile Requirements: name, age, gender, height, weight, pictures - full length (body) and a Close-up shot

To apply email: happyaudition@pledis.co.kr or www.cyworld.com /happyaudition

Info via: mydream111 

Trans & Credit: ASD

 

17 July 2011 Pledisboss Twitter Photos Update

Japanese showcase Dae~Bak!

Source: pledisboss
 

12 July 2011 Pledisnews Twitter Update

110709 애프터스쿨 팬미팅에서 정규1집 <시간에 기대어>를 부르고 있는 레이나~! 팬미팅에서만 볼수 있는 특별한 무대^^ 팬 여러분들의 감동이 다시한번 전해지는 사진 대공

110709 Raina who’s singing 1st Album’s <Leaning Against Time> at After School’s fanmeeting~! A special stage which can only be seen at the fanmeeting^^ The big revealing of a picture which will bring out all fans’ emotions again!

Credit: veltizen via AfterSchoolDaze

11 July 2011 After School’s Bekah releases her graduation song, “Take Me to the Place”

After bringing fans to tears over the announcement of her departure last month, Bekah has officially graduated from After School today with the release of her ‘graduation project’, her very own solo digital single titled “Take Me to the Place“.

Pledis’s official Twitter announced, “The song was first revealed through After School’s fan meeting, and today, it will be released as a digital single. Please give it your love ^^.”

Personally written by Bekah, the song features beautiful lyrics and an equally beautiful voice singing it. It might come as a surprise to most, especially since she’s known to be the rapper of the group. Although it’s unfortunate that her talent is only able to fully shine on its own just now, the song will definitely be a sweet farewell that will remain in the memories of fans.

Check it out below, and remember to support the artist by purchasing it here.

Click here for the song

Source: Pledis Official Twitter (@pledisnews)
Credit: Allkpop