Congrats to Rain!

We at Aznconcerts want to congratulate Rain in winning the MTV Biggest Badass Star Award!!!

Rain in Concert!!!

More to come.

Source: http://jadeentertain.com/eng/index.shtml

Rain Speaks about Concert Cancellation

Korean Star Rain Criticizes Promoter After L.A.

CancellationSource: Crienglish

South Korean pop superstar Rain blamed Los Angeles concert promoter V2B Global for technical difficulties that resulted in the cancellation of his performance Saturday night at Staples Center. The date would have been the singer-dancer-actor's lone American date on his "Rain's Coming" world tour.

"The local promoter didn't set up everything," Rain, whose real name is Jeong Ji-hoon, said through a translator. "When I came to the venue, the LED screen couldn't be set up. I have rain falling in the concert -- that couldn't work. When I came to the venue, the stage wasn't set up, there were no lights, no sound. I wanted to do a great show. But yesterday, I couldn't get on stage."

V2B's Chief Executive Andy Kim did not respond to calls seeking comment.

Rain, part of the globally popular "Korean Wave" movement and often referred to as "the Justin Timberlake of Asia," said he felt sad and angry about disappointing fans, some of whom had traveled from Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul for the performance.

"I'm feeling ridiculous about the situation," said Rain. "I came here [to Los Angeles] two weeks before the concert, prepared everything and had a press conference. Then the stage wasn't set up I couldn't even sing."

Rain: Tears Fell because LA Concert was Cancelled

Thanks Cameoko for the translation. I agree, we should not blame Rain because as an artist, you have little say on things like these. There are many finite things his people have to ensure are in place before a concert can be held. I understand there are many frustrated fans out there, but sometimes things don't fall in place. Sorry...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Wk8tbst5s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxOma45RqQ4

01-Jul-07
Credit: Baidu.com
Ch to Eng: rayndrop

Singer Rain cried and looked around forlornly when LA concert was cancelled.

"My fans are more important than the stage to me."

Rain, who has been preparing whole-heartedly for the LA concert, couldn't help but break down in tears when the concert was cancelled on the day of performance.

According to Star M, which has been preparing for the Rain LA concert, after hearing about the cancellation, Rain insisted on going for the performance even if the stage is incomplete.

Star M's representative and SPN said this over an international call, "Rain saw his incomplete stage and cried." "He is weary from insisting on continuing the performance even though the stage is incomplete."

Rain heard that the performance was impossible, and saw the fans who came to the concert despite not understanding a word of English (Korean??). He kept repeating his wish to apologise to them directly.

Rain wanted to apologise directly to the fans because even though the cancellation was not caused by him, he wanted to do something for the fans within his ability.

Rain insisted on meeting the fans at the concert site, but was strongly advised to give up and leave the premises. Star M, who is in charge of his LA concert, has formally announced the cancellation. Star M and SPN representatives stated the reason "cancelled due to complicated problems" on the international call.

Rain Cancelled his LA Concert???!!!

So, my sources tell me that when they got to the Staples Center tonight, they were notified at the concert that it had been cancelled!!! Can you believe that??? A little earlier notice would have been greatly appreciated. I can just imagine all the pissed off fans getting there to hear about this. Rumor has it that the equipment didn't meet US standards.

If Rain and his company got sued for the Hawaii cancellation, this cannot be good. More news to come on this mess.

Rain is Ready to Make a Splash in America

Thanks to abc7.com, check out this article and video of Rain's LA concert

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=entertainment&id=5432404

Rain, Rain Coming Again!

Looks like Rain is back on the right track. For now....

Korean pop star Rain can now use his stage name for his "Rain's Coming'' world concert tour in the United States.

Yonhap News reported the Nevada state district court on Thursday dropped the lawsuit filed by music company Rain Corp. challenging the Korean singer's right to use his stage name in the U.S.
Rain Corp. filed the lawsuit last February, requesting the court to prevent Rain from using his stage name for his concert tour in the U.S. The company claimed it owned the copyright of the name, used by its Beatles tribute band.

However, the Nevada court did not agree with Rain Corp.'s assertions, and dismissed the case against Rain, his former management agency JYP Entertainment and concert organizer Star M Corporation. The name Rain is the English translation of the singer's Korean stage name Bi.

Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, had postponed most of his concerts in the United States early this month due to the lawsuit.

With the dismissal of the case, Rain can now continue the American leg of his ``Rain's Coming'' world tour. He is scheduled to hold a concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 30.

After the concert, Rain will head to Berlin, Germany to shoot scenes for his Hollywood film debut ``Speed Racer.''

Concert organizers said they are now trying to reschedule the postponed concerts in Atlanta, New York and San Francisco, for later this year.

(Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2007/06/201_5246.html)

It's Not Raining for Most of America

So Rain has cancelled Toronto, SF, and now Hawaii!!! It looks like NYC and Atlanta have been postponed indefinitely. This is not good. Check out this article I found on the best Korean Entertainment site, http://shenyuepop.com/. Here is just a portion of it. Please click to link to read the whole article.

A concert Friday by South Korean pop star Rain, scheduled for Aloha Stadium, has been canceled with an announcement by local promoters that may raise more questions than it answers.

The possibility of a future appearance by the Korean Wave idol hasn’t been ruled out, but that may be only because there’s little solid information to go on.

Honolulu promoters of the event, who are South Korean natives, have no alternate date. At a press conference announcing the canceled date yesterday, the promoters said they didn’t know why Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, would not appear on schedule in Honolulu.

In fact, they drew news of the cancellation from a Korea Times report Saturday that Rain’s U.S. concert dates, including Honolulu’s, were being scrapped, even though concert equipment had been shipped to Hawai’i and ticket sales continued throughout the holiday weekend.

Refunds for tickets bought through Ticketmaster will be available starting today. People who purchased $300 premium VIP tickets from Click Entertainment were advised to go to the company’s local office beginning next Wednesday to request refunds.

PROMOTERS ‘IN THE DARK’
Rain had been scheduled to appear yesterday at a press conference to promote the concert. When it became clear that he was not coming, promoters used the room at the Royal Hawaiian to announce the cancellation.

Dong Il Min, creative director of TFD Big Band, a Seoul-based organization assisting Click, said the concert was “postponed” and apologized to ticket buyers.

Dong said neither he nor Click president Seung Su Lee have received official word about Rain’s concert plans being changed....

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.

source:http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com

Credit: cia007 @ soompi

Rain's LA Concert a Go, but not the others...

So it looks like the LA concert is going to happen, but the othes will most likely be postponed. Sucks eh? Will keep all of you informed.

I have been out of town for business, so sorry for the lack of updated news.

Rain's Concert Postponed??!!!

Stayed tune. There are more rumors that Rain's US concert tour will be postponed. This sucks, but will keep you informed.

Rain's Concert Ticket Contest Update

To end the suspense and just wrap it all up, I will be drawing the winner to all of the Rain's FREE Tickets tomorrow. That's right, ALL Tickets. So all you Atlanta, Hawaii, NYC, and LA fans, get ready...

Please check back!!! Last time to step up your game!!! Good luck and remember to continue to support aznconcerts.blogspot.com!!!

Ji-Hoon vs Rain

VS

So lately, it looks like Rain's World Tour Concert has become Ji-Hoon World Tour, and I am not sure why this is happening. There have been rumors that since Rain might be leaving JYP Entertainment, there are legal issues with the name. While other rumors say he can't use "Rain" in the US during his tour, or to minimize confusion from another artist called Rain having concert in the US as well.

Personally, I think this problem must be resolved ASAP. In order to launch a brand or a person anywhere (especially in a different market), you need to stick with brand recognition. Even though people recognize his face, but the name just isn't as catchy as "Rain". In my opinion, people are going to be less accepting with "Ji-Hoon" vs "Rain". If Rain wants to have a successful launch, his brand marketing team will need to think of a solution fast. The only artists I can think of right now who has changed their name are Prince and Diddy. But they did that years after having huge success from what they were formally known as. For Rain, changing his name at such an early timing in the US will have a huge negative impact on how well he succeeds.

Rain has had 2 out of 6 concerts in North American cancelled (66% success rate), being 2nd to market (after Se7en), and a name change? Hmm... I know Rain is going to be in Speed Racer and will be recognized as Ji-Hoon Jung, so that might be a reason why they are making the change. But honestly, it might have better to stick with the name that made him popular in the first place, which was his singer name in the music industry (RAIN). People recognized him as Rain, not Ji-Hoon. But I am sure his team knows what their doing, so best of luck with that

What are your thoughts???!!!

"Rain, Rain Go Away, Come Again Some Other Day" Says SF

So word on the street is Rain's SF concert has now been officially cancelled. Can you believe it??? That's 2 out of 6 concerts cancelled in North America. What the hell???

Another Free Rain NYC Concert Ticket!!!

Since we have had so much interest for Rain's NYC concert, I have decided to have another Free ticket for the contest!!! That's 2 FREE Tickets for Rain's NYC June 23rd Concert. There will be 2 different drawings, but you could win both of them if your name gets drawn twice!!! Sweet deal eh??!!! Keep up your strong supporting efforts!!!

Rain's Toronto Concert Ticket Refund Info...

Thanks to an anonymous tip, here is some info on getting your well-deserved money back...

------------------------------
They're suppose to refund at least $250,000 which is Revolution Inc paid to Star M. But they still didn't give the money back. Revolution Inc. sold more than 2000 tickets on off line. If they don't give the money back, there's no way Revolution Inc. can refund that money. Revolution Inc. prepares to take legal action right now. but still needs your help.

For questions/comments regarding refunds and such directed directly to StarM:

Star M Director. sefira@naver.com
-----------------------------------------

Top 5 Ways to Increase Rain's Concert Ticket Sales...

So I know Rain's having some difficulty with selling tickets for his Atlanta concert. This post is my opinion on how he can increase his sales. The first thing I must state though, is that I am totally scratching my head on why Atlanta was a chosen city for his concert tour. I know he's a super pop-star, but that's currently in Asia. His fans are mostly Asians / Asian Americans, and Atlanta has only 2% Asians. I understand LA, SF, NYC, and Toronto make sense, but Atlanta? Why not Chicago that has 5%, or Boston with 8% Asian population? But what do I know. It's too late now, so all we can do is work with the situation and come up with a game plan on how to fix the situation. Here we go...

1. Have Rain actually go to Atlanta and make a simple appearance on a radio station. I don't think he has actually set foot there, so how does he expect to win over those 2% of Asians and the rest of the population who might / might not know him. While he's there, get the DJ's to play his song and have contests for his tickets (like what I am doing on my site)
2. Have a local newspaper write an article about him like he received last year from New York Times. NY to GA is a very far distance, so get him in a local paper and you'll get more awareness.
3. Have Rain go to this biggest mall down there and do a mini performance to showcase his skills. There are bound to be media coverage for something like that.
4. Invest in some street marketing (guerilla marketing) tactics such as hand outs of his singles to music lovers down there. This will drive awareness, too.
5. Since this is the last suggestion, let's think outside the box on this one!!! We need to have his fans from that area wear shirts and carry banners that promote his concert, and march a somewhat populated/famous area to get the word out. Stuff like this really draws attention and media.

So when it comes down to it, Rain needs to be there to promote his concert, on top of having devoted fans do some street marketing. Rain currently does not have the name / brand awareness he needs to just throw his debut concert there without stepping foot there. In order to increase ticket sales, we need to increase the trial rate. There are just not enough fans to have a sell out concert, so he needs to gain new fans. And the media (local tv and radio) is the biggest means of helping our man, Rain, to do so. Thoughts?

Rain's Concert Tickets in Atlanta

Apparently, Rain's concert tickets for his Atlanta concert is not doing very well, at all. Please support him and pass the word. I have a plan that I will share with all of you in a couple of days... Until then, order your tickets!!!

Stephen Colbert vs Rain?

Occasionally, I will be posting interesting videos people send me. This one is great!!! Enjoy!!!

Rain's Concert Date and Time Schedule Change

Here is an update to Rain's date and time changes for his concert.

June 9th - Rain, Toronto, ON (Molson Ampitheatre), CANCELLED
June 15th - Rain, Honolulu, HI (Aloha Stadium), 7:00pm
June 19th - Rain, Atlanta, GA (Atlanta Phillips Arena), 8:00pm
June 23rd - Rain, New York City, NY (Madison Square Garden), 8:00pm
June 27th - Rain, Daly City, CA (Cow Palace), CANCELLED
June 30th - Rain, Los Angeles, CA (Staples Center), 8:00pm

I have already ordered tickets for all the concerts available and will keep you guys informed...

Rain's first concert at Hawaii will take place in Aloha Stadium!

I found this article about Rain having a concert in Hawaii earlier than what was originally posted. I am looking into this date because it conflicts with his Atlanta concert. I think Hawaii makes more sense because there are more Asians. Having a concert in GA for someone who hasn't broken into the American market is kind of risky, even for Rain. This will be on my calendar, but only tentative. Enjoy!!!

World Star RAIN is going to rock Hawaiian on June 15 (local time)! His Hawaii concert will be held at Aloha Stadium.

Aloha Stadium is the largest and most versatile multi-purpose facility of its kind in Hawaii. The 50,000-seat facility officially opened on September 12, 1975 and features a unique air film cushion movement system that makes it possible to move four 7,000-seat sections of the stands into three different configurations: a traditional diamond for baseball (doubling as a wide rectangle for soccer), an oval for football and a triangle for concerts and other stage-type events.

This is one of his tour concerts in USA. The stadium can accommodate 50,000 audience and normally it's used for sports competitions such as baseball or American football.

Super stars including Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones, U2, Janet Jackson had their concerts here, too. In these 100 years of Korean immigrant history, Rain is the first Korean artist who will step into this stadium for his concert.

According to the news, the local fans called the ticketing hotlines once the date is fixed. Not only Korean residents, other locals also showed high interest. The State Governer of Hawaii promised to provide the assistance, too.

Rain is getting more concern these days due to the ending of his agency contract. He stated his future planning is to concentrate on tour concerts in China, Japan and USA.

After his Japan concert at Tokyo Dome on May 25, soon Rain begins his USA tours in 7 cities. It lays the foundation for his upcoming events in USA music market. Other than Hawaii concert, he plans to go to Toronto, Vancouver, Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles etc. Organiser cum sponsor for Hawaii concert is Click Entertainment; whereas USA tours are organised by Revolution USA Entertainment.

So far, Rain had two successful concerts in USA, namely Madison Square Garden concert on Feb 06 and Las Vegas concerts on Dec 06. Both concerts won great local response.

Source: chn.chosun.com
Posted by rainhk
Translation by jjbug@rain-malaysia