Due to BEAST's new mini-album being illegally leaked onto the internet earlier today, Cube Entertainment has announced that its release will be moved forward. Details after the jump. Unlike in the West, it's uncommon for Korean albums to leak before their set release date - BEAST are one of the few exceptions. To remedy this emergency and prevent more illegal downloads, Cube Entertainment has moved the release date to tomorrow, March 1. According to a Cube Ent. representative, "On the 2nd [of March] we were planning to release 'Shock of the new era' offline, online and through mobile. But we found out that their title song "Shock" and (album track) "Special" had been leaked on the 28th." The representative further explained that the songs were first seen on popular video site YouTube and that Cube will apparently "take appropriate actions against that person" if they manage to track down the source of the leak. Cube insists that the leak and the change in release date is not a publicity stunt, saying, "This is not noise marketing. We're upset that we can't do everything as planned."

Korean boy band BEAST releases their second mini-album, “Shock of the New Era,” on March 2, with the carrier single “Shock.” The new album is totally different from the group's debut album “Beast is the B2ST,” seemingly exuding a maturing musicality and with better vocal performance. It contains five tracks, namely “Just Before Shock,” “Shock,” “Special,” “Take Care of My Girlfriend” and “Easy.” A teaser for the music video was made public last February 27. The album is available online via music sites like Melon and Dosirak. BEAST is composed of leader Doo Joon, Jun Hyung, Gi Kwang, Dong Woon, Yo Seob and Hyun Seung. The group debuted in October last year under Cube Entertainment, the agency of girl band 4Minute and an affiliate of JYP Entertainment. Doo Joon has carved a special place in the hearts of Filipino fans following his recent visit to the country to film an episode of the MBC program “Danbi” together with Nichkhun, member of Korean boy band 2PM, and actress Song Ji-hyo. Doo Joon is the first BEAST member to visit the country. Since debuting, BEAST have racked up three rookie awards. They were awarded the Rookie Music Award by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism last December and bagged the Rookie of the Month for December in the Cyworld Digital Music Awards. This year, the group won the Best Newcomer Award in the 19th Seoul Music Awards.

Popular Idol group BEAST (Yoon DooJoon, Yang YoSeob, Jang HyunSeung, Lee KiKwang, and Son DongWoon) reveal their fresh, no make-up faces! March 30th, SBS Power FM ‘Choi HwaJeong’s Power Time‘ (Abbreviated ChoiPaTa) revealed this selca picture taken by their guests, BEAST, through their homepage. In the actual photo, BEAST members Yoon DooJoon, Yang YoSeob, and Son DongWoon were the only ones to show off their bright and clean complexions. However, it was still cool to see how the boys looked without all the makeup and stage outfits, right? The host of the radio show introduced the boys by saying,” Greeting us with an energetic voice, BEAST comes in! Look at those black pupils!! Look at their shining, no makeup faces! It’s really hard to stand in front of these creatures because they are so bright! They all have such long legs!” Recently, BEAST’s level of popularity has risen thanks to ‘Shock’, their newest song, and continues to go higher and higher. On March 25th, BEAST won their very first #1 award on Mnet’s ‘M-Countdown’ with ‘Shock’, beating out 2AM for first place with their song ‘I Did Wrong’. This was their very first time winning #1 on a live music program ever since they debuted 2009 , and were overcome with joy, crying as they received the award. Hopefully, their success continues, and we look forward to see more of BEAST!

"Hello. BEAST manager Lee Gi-kwang speaking." This is a real situation. It is student Se-ho, no, Lee Ki-gwang, who takes the phone calls to mediate press coverages on set and delivers the news to the members. One does not need to look far to find out who the first star of MTV "B2ST Almighty" is, the show which grants wishes of Korean viewers. It is none other than the manager of the group, who does everything with them every single day. He has become busier with the increasing popularity of BEAST and in order to make his wish come true, which is "to rest," the members take turns by the hour doing their manager's work. Temporary manager Ki-gwang panics at the sight of reporters on set, saying "Ha, this is an unexpected situation," but looks for his group's members one by one, asking for their cooperation. Even when the other members are more focused on the snacks delivered by the temporary manager than his immediate request. Hyun-seung can't even take his eyes off the television screen which is playing Usher's music video. He must have already seen it several hundreds of times but for him, who follows Usher's dance moves while sitting down, all the time that he is not on stage is all rehearsal time.

U.S. pop star Amerie claims that her all-time favorite Korean pop group is Roo'ra, one of the hottest groups in the country during the early 1990s. The singer made the remark during an interview with boy band Beast member Yoon Du-jun on Mnet's music program "Popcon" while in Korea last week to promote the Korean edition of her latest album "In Love & War." "I had listened to Roo'ra's songs since I was a little girl. They were one of the best groups," the songstress said, adding that she also enjoys listening to songs by BoA, Lee Hyori and Uhm Jung-hwa. "It was great to meet the members of 4minute after having listened to their songs. They are a talented bunch of girls and I felt a sense of accomplishment sharing the stage with them," the pop princess said of girl group 4minute. She had collaborated with the five-member idol group for her single "Heard 'em All" from album, performing the song at several venues during her five-day stay, including Mnet's weekly show "M! CountDown" on March 25. Amerie, 30, made her musical debut in 2002 with her album "All I Have." She is well-known for her hit songs "1 Thing," "Pretty Brown" and "Why R U." She topped the prestigious Billboard Hip-hop/R&B charts multiple times and is a two-time Grammy Awards nominee.