Although Cube Entertainment has yet to release any information in regards to 4minute debuting outside Korea and Japan, it seems like there's already some interest brewing from internationally-based sources. After 4minute won the "K-Pop New Artist of the Year" award at the Billboard Japan Music Awards 2010 that took place earlier this week, the victory earned attention from CNN's Asian online newspaper CNNGo as well as Billboard's B2B website Billboard.biz. The CNNGo article praised,

"Winners on the night, chosen by Billboard, included one of the leaders of the K-Pop boom, girl group 4Minute, who took home a Korea Billboard Special Award. The five-piece showed exactly why South Korean acts are stealing a march on their Japanese counterparts with tightly choreographed performances of "First" and "Muzik," with the hall's speaker system booming. Fans screamed out the names of the girls, who did their best to answer questions on stage in Japanese, and the five-piece delighted the press by hanging around for extra shots, before attending a luxury after-party at the Ritz Carlton hotel."

Billboard.biz also included 4minute in their coverage, posting their Japanese FIRST music video, commenting on the girls' fashion and choreography. A representative of 4minute revealed today, "On the day of the Billboard Awards, Bill Werde, the American Billboard's editorial director, asked for an applause from the audience after 4minute's performance, then said, 'It's a pity that a group like this is known only in Asia.'" Werde continued to praise the quintet on his personal Twitter (@bwerde), tweeting, "K-poppers 4 Minute play @ Billboard Japan awards. Some1 needs to explain why they aren't stars in US. Catchy songs, great look, high energy ... K-pop has really taken over the japanese market, and asia in gen." Werde also promised to publish an article on Billboard.com soon to focus on the 4minute. According to the eDaily report, 4minute has finished preparing for their debut in America. No other details or official reports have been released about such a debut, but stay tuned to allkpop as we continue to follow this matter. Source: eDaily, CNNGo, Billboard.biz, Twitter