Big Bang Female Version Released

Yes, I know this is late new, but just bare with me here. YG Entertainment has finally released 2NE1, their new girl group known infamously as the spin off of Big Bang. It seems that it’s the trend now, with So Nyo Shi Dae being the spin off of Super Junior. But nonetheless, I think they deserve a fair chance. Their recent CF with Big Bang was a huge hit especially with the dijital release of their song Lollipop. But keep a  look out for their new girl group that might make our three rival groups turn into a four way square of hate (or love, if you prefer/believe in the everyone-is-friends theory).

HB 2009 Sends Fans into Chaos

WARNING: this is probably not the most interesting post I have ever written, more like a financial view on kpop, but I mean where are you not going to here are money in this economy?

The Korean Times Music Festival Hollywood Bowl is considered the biggest korean concert held here in America and attracts fans from Los Angeles to New York to Toronto as it is one of the few concerts that allow North American fans to catch a glimpse of their idol stars that are usually thousands of miles away. In the past, HB has welcomed reknowned idol groups such as Big Bang, So Nyo Shi Dae, SS501, Epik High, Baek Ji Young, Dong Bang Shin Ki, etc. and although it is meant to aim for a a wider audience, it is infamous a the concert of all concerts for teenagers and college kids. With last year’s list inviting So Nyo Shi Dae, Dong Bang Shin Ki, Super Junior and more, one would think that this year’s would be just as solid, no? But what seemed to be a United States recession has now become a global recession, becoming more apparent to fans around the world.

Speculation

For some, HB is the place to see all the idol stars, but with the growing economy up until recent months, HB started to turn into a money-making opportunity for speculators. In a nutshell: fans buy tickets at Korean Times in mass, up to 4-6 tickets, the day the tickets come out. Many times, these are the people that live close or can get their hands on the tickets the fastes. Now, let’s say the terrace tickets are selling for 150 dollars apiece and you ordered the ticket at the end of January or early February when none of the artists have been released. Now, most times, these sellers will post their tickets on blog or soompi at a price, say $175. Then the ticket may be bought by a hardcore Super Junior fans, who has missed the chance to get a good terrace seat and even thought the extra 25 dollars may seem to be a lot, but it is pretty reasonable. The speculation comes more into play as more artists are being released and the better the list is, the higher the prices go. Some pool seats, standard at 200 dollars a piece are sold for 450 dollars a piece at prime time. The whole ideal is to get the tickets at a reasonable price and just god damn hope that some good artists are coming.

What Happened to HB 2009?

It seems that Korea Times has released it’s final artist list Girls’ Generation (SNSD) | Lee Juk | Lena Park | Kim Changwan Band | Son Ho Young | SHINee |Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter | Kim Heung Gook | Tae Jina | Tenor Um Jung Haeng |Kim Tae Woo | Baek Ji Young|SS501 (all five members) | Min Hae Kyung.  Now, maybe i’m not so up-to-date with korean music, but it you were to show this list to me, I would only recognize about 5-6 of the artists, not even considering that I don’t really like all of the ones that I know. So for any teenager, this is a damn disappointing list, not saything that I wouldn’t want to listen to all the older artists, but it’s more of a monetary concern. Yah, I’d probably want to see Shinee, So Nyo Shi Dae, SS501, and Baek Ji Young, but is it worth 200+ dollars? It seems that KT was hoping that with the recent Kkotnam craze, that SS501 would be able to boost some sales. But reality is, tickets are selling like hotcakes, and for those folks who are dead set on going, I don’t advise you to buy the ticket just yet. On soompi (http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?&showtopic=274111&st=80) it may seem that some ticket prices are still high, but as the sellers are becoming more and more depsperate, prices will start to lower and get closer and closer to the original price. If you’re really a whimsical person, just wait a couple days beforehand and I can almost guarantee a good price. Many Super Junior, DBSK, and Big Bang fans are dropping out and their ticket are up for sale. So go out and get yourself some tickets!

Super Junior Finally Become Men

Super Junior has been gone for about a year anad a half now, just like So Nyo Shi Dae, but for those hard core fans that have been waiting all this time all I have to say is: damn, it was worth the wait. It seems that Super Junior has finally transformed from cutesy men, to punk, to finally men, performing with suits and clean haircuts rather than white streaked hair and dangling clothes. I mean, I loved U, but it seems that Super Jnior was the last to hop off the trend of the late 1990 and early 2000 when everyone else was moving towards a more “gentlemen” look. Can’t say the same thing about girl bands, but that’s for another day. But, see for yourself.

Super Junior – Sorry Sorry Performance (Music Bank 3.14.2009)

Has 2009 Already Been Pooped Out?

The year 2009 started off with a bang in the drama industry, producing hit dramas such as East of Eden, Boys Over Flowers, My Precious Child and a few others. But it seems that after late march and mid-May, there won’t be much left except for our trilogy of saeguk dramas. With East of Eden finsihed last Tuesday, My Precious Child finishing in the next two weeks and Boys Over Flowers finishing by the end of March, is there anything worth watching? Looking at what’s planned for the slots, it looks like a pretty mellow year except for maybe Triple with a strong cast, and again, our three saeguk dramas. The Road Home, the successor of You Are My Destiny, has been pummeled by competition at the beginning of the year, barely staying afloat with mid 18% ratings. Cinderella Man is iffy, with it’s pre-destined melodramatic storyline and some not so strong acting. MBC’s daily drama, I Love You Don’t Cry has also suffered from the fierce competition this year. Cain and Abel started out strong with mid-teen ratings and hopefully will be able to branch out and reach its full potential by the beginning of April. Life is Beautiful on SBS seems promising with Han Hyo Joo, Lee Seung Ki, and Moon Chae Won in the cast listing, but again, nothing is certain. But, reality is folks, whatever you’ve seen in the last three months, is about as good as it’s gonna get…

OH, and for those of you ardent Boys Over Flowers fans, read your most reliable spoilers and never before seen pics here at http://kpculture.wordpress.com/. Have fun!

Waiting for New Generation Boy Band?

It’s interesting how the entertainment industry just keeps circling around itself. Today, the big girl groups are So Nyo Shi Dae, Kara, and Wonder Girls, each from a rivaling entertainmet groups. From the male side, we’ve got Big Bang and Shinee really kicking into the in industry 2007 and last year. But, haven’t we seen this phase a decade ago? S.E.S, FinKL and Baby V.O.X. were popular rivaling girl groups trying to hit the top fo the music charts at the beginning of the kpop music industry. We got Shinhwa and H.O.T. controlled the fashion trends and the idols of korean teenagers around the world. Now all have disbanded (tells you a lot about the length of a typical music career) except Shinhwa which is fading out of the picture as its members have either gone to the military, started solo activities, or the popular route: starting your own entertainment industry. But what’s that got to do with today? Shall we compare…

                                         Baby V.O.X.                                                                                         So Nyo Shi Dae

          vs.     

                                          

  Wonder Girls                                                                                                                         S.E.S

     vs.    

                             

                                        FinKL                                                                                                   KARA

   vs.  

                         Dong Bang Shin Ki                                                                                             Shinhwa

     vs.

        

                                 Big Bang                                                                                                                     Shinee

   vs.                   

SO, it’s not an exact comparison, but… you get the drift. We see this new generation of girl bands taking over those disbanded around 2003 or earlier (with a lot of failures in between) but who is going to be the big boy band to complete our circle? Many have said that DBSK was the new Shinhwa, but as Shinee came about, Shinee became the new DBSK? The latter one seems a bit idealistic but for DBSK to reach the 10 year consistency that Shinhwa has kept will be a challenge. But who will it be? 2PM recently debuted from JYP or is someone else?

SM… Are You Kidding Me?

It turns out after Lee Min Ho took a tumble at the 45th Paeksang Awards, Tiffany also took a fall, but spraining her ankle in the process. Thank goodness she went to the hospital and the doctor said that she would require a cast and some rest. But for SM, I guess rest means still performing, but standing off on the side and singing. Why the sudden push for nine member unity on stage, Lee Soo Man? Should we review Yoona’s attendance sheet? Was it that hard to give Tiffany a couple days off?

Kkotnam Episodal Madness Intro & EP 15

So I’ve decided to open up a whole new category just to sustain my Boys over Flowers madness because I feel that I’ve got too much feeling building up inside and to release some of it on the keys. So most of the comments I’ll make will be spur of the moment. Many times I think differently later, but just to keep that in mind. As for the couples, I’m a big SoEul fan, so sometimes that gets the better of me. I’ll try to put pics in because I know that I like pics when reading recaps so hopefully that’ll help. My recaps are complete, but just someof the highlights that I found exciting or important. Now for episode 15!!!

Actually, in comparsion with other monday episode showing, I must say that this one was a lot more interesting and less of a “set up” episode. First, I was really happy about the filming in Macau (for once) because the people could actually speak fluent Chinese and not some chopped out version of Korean and Hyun Joong’s Chinese is pretty damn good in relation to some that I’ve heard (coughSong Seung Hooncough).

   

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that the directors decided to add some new versions of Because I’m Stupid and I’m pretty sure that Hyun Joong sings a solo version while playing the guitar.

 

Then of course, Jan Di’s heel breaks off, cliche much? And being the charming man that he is, Ji Hoo give her a piggy back, because we can’t have girls running around in broken heels now can we… But they both look pretty happy, Ji Hoo in particular.

 

Since we’re talking about cliche scenes, we see Goo Jun Pyo sitting in his car and seeing Hyun Joong carry Jan Di inside. What would we do without these ironic cliche scenes…But I love Jun Pyo’s facial expressions because you can feel the pain, anger and frustration and how much he wishes he could just jump of that car and attack someone.

 

Then in the midst of all this hidden tension, we have a cute scene where Jan Di is still drowsy and not really here and Ji Hoo accidentally comes into the bathroom while she’s taking care of some … business. Ji Hoo acts cooly but confused while Jan Di starts screaming like a madwoman…. hehe. Props to Goo Hye Sun for her facial expressions

 

As Ji Hoo and Jan Di are about to head back home, Ji Hoo provides Jan Di with new shoes to replace her broken heels. Ironically, the same shoes that Goo Jun Pyo was planning to buy earlier. What can I say… they both have the same taste in women and … women’s shoes? But the fairy tale feel is strong, but in the midst we hear someone panting in the distance…

 

And it’s Goo Jun Pyo!! No way. But if you look a little closer at him, you’ll realize the hard breathing is his rage at not only Ji Hoo, but also Jan Di for giving Ji Hoo a chance. Hyun Joong performs one of his “mad” scenes were his acting skills actually start to come out. Of course, there is punching… but that’s the way we do it in Kkoputa Namja.

 

Probably one of my favorite scenes in the whole episode was of Goo Jun Pyo crying. No, I’m not goth or emo. I love this because… damn the guy can act. Some of the best crying and his face looks like… he was going to give birth or something.

 

After coming back from vacation, we see that Jan Di is clearly distressed from her visit (well, duh) and she starts to make mistakes in the restaraunt. An unexpected call comes for her to deliver some food and she ends up in the hospital (yes… the one with the ex-president) and the doctor immediately yells at her to start taking care of the patients. Not the best way to start out, but in time, we see Jan Di work with the patients and go through the cute but painful process of putting a baby to sleep. We also so a spiffy new haircut from Ji Hoo, which does look much better.

  

To make matter better, truly, Jun Pyo’s sister, Joon Hee shows up (a little random though) and I’m pretty sure that she’s aware of the current situation, but still greets Jan Di as if she was her sister-in-law. On the other hand, Jan Di looks dazed and lost, obviously still distressed.

 

Joon Hee takes Jan Di to her house and they have some tea, but as Jan Di wanders around the house, she finds Joon Pyo’s room. The room of memories. She reminisces about their past, when it was still a one-sided love…

 

Then, we switch to our SoEul couple who are sitting in Yi Jung’s bright yellow/orange sports car (he really couldn’t have picked something less… in your face?) But our cute couple looks like something from Mafia movie (minus the flashy yellow) like they’re secret lovers ready to die together… sigh. In short, Yi Jung hopes, more like demands, that Ga Eul bring Jan Di to Jun Pyo’s birthday party. Being the good and smart friend that she is, she refuses, but he somehow coerces her to agree. It’s his charm.

   

…But we can’t stop here, with this solemness now can we? So Yi Jung gives Ga Eul a ton of boxes, while she’s stuttering for a rebuttal, that contain dresses for the birthday party. When cute couples bicker, it’s … it’s just magical.

   

Jan Di and Ga Eul show up at the birthday party… lookig beautiful as usual Although I still think the long hair looks better with Ga Eul… but just a thought

Planning to make a fool out of Jan Di, Joon Pyo’s evil evil mother asks her to play a song of the audience, clearly aware that Jan Di has never officially played the piano let alone have training in that field. We just and slap our foreheads saying… Jan Di is screwed… I can’t watch! But Jan Di turns right around not only plays, but sings as well! Slaps that woman right in the face, metaphorically speaking. As a rebut… kind of, Joon Pyo’s mom announces Joon Pyo’s engagement to Han Jae Kyung, which suprises everyone… F4, Joon Pyo, Jan Di, Jae Kyung, and somehow I can just hear Ga Eul stuttering in the background with Yi Jung trying to calm her down.

    

After the ceremony, Joon Pyo is upset beyond words, not only at his mother, but at Jan Di for being so… dumb and actually coming. Trying to catch a word with her, he catches her arm (or what he thinks is Jan Di’s arm) and starts walking away rapidly… But in fact, he grabbed Jae Kyung’s arm. Wow. A little bit of chuckles came out in the midst of all this. A combination of the facial expressions… and the foot-not-one-my-foot scene.

     

   

So… that concludes episode 15. Pretty eventful overall and leaving us with a lot to think about and anticipate for tomorrow’s episode. But in case you’re a tad curious… here some caps for the preview. Mostly eye candy, but definately something to comment on.

This pic doesn’t really tell us much, but basically, Ji Hoo realizes that Jan Di has been working for … his grandfather. Probably more family background in the next episode to explain the running and the “Ji Hoo! Ji Hoo!”

  

Now… this. This is eye candy. But before you gorge yourself on the pictures… it’s just a figment of Jan Di’s imagination. Yep. Sorry to break it to you, but I’m hoping that it’ll pop up again sometime later. These are definately to die for!

 

 

Dun…Dun…Duuuunnnn

MR Videos Flooding the Internet

   

                                          BoA                                                                                          Dong Bang Shin Ki                  

  

                                 Big Bang                                                                                        Wonder Girls

Apparently all the rage now with neitzens is MR videos, MR standing for music removed. Basically, neitzens really want to test out their favorite kpop bands to see if they can really sing with all the background music and instrumentals removed. MR videos take out most of the background music except for the main beat and most of the chorus sections (which leaves Nobody almost to less than a minute of actual solos). Many times, we’re too distracted with all the loud music in the background to hear the singers and gauge their actual singing ability. All kpop bands have been under scrutiny, including Big Bang, Wonder Girls, Kara, So Nyo Shi Dae, and DBSK. DBSK really has nothing to worry about because even though they aren’t my favorite group, they all are extremely talented and their singing abilities are off the charts. As for some of the fake singers out there, entertainment companies should really be worried. In their defense, many entertainment representatives have said that environment and conditions affect the singing abilites of their artists at concerts and such. Okaay… Understandable, but if you’re artists are “affected” all the time, shouldn’t it be something to worry about. Not suprisingly, SNSD, Kara, and Wonder Girls have been under the spotlight with a lot of neitzens appalled certain bands because of their “real” singing ability. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I could have produced something better sitting at home, but it’s suprising to hear some of the “actual singing”. It might sound wierd at first, but if it sounds weak to you, it’s not the software that did it, it’s the singers.  It’s comforting to see some people looking at the voices and not just the faces, but this will definately stir up some arguments.

Big Bang – Haru Haru MR

Wonder Girls – Nobody MR

Wonder Girls – Tell Me MR

Kara – Honey MR

Super Junior – Don’t Don MR

Kara – Pretty Girl MR

BoA – Eat You Up & Look Who’s Talking MR

Girls’ Generation Comes Out with Gee Remix to Keep It “Fresh”

Yup, that’s right. The song that Korea’s been drooling over for the past 2 months has now come out in remix version. Personally, it was a hit and miss with some lean towards the positive. Overall, it was really similar to the original, but with a more techno feel and the a faster beat in the background. Maybe some change in the lyrics, but nothing really obvious. But with the faster beat came more dancing, not complicated, but at least some more movement. But enough from me, time to decide for yourself!

YoonA Casted In Cinderella Man

If you ask me, not exactly one of the best dramas to be taking off in, but with Kwon Sang Woo in the casting, Yoona is sure to get hit with more of the spotlight. She is casted as one of the top female actresses, maybe even the main actress role because apparently Han Eun Jung and Han Hae Jin were rejected by the actors. If that’s interpreted how I think it’s interpreted, then Kwon Sang Woo needs to get a grip man. You’re married!  After Yoona’s hit with You Are My Destiny, she is now under the radar is a potential rising actress. She does have a lot of potential but she’s not picking dramas that are favorable to her. You Are My Destiny. Great drama with a little bit of complication, but the big drawback was the chemistry between Park Jae Jung and Yoona. Now with Cinderella Man, she’s co-starring with Kwon Sang Woo who’s how many times her age? But as we all know, Kwon Sang Woo is the histrionic drama king, so grab the tissue box and find a comfy couch since this isn’t going to be a smooth ride. Maybe Yoona should work with people closer to her age… Imagine Yoona in Boys Over Flowers….

credit @ http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=106&oid=108&aid=0001974453