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?