Monday, August 31, 2015

Into the Woods

Into the Woods” is a Walt Disney production so needless to say, it is child friendly and being a musical, it was an amusing feeling to see the characters sing out their emotions. “Into the Woods” is basically a mash-up of 5 all time favorite fairytales rolled up into 1. You have the baker and his wife (who can be considered to be the main leads), Cinderella, little red riding hood, Rapunzel and Jack and the beanstalk.

While the whole storyline can be found on Wikipedia…In a nutshell, the baker (who is actually the brother of Rapunzel) and his wife want a baby of their own so badly that they agree to a witch’s condition to bring her 4 items to make a certain potion in exchange for a baby: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold.

The story starts out with the couple (baker and wife) who open their shop and singing about how much they want a baby. Little red riding hood comes in to the shop and tries to eat more bread than buy bread to bring to her grandmother. When little red riding hood leaves the bakery, the witch suddenly appears (in a very dramatically manner) and offers them the deal (with a little persuasion of course).

So with a mission in mind, the baker and his wife set out to find all the 4 items for the witch, and along the way they encounter the other characters who are intertwined into the storyline. The way the characters are written to meet each other coincidentally and how they all play a part in the big picture is an interesting concept: there is no real focus on the main protagonist s (the supposedly the baker and his wife?), but rather all the characters have their own (almost) equal amount of screen time to propel the story forward. So rather than it being a story, it is more like many sub-stories making up the bigger storyline.

In this adaption, the baker’s wife actually meets Cinderella multiple times when she escapes her prince at the stroke of midnight, and she even plays a role in adding the prince to ‘capture’ Cinderella during one of the escapes. 

The baker's wife and Cinderella on one of her escapes from the prince

The magic beans that Jack has turns out to have been from the baker, and the main reason why Jack climbed up the beanstalk was mainly because he was provoked by little red riding hood. Who would have imagine that from the beanstalk which sprouted from the magic bean came the female giant (at the end of the movie) who came down seeking revenge on Jack for killing her husband.

Meeting with Jack (and the beginning of the beanstalk)

This is another turning point in the story where all the characters (minus the wolf) band together to come up with a way to defeat the giantess. Being a child-friendly movie, the process in which the baker’s wife got pregnant and gave birth to the baby was within mere seconds, akin to having the stomach pumped with air to the right size and bam… a baby nicely swaddled and clean in her arms appears. Despite this, the movie does portray some reality to it by actually having some of the characters die: Jack’s mother dies in the aftermath of the giantess and so does the baker’s wife when she has a momentary lapse in judgment and has an ‘affair’ (ok so it was just kissing) which results her in losing her way back to the group (they thought of a plan to lure the giantess and ultimately destroy her) and falling to her death.

Needless to say the baker was depressed, and there seemed to be a budding relationship between him and Cinderella (talk about fast) towards the end of the movie. Cinderella after realizing that the prince was more of a flamboyant Casanova, decided to abandon the ‘plastic’ prince. What I liked about this movie was that the princes in the movie were portrayed as their exaggerated original (intended) selves: they were flamboyant Casanovas who has a bit of that self-righteous full of themselves himbo characteristic, which made them more realistic. 

The slightly delusional himbo princes
I mean, who falls in love and marries a girl (e.g. Cinderella) after dancing with her a few times, without knowing her name or what she did etc…? If it weren’t for the looks, than he would not have chosen her and being so superficially that would have been a marriage that would not have lasted since there was no real bond to speak of in the fast place. And don’t get me started on the prince (e.g. Rapunzel) who cheated a girl (by pretending to be her adoptive mother), bedded her (think it’s not shown in the movie) and then marries her only after a few times. If Rapunzel was not beautiful, he would not have been captivated by her beauty and tried to climb up the tower by pretending to be her (adoptive) mother (the witch). Gallant, suave and charismatic? Nope, rather more like cunning, conman, persuasive. Haha But what this is a fairytale after all…

All in all, the songs were entertaining and the characters colorful. I didn’t go in expecting anything so the result was actually quite entertaining; definitely a good movie to watch to while away the time.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Battle of the KFC Wings!

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Renowned for its fried chicken, KFC is one of the leading fast food restaurants that serve up yummy fried chicken at affordable prices. Since its first outlet in 1977, there are currently 87 KFC outlets throughout Singapore. So in order to generate more fried chicken loving customers, KFC has been constantly updating their service by offering delivery to the doorstep! Of course, they also update their menu from time to time and include something new. This time round KFC launches the new KFC Wings – Freshly breaded in-store with a special batter, these juicy wings are cooked to crispy perfection and coated in two bold flavors – the tangy yet savory Japanese inspired Umadare and the sweet and spicy Korean inspired Yang Yeum. Who will be crowned king of the wings? You decide. 

The wings set, a la carte, consist of 4 pieces of chicken (wings and/or drums) and cost S$4.90 which is pretty affordable and surprisingly quite filling (if your appetite is not that big or you are not that hungry). However, if you have a bigger appetite the bento set with rice might be just the meal for you: the sauce from the wings whets the appetite and makes you just want to make eat up all that rice. It only costs S$6.90 and comes with side salad, and the new 7Up Lemon Mint drink! 

*Available at all KFC stores except KFC Sentosa and Singapore Zoo.* 

I’ve had the opportunity to try both flavors and I have to admit it was a tough choice having to decide between the two of them. But decide I did...
 The Umadare flavored wings are Japanese inspired. It’s sweet & tangy sauce tingles the taste buds and make you just want to eat more; perfect if matched with rice (and you are very hungry)! 

While the Umadare flavored wings are nice, my vote would have to go to the Korean inspired Yang Yeum wings!! 

The sweet and spicy sauce not only tasted fabulous, it was somewhat spicily addictive as well. The more I ate the more I wanted to eat! The sauce may be spicy, but it is tolerable (at least to me): the spiciness doesn’t linger on the lips and mouth for very long and is not overbearing, which makes you (ok, me) want to take another bite of that yummy chicken. One word – shiok. 

Just talking about it now is actually making my mouth water... oh no... 

Instagram Contest 

KFC is having an Instagram contest and having a battle of the wings. All you have to do is post a picture or video of yourself enjoying the wings on Instagram and hashtag your vote as either #KFCoishii (for Umadare) or #KFCmashisoyo (for Yang Yeum) in your posts. One lucky winner will be chosen from the ‘winning flavour’ to win a prize. If you are doing a video, don’t forget to say ‘oishii!’ or ‘mashisoyo!’ while eating the wings.   So what are you waiting for? Be part of KFC’s greatest wing-off today and pick a side!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Infinity Challenge Music Festival 2015 review

Infinity Challenge 2015 just held its Yeongdong Expressway music festival on 13 August. We get to watch the music showcase on television now. It is impressive that they keep improving everytime. This music festival will be held every two years and this year is the most impressive performances ever in my opinion. Each team has their own style despite having upbeat dance songs for the grand summer party! I love the beautiful stage, sound system, props, dancers and those stage effects (lasers, fireworks, pyrotechnics, confetti).

Looks like people from all over the world came here for the cool summer party, unfortunately they also left behind many rubbish overnight which is not cool at all. Please do not put the blame on Infinity Challenge team, they even have to ask their own staffs to clear the trashs! Although I have missed this chance to watch their live performance in Korea, i still can watch the video clips on Internet which is a consolation for me. Two years later, perhaps I may have the opportunity to be part of the Korea music festival. Anyway, these are the songs that were performed on that day.

1) Kwanghee, G-dragon and Taeyang (Hwangtaeji)

Title song: Mapsosa (Oh my gosh)
Music Review: GDYB in the house!!! It is a guarantee that this performance will be great. While these professional artistes were performing onstage, the audiences were seen partying with them too. What a fantastic way to start the performances and get the ball rolling! For once, I see Kwanghee as an idol instead of a comedian. It is obvious that Kwanghee is nervous and he tried his best to keep up his pace with GD and youngbae, the best part is that he did not disappoint. Despite some flaws, i can see that Kwanghee is diligent in his training and practices. Those hard work pays off onstage judging from the response from the audiences.

My only complaint is his shoulder pads which look so weird and funny. I share the same view as most of the netizens about Kwanghee blonde hair. He does look great in this hairstyle. Mapsosa is a cross version between Fantastic Baby and Bang, Bang, Bang. I think GD is really a music genius! That is simply an improvised version of Big Bang music and Kwanghee dream just came true! OH MY GOSH! HwangTaeJi hits number one in the music chart!!!

 2) IU and Park Myung Soo (EU God-G isn’t EU)

 Title song: Leon 
Music review: IU and DJ park is an unusual pair up in Infinity Challenge. However, I am surprised that they were able to blend their style of music so well!! IU always give the impression of a sweet and demure girl-next-door type of image. It is a refreshing change to see IU being a little sexy and fun loving. Their EDM song “Léon” portrays how the wanderer Léon and Matilda become involved in each other’s lives. In the performance, IU dresses like Matilda and mesmerizes the crowd with her short hair. This collaboration seem to be an adventure or should I say a musical experiment for the both of them.

The props that they earned in the previous episode proved to be too much for our DJ Park to handle. This poor man was captured shaking his hand after he spring out from the elevator and landed onstage. He looked so scared but he still tried his best to remain calm! Anyway, what's up with the weird sunglasses, it does not look good at all. The highlight of the day was the EMD music with Jae Hwan dancing while showing his flabby belly whenever he jumped onstage.

3) Haha and Zion-T (Eutteugeottasi)

Title song: Sponsors
Music Review: I am expecting quality in this team as they were already established musicians in their own rights. Truly, Zion-T hype up the atmosphere with his rendition of Michael Jackson dance move along with his soulful voice. We all know Haha can dance and is a reggae singer. However, this is the first time I ever saw Zion-T dance onstage. My initial thought was, "Oh Zion-T can dance, I am surprised." The song totally represented Zion-T style in every single bits. Haha deep voice actually blended well together with this song.

This is the only group that fully utilized the stage effects and props given to its fullest potential. The moment they stood on the lifter and flash the papers with pictures of themselves to the audiences, I can imagine myself among the audiences, grabbing all the "money" for memories sake! That makes me sad to miss this music festival. Anyway, I am sure one of these days I will have the opportunity to experience this type of concert in Korea.

The highlight of Sponsors is when Zion-T father rapped his son contact numbers during the performance! I actually thought that they were joking when they prepared that segment. Too bad, I am not among the audiences. Seriously, this publicity stunt is shocking. To think that Zion-T actually publicized his personal phone number! Although he said that he will answer the phone for a week, I highly doubt so as it will be a harassment for him. Anyway, this group won hands down in terms of "shock" factor. The edited version of course will erase that part of the song, which is totally understandable.

4) Jung Joon Ha and Yoon Sang (Sangjuna)

Title song: My life
Music review: This is the group with the least expectation which turned out to be the coolest group ever! I still remember the first time I heard our tribe rapper Jung Joon Ha embarrassing "rap" making me cringe, and I really hope that he will give up rapping. Surprisingly, within such a short period of time, Jung Joon Ha managed to correct his mistakes and delivered a rather decent rap is no easy feat!

The credit goes to Beenzino and he definite deserved a pat on the shoulder. Yoon Sang is also very accepting of Joon Ha idea and musical preferences. Along the way to success, there are many talented people who contributed their effort. No doubt, this group has benefited a lot from these musicians.

All the groups have their individual style and speciality. This group is no exception as they are the only team which try to mix a few elements in one song. They recruited powerhouse Sistar Hyorin to hit the all time high notes, masked face deejay playing the music and a famous Korean famous popping dancer to bring the concert to a new height. Jung Joon Ha is really impressive and easily grabbed the most improved artiste along with Kwanghee. I love the introduction when Joon Ha skating while rapping all the greetings. On the other hand, veteran musician Yoon Sang soothing calm voice is a delight to the song. I read some comments that this team was too ambitious to mix so many music elements together which seem all over the place. However, I think this group is still the coolest!

Yoo Jae Suk and Park Jin-young (Dancing Genome)

Title song: I'm so sexy
Music review: The introduction of this team immediately grabbed eyeballs when they suavely stood on the platform of the stage with sunglasses. Below them, there are "photographers" taking pictures of them! That is a smart and creative way to gather attention and it totally suit the song they are performing to the audiences.

I love that JYP used Yoo Jae Suk as an inspiration for his song and dance. This performance definitely must be performed with much confidence. They totally went all out to portray their sexiness and confidently displayed their dance move onstage. The chorus of the song was catchy and I foresee that the dance move is going to be a trend soon. The brushing of hair and touching their body! So hot and sexy! The pyrotechnics and fireworks which JYP desperately wanted bring the performance extra nuggets point too. All his effort are worthwhile, don't you think so? I'm so SEXY!!!

Jung Hyung Don and Hyukoh (The 5 Emperors)

Title song: Wonderful barn
Music review: Initially I have doubts regarding the music direction of this team. Country music has never been my cup of tea and placing this song as a finale does not sound appropriate to me too. However, I discovered how wrong am I to be so judgemental to their music.

Yes, they do not have the punch and dance groove like the rest of the teams, however they more than make it up with their enthusiasm and happiness. Now I know why Hyukoh choose to be placed in the finale! Their joyfulness and silly dance influenced the crowd and left a great impression on everyone as they went home joyfully. Watching their team performing is akin to watching a music carnival!

Hyukoh also invited a special guest to play the guitar for the team, while vocalist Ohhyuk sang so beautifully. No doubt Hyukoh is a rising indie band with its own sound. Jung Hyung Don looked so happy making those funny face and doing those silly dance. This song really matches his personality and image. In the midst of the song, his cowboy voice "eeeo...."reaches the sky and create a storm among the audiences! Even the celebrities were spontaneously dancing to their cute little country song. This mark the end of the performances. Which is your favourite team and why is that so? Please share with us your views. :)

Other than these performances of the night, there are also the performances of the previous years top three songs voted by the public. These are the three chosen songs.

1) Sagging snail ( Yoo Jae Suk and Lee Juk)

Title song: As I say

Year: 2011

Total vote: 5,018/ 16000 people (32%)

Music review: Although I do not understand Korean very well, I supposed there must be some great meaning behind the lyrics as shown on the screen. Lee Juk is the pianist and I think he composed this beautiful song too. Yoo Jae Suk may not be a professional singer, but he still did his best in delivering the song. I like the simple accompaniment from the piano and the guitar. Their delivery of this song is very sincere and touching. No wonder it is the number 1 chosen song.

2) Haha

Title song: Story of a short kid

Year: 2007

Total vote: 2,941/16000 (15%)

Music review: This song seem to be talking about himself. Haha totally owns the stage with his great performance. His reggae style easily connect to the audiences. I like the background of the stage (yellow, red and green) which matches Haha outfit and the song itself. There is a video clip of the performance in year 2007 when there were only a handful of audiences as compared to the magnificent crowd of this day. What a huge difference and all of them surely goes a long way to achieve success! What they have accomplished today was due to the hard work of yesterday.
3) Park Myung Soo and G-Dragon ( GG)

Title song: Having an affair

Year: 2011

Total vote: 1,652/16000 (10%)

Music review: I am a G-dragon bias. :) He is a music genius who can produce songs with catchy tune and great melody! I have great respect for this young and talented musician of all times. Everything he produced is a trend which includes his music sense. Those clothes and accessories he puts on immediately became fashionable too. He is truly a handsome and charismatic leader in the Kpop industry. We can clearly see his swag and strong stage presence together with Park Myung Soo. Don't they look cute and adorable dancing together? Not to mention GD killer smile! IU replaced 2NE1 Bom as the female vocalist for the highlight of this song. IU has a good voice and she looks beautiful in a white dress! The ending pose was nice and their chemistry was  great. GD was as cool as a cucumber despite wearing red. :)

Monday, August 17, 2015

Hong Jong Hyun and Girl's Day Yura loveline

In my previous post, I talked about the love triangle between Hong Jong Hyun, Nana and Yura. While Hong Jong Hyun and Nana rumors gradually die down after some time, on the other hand Hong Jong Hyun has been openly interacting with his virtual wife in We Got Married. Therefore, in this post I will gossip about the connection between Hong Jong Hyun and Girl's Day Yura. 

Hong Jong Hyun and Yura met for the first time onscreen after We Got Married. Hong Jong Hyun is one of the MC at Inkigaeyo. Yura being a member of Girl's Day came to the music show to promote their latest comeback single - Ring my bell. Hong Jong Hyun looked very happy to see Yura and he can't help grinning from ear to ear. Although Hong Jong Hyun still cannot look at Yura in the eyes without being shy, he managed to steal a glance at Yura from time to time.

I like how the atmosphere became more cheerful and energetic whenever Yura appears with Hong Jong Hyun onscreen. There must be some telepathic between the two of them as Yura mentioned about his coincidental run-in with Hong Jong Hyun when Yura and Sojin went to eat melon bingsu (shave ice). What are the chances of this type of coincidental run-in? Anyway, Yura said that they greeted each other cheerily. Yura also said that Hong Jong Hyun will treat them (Girl's Day) well. 

In an interview, Yura was given the question, "If Hong Jong Hyun invited  you for date, what will you do? Flustered, Yura bashfully said that it depends on how Jjiong oopa confess his feelings. On the other hand, Hong Jong Hyun expressed surprised at Yura response during an interview. He bashfully said that he and Yura will figure it out by themselves. Is it a hint that, they can develop their relationship to something more than just close friends? 

Yura recently posted a Instagram picture of a selfie with Jjiong oppa. Apparently, Jong Hyun had bought a bouquet of roses to Yura. Those three roses seem to indicate - "I love you." Yura also thank Jong Hyun for the cake which he bought for Girl's Day and specially brought it to their waiting room. In exchange, Yura gave an autographed album of herself posing like Sharon Stone on the CD cover. It is adorable that they started to follow each other at Instagram after Inkigaeyo. How sweet is that? Do you think Jjiongah couple ship is sailing? 

DramaQueen pick: Infinity Challenge

Nowadays I was highly entertained by this popular Korean variety show - Infinity Challenge. Big Bang in the house!!! Of course I am excited about the show. These talented musicians and producers were invited to the show to coach the members of Infinity Challenge for an upcoming music festival. We can see how hard each team trained and prepared themselves for the big day. Honestly, this is the first time I watched Infinity Challenge and it was surprisingly entertaining. The cast was led by veteran National MC Yoo Jae Soo. The cast went through some shuffling due to some druken incidents. Right now, the cast comprised of Park Myung Soo, Jung Hyung Don, Hwang Kwanghee, Jung Jun Ha and Haha.

1) G-dragon, Taeyang and Kwanghee

Oh my gosh! Kwanghee is such a fanboy of Big Bang! If i am Kwanghee, I will be very excited to work with these cool guys too! In my opinion, Kwanghee is really a very funny and annoying comedian idol from boy band ZEA. Yes, he is loud, noisy and often look for attention onscreen after he admitted to plastic surgery. However, those first impression of mine gradually changed after watching Infinity Challenge. He is indeed trying hard to be a good entertainer. My jaws dropped at his performance of Ailee I'll show you. I am so surprised at this guy craziness and energy! Behind the smile of this man, I saw a person that is sincerely trying hard to do his best to please everyone. He even threw away his baggage of being an idol. As a comedian, he always tries to be outrageous in order to gain more fans, even to the extent of damaging his image. He always say that he can't sing or dance. However, that is not really true. He is just fitting into his variety persona and because of that, people cannot take him seriously after all his antics. This guy has a nice soothing voice and he just need to be more confidence and practice singing more often.
Kwanghee and Yewon - I can only see you

I was a little upset with the way GD commented about Kwanghee. He actually joked that Kwanghee is not funny, cannot sing or dance and that they made a bad decision to choose Kwanghee. They were also worried about their screen time because Kwanghee is not entertaining. On the other hand, Kwanghee can only smile and his eyes looks like a wounded puppy. I understand that Kwanghee had jokingly placed Taeyang in third place during one of the episode. That is supposed to be a joke but there were many backslash on Kwanghee due to this issue. Kwanghee received even  more negative comments because he said that he is as good as Seungri in his ability to sing. Just leave this poor guy alone, he does not need to suffer all these criticism. It is already very stress to work with these big names. Anyway, it is indeed cute and interesting when these same age friends displayed closeness towards each other. I love the way they danced together and make merry, while getting to know each other. Their performance song is extremely good with  Big Bang style. What a great way to start a dance party with Kwang-Tae-Ji. :) 
G-Dragon and Taeyang - Good boy

2) JYP and Yoo Jae Suk

I love Yoo Jae Suk imitating the Big Bang song - Bae Bae. This guy is amazingly talented. I like how JYP work so hard to produce their performance song and think of the choreography. Yoo Jae Suk love dancing and he choose JYP over the rest of the musicians. They are honestly very funny and cute in their interactions. "I'm so sexy!" I am looking forward to their performance!
Dancing king - JYP

3) IU and Park Myung Soo

This is the most unexpected pair to be partnered together. IU is known for being a good song writer and she had actually chosen Myung Soo for her ballad song. However, Myung Soo is a DJ and he is a big fan of Electronic dance music (EDM). As a result, both of them were insistent and fighting over their music style. Despite Myung Soo harsh comments and overbearing ways, he did accept and integrate IU style into his EDM in the end. Although, initially I think that Myung Soo has a  sharp tongue and is quite irritating, he seem not that bad after all when he respected IU music style. 
IU and Myungsoo

Jae Hwan is Myung Soo song writer and he is a big fan of IU. Surprisingly, he is not just a regular fanboy. He is actually a good musician. I like the way he rapped on IU song and even coaches Myung Soo. I can see that IU is impressed with Jae Hwan. Their song is the most anticipated due to their total different style. Is their chemistry going to lead them to victory? 

4) Hyung Don and Hyuk Oh

Hyung Don variety persona is that of an arrogant and boastful person. Yes, he is considered one of the entertainer that has the most potential. However, he seem to think highly of himself, of course he could be just playing his role in the variety show. Anyway, he choose to work with the rising indie band Hyuk Oh. The underground band were generally new to the world of Variety and the vocalist Hyuk oh is very quiet and slow in answering questions. They have some conflict over the style of music as Hyun Don wanted something upbeat for the summer party. In the end, they choose the country music which create atmosphere for a dance. Do you anticipate their performance? 
Hyuk Oh - Panda bear

5) Jung Jun Ha and Yoon Sang

Yoon Sang is a well respected musician/ producer in the Korean music industry. He is the senior to the hoobaes and is at the status of JYP. He used to sing popular ballads in the past and is producing music now. It is hilarious that Myung Soo criticized Yoon Sang performance saying that he is "the dirt among the diamonds". That is kind of rude although it is for entertainment purposes. However, that does not change his status as a veteran musician. 

On the other hand, Jun Ha is really funny as the out of place hip hop tribal leader. He looks weird and funny in those unfashionable baggy clothes. His rapping is so monotone and out of rhythm that it became embarrassing when he tried to rap. He is among the least popular choices among the Infinity Challenge members. After lots of practices, his awkward rapping was corrected by the ever reliable rap master Beenzino. I am excited about what the team will come out with the recruit of these talented artistes such as Sistar powerful house Hyorin! With so many talented artistes assisting, I am anticipating their music!
Rapper Beenzino album Fall

6) Zion T and Haha

This two musicians were expected to produce something amazingly good due to their similar background as musicians. Haha is in a reggae group with Skull and Haha. On the other hand, Zion T is a great musician with a music style that is similar to Kanye West. He is a talented and well received Korean musician. I like the way their music style blended together. They seem to be the least stressful and portrayed themselves simply as friends that came together to play music. That is the feeling I have when l look at this team. Put your hands up for Zion T and Haha! 
Zion T - Yanghwa Bridge

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Love triangle between Hong Jong Hyun, Nana and Yura?

Recently, there was a rumor about actor-model Hong Jong Hyun and Nana from girl group Afterschool dating. It is supposed to be a good news since both of them look visually pleasing to the eyes. However, Hong Jong Hyun was being criticized for being in the reality variety program - We Got married. Netizens left comments such as Hong Jong-Hyun should not participate in the program because apparently only singles were allowed to appear in the variety show, since they have to act as virtual couple convincingly to the viewers. 

Hong Jong Hyun and Nana later denied the report and stated that they are only close friends that hang out occasionally. Although the producers of We Got Married came out to address this issue and stated that all the couples that appears in the program have to sign an agreement to state that they are currently single, fans still expressed anger towards Hong Jong Hyun, believing that he was two timing Yura and Nana all these while. Out of curiosity, I watched Style log and came out with my opinion and comparison based on my assumptions. 

It is really difficult to read Hong Jong Hyun thoughts since he is very smart and have a calm and quiet personality. On the other hand, Yura from Girl's Day seem to really like Jong Hyun a lot and expresses it well. Despite the fact that they look cute and matching in personality and appearance, sometimes they appeared to have a oppa and dongseung (slibings) relationship rather than Jong Hyun having any romantic feelings towards Yura.

At times, Jong Hyun appears to have a cold attitude towards Yura, which he claimed that is actually his introvert character. However, Yura is patient with him and treat him with sincerity. That must have touched Jong Hyun heart as he gradually open up to Yura. They may not be a real couple, however one thing for sure is that they became closer friends with every episode in We Got Married. This couple have overcome their initial awkwardness and became more playful with each other. That itself is pleasing to the viewers as they clearly like each other and looked happy together.

Friends revealed that Hong Jong Hyun used to date older women. Although Nana is one year younger than Jong Hyun, they appears to be close in real life. In fact, they hosted a fashion program Style log together with Jo Minho. Perhaps due to the script, both Minho and Jong Hyun have to compete with each other for Nana affection. Minho is more friendly and outgoing, whereas Jonghyun takes care of Nana silently like what a gentleman does for his lady. Although Nana claimed that she is more comfortable with Minho and choose him over Jong Hyun, something tells me that she secretly admires Jong Hyun. However, I might be wrong since only they themselves know it. 

Nana is the master of pull and push game as her role in Style log requires her to firt and tease the two guys, making the show more interesting. Therefore, Jong Hyun seem to be seeking attention from Nana in Style log, whereas he received all the attention from Yura in We Got Married. 

In terms of personality, Yura image is more childish, bright and innocent. She laugh interestingly and appears to be more direct in expressing her interest in Jong Hyun. On the other hand, Nana carries herself with elegance and is more matured. She has more edge to her character which makes her attractive and appealing to others. 

In an interview, Hong Jong Hyun mentioned that his ideal type is someone that is bright and charming in her own ways. That happens to be describing the two ladies. He also stated that he is affectionate if he is interested in that girl. 

Shippers which ship do you sail? In my opinion, Yura and Jong Hyun look more compatible as a couple. During an interview, Jong Hyun mentioned that he keeps in contact with these two beautiful ladies. It is wise of him to say that he does maintain his friendship with them, since we never know about the future. 

Saturday, August 08, 2015

DramaQueen pick: Girl's Day and their fashion disaster

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Girl's Day comprises of leader and main vocalist Sojin,  lead vocalist Minah, rapper Yura and lead dancer Hyeri. Unlike other girl groups, this four ladies each have distinctly different characteristic which is very important in any idol group. The members must be able to harmonize in a group, at the same time their individuality should be prominent as well. 

I have noticed Girl's Day since they released their hit songs such as Expectation and Something. Eversince their rise to popularity, they have being sticking to the same formula which is to explicit sex in order to achieve success.  However, what I truly dislike about Kpop culture is the intention to be overly sexual or outrageously cute in their music. Can't they find a balance in the way they protray themselves as an artiste? There is something call classy, elegant, sexy and cute  concept. Once they crossed the line, it can be easily seen as slutty, distasteful, vulgar and attention seeking to the point of being desperate.  

The entertainment agencies seem to enjoy banking on the sexual department and exploit the girls visual aspect in order to raise popularity of their artistes and to pocket more money. These artistes were like packaged products displayed on stage just to satisfy men. I agreed that Korean entertainment can be very competitive and cruel. However, it is sad that the artiste have to compromise themselves to act in a certain way just for the visual pleasure of the men and to gain more fanboys. 

The Girl's Day recent comeback album has unexpectedly received backslash from the general public. Their popularity was shaken due to the recent controversy about their diva attitude and now their wardrobe malfunction. Like most of the comments I have read, Girl's Day really need to change their style and their dressing! Why is everyone following the footstep of Hyuna? 

Dream Tea entertainment, please fire their stylist and choreographer now! They are doing much more damage to Girl's Day image. That being said, Girl's Day also do not need to tease the boys with those awkwardly "sexy" pose. These girls really need to understand the true meaning of being sexy. However, I do not agree to netizens calling them names or humiliating them in public or at any forum. These girls work for a living after all. They may not even have a say in their own clothings. There may be a reason why the girl group have to end their promotion early and wrap everything up within three weeks. Despite the negativity surrounding the girl group, I can see the girls hard work and ambitions in the Kpop industry.

Girl's Day singing - Adele Someone like you 

These four pretty girls are not without talent, Sojin and Minah can sing well, Yura can rap decently and Hyeri can dance as well as the others. However, the girls were always packaged to please the men sexually which I do not understand. As seen in the video, Minah has a powerful vocal and Sojin has a sexy deep voice. I am impressed with the way they sang at picnic live music show. Even Hyeri and Yura were pleasantly decent in their singing. They were attractive in this showcase and how I wish people will take this girl group more seriously. 

In conclusion, Girl's Day cannot pull off a sexy performance with all members. Minah and Hyeri were too awkward with their sexiness. Please just let them be themselves with all those aegyo (cuteness). In this idol group, only Yura can execute the attitude of being sexy. A big no no to Sojin for her idea of being showily sexy. However, I do know she is feminine and sexy in her own way. This article may be delicated to Girl's Day and their wrong direction in music style, but it is also my thoughts on the trend in exploiting the sexuality in Kpop culture in which I am rather disappointed. 

Sunday, August 02, 2015

Big Bang Made concert in Singapore

Big Bang held their world tour MADE at Singapore indoor stadium on 18 and 19 July. My friends and I grabbed the category one seated tickets online once the tickets were released. I have always like their music and decided that I would not miss their concert this time round. Full of anticipation, I entered the venue excitedly with my sister and my friends. The stage setup is very nice, with all the lightings and the sound system is pretty good too. 

Bang Bang Bang

The concert begins around 7pm, although the time stated was 6pm. I guessed the organizer expected a crowd, especially at the standing mosh pit area. Bang! Bang! Bang! Their opening song got me moving and shaking with them! I love all their group performances and each of them got a chance to shine onstage with their individual performance too. I like the stage outfit of all the members, although the stage and the sound system could not be compared to other countries. All of them have the opportunity to build rapport with the audiences and they were interacting mostly in English and mandarin. Seungri is very comical as the "host" for Big Bang. Basically, his role is to interact with the funs, together with the spontaneous Daesung. However, it seems that they interacted a lot with the audience and I wished they could have sang more songs instead of repeating the same phrase.

G-Dragon rock the stage with his charisma

All of them have their solo performance onstage and I am impressed with their performances. I reckon that G-dragon is still as charming as usual and has lots of stage presence onstage. Despite his mediocre performance which is a little disappointing, but come on he is after all G-dragon the stylish and cute leader of Big Bang! Fans were seen cheering loudly for the talented G-dragon as he sang his hit songs such as Crooked. Either the Singaporean fans were too passive or Big Bang is trying to save some energy for the second day show, they seem to lack the enthusiasm that was usually seen on Youtube when they performed in other places such as Japan. Perhaps, Big Bang was tired from the World tour, they seem a little tired onstage as compared to their performance at SG50 New year countdown. On the other hand, Seungri impressed the audience with his personal charm that resembled a bit of Justin Timberlake.

Daesung solo stage

It is noted that Daesung vocal shone during the solo performance. He is actually a good singer but his talent in singing can be overlooked in a group. Therefore, I am glad that he has a chance to play the drum and sing a song individually. We can finally see his smiley eyes as he covered his eyes with the fringe while sing Loser. At least Daesung moved around onstage and interacted with the audience like a professional performer.

If you

Taeyang is one of the more passionate and hardworking performer during the concert. I can sense and feel that he love to perform onstage. His rendition of his classic song - Eye, nose, lips and wedding dress were impressive. It is not a half-hearted performance and I can feel that he put his heart and soul into those songs. 

Great performance by TOP

Top is a handsome and charming chap with a huge fan base too. He look so cool as the rapper in Big Bang. I think he looks good in any outfit and hairstyle. Long time no see, long time no see!!! The girls must be smitten with his tall statue and good looks. Every time the Big Bang members appeared in the video clips or onstage, the fans were heard screaming their lungs out! Anyway, I do enjoyed the cool "Uncle rapper" Top performances. Binggu Top is just too cool to be bothered and yes he is really a great actor as seen in those Big Bang video clips.

Seungri dancing like Justin Timberlake

Seungri spoke a lot during the concert and entertained the audience very much. He is indeed a hardworking young chap that is loved by his hyungs. Sadly, Big Bang did not sing their previous classic songs such as Tonight and Monster. Their performance for fantastic baby, Bad boy and Good Boy were mediocre and left more to be desired. Despite that, we were still craving for more of Big Bang.

The concert ended with Bang! Bang! Bang! again. It is noted that Big Bang sang most of the new songs such as Sober, We like to party, Loser, Bae Bae. I love how Big Bang explained the context of the song innocently such as the meaning of rice cake is not linked to sex. Big Bang sang one of my favourite song which is a ballad - If you. They sang the song very well and each members characteristic was nicely featured in the song itself. After the performance on Saturday, my sister wanted to go for their Sunday performance which unfortunately we did not purchase on the second day. Anyway, it is too late to purchase the concert tickets. She regretted not purchasing the tickets for both days. Let's look forward to their future performance before they go for their military training. Perhaps, we could watch their performance oversea? That could make the money spend more worth it!

Big Bang fooling around

Cutie Top!

G-dragon leading Big Bang

Takashi Kashiwabara getting married?

Takashi Kashiwabara and Yuki Uchida has been dating each other since 2010, till now they have been dating for 5 years. Recently, there were rumours that the couple is going to tie the knot soon. There was a picture taken by a paparazzi showing the Yuki Uchida picking up Takashi Kashiwabara at the sports hall.

It is known that Takashi kashiwabara love to play soccer and he even organized a soccer team in Japan. Media reported that Yuki Uchida has drove to the venue to cheer for Takashi Kashiwabara. After that, they were spotted leaving the venue together as Takashi Kashiwabara took over the wheels.  

Both of them worked together in Japanese drama - Big Wings, and they each had a failed marriage. Many years later, they met through mutual friends and were soon dating each other. This handsome couple should be celebrated, however Takashi Kashiwabara is rumoured to be a man with violence tendency. Therefore, many people frowned upon their relationship. However, it seems like the couple is still enjoying their lovey-dovey relationship and after all these years and it has shocked those people who said that their relationship will not last long.  - Source taken from Friday.
DramaQueen thoughts: Takashi Kashiwabara and Yuki Uchida were known to protect their privacy fiercely. Since the both of them were inactive in the entertainment industry, I am surprised that the media is still so concern about this two celebrities. Anyway, it seems like the both of them enjoyed each other company. All the best to the couple!

內田有紀柏原崇5年情濃 傳好事近了

2015/07/18 18:06







Girl's Day had a bad day because of dumplings

Girl's Day recently were surrounded with controversy about them being rude and inconsiderate to the host of the live boardcast show at Afreeca TV. Yes, it is indeed a major issue considering how Koreans values respect and mannerism in their country. Therefore, it is not surprising that Girl's day came under fire for their apparent rude behaviour onscreen. I came to know more about Girl's Day through we got married. In the reality variety show, I do not see the girls group as rude and arrogant. Especially Yura who appears to be sweet, cheerful and adorable. However, Girl's Day were known to be a glutton for foods and their apparent "childish behaviour" onscreen. There is a reason why they are called Girl's Day and not Lady Day. Their image is simply childish and whiny filled with aegyo. In my opinion, there are a few reasons why the girls behaved this way and frankly speaking it takes two hands to clap. Everyone plays a part to make a show interesting and entertaining to the viewers.

While watching their interview at the chat room, I noticed Hyeri looking tired and lethargic. While netizens complained about their lack of professionalism, we should not forget that they are humans too. I think this became a big issue since Hyeri always seem to be bright and active in any programme, however she looked really tried in this interview. Many people compared Girl's Day to other idol groups such as Girls Generation, Super junior and Big Bang, calling the girls names just because of this matter. However, we never know how hard it is to be an idol and it does gets tiring to marathon their busy schedules at so many major broadcasting stations.  Considering that it was late at night and they looked really sleepy, I think that leads to girls behaving carelessly and causally onscreen. Hyeri speaking informally to the viewers and looking like she does not want to be here.  Minah was even whiny and complained about foods like a spoilt brat. Is that being comfortable or rude? Calling the host silly in a joking manner can be a big issue if you are an idol too. Girl's Day need to take this lesson positively and improve their public image.

The main problem lays with the host Choi Goon for being passive and green, he is unable to take control of the whole interview. He immediately explained about the situations after the whole controversy and clear up the misunderstandings by stating that he intend to change the concept of the interview to something more casual. However, I think the idea was not being well communicated to the members and is obviously not working well. Different people interprets things in their own ways, as viewers we do have our own set of thinking too. Therefore, the girls did their interview in such a manner as what was being conveyed to them personally before the interview. This miscommunication could be everyone's fault since they knows that this is a live broadcasting,  and they should be aware of what they are doing. What you see is what you get! There is no such thing as editing and making it into a perfect interview. I observed from the video that Girl's Day were simply in their own world, being totally distracted by the delicacies on the table. The poor host was sitting on the floor or standing behind the girls. That makes Girl's Day looked really mean and impolite to the MC. I understand what is the fuss about the girls behaviour as they seemed to be occupied with the foods and ignored the host most of the time. This is really a mistake on the girls part and they did apologized for being inconsiderate.

The matter got blown out of proportion when Sojin refused to eat the dumplings that the host bought for the girls. Instead of being appreciative, Sojin placed the plate of dumplings on the floor and claimed that the girls does not like to eat dumplings. I agree with most of the comments stating that Sojin could have left the dumplings on the table if they don't like to eat and at least thank the host for preparing the delicacies. Unfortunately, Sojin being the eldest in the group and as a leader mishandled the situation with her gestures and facial expressions. She may mean it as a joke but people naturally think that she is been unappreciative and has a diva attitude based on her reactions. She used her chopsticks to feed the host dumpling and later complained about his lips touching her chopsticks and she immediately change to a new pair of chopsticks. That is rather uncalled for at the beginning since she does not need to feed the host anyway. I agree that the girls really did badly in the interview and the host did nothing except fooling around with the camera. This might not be a big issue if Girl's Day were to host the talk show by themselves. Anyway, what is done cannot be undone. Hopefully everyone learns a lesson from this mistake. Like what was commented many times before, haters will continue to hate. Supporters will continue to support. Let's give all of them a break and move on.