Wang Leehom: Open Fire

I’m not a huge Leehom fan, but I used to have a friend who is a huge fan of Leehom and she was the one who introduced me to him, I think, a decade ago (Oops. Did I unintentionally reveal my age? Haha.)

The first song I heard was 公轉自轉 (Revolution), I think. Throughout the years, I had quite a few favourite songs here and there — like 愛的就是你 (You’re the one I love), 一首簡單的歌 (A simple song) and 大城小愛 (Big City, Small Love) — which were mostly ballads or cheery songs.

To tell the truth, I quite like the way Leehom’s songs seemed to have evolved. They seemed to become simpler as the years went by; simple as in the melody didn’t have too many layers, but opting for one main accompaniment.

I actually meant 依然愛你 (Still in love with you). I came across the music video first, before I knew his album was released. I admit, I hadn’t been paying attention to Chinese music these days. I’m now addicted to the song and the video.

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2011
10/16
CATEGORY
Chinese pop
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Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Poster for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2It all ends.

The tagline on the posters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 probably said it all. It didn’t need to introduce the actors again. There’s no need to even write the title of the movie any more. A picture of Voldemort, a photo of the Golden Trio and everything speaks for itself.

I was so excited, yet at the same time, I didn’t want to watch it. Quote loads of people, “It’s like the end of my childhood.”

Like all good things that come to an end, this must too.

Because of work commitments, I wasn’t able to watch it the first instant it hit theatres, so I settled for a Sunday morning. The theatre was half-full, probably because it was in 3D and you’d get a headache from sitting too close to the screen.

Was it worth watching it in 3D? Well, I suppose this is subjective.

I enjoyed the show. It’s like reading the final chapter, closing the book and settling it down on the table.

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2011
07/21
CATEGORY
Films
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Rookie face-off: X-5 vs B1A4

The last time I did a face-off article, it was in 2009 when MBLAQ and Beast debuted. At that time, I chose Beast over MBLAQ even after Round 2. The article was written after their debut performances.

Right, a little introduction of each group first.

B1A4

B1A4 is made up of five young men — Jinyoung, Baro, Gongchan, Sandeul and CNU. Their group name actually stands for “Be the one, all for one”, apart from the fact that four members is blood type A and one of them is B.

What made this group slightly different is, they were introduced through a series of webtoons, before their actual pictures were released. B1A4 garnered interest also because their debut album Let’s Fly, included a song written and composed by leader Jinyoung.

X5

From Open World Entertainment, the company behind The Boss (DGNA), comes X-5, also a five-member boy band, which consists of leader Ghun, Haewon, Zin, Taefung and maknae Sulhu.

They were first introduced through two 30-second teasers, which almost never showed the boys’ faces.

To be honest, I was more intrigued by X-5 than B1A4 at this introduction point simply because B1A4 was too cutesy for my liking, with the brightly-coloured clothing and all. I like the mysterious vibe X-5 gives off during their teasers.

Verdict: X-5 wins this introduction round, since X-5’s teasers ‘teased’ me and I wanted to know more about them than B1A4.

More on their albums and images!

2011
05/02
CATEGORY
Korean pop
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Big Bang: Tonight

Big Bang: TonightAfter a two-year hiatus, Big Bang comes back with a bang — literally, if you caught a couple of guitar-smashing routine GD did for performances of Tonight.

I had been complaining, really, about the guitar-smashing. Not exactly my favourite part, you see. If he did it only on the hour-long Big Bang Show, that I can understand. It’s their first performance on Korean television and it’d be memorable.

Doing it over the past weekends, I was slightly appalled and truth to be told, I was unhappy. Especially when my own guitar sits in front of me; it just didn’t feel right.

Anyhow, I’m glad to know the routine is finally over and VIPs can expect something else from their Tonight performances. Just yesterday, they debunked the announcement. More guitar-smashing.

That said, I’ve been repeating the album since I’ve gotten hold of it. I guess it’s a good thing to say this is my favourite album out of all their albums — solo albums not included.

Image-wise, I think Daesung’s change is the greatest. I think this new hairstyle gave him the edgy feeling as compared to the past, where he’s deemed as ‘cute, dorky and comedic’. I welcomed the change. Maybe that’s why he catches my eye during ‘live’ performances now (Daesung is my favourite member, but somehow, I always focus on GD when Big Bang’s performing).

Album: Tonight
Artiste: Big Bang
Company: YG Entertainment
Released date: February 23, 2011

And my favourite song is …

2011
03/19
CATEGORY
Korean pop
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Park Jungmin: Not Alone

Park Jungmin: Not AloneArguably one of the best singers in SS501, Park Jungmin also became the first member to release his solo album after the group went their separate ways last year.

Note: SS501 did not disband.

One-fifth of the boy band, Jungmin said in an interview previously that he was not stressed when it comes to being the first to release a solo album. In fact, the other members were the ones who should worry, since he had already set a benchmark.

For people who didn’t know, SS501 is a five-member boy band consisting of Kim Hyunjoong, Heo Youngsaeng, Kim Kyujong, Park Jungmin and Kim Hyungjoon.

Kim Hyunjoong previously starred in the Korean versions of Boys Over Flowers and Playful Kiss, and is currently under Bae Yongjoon’s company KeyEast.

Heo Youngsaeng and Kyujong are with Lee Hyori’s B2M Entertainment. They held their first fan meeting late last year.

Youngest member Kim Hyungjoon recently released two singles Girl and Oh Ah, and is currently with S-Plus Entertainment.

The one thing I like about this album is how Jungmin explored vastly different genres in a mere number of three songs.

Album: Not Alone
Artiste: Park Jungmin
Company: CNR Media
Released date: January 20, 2011

Park Jungmin will be in Singapore tonight!

2011
03/17
CATEGORY
Korean pop
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30 favourite tunes from Big Bang

People who recently start reading my blog probably wouldn’t know that I didn’t even listen to Big Bang until their Haru Haru period. I literally fell in love with the Daesung performing on stage; then, I fell for the comedic Daesung in Family Outing.

Either how, I’ve come to appreciate Big Bang’s music. I’m a sucker for ballads, so Big Bang is kind of like my secret addiction. I’m especially into Taeyang’s music for his R&B/Pop genre and LA-style dancing.

So, I’m bowled over by their mini album this time. Tonight is such a good album and I’ve decided to review it despite my very busy schedule. Before that though, I’d like to just share 30 of my favourite songs from Big Bang. Songs from this year’s not included though, the list was compiled before this year.

NOTE: Before publishing, the list got extended. It was initially 25.

So here it goes. The list is not in any order of preferences.

01. 하루하루 (Day by Day)
02. 거짓말 (Lies) [Remix]
03. 마지막 인사 (Last Farewell) [remix]
04. 기도 (Prayer)
05. Heartbreaker
06. Breathe
07. Hello (ft. Dara)
08. 착한 사람 (A Good Man)
09. Remember [English ver.]
10. But I Love You
The rest of the list after the break.

2011
03/06
CATEGORY
Korean pop
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Super Junior – M: Perfection

Super Junior - M: Perfection album coverIf not for better songs in the album, I was seriously considering not reviewing it.

I’ve reviewed Super Junior-M since their debut. I watched them mature and grow throughout these few years. In 2008, I reviewed Me (迷), which left me wowed. Then, I questioned if Chinese and Taiwanese boy bands alike were ready for SJ-M’s arrival.

A year later, I reviewed Super Girl and it left a stronger impression on me because the songs weren’t remakes, unlike their first album.

Two years later, after all that Hangeng controversy, SJ-M is back again — this time with two new members, Eunhyuk and Sungmin.

Yes, you can scream and shriek all you want about how perfect Perfection is. To me, it’s an awful mix of electronic/autotune noise. Oh, and don’t you dare remind me there’s Korean version. I stopped playing the music video 13 seconds into the song. It’s a no-no for me.

Album: 太完美 (Perfection)
Artiste: Super Junior – M
Company: SM Entertainment
Released date: February 25, 2011
Let’s go straight into it, shall we?

2011
03/05
CATEGORY
Chinese pop
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Derrick Hoh: Change

Derrick Hoh: Change“Not having a distinguishing feature is my distinguishing feature (沒有特色就是我的特色),” declared Derrick Hoh.

That was two years ago when I first interviewed him in Taiwan. I was still a journalism student at Chinese Culture University (中國文化大學) then. He was my school assignment.

If any Derrick fans remember, Derrick sang on the streets of Taipei when he released his first album Unclassified (無法歸類) in the country.

When friends told me Derrick was in Taiwan, I searched for his schedule — where he’d be singing, when he’d be singing. I guess I was showing support as a fellow Singaporean and like someone else told me recently, “it is always nice to see a familiar face”, especially in a foreign country.

I got an A for my assignment ultimately. The sound was awful, but my lecturer let our group off. We had three members in our group altogether. After we presented our final cut, we were told to share our thoughts. What my Taiwanese friend said left me a deep impression.

“I went to one of his performances. He was singing outside Shih-Lin Night Market. The police came and chased us away. We moved to the MRT station, where we chased away again. Finally, we had to settle at the empty space just beside the crossroad. Despite getting chased off so many times, he still continued to sing. He’s really hardworking. Please support him,” she said.

I am a bloody emotional person. It took me everything not to tear up in front of the entire class.

Did he have a characteristic that stood out now?

It was a question that kept me thinking when I replayed his album for this review. In his first album Unclassified (無法歸類) [in Taiwan, his album is renamed as I’m New I’m Good I’m Derrick (新生 何維健)], he experimented with various genres. He even sang a Chinese version of TVXQ’s ‘Believe/Trust’ (however you like to translate 믿어요).

I think his sophomore album has more of a R&B/pop vibe. The various songs were also linked up with instrumentals. You can find a similar method in Rynn Lim’s Homely Life (干物世界) and more recently, JJ Lin’s 100 Days (100天).

Album: Change (變化)
Artiste: Derrick 何維健
Company: Golden Typhoon
Released date: December 17, 2010
I was at the autograph session. Well, just when it ended. LOL.

2011
02/14
CATEGORY
Chinese pop
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Dec ’10: Top 25 Most Played

It’s the end of the year. The new year will begin in less than 15 minutes. I haven’t been posting my Top 25 Most Played, so here it comes! This is the final list in 2010.

#o1. 自導自演 ,, 周杰倫
#o2. 好久不見 ,, 周杰倫
#o3. Your Biggest Fan (with China McClain) ,, Jonas Brothers
#o4. 我們沒有在一起 ,, 劉若英
#o5. 찾았다 ,, JYJ
#o6. 說了再見 ,, 周杰倫
#o7. 愛上你 ,, S.H.E
#o8. 가슴이 뭉클 ,, 씨야
#o9. Fly With Me ,, Jonas Brothers
#1o. Gift of a Friend ,, Demi Lovato
See the rest of the list here.

2010
12/31
CATEGORY
Round-ups
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Fahrenheit: So Hot

Fahrenheit: So Hot I have a love-hate relationship with Fahrenheit. While I always enjoy watching dramas which they star in, I don’t always enjoy their album and on most occasions, I don’t like their ‘live’ performances.

That said, I must reiterate my previous statement now.

These boys (men, if you’d like) improved by a huge margin. I would like to use the word ‘tremendously’ but find it inappropriate just yet. The song which wowed me was 心疼你的心疼. It was on a particular variety programme, when they first performed the song and it blew me away.

Fahrenheit is a rather queer (妙) group. I don’t mean it in a bad way, really. They have a quality I used to not understand. But as I repeatedly played the album yesterday, I think I might have figured it out.

There was a Singaporean music producer who used to say 避短良長, which in English literally means “to avoid your shortcomings and show what you’re good at.”

How did this have anything to do with Fahrenheit? A fast song is usually used to hide shortcomings, but I’ve noticed Fahrenheit usually performed ‘live’ better with a ballad. The main reason, I figured, was probably because the four members have very different voices. I think these four different voices clash when they’re sung together. In my opinion, the vocals don’t really mix.

Ballads, on the other hand, produce a positive effect with these different voices. These slow-tempo tunes, allowing for only one person to sing at a time, have layers. You can easily feel the portrayed emotions, especially when Aaron does the ad-libs.

Like I have a love-hate relationship with the group, I have a love-hate relationship with this album. One thing is certain, you probably need some time to digest the album if you’re not a fan of Fahrenheit.

Album: 太熱 Super Hot
Artiste: 飛輪海 Fahrenheit
Released date: September 17, 2010
Company: HIM International

Raising temperatures.

2010
12/31
CATEGORY
Chinese pop
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