Seohyun was impressed by the sincerity of Jung Yonghwa’s friends who called themselves ‘Doomaekpaem’.
On MBC ‘We Got Married’ aired on January 29th, Seohyun had the opportunity to meet his hubby’s friends in Busan. At a cafe, they had a great time listening to stories, taking picture together as well as receiving gifts (a couple hoodie and old photos) from ‘Doomaekpaem’. It was really a heartwarming session.
In an interview which took place later, Seohyun said, “I can tell that they are good friends. They like hubby Yong more”.
Popular Korean groups TVXQ and SNSD made appearances on the January 28th broadcasting of MUSIC STATION and performed “Keep Your Head Down” and “Run Devil Run“, respectively.
As you have noticed, I have compiled several artists for this review. The reason is simple: Korean musicians and idols release far more EPs and singles than they do full length albums. So to cover some of my bases, as well as to expose you guys to what’s out there right now, I’ll be cranking out these servings of K-pop between album reviews.
Don’t forget to leave your own commentary on these songs in the comments section below!
Jewelry – “Back It Up”
Jewelry have been around for a very long time. They debuted back in 2001 and have gone through more members than I can remember. As of 2010, none of the current band mates (Eunjung, Baby J,Park Se Mi, Park Ye Won) were part of the original four members. In 2009, the veteran girl group lost two of their longest standing vocalists, Park Jung Ah and Seo In Young, who have been doing their own thing in the music industry since their departure.
Now, the girl group that keeps on keeping on is back with their latest single, “Back It Up.” The thing with Jewelry is that they’ve had a history of falling in and out of popularity with the masses, especially now with the influx of new K-pop enthusiasts. Their last single as a foursome was the overly emotional ballad “Love Story,” and before that, we had the auto-tuned number titled, “Vari2ty.”
Jewelry have followed every girl group trend down to the cutesy twirls we see from SNSD, a move I’m guessing is an effort to keep up with the mayhem of K-pop. So it’s not surprising to hear “Back It Up” sound completely different from their last song and exactly the same as Secret’s “Shy Boy.” The motown trend in mainstream music is already head-numbing, but hearing them sacrifice their potential for the sake of relevance really gives me a headache. I watched them perform this song live and it is clear that these girls (sans the rapper) can carry a tune and sell it pretty well on stage, but they’ve lost their identity and originality in the process.
2/5
K.Will – “Amazed” feat. Simon D (Supreme Team) and Hyorin (SISTAR)
K.Will did a great job of picking the features for this single, as a K.Will, Hyorin, and Simon D collaboration had never crossed my mind, but the idea sounds brilliant already. Each artist is specific to their niche in music (pop, rap, ballads), but as you’ll hear in “Amazed”, none took precedence over the other or compromised the integrity of the song.
Instead of “Amazed” being a mere K.Will song with Simon D and Hyorin chiming in at the breakdown or something, it’s the featured singer and rapper who carry the song for most of the beginning before K.Will enters to finish it off with style.
The beat is calm and neither Hyorin nor K.Will go over board on the singing. It’s a nice tune, but a pretty average song overall.
3.4/5
Kim Bo Kyung – “Haru Haru”
Here’s a new artist for you. Her name is Kim Bo Kyung, and if you’re a Superstar K2 follower, you know that she was one of the participants who was unexpectedly eliminated. “Haru Haru” is the title single to her very first EP, “The FIRST DAY“, that was released earlier this week.
Kim Bo Kyung has an attractive huskiness to her voice that sounds gorgeous when she starts belting out the highs and mids. She possesses an impressively broad chest voice and hardly steps foot into her head voice, which gives her songs a special richness and character. It’s no wonder Sony Musicsnatched her up faster than you can say: “Whoa.”
A couple songs I recommend off of her latest EP are “Brand New Day” and “About You“.
3.7/5
SNSD – “Visual Dreams”
Girls’ Generation debuted in 2007 with “Into The New World,” and since then have transformed into the top selling girl group in Korea. But they’ve also gone through a musical evolution.
During their humble beginnings, SNSD showed up on the K-pop scene out to prove that they can do it all: sing, dance, and perform. Based on their earliest material, I’d say they accomplished everything on their list and then some.
Fast forward four years later and SNSD are still around, but they have departed from their rookie mindset and delved into the land of cash cows. There was a certain force and genuine appeal to songs like “ITNW,” “Girls’ Generation,” and even “Genie,” but now, listening to their music is like a box of chocolates in that you’re not really sure what you’re going to get.
They’ve made it very clear that they’re the cutest girls in town, and we’ve heard it since their “Gee” days, but a concept shouldn’t interfere with the quality, execution, and substance of a song. Unfortunately, “Visual Dreams” fails all three standards.
Never mind the abundance of cuteness or the fact that this is for Intel Core, the song itself is, well, not much of a song. There’s no obvious structure to the ‘verses’ (at all) or the chorus, and the middle 8 feels very disjointed. The one saving grace is probably the instrumental, but let’s face it, this isn’t their best work.
Girls’ Generation actually have a few good singers, and they have done much better in the past, so they should still be able to produce good music. They have SM Entertainment right at their feet, so I know it’s possible. But right now, the deeper they dive into the bowls of aegyo, the harder it is to stomach their music.
Within two months, actor Lee Jong Suk managed to turn his career around through his role as ‘Sun’ in “Secret Garden.” When he walks the streets now, he claims that he hears whispers of “It’s Sun!,” and “That’s the kid ‘Oscar’ trained!”
Lee began, “I thought it’d feel good to be recognized before, but it’s not as great as I thought. I’m thankful that people recognize me, but it’s my friends and those around me that are making it a bigger deal out of it than me. They tell me to ‘be careful of what I say’ and ‘act appropriately.’ I’m sometimes restricted by what I can and cannot do as well. While having to play up to the whims of others, I realized that it’s actually quite uncomfortable. I’ve been especially bothered by little children calling me informally, ‘Hey, it’s Sun!,’ or ‘It’s Lee Jong Suk!’ (laughter).”
He explained that his role in the drama managed to turn around his strict father. On days when he’s unable to watch the drama’s broadcast, he’ll sometimes call and ask questions such as ‘Son, did you get a lot of air time? Did you do well?‘
When asked whether he was able to rest after the drama concluded its run, Lee shook his head. “I normally like sleeping until I’m so tired of sleeping, I wake up on my own. Filming may have ended, but there are other schedules like movie meetings so I haven’t been able to sleep that well yet. It is a bit difficult waking up so early in the morning.”
Regarding his character leaving ‘Oscar’ at the scene of his concert, Lee explained, “That scene made me tear up a bit because I realized that it was really the end. I was disappointed in having to separate with the people I’ve become so close with over the course of the drama.”
Asked whether he’d ever sing for his role with his own voice instead of using a substitute, Lee replied, “Never. I honestly did practice singing a lot, but I lacked a lot of aspects so we went with a substitute. We practiced lip syncing instead.”
At the mention of the drama’s other hit tracks such as Baek Ji Young’s “That Woman” and Hyun Bin’s “That Man,” he hilariously replied, “I honestly heard ‘That Woman’ as a guide version many times way before Baek Ji Young-ssi sang it. Whew, I’m already tired of it.”
Rising popularity, however, also comes with a price. For Lee, it came in the form of new fans digging up information of his past, eventually leading to a pre-debut appearance he made on SBS’s “Truth Game,” when he was in his third year of junior high. On the show, he showed off a variety of fun talents such as break dancing, model walking, and facial expressions. Lee explained, “Honestly, I haven’t seen this video yet, only the captured pictures. I was so embarrassed, my back started sweating. Will I never watch it in the future? Yes. I never want to see it.”
On the topic of variety show appearances, Lee recently joined SBS’s “Strong Heart” for the first time after his debut and earned attention for having performed a dance by Orange Caramel. He revealed that he chose that dance due to his strong affections for member Nana.
After stating that he wanted to try a mellow genre in the future, like Kang Dong Won’s role in “Romance of Their Own,” he immediately chose Nana as his female partner. “They say I look like Nana-ssi. Hearing that so often made me feel closer to her. Who will play the role of Jo Hansun, you ask? Hong Jong Hyun.”
Asked whether he’s really been friends with SNSD’s Yoona and Hyoyeon since pre-debut, he jokingly answered, “My agency CEO said that he’d give me a leading drama role if I cast Yoona. I recently met up with Hyoyeon cause she said she’d buy me food, but all she talked about was Hyun Bin. She said her and the members debated over who was the coolest, and I asked whether anyone chose me. She said they all chose Hyun Bin.”
On his goals for the new year, he revealed that he wanted to get himself known as ‘Lee Jong Suk,’ not ‘Sun’ of “Secret Garden’s” Lee Jong Suk. “I just want to be Lee Jong Suk. I’m still far from being an actor, so I’d like to take my place under my own name first.”
Fans will soon be able to see him on both the big and small screen this year.
In a recent interview with SBS, SNSD’s Tiffany answered in English that the biggest strength of the 9 girls is their chemistry and good teamwork. She stated, “…we have good chemistry and strong teamwork, and I’d have to say that is the firm foundation of our group.”
Tiffany also gave a shout out to SONE’s (official fanclub for Girls Generation) in the interview, crediting them as one of the strengths of Girls Generation stating, “…and not to mention, really really supporting passionate fans all around the world.”
This video is a treat for fans, as she is seen speaking fluent English and giving off her famous eye-smile :)
Check it out below!
What do you guys think is the biggest strength of SNSD?
It's hard to match this kind of kpop power on full wattage
SM Entertainment is in the midst of holding its 2010-2011 world concert series “SM Town 2010“, which brings together the company’s biggest stars in an enormous kpop extravaganza. The sheer number of performers at these concerts is tough to beat, with appearances from the likes of TVXQ, SHINee, SNSD/Girls’ Generation, BoA, f(x), Super Junior, and others. Last year, they held concerts in Seoul, Los Angeles, Shanghai, and most recently Tokyo from January 25-26th.
In fact, the SM Town concert in Tokyo was such a resounding success that they’ve just announced that they’ll be holding an encore concert April 9th-10th in the Tokyo Dome to accomodate those fans who weren’t able to make it the first time around.
Just how much of a success was this latest concert, you ask? Well, SM Town 2010 sold out the 12,000-seat National Yoyogi Stadium, and a source close to SM revealed that the company is estimating earnings in the ballpark of 300 million yen (which as of this writing, converts to 3.65 million U.S. dollars). Tickets went as high as 12,800 yen (converts to 156 U.S. dollars).
And while that figure is nothing to sniff at, the April concerts at Tokyo Dome are expected to eclipse the profits from this concert, since the huge venue is several times larger than National Yoyogi Stadium, seating 55,000 people at maximum capacity (over 100,000 over 2 days). The source expects that SM will earn or exceed profits of 1 billion yen (which converts to about 12 million U.S. dollars) from ticket and merchandise sales.
What do you think of SM’s enormous projected profits?
