This page is dedicated to my love for the different faces and emotions that characterize the crazy world of Korean pop music and dramas... be it SYRUPY SWEET, DARK AND SEDUCTIVE, or RADICAL AND ZANY!
Yes... I am Filipino, and I love Korean dramas and music!
Album jacket for Sunny Hill's new mini-album, "Midnight Circus" The members of Sunny Hill --- (L to R): Jang Hyun, Seung Ah, Kota, Ju-B, and Misung
[UPDATE] June 7, 2011 1:53 AM (GMT +8) --- At last, I was able to match their names to who they are in the pictures! Hahaha! Somebody in Inkigayo actually thought of putting their names for their intro vid prior to their performance! Good job!
When a group has a comeback album with the title "Midnight Circus", you can't really help but stop and tell yourself, "I want to listen to that". You can't really discount the power of a an interesting title, creative packaging (I liked the red-black temptation theme that was going on in the album cover), and an ironic group name like "Sunny Hill". The 5 member co-ed group (meaning they have both male and female members) composed of Jang Hyun (the lone guy of the group), Seung Ah, Ju-B, Kota and Misung just released their new mini-album together with their MV for the title track.
Since I haven't really heard of Sunny Hill before hearing their music, I just had to do some research about them --- and I have to say that they are probably one of the most internationally obscure Kpop groups on the face of the planet! I've been to Soompi and other English sites, and there is barely any information on this group anywhere (not to mention recent pictures of the group... so you'll have to forgive me for the lack of relevant visuals this time around).
I initially read about the new girl-idol group, Rania, by reading through my usual Kpop blogs. Apparently they stunned the Kpop world with their debut --- since nobody could really stop writing about them! What got me curious was that this group was being met with a whole lot of bad PR about them being too sexy.
It was pretty obvious that they were gunning for that image when I got to see their pictures online. 7 pretty Asian girls clad in pointy, black, leather two-piece mini's. That's pretty much a fantasy come true for most straight guys (hehehe!). Even for a gay guy, I have to admit they're hot.
The girls of Rania (not in any particular order): Semi, Riko, Jui, Di, Joy, T-ae, and Xia
So... ok... they've got the looks. They were able to sell themselves visually to me. Now I wanted to sample their music.
Their debut album's lead track is an electro-pop single titled "Dr. Feel Good". Sort of reminded me of another American album (which is funny, since one of their producers is Teddy Riley, who's a pretty bad-ass producer himself in the US), but I didn't want that to distract me.
When I listened to the song for the first time, two things caught my attention:
First --- THEIR ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION IS GREAT! Most Kpop artists would always insert some English phrase into their pop tunes to make it sound more impressive or current for some reason. Sadly enough, a lot of these efforts lack good execution and skill. But these girls knew how to speak the words rather fluently. I was impressed by that!
Second --- The song wasn't your usual Kpop tune. It was electro-pop (which is the rage right now in Korea), but the bass and the underbelly rhythm of the music had a strong pop-rock-slash-hip-hop feel to it. I guess that added to the dark sensuality of the music.
Now if they're so good, why all the darn flack?
I guess people got hung up on the fact that the girls are "too sexy". Ok... take a look at these lyrics from the first part of the song...
Doctor, doctor I felt it the first time I knew what you were thinking by looking at me Honestly, I didn't dislike the stares you gave me My body started shaking like I waited for it
I need a fi-fi-fi-fix Some type of d-d-d-drug The Doctor came close to me And his eyes suddenly changed You have a special interest in me You got me feelin f-f-f-feelin' feelin...
Doctor, Doctor Feel Good Come make me feel real good My hardened heart has started to melt Doctor, Doctor Feel Good Come make me feel real good Suddenly the frustration in my heart is gone I wanna feel real good I need to feel real good I wanna feel real good 'Cause I've been really bad bad
If that didn't spell out S-E-X on a silver platter, I don't know what will!
Now watch the video and the dance (with English subtitles, of course)...
Honestly, if you're used to American videos and music, you begin to tell yourself that this is just an absolutely well-made song. A song with great strong voices combined with a catchy rhythm is bound to make a splash anywhere it drops, right?
In South Korea, that line of thinking may not necessarily apply. I've seen the Korean concept of "sexy", and it's a bit less forward that what I've seen Rania do in their videos and TV appearances. Based on what I've been reading in the major Kpop blogs, major stations like KBS, SBS and music mogul MNET have asked the producers of Rania, DR Music (which apparently also produced the famous girl group BabyVOX back in the late 90's and the early part of the last decade), to tame both their costumes and choreography. Their reply was a black leather bolero on their shoulders. I wouldn't even be surprised if the networks also requested for a "clean" version of the song.
Rania basically pushed a button that most girl groups have been pushing for some time --- a little bit more "crazy, sexy, cool" in the Kpop biz. Many groups have done it --- SNSD, Kara, BEG, Secret, 4Minute --- name it, they're tried it! I guess Rania may have pounded on the button a little harder than others, but I guess it was bound to happen at some point. With the influx of Western media through the internet and its great influence over the tides of world music and pop culture, a group like Rania would basically exemplify the push and pull of pop and traditional values.
To say the least, Rania was a great risk for both DR Music and Teddy Riley. Time will only tell if the risk was well worth it.
For now, the song is playing in my Kpop favorites list. It's a cool, hot song... can't help it ^^,
The hot ballad foursome of Jo Kwon, Seulong, Jinwoon and Changmin are on their way to Manila from April 27 to 30 to give us a taste of their brand of soulful ballads... and hopefully some hot booty shaking from Jo Kwon!
I'm looking forward to their fan meet at the Venice Piazza @ McKinley Hill near Bonifacio Global City on the 29th (of course... it's where I work! I would obviously go there, right?). But folks can also meet our crooners at the fabulous Newport Mall on the 28th, or at the Eastwood Mall on the 30th for their showcase concert.
The boys of 2AM --- Jo Kwon, Jinwoon, Changmin and Seulong
This piece of news has been flying around the net and the papers for around 2 months now. We don't really get to see many KPop artists visit Manila --- so when they do, the tendency is for people to flock together like pigeons around bread!
It's something funny that I observed when I started attending events like these. You'd see some hard to miss faces, and then you suddenly realize... "Wait a minute... she's with CassPH, right?" (Cassiopeia is the name of the fan club of Dong Bang Shin Ki / DBSK), or "Hmmm... I remember he's an ELF." (ELFs would refer to fans of Super Junior --- referring to "Ever Lasting Friends"). Although when you look at things from a broader perspective, it's great to see fans of different groups come together to support Korean music as a whole. We all have our personal bias / preferences (my bias is for SHINee and the Brown Eyed Girls / BEG), but it's great to see a healthy appreciation of all the acts that find their way to our shores. No in-fighting or anti's running amok... just a lot of screaming, and heart-wrenching sighing. Hahaha!
For those of you who haven't heard of their work, let me post one my fave 2AM songs --- "You Wouldn't Answer My Calls". These guys are so good at what they do... I was crying my eyes out when I watched the vid for the first time.
But then again, some people would want to watch 2AM for the simple pleasure of this...
Can there be any other reason why any sane person who likes Kpop wouldn't want to see these guys... I think not... hahaha ^^p
p.s. In case you're not a Kpop fan, and you're reading this and you're wondering "Why pick a name like 2AM for a group?". Well, these guys were actually recruited from a reality TV show that aimed to create a huge boy band like Super Junior. The show came up a great roster of 11 talented (and, obviously, gorgeous!) guys who they dubbed "ONE DAY". But instead of developing them as one group, they were split into two groups --- one focusing on ballads, and another group focusing on pop-dance music. The ballad group came to be called 2AM, and the dance group was called 2PM.
