Jun 20, 2013

Kim Jae-wook is back!


Kyaaaa!

After his discharge from military service just this April, Kim Jae-wook (Coffee Prince, Mary Stayed Out All Night) has signed on to his first post-army project with tvN drama Who Are You. This drama has already previously announced its two leads, So Yi-hyun and 2PM's Taecyeon. Those two don't excite me but Kim Jae-wook definitely does. So while this is a melo where Kim Jae-wook is only the second lead, it still might be a good idea to tune in...

Who Are You will take the time slot of currently airing Dating Agency: Cyrano and premieres in July.

Jun 18, 2013

My Lists: 10 favorite male dancers in k-pop


Dancers never fail to make me swoon and, luckily for me, there are a bajillion awesome dancers in k-pop. Whether popping, locking, or breaking - these guys definitely have it going on. So, today, I'm going to introduce to you my 10 favorite male dancers in k-pop... And believe you me, it took incredible discipline and self-control to limit myself to 10. But without further ado, here we go.

Jay Park - The best b-boy in k-pop, Jay Park has been representing his crew AOM loudly and proudly. A former member, and leader, of 2PM, Jay has since found his niche as a solo performer and doing all Jaywalkers proud. No one does tricks quite like he can.


Hoya - Infinite's Hoya is a beast on stage, and a veritable quadruple threat. Not only is he a singer, rapper, and actor; above all else, he is a dancer. The boy has got the right moves and he flaunts them as he should. So precise, so clean, and yet utterly graceful, Hoya is always a pleasure to watch.


Kai - He may be the youngest on this list, but EXO's Kai could probably dance circles around half of the members of Super Junior, his hyungs and sunbaenims by years. Having trained in ballet and jazz dancing at an early age, Kai's dancing is notably graceful and smooth.


Taemin - I'm in love with the way this boy moves. Even as the youngest member of SHINee, Taemin has proven that he brings so much to the table than just aegyo. He's the group's best dancer and has the vocal chops to boot. A born performer, this boy is going places.


Donghae - I am hugely Donghae-biased, so don't even contest this. Ha. Seriously though, I love Donghae and the way he dances. He's not as stylistically awesome as Eunhyuk, but his moves are always clean and smooth and easy. Like, he just flows. I love it.


Eunhyuk - He is easily Super Junior's best dancer. He's an expert at popping and locking and he does it with such finesse. It really is no wonder that he always takes to the front of the SuJu formation when it's dance break time.


Taeyang - Big Bang's best dancer is a little fireball. Always full of energy, Taeyang quite literally bounces around on stage and it's clear how much he loves performing. So it's a good thing that he's not all energy without the moves to back it up. Taeyang knows how to move his body and it's always awesome to see him working choreography. I'm quite tired of the dougie and the cat daddy, but when Taeyang tackles actual choreography, good lord.


Rain - Before he became the huge pop star that he is now, Rain began training to become a backup dancer. He'd always second-guessed his vocal abilities and would often tell JYP that he'd rather just dance. His confidence was always in his dancing. It's a good thing, though, that JYP pushed him to sing because I melt at his voice too. Now, whenever Rain takes to the stage to sing and dance, I'm a puddle of goo.


Junsu - Not only is he one of the best singers in k-pop, Junsu is also one of it's best dancers. I don't know what it is about him, but a single hip thrust from him has me hyperventilating. The boy is sexy, damnit. So am I excited that he has a second solo album dropping soon? Hell, yes.


Yunho - Good lord, this man should never stop dancing. Back when DBSK had 5 members, I was always so torn between Junsu and Yunho, never quite sure who to look at when they danced. But while Junsu's dancing is sex personified, Yunho is a whole lot of technique, style, and sex. Ha.


Honorable Mention: Jo Kwon - Because 2AM is a ballad group, Jo Kwon isn't given enough time to showcase his dancing abilities. And when he does, it's usually in comedic girl group dances or in Kkab Kwon mode. Which is just sad because the boy is actually very technically gifted. Just check out this pre-debut dance video with Jay Park.


Who are your favorite dancers? 

Jun 7, 2013

So guess who's watching her 2nd k-pop concert ever?


Ha. My friends and I finally decided, at almost the 11th hour, to go ahead and buy tickets to CN BLUE's upcoming concert.

The announcement that the 4 boys would be making their way to Manila for their 2013 Blue Moon World Tour came months in advance but I was not quite sure if I had the budget to watch more concerts this year. I had also been waiting for confirmation from a friend on whether or not she could get us discounted ticket. That option fell through so we had to buy our tickets at regular price. I don't mind, really. They weren't that expensive to begin with. It's just that with Fall Out Boy and Super Junior headed this way in a couple of months, I'm finding myself quite broke.

Anyway, the tickets have been bought. We're all set and the concert is next week. I'm guessing we were extremely lucky there were still tickets available. I just really had to make sure we got seats on Jonghyun's side of the stage. Ha.

I'm not CN BLUE's biggest fan but I still love them. And, damn, I'm excited.

Jun 5, 2013

My Lists: 10 favorite female dancers in k-pop


It's been awhile since I've made a list and so today I'll be listing down my top ten favorite female dancers in k-pop.

Having been trained to dance (ballet, street, jazz, cheerleading, folk, you name it - I've probably done it... oh, except break dancing, that's one thing I can't do) since the age of 3, I'm a huge fan of k-pop idols who can dance their butts off. Luckily, there are many to choose from. And here are my top ten, in no particular order.

Lee Hyori - Hyori is awesome. She may not be k-pop's best singer or dancer, but the girl can move and she's got huge charisma. She steps on stage and immediately commands attention.


Minzy - 2NE1's Minzy is definitely one of k-pop's most notable dancers of late. Though she may be repetitive in her moves, and at time messy, she's definitely one of those people who are so at ease with their body that they make dancing look easy.


Nicole - If I had a Kara bias, it would probably be Nicole. This girl may not be the best technical dancer in k-pop, but she's certainly one of its best movers. There's a difference but Nicole does it in a way that you don't notice it.


Hyuna - I'm not 4Minute's biggest fan, nor Hyuna's, for that matter. But it's hard to deny that this girl can dance. And when she takes to the stage, whether as a solo act or with her group (or project duo with Beast's Hyunseung), it's hard to look elsewhere.


Fei - Fei is definitely on this list, especially after winning the 3rd season of the Korean franchise of Dancing with the Stars. I'm beyond glad that Fei is finally getting the attention she deserves after having been overshadowed by her miss A co-members since their debut. This girl is so awesome, not only did she win DWTS, she also made the top 2 of Master Chef Korea Celebrity Edition in the same year. That doesn't really signify on this list, but still... a girl who can dance and cook! It's like we're the same person. Ha.


Hyoyeon - As SNSD's lead dancer, there's no missing Hyoyeon when the girls hit those dance breaks. As hard as it is to stand out in a group of nine pretty ladies, it's still with effortless grace and hard-hitting moves that Hyoyeon manages to captures our attention.



Jia - It says so much of the group when Jia is the second miss A member on my list, and I'm not even done with this group yet. Jia is beyond amazing - not only is she a superb dancer, her flexibility still leaves my jaw hanging. Fantastic singer, amazing rapper, and flawless dancer, Meng Jia is out to rule the k-pop world.

*This video isn't a solo, as I couldn't find an awesome solo video of Jia dancing. But this video is of Jia, Fei and Wonder Girls member Lim.


Min - Is it any surprise that bffs Hyoyeon and Min made waves as kids dancing in Little Winners? Min is a little dancing prodigy who trained for years in the US before debuting under JYPE. The third miss A member on my list, Min is also my new miss A bias. This changes from time to time, but it doesn't even matter. They're all awesome. But Min does hip-hop like nobody's business.


BoA - This girl is a goddess. She sings like an angel but dances like a beast. Is that even possible? Apparently so. Her moves are so precise, so clean, so flawless. She's only 26 but has been in the business for almost 13 years. She's a child prodigy who has grown so much and helped shape k-pop from its early days. Way back when I had no idea what k-pop even was, I already knew who BoA was. She's a huge name, and rightly so.


Kahi - It's no surprise that before Kahi debuted with girl group After School she used to dance back-up for a lot of big names in k-pop, most notably BoA. I honestly knew next to nothing about Kahi prior to watching this one video that made me go, holy shit. Girl is a dance machine.


Honorable Mention: Park Shin-hye - Not an idol but an amazing dancer. So much so that I can't believe she's not a pop star.


What about you? Who are your favorite dancers?