After casting news made its rounds earlier this month regarding world-star Rain's small screen comeback, the upcoming SBS drama has now released its first teaser trailer featuring Rain and his love interest Krystal (of idol group f(x)).
She's So Lovable (aka My Lovely Girl) is described as a "comic, sentimental love fantasy" where Rain plays a composer-producer of an entertainment agency who meets Krystal, a young aspiring musician 12 years his junior. Of course, she falls in love with him but he can't seem to shake off the memories of losing his girlfriend in a tragic car accident - who, of course, happens to be Krystal's older sister.
As much as I'm looking forward to Rain being on my screen again, in what seems to be a rom-com (please kdrama gods, let it be a rom-com), I have to be honest that the whole dead ex-girlfriend/sister trope is something I'm not excited about. But it's Rain. And I love Rain. Also, I really liked Krystal in The Heirs, and she was actually one of the few reasons I continued watching that drama through to the end. So I'm crossing my fingers.
Another thing that I couldn't seem to get past initially was the age gap between Rain and Krystal. Not that I have any qualms with age gaps. I mean, I'm addicted to noona romances and I've watched dramas whose leads had 14-20 years between them. But Rain had always seemed very much a man, and Krystal a child. It's not quite the same as having Yoona or Lee Jong-suk or Seo In-guk in the dongsaeng roles because they didn't quite come off as childlike, just young. Thank goodness then that in the teaser (posted below), the age gap doesn't seem quite as jarring as I initially had thought it would be.
While the trailer gives off a cute vibe, it also, somehow, brings with it a sense of emotional depth reminiscent of more mature shows like this drama's writer-PD team's earlier work Scent of a Woman. Which is a good thing. Krystal doesn't seem to be wishy-washy nor juvenile in the teaser (which most of her earlier roles always were), rather she seems focused and responsible. I don't know if it's just me, but this trailer is definitely making Krystal seem more solemn than I'll ever get used to, since she's always been so callow and, well, loud in her past roles. So things are definitely looking up! I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for this drama.
She's So Lovable replaces It's Okay, It's Love every Wednesday and Thursday on SBS beginning on September 17.
Once again, another 6 months have passed just like that and we're now entering the second half of 2014. How is time flying by so fast?!
The first half of 2014 saw the return of the king of k-pop Rain, as well as the debuts of two amazing rookie groups, Got7 and Akdong Musician. We've also been given the long-awaited full-length albums of 2NE1 and Taeyang (it was about damn time, honestly). And this past months also gave me my current addiction; a song by artists I never paid much attention to before, Soyou & Jung GiGo.
So just as I've done for the pastyear, I'm listing down my favorite songs released during the first half of this year, for the months of January to June 2014.
Noraebang, if you don't know (as if!), is the Korean version of karaoke (or what we call in my country, videoke) but with some additional necessities aside from the karaoke machine, tv screen, and microphone. It is absolutely essential for noraebangs to provide tambourines, or maracasses even (if they're being generous), and sometimes even clown wigs and huge-ass sunglasses (if they're being totally lavish). And of course, a noraebang session isn't complete without some of our favorite Korean pop songs.
What I'll be listing down today aren't necessarily what I'd choose to sing at a noraebang, but what I think every k-pop star and their favorite uncle would immediately punch in to sing should they find themselves in a dim room with a microphone in one hand and a tambourine on the other. Or perhaps, if they're in the mood for a power ballad, the tambourine is left on the table in exchange for a glass of somaek. Of course, this is from an outsider's point of view. All I'm basing this on is the fact that these songs have been covered so many times by so many Korean singers (and non-singers). And, seriously, I'm not complaining. I love these songs!
Lee Juck's "I'm Fortunate" (다행이다, Dahaengida)
It's funny because most international fans know the song because of covers by idol stars, and there's no mention of the song at all on Lee Juck's Wikipedia page, but indeed he was the original singer. This video is of his original version but we've heard this covered by everyone from idol star Kim Hyun-joong to balladeer K.Will, rocker Jung Joon-young to actor Joo Won, to name just a few.
Brown Eyed Soul's "Nothing Better"
Originally sung by Brown Eyed Soul's Jung Yup, this song has been performed repeatedly, time and again, at every turn, by almost everybody from 2PM's Nichkhun to SHINee's Jonghyun, Super Junior's Kyuhyun to actor Gong Yoo, that if it weren't such a good song I would've been ready to sew my ears shut.
Im Jae-beom's "Confession" (고해, Gohae)
One of my personal favorites, Im Jae-beom's "Confession" may be one of the cheesiest songs ever, in terms of lyrics, but he pulls it off with one of the rawest and roughest voices in the business. So it's no wonder that some of the best singers of today have all attempted to cover this song, of which FT Island's Lee Hong-ki's attempt is my favorite. CNBLUE's Jung Yong-hwa (plus Z:EA's Kwang-hee, unfortunately), rock singers Roy Kim and Jung Joon-young, and pop rock singer Hong Kyung-min have performed this song as well. 4Men's "Baby Baby"
Another overplayed R&B track, this time by vocal group 4Men. But let me tell you, just because something is overplayed doesn't make it bad. In fact, it's so good that everyone keeps singing it. And by everyone, I mean B.A.P's Daehyun (pre-debut video that brought me to tears!), SHINee's Jonghyun, SNSD's Yuri and Tiffany, and BEAST's Yoseob.
Kim Dong-ryul's "Drunken Truth" (취중진담, Chwijung Jindam)
Admittedly, the first person I heard this from was JYJ's Micky Yoochun. And it was awesome. And then I started hearing it everywhere so I had to find out who the original singer was. So, apparently, Yoochun wasn't the original singer, neither were Super Junior's Kyuhyun, nor Gavy N J, nor Fly to the Sky, but rather Kim Dong-ryul. I'll try to remember that name from now on.
DJ DOC's "Run to You"
You might've noticed, but almost every music festival ends with all the artists on stage rocking out to the one hip-hop song everyone and their grandmothers know the lyrics to. Some people mistakenly refer to this song as "Bounce With Me" due to the phrase being repeated throughout the track, but it's actually "Run to You." I first encountered this song via extra footage in the 2009 drama You're Beautiful where the boys of ANJELL (Jang Geun-suk, Jung Yong-hwa, and Lee Hong-ki) danced around to the track. And since then, I've heard it literallyateverymusicshow'soutro.
Rain's "Love Song"
This is probably one of the first Korean songs I learned the lyrics to. Not the very first, but it's somewhere up there. And clearly, I'm not the song's only fan as it's been covered by Seo In-guk, and all your favorite idols in severaldifferentparodies. Sometimes lauded for the song itself, but mostly for the accompanying sexy choreography, this song is definitely one for the books.
Ra.D's "I'm In Love"
This song is just beautiful. I seriously have four different versions of this song on my k-pop playlist. The first one is by Ra.D (see video above) who actually composed the song, and then the original recording by Brown Eyed Girls' Narsha, and then covers by CNBLUE's Lee Jong-hyun and two finalists on The Voice of Korea (Kim Min-ji and Park Eui-sung) who sang a duet version during the battle round. This song is so awesome even Queen Yuna has performed it before.
Tasha's "As Time Goes By"
This is one song I listen to on repeat, and one that I also know by heart. Tasha is a queen and this song may be old, but it's still relevant. At least according to the members of SNSDwho have sung thisat multiple occasions. Younha also has a cover, and Lee Hi slayed with this song when she was a finalist on K-Pop Star by turning the second verse into a rap with the help of the guys at YG.
JYP's "Honey"
Just hearing the intro to this song makes me wanna jump out of my seat to sing and dance along. Though I love JYP more for his softer, mid-tempo ballads (i.e. "I Have A Girl") it's uptempo songs like "Honey" and "Elevator" that make you wanna bust out the tambourine at the noraebang. It's been coveredso many timesthat you just knowit's a classic. And by classic, I mean old enough that World Star Rain was one of JYP's backup dancers back then.
I love dancing and it's one of the major reasons why I love k-pop. Like, I do admit to having danced miss A's "Goodbye Baby" or A Pink's "No No No" in front of the mirror in the safety of my own bedroom once or twice before. However, there are a handful of k-pop dances that I still want to learn but whenever I go and watch the videos, I'm immediately muttering to myself, "nope, not gonna happen." I've seen the dance practice versions, the tutorial videos, and possibly all the covers, but there's a difference between knowing how the dance goes in your head and actually being able to execute them properly. Sure, I can do Brown Eyed Girls' "Abracadabra" but there are those dances that just seem impossible to learn. And today, I'm listing down my 10 favorites.
10. Infinite's "BTD (Before The Dawn)"
9. EXO's "History"
8. miss A's "Breathe"
7. Rain's "Hip Song"
6. Infinite's "Be Mine"
5. 2PM "I'll Be Back"
4. SHINee's "Lucifer"
3. B2ST's "Fiction"
2. EXO's "Growl"
1. SHINee's "Everybody"
These are just some of the most epic dance videos in k-pop and there are so much more out there. What're your favorites though?
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.
