Korea or Japan..?

There has been much talk about how DBSK has been spending too much time in Japan, and the Korean fans want them to go back to Korea. Badly. Earlier this year, a lot of fans were disappointed that they didn't attend the MKMF awards show when it was announced before that they would be there. And a lot is an understatement; for you could see red balloons everywhere and somewhere in the middle of the show they stated singing 믿어요 (Cassiopeia never fails to amaze me even though sometimes they make me scared because of their obsessiveness, so much that I might dedicate a post for them some time).

Just to give you the basic information: DBSK has released 3 Korean albums since 2004, but this year they didn't as they spent most the year in Japan, and released a Japanese album instead (they released both a Korean and Japanese album in 2005). There has been some rumour about a 4th Korean album next year, but instead it's been confirmed that they're releasing their 3rd Japanese album in January (I think). Korean fans are complaining that SM is focusing too much on the Japanese market, which resulted in the Korean fans being 'neglected'. But is going back to Korea now the best thing to do?

Let's be realistic. In Japan, DBSK is not big yet. Sure, they have quite a big number of fans and held a successful tour, but they aren't selling that much (they're not topping the charts yet). Why? Well, firstly, they're Koreans. Secondly, in Japan, the type of songs they sing appeal more to the older generation. Then, there's the Johnny Entertainment, which produces best-selling boybands. In comparison, even though DBSK is obviously stronger in terms of singing (yes you can quote me on that), because JE dominates the music shows, these idol groups get much more exposure. All these make it harder for DBSK to break into the market. However, considering the serious lack of promotion, the sales of their recent singles have been good enough (Together got 2nd on the daily Oricon chart). Also, Avex just announced that they're going to invest more on the boys next year, which will at least raise people's awareness of the group and possibly increase their popularity. Note that nothing is certain here.

On the other hand, in Korea, they're already the biggest group. In 2006, they swept all the Daesangs (Best Artist Award) in the four award shows (I can only find three: 1 2 3). They have hordes of fans of all ages, the Cassiopeians, who worship the ground they walk on. Whatever they comes out with sells, whether it's an album, a photobook, or merchandise for concerts (even shirts, towels and pillows lol). I believe that it's not an exaggeration to say that in Korea, they already made history. Other people are already starting to sing their songs (믿어요 / Hug), which further proves the point. So, is there any challenge in coming back to Korea now?

If you ask me what I prefer, them in Japan or Korea, I'd say that both have their up and downsides. In Korea, most of the time they lipsynch to their dance tracks (all SM groups do, I don't know why either) but sing their ballads LIVE. In Japan, no one lipsynches; it's considered a taboo. Since they've been performing so much in Japan, their LIVE performances have gotten even better. Other than the musical aspect, in Korea there are a lot of nice and funny variety shows (Xman, etc) which they could have attended if they were there. Of course some Japanese talk shows are nice and funny too, but Korean ones are generally more enjoyable to watch. That aside, I actually like both their Korean and Japanese songs. They sang the Japanese version for some of their Korean songs, but the originals are always better. The originally-made Japanese songs are good though.

So, bottom line is, I feel that they should continue attacking the Japan market, since I believe that they have more than enough ability, looks and charm to make it big there. But! I do miss their Korean songs, so after the whole promotional period is over, please go back to Korea! And SM, give the boys at least two weeks of break in between, for heavens' sake; they've been working like crazy this whole year.

Pheww I'm done! Sorry I got carried away. xP

Now that I'm done with the ranting, I just have to link you to these (1 2 3) clips of Shinhwa performing. And it's recent. I posted a couple of pictures of them in their concert, but seeing them performing LIVE together is a totally different thing. I can't express how good it is to see them perform together, singing and dancing their songs. In the first clip, I think Minwoo teared up a bit when singing T.O.P. He's such a sweetie, but totally the best performer ever; this guy really knows how to work the crowd. Very stable performance by the group. Really, Shinhwa is literally, a legend. No one can replace Shinhwa, ever (even though I love DBSK as much). I hope DBSK can last as long as them. And for Shinhwa to be together until they are so old that they can't sing anymore or they don't want to sing no more (DBSK too!). Have faith! xD

p.s. I've been posting too much pictures lately; I must be killing your computers. So now I'm not posting any. =D

arghh.

Yunho's hair..


































^it was getting longer during the Forever Love days, but at least it still looked good on him.

Next..


















^getting dangerously long. I even had to use 'pretty' to describe this picture, which I never used to describe Yunho before.


































^these are the latest ones. The hairstylists seriously need to get new specs or something. Yunho has almost feminine features -- small face, defined jawline, etc. Long hair would only make this point stand out more, which caused him to look.. girly. Even longer and I'll have to say that he looks like a woman. I've said this a lot of times, but get a haircut, Yunho!














^but then he still looks good. ><

It's been a long time..

..since I saw Shinhwa on the same stage, performing together. So I'm gonna post pictures of them in their recent concert, which, unlike other concerts, consisted of only group performances (no solos).

























^Eric's sporting a.. funky hairstyle. xP
















^NICE. xD




































^is it just me, or is Hyesung looking prettier lately?


















^my favourite two, Minwoo and Dongwan! (ignore Andy in the background lol)

Next year some of them are going to be enlisted to the army, so it's gonna be 4-6 years before they can perform together again. Man, I'm so going to miss them. T.T

..'cos I'm still in the celebration mood.

TVXQ was elected as the President of the Republic of Korean Music.

Famous group TVXQ was elected as the President of the Republic of Korean Music.

This virtual presidential election started from October 23 until December 11 and was organized by the cable channel MTV.

Among thirty candidates, TVXQ monopolized the election and recorded 43.9% of votes whereas the second and third placers were Jang Woo Hyuk and BIG BANG, respectively. Because of this win, MTV and Boombox (http://www.mtv.co.kr) declared December 23 as “TVXQ Day” and will air special programs about the group.

Source: KBS World
credit :jOLyN @ csspf + TVXQ-INTER + capri-shiqi@CassiopeiaSG & Soompi.
_________________________________________________________

Ain't that cool? Now there's a "TVXQ Day". But of course, they totally deserve it. =)

I feel like doing a picture spam because I can, but because we're celebrating the 4th Anniversary of the group, I'm gonna post only the group pictures even though now I really have the urge to do a Hosu spam.











































































^group hug after winning Daesang in 2006. awww.



























































^it's an old picture, but I like it a lot. Everybody's smiling so brightly.

That's all for now. =)

Gods rising from the East.

That's the literal meaning of 東方神起. Today is the 4th anniversary of the band, having debuted on 26th December 2003 performing with BoA and their debut song, Hug. Back then, Yunho was chubby and still had his tiger teeth; Jaejoong's hair didn't match his face; Junsu forgot his dance steps; and overall they just looked much younger. Back then, they didn't have crazy fangirls screaming their lungs out at every move they made. The first album, Tri-Angle, was released in 2004. They've certainly come a long way. =)

I blogged a lot about DBSK, mostly about the random cute things and their looks. But now I'll introduce you to what made me like them in the first place - their music. I wanted to do this a long time ago, but since there are just too many good songs, I was too lazy to start. xP

As I said, there are a lot. It's gonna be very long, so I'll do this by order of album, their release date and the track number 'cos I'm a control freak. I'll put the link to the MV (if there is one) and some good LIVE performances to show you how good they are singing LIVE (but of course, sometimes they do make mistakes). The video quality of the LIVE versions may not be the best, though.

Koreans

Tri-Angle











믿어요 (MV)
Thanks To (MV)
Whatever They Say (MV / LIVE)
Hug (MV / LIVE)
My Little Princess (MV)

Rising Sun











Tonight (MV)
Rising Sun (MV / LIVE)
바보 Unforgettable (LIVE)
One (LIVE 1 2)
약속했던 그때에 Always There… (MV)

"O"-正.反.合.











"O"-正.反.合. (MV / LIVE)
I'll Be There (LIVE 1 2)
네 곁에 숨쉴 수 있다면 White Lies (LIVE)
Remember (LIVE)
You Only Love (picture slides 'cos there's no MV or LIVE T.T)
풍선 Balloons (MV / LIVE)

singles
Magic Castle (MV)
동방의 투혼 Fighting Spirit of Dong Bang (MV)
Holding Back The Tears (MV / LIVE 1 2)

Japanese

Heart, Mind and Soul











明日は来るから (MV / LIVE)
Heart, Mind and Soul (LIVE)

Five in the Black











Begin (MV / LIVE 1 2)
Proud (LIVE)
Miss You (MV)
Hello Again (LIVE)

singles
Lovin' You (MV / LIVE)
Love in the Ice (fancam)
Forever Love (MV)

various acapellas
FITB concert
You Only Love
Towani (original by The Gospellers)

______________________________________________________

lalalala I'm done. How long did I take to find these and choose the ones with the better quality (image and vocals) to post? Very long. But it's safer to do it now then say, a year later, when the list will have expanded. Check the acapellas out, 'cos their perfect acapellas are what differentiate them with other boybands (afterall, they were marketed as a vocal group). So for now, enjoy the nice songs, beautiful vocals and great view. xD

fiction.

I've been watching dramas these days, which explains my lack of posts. So now I feel like taking a break and do short reviews of some of them. During the holidays, I watched 5 dramas: Witch Yoo Hee, Love Generation, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (Japan), Coffee Prince and A Million Stars Falling from the Sky. I feel quite accomplished, really, since initially I was kinda reluctant to start watching any of them.


Hanazakari no Kimitachi e












Initially, I watched this drama for Oguri Shun, and also because I was curious of how different it would be from the Taiwanese version. Shun did a good job portraying the character of Sano. However, I thought this role totally didn't allow him to show his acting capabilities; most of the time all he had to do was to stand there looking cool. He looks good though. xD That aside, I had a good laugh watching the show, mostly because Nakatsu's funny actions and facial expressions. The only complaint I have is that no matter how I looked at Mizuki, she looked like a girl through and through. She might have behaved like a guy in the first two episodes, but from then I couldn't help but wonder why anyone could be fooled into thinking that she was a male. She's really pretty, though. Overall, I think this drama is better than the Taiwanese one, in terms of the male lead's acting (I swear I'm not biased), the story progression, and the ending.

A quote by the dearest Nakatsu:
-----------------------------------------------
If you are hurt, shout it out!
If you want to cry, let it out!
Stop acting cool, you freaking idiot!
-----------------------------------------------
..which are words that I can never say.

bonus:


















^Sano!








^ROFL retarded face. xDD


Coffee Prince












I watched this drama for Yoon Eun Hye, since the whole 'girl acting like a guy' thing seems to be the 'in' thing now. I must say that out of the three female actresses that have done this type of role, her actions were the most 'guy-ish' one. I could imagine myself mistook her for a guy if not for her face. I thought that both her and the male lead (Goong Yoo) did a good job in the crying scenes, as somehow I felt like they were drowning in their sorrow when they cried. I laughed a lot too when I was watching him starting to have feelings for her. I enjoyed watching most parts of the drama, except for the parts about the family, which were quite boring. The 'Princes' are really likeable too, whether it's the innocent 'gorilla', the cheerful playboy, or the cool 'waffle-guy'. It's a good drama.

Anyway, to all the homosexuals out there, I'm truly sorry that once upon a time I thought that you guys were weirdos and freaks. I now understand that it must have been hard to accept it yourselves. I know that feelings are uncontrollable, so it's inevitable. It's nobody's fault.


A Million Stars Falling from the Sky
A Takuya Kimura drama. I just finished watching it in two days, and I must say that I got hooked not because it's him, but because of the plot. Out of these five dramas, it's the only one that I didn't fast forward any part because the story is so tense. It's very unexpected, which would probably keep you watching to the end no matter how disturbed you were by the whole darkness of the drama. The actors were all good; I especially liked Akashiya Sanma as Kanzo and Shibasaki Kou as Yuki. Everyone commented that the ending was very sad, but for me, it was a fitting one; I wouldn't want the story to end any other way.

Takuya Kimura acted as Ryo, a cold, unfeeling and cruel man who by the middle of the story, I already deemed as someone wasn't fit to be a human. I suspect that he wasn't really a human inside, actually, since humans are creatures of emotions and it's just impossible to be so unfeeling as him. But anyway, even though it's Takuya Kimura, I wanted Ryo dead. No matter how good-looking he is, how pitiful his past was, or how much he wants to change; someone who had done so much bad things in life didn't even deserve a chance to have a new life. I must give credit to Kimura, though, as he totally convinced me that Ryo was a cold-blooded murderer by his killer eyes (which means beautiful eyes but here it also means the eyes of a murderer), and his slight smile when he was facing someone but a blank and almost evil look when that person turned away from him. There were a lot of kissing (damn he's a good kisser) and killing, but for my part, there was a lot of frustration, disgust and fear. Yes, I was damn bloody scared of him. Which speaks volumes about his acting. However, really, even though this drama totally exploits and shows Kimura's good looks, if you want to just drool over him, DON'T watch this drama. Watch Good Luck!!, Engine, or any other drama of his. Because this may be too emotionally draining for you. Seriously, I'm now still pondering about Ryo's character and imagining how terrible it'd be if someone like him really exists. *shudders*

But now, I'll reward you with pictures of Takuya Kimura.
























































Say it with me: kakkoiii! xD

Congrats to..

U-Know Yunho for being votes as Best Leader in the recent Mnet poll! If you have been in the Korean fandom for long enough, you'd know that Mnet polls usually attract hordes of fangirls to vote gazillion times for their favourite bands. And as expected, the two who gained the most votes were Yunho from DBSK and Eric from Shinhwa. I only voted a few times for both, 'cos even though I don't really know anything about Eric being a leader, I love both TVXQ and Shinhwa.

Since Yunho won, I'll take the liberty of posting some of Yunho's pictures and kill your computers because I realise I don't spazz about Yunho enough he totally deserves the title. xD






















































lastly..






































^That's why Yunho must be in front at the beginning of a dance song. To kill fangirls. xD

XIAH JUNSU.

Also! Yesterday was Junsu's birthday. The fans sang Happy Birthday during the concert, Yoochun and Yunho threw the whole cake at him (what a waste lol) Yunho first threw the cake at him and Changmin too later, Yunho almost slipping on the cake (too cute xD), Yoochun gave him a towel to clean himself up, and Junsu cried a little. (fancam here)






























^the cake-d birthday boy.

It's late, but still, happy 21st birthday Junsu! =)

I have definitely spazzed more than enough about his singing, so I'll just show you the other side of him (well, actually his real self when he's not dancing or singing ballads) which is totally kid-like and adorable. xD
















































^the famous 'eukyangkyang' laughter.


























^hahaha he's really cute, isn't he? ><

yay-ness.

DBSK held a concert in Thailand yesterday, and Yunho danced properly, vigorously. Which means that he probably has recovered fully. Yay! Finally I don't need to worry anymore. And I get to see him dancing again. And I'm sure that he miss dancing like that. He looks happy and right at home dancing with the rest of the members from what I've seen in the few fancams. =)
























The stage looks complete again. No more masked man, Yunho standing in the back and an over-exhausted Junsu. I wanna post some fancams of Yunho dancing, but until now I still haven't seen any. Maybe I'll edit later with some nice ones. ^^


















^from when the Cyworld concert in China. He looks good, but don't you have the urge to snip off his hair? I seriously do. Especially in the latest concert; it's too freakin' long. =X

edit: This is the only one I can find for now. His dancing is great as always, but doesn't he look like he's trying hard to tell the fans that he's okay? We get it, Yunho, don't overdo it! But still, he looks awesome dancing. ^^