Let's go from the artist that I 'discovered' earlier.
First up, we have Younha! She's (are you surprised that I actually like a female singer? haha!) a Korean, but apparently she went to a lot of auditions in Korea before becoming a singer, but all the companies rejected her, saying she wasn't pretty enough (even though IMO she's pretty). However, in the end she debuted in Japan. She's only 19, but her voice is sooo beautiful and powerful and just so nice. *.* Her range can be compared to those of western singers, too. Again, this emphasizes the point that looks isn't everything. Well, in my dictionary, it's as close as nothing, actually. It's those company's losses for not signing up such a talent.
I first saw her performing (singing and playing the piano) in Dream Concert. I got interested, looked up some random clips of her singing, and was instantly impressed. Then I listened to her two Korean albums and almost rated all the songs five stars, lol. Her albums have a good mix of ballads and rock-ish songs. Unfortunately I don't have the time to listen to her Japanese songs, but I will.. one day! haha. She's actually my favourite female singer now. ^^
I haven't listened to as much of her songs as I'd have liked to, but for now I'll just link you to these wonderful videos of hers.
LIVE singing of other people's songs:
If I Ain't Got You
Because of You
Since U Been Gone
How Do I Live
늦은후회
her own songs:
꼬마 (I cry) (LIVE)
Password 486 (MV | LIVE)
연애조건 (LIVE)
Fly (LIVE)
속마음 (LIVE)
혜성 (MV | LIVE)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next is Fly to the Sky! They're a Korean (duh!) duo consisting of Brian Joo and Hwanhee. They have been around since 1999; I don't know where I've been all this time that I never listened to any of their songs. I had wanted to try out their songs since I got into KPop, but I kept procrastinating and it wasn't until recently that I listened to their compilation album, which hopefully did justice to their works (since it should contain their better/more popular songs). It was great! Their latest album is good, too. Most of their songs are ballads and R&B. Good voices, awesome skill and good songs; what more can you ask? I've been playing their LIVE performances on Youtube without watching the video itself. And 90% of the time they sound flawless. o.0
Brian's voice is clearer and generally higher while Hwanhee's is lower, gruffer and powerful. Their voices complement each other's really well. Personally I like Brian's better, since sometimes I feel overwhelmed/pressurized while listening to Hwanhee's deep voice - he over-sings at times. Both of them sings really really well, which is why it irks me when people comment "Hwanhee sings so much better than Brian" or "Hwanhee is better off without Brian". Hwanhee's technique is better and he got the better genes of having the more powerful voice, but they're a group, don't you see? They wouldn't be as succesful without each other. Anyway, I've always disliked is the tapping of the microphone, which happens to be Brian's habit. But on account of his soothing voice, I can ignore that. haha.
If you'd allow me to say something beside their singing -- I really think that Hwanhee looked perfectly fine before, so I have no idea why he went to have a plastic surgery after 8 years of being in the showbiz. Of course he looks great now, but he already looked good all along. As for Brian, I knew who he was before I knew FTTS from some variety shows and he's one hell of a funny guy. Even thinking about it is making me crack up, lol. And! to prove that it wasn't their looks that got me into them, I don't have a single one of their picture, except for one small album cover in which you can't even see their face clearly. I think I'm gonna check out more of their stuff, not only the singing ones. xD If I have the time. (arghh timee!)
But for now, let's just listen to their wonderful voices. =)
별... (Like Shining Stars...) (MV)
Missing You (MV | LIVE 1 2)
그대는 모르죠 (Goodbye) (MV | LIVE 1 2)
Condition of My Heart (MV | LIVE)
중력 (Gravity) (MV | LIVE)
습관 (Poison Ivy) (MV | LIVE)
가슴 아파도 (LIVE)
사랑해 (MV | LIVE)
My Angel (MV | LIVE 1 2)
They have so many great songs. I
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I actually wanted to include Kangta, but that would lead to S (group), which would in turn lead to Hyesung (from Shinhwa). The post would be unbearably long, so I decided to put it off for another time. Now that I think about it, I still have a few albums I haven't listened to yet. *runs to listen*
On the side note, the U-Know Yunho concert tee came today. It's long-sleeved, the material isn't cheapskate and most importantly it's big, even for a fat ass like me. Hurray! =))
