i'm just another girl~

i've been trying to post a lot less about kpop and focus more on things that i actually do in korea.

but, i reallyreallyreally love this song.

BigBang The 4th Mini Album CD Review

V.I.Ps, and kpop fans alike, rejoiced when it was revealed that BigBang would return once again to the korean music scene. aside from solo projects and numerous cellphone ads, the 5-member group had virtually disappeared from korea for a long 2 years and 3 months. instead, they turned their attentions to an overseas market, releasing several jpop mini albums. because of this long absence, fans [like myself] were ecstatic about their comeback...counting down the days until the mini album's release date: february 24.

way back in 2008, BigBang released "remember"--an album that was practically perfect in every way. [and my personal favorite BigBang CD.] but since then, the kpop market has changed with the emergence of many new super popular boy bands [2PM, b2st, etc etc etc]. however, i believe that BigBang's 4th mini album--while being reminiscent of old BigBang--also shows that they have grown and matured as a group. it shows that they've still got "it"--the ability to dazzle audiences and dominate music charts.

like previous BigBang albums, the 4th mini album showcases their unique talents and abilities. and that's the primary reason why i like BigBang so much--they stand out against other kpop boy bands. because they [well, g-dragon...] write their own music, they are able to create unique, meaningful lyrics. additionally, they have shown both the unwillingness to compromise their creative integrity and the refusal to conform in a notoriously cookie cutter industry. [don't get me wrong, i LOVE me some kpop...but these days, they've been deputing so many new bands in a relatively small time frame, that everyone begins to look and sound the same...]

that being said...i was somewhat disappointed when i discovered that the new BigBang album would be just a mini album containing only 6 songs [one of which is an intro track]. i am impatient...greedy for more BigBang--NOW. however, the cd definitely lived up to my standards...and the hype that was created for it.

the album:

ok, so the cover art is a silver, metallic skull wearing headphones. umm, it's kind of creepy, not gonna lie. except for the sparkly-ness, i'm not sure that it exactly fits with their image...i mean, it's more like something i'd expect to see on a death-metal cd, not kpop. but, whatever.

the actual cd booklet, on the other hand, is super colorful. love it. the bright designs break up the monotony of the black/silver exterior, and their fashions are bold and unique.

the songs:

intro (thank you and you): even though this is only a short intro track, i really love it. the beat is super dance-y...it makes me excited to listen to the rest of the cd. which is kind of the point of an intro track anyways.

however, the hook--"i'm fine, thank you and you?"--is pretty much the entire english repertoire of most korean students [in my experience]. so thank you, BigBang; i now get to spend the rest of my esl teaching career listening to students sing this at me every time i ask "how are you?". [also, i'm pretty sure that the majority of my students only know kpop english...they can only recite the days of the week to the tune of "mazeltov" by ze:a, and any time they try to apoogize for something it's either sung as "sorry sorry sorry sorry" ("sorry sorry" by super junior) or "i'm so sorry but i love you" ("거짓말"--"lies" by bigbang). but i digress...]

hands up: this song was previously released on one of their japanese mini albums [last fall, i believe]. at the time, i didn't particularly care for the song...but i fell in love with it after hearing it performed live at the YG Family concert in december. other than the obvious fact that the language is different, the korean version on this mini album doesn't sound very different. it has a classic BigBang feel to it music-wise. the biggest difference that i noticed [between the japanese and korean versions] is in T.O.P's rap--which sounds better in the korean version--because he does a different thing to his voice; it's super hott.

tonight: this is the main title track from the album, and it is brilliant. the musical part is pop-y and dance-y, but at the same time it has a more mature, darker feel to it. they blend the contrasting tones of each of their 5 voices to create a uniquely beautiful song. the highlight of the song is towards the end--the music climaxes and suddenly stops, leaving a lone acoustic guitar playing the haunting melody, accompanied by vocals. i really love the use of falsetto during the chorus; it fits perfectly with the mood of the song.

somebody to love: this track was also a previously released jpop song [i think it was on the same mini album as "hands up"]. i loved it when i first heard it in japanese, and i still love it now. this song also has a classic BigBang feel to it. it's dance-y, pop-y, exciting, and fun. the chorus is essentially them declaring that they "want somebody to love", which i'm pretty certain has every girl screaming "I'M RIGHT HEREEEEE--LOVE ME!!" [or, maybe that's just me...]

what is right: this song reminds me of something that i'd listen to while driving in my car on a warm summer day with the windows down. it's a cute, fun song. it's not brilliant, and BigBang has certainly released better tracks [umm, "하루하루", "거짓말", "마자막 인사"..."day by day", "lies", "last farewell"...]. but it definitely gets your foot tapping, and it is legitimately fun to listen to.

cafe: ok. so this is probably my favorite song on the entire mini album. the very appropriately named "cafe" begins with a jazzy-sounding piano, accompanied by T.O.P's deeply sexy voice 13 seconds in. [i've literally listened to that part probably a million times...for optimum listening experience, i recommend earbuds, not speakers...it sounds like he's speaking right into your ears. not gonna lie, i died a little bit...] this song features silky smooth vocals from all 5 members--definitely showcasing their undeniable talent. taeyang's and g-dragon's falsetto parts do not disappoint, and they sound amazing together. daesung's voice sounds raw and passionate when he declares "you don't need me anymore". and seung ri's voice has a pure, yet mature quality to it [after all, he is only 20...]. i'm pretty sure this song has made me fall head-over-heels in love with all 5 of them. and it also gives me a craving for caramel machiattos...

my overall assessment of BigBang's The 4th Mini Album is that it is a great cd. i would definitely recommend it for both diehard V.I.P's and casual kpop fans. it features a great mix of old and new BigBang sounds. each track is different, and presents different emotions. both the music and the lyrics show how the boys have grown up and matured since the release of "remember", yet they still remain true to the unique style that made them famous to begin with.

good job, BigBang...your newest mini album definitely does not disappoint!!

[as an added bonus, here is "cafe" from the new mini album...listen to it, fall in love with them, and you'll understand what i was talking about...]

BIGBANG Big Show 2011

yesterday, i had the privilege of seeing the 1st of the 3 Big Show concerts. [the other two are today and tomorrow.] due to luck and my sheer amazingness at acquiring excellent concert tickets, i was able to secure standing spots on the first floor, by the side stage. unfortunately, i was unable to take any illegal creeper pictures//fancams due to the fact that i was unable to move my arms during the majority of the concert, and i was in plain view of a security guard. [this is because i ended up being right against the gate by the stage due to will power and determination--and unnaturally sharp elbows.]

the concert was every bit as amazing as i had expected. bigbang definitely knows how to please their fans and excite a crowd--their performances never disappoint.

i went to the concert with my friend, jen. [our friendship and shared love for bigbang works because i'm in love with T.O.P, and she's in love with G-Dragon.] we arrived at the venue really early because we wanted to check out the concert merch. which was a fail because the line was super long and we didn't want to wait. however, our early-ness definitely paid off, because we were interviewed on tv!! the camera guy just wanted us to say a few things in korean; so we said that we loved bigbang and were excited about the concert. and then we pulled out the signs that we had worked so hard to make [jen's for GD and mine for T.O.P~~obvi], and i said that i loved T.O.P because he was handsome, and the camera guy laughed. SCORE.

after braving the semi-coldness outside, and the crazy middle school fangirls inside, it was finally time for the concert to start!! the lights dimmed, and on the big screens, they showed the premiere of GDTOP's music video for "집에 가지마" [don't go home]...omygosh. best music video everrrr. after the video, it got really dark...music started playing and the crowd rushed forward towards the stage. bigbang was coming! they opened with "hands up", one of the songs off of their new mini album. it was sooo much fun being on the floor--everyone was jumping and screaming from pure excitement.

seung ri was the first to perform his solo stage, singing his new songs "V.V.I.P" and "어쩌라고" [what can i do]. i think he's always really entertaining to watch because he has a lot of confidence and charisma while performing.

the next solo stage was taeyang, who sang "where u at" and "i'll be there". amazing, as always. my only complaint was that he did not rip off his shirt and reveal his famous rock hard abs.

daesung performed a brand new song for his solo performance, "baby don't cry". omygosh. i CANNOT wait for his solo album to be released!! the song was probably one of my favorites during the concert. the performance was simple, but that just allowed to audience to focus on daesung's amazing vocals all the more. the song had a pop-rock feel to it, which suited his voice perfectly.

finally, it was GD&T.O.P's turn. they began with an amazing performance of my personal favorite, "뻑이가요" [knock out]. i had seen this song performed live 3 times previously, and this was most definitely my favorite. their outfits were amazing, the dancers were great, and the audience interaction was perfect. the duo came out on segways [GD rolled right past where i was standing!], and they even had an army tank on the stage...just like in the music video. next, they sang "oh yeah" with 박봄 [park bom] from 2NE1, and finally, "high high". all of bigbang joined them on the stage for their last song.

about halfway through the concert, bigbang showed the parody they had made of the incredibly popular kdrama, "secret garden". [it was seriously the best show of all time.] the parody was absolutely hilarious.

bigbang sang a lot of old favorites, including the acoustic version of "하루하루" [day by day]--which is my favorite version of my favorite korean song [which just so happens to be the song that got me hooked on bigbang]. they also performed all of the songs from their new mini album, which was released on thursday. i particularly enjoyed the performance of "cafe", because the song is super hot and [almost] everything about the performance was super hot as well. [the song showcases T.O.P's deep, sexy voice. ummheckyess.] the only thing that confused/bewildered me about the performances of their new songs were the outfits...seung ri and G-Dragon were wearing [wait for it]...

...SKIRTS. i mean, WHAT THE HECK?!?!??!?!?!? i have no idea what they were thinking when they decided that this would be a good idea. seung ri wore a freaking pleated black mini skirt over his jeans. [i read in an article online that they were trying to copy the fashions from the movie "300". it did not work out too well for them.] however, GD was wearing a straight up, legit skirt. like, it fell just below his knee. and it was gold. and sparkly. G-DRAGON THIS IS NOT OKAY!!!!!!!!! T.O.P was wearing some strange half skirt thing [it was literally half of a skirt. it covered only one leg...actually, it looked more like a weird apron]. i mean, at least he wasn't trying to rock a skirt-skirt, but still. not ok. at least daesung and taeyang resisted--they wore pants. like men.

i wasn't really surprised in GD's wardrobe choice [i mean, last year, he tried to rock a man skirt during the big show...at least this time he wore jeans underneath his skirt. last time, he was wearing what i can only assume were leggings]. however, i was surprised that he somehow managed into talking seung ri to go along with it. and that he was able to halfway convince T.O.P that it was a good idea.

fortunately for G-Dragon, he started playing a guitar halfway through the song "tonight", so i was willing to overlook and kind of forgive his fashion mis-hap. [this is because guys playing the guitar while singing are SUPER hott.]

the concert ended with the unveiling of bigbang's music video for their new song "tonight". and then the crowd began to chant: 사랑해! 사랑해! 사랑해! [we love you! we love you! we love you!] not gonna lie, i screamed my heart out with all those middle schoolers. after about five minutes of nonstop screaming, bigbang came back for the encore [that we all knew was coming]. they sang "always" and "볽은 노을" [sunset glow]. amazing. yet, at the same time sad...because it meant that the concert was ending.

my only disappointed with the show was the lack of T.O.P love that my side of the stage received. daesung and taeyang each came over once. seung ri came over a lot. and lingered. [and once again, saw me//waved...next time i'm making a sign for him haha] and GD rode by on his segway. but T.O.P didn't even come over once! [sad face ㅠㅠ] the only time he was kinda close was at the end, when all of bigbang came over to that side, but not on the side stage...they stayed on the main stage [it was during a part when they were talking]. they were probably 30 feet away from where i was standing, but i waved my sign around in the air anyways. i'm not sure if T.O.P saw it, although it's possible [i was the closest person to him with a sign]. sigh. oh well. there's always next time^^

after the concert, jen and i met up with allison, and the three of us were on tv...again!! the guy just wanted to know our thoughts on the concert, as well as which member was our favorite. once again, jen and i pulled out our signs...the camera guy seemed impressed//amused.

so basically, i'm kind of like a celebrity. or something like that...

BIGBANG IS BACK!!

[most definitely incredible. hey, move.]

b to the i to the g [bang bang]

today, after having made V.I.Ps wait for 2 years and 3 months, BIGBANG has finally made their korean comeback *^_____________^*

i'm listening to their new mini-album now, while making my sign for tomorrow's concert [to be unveiled to the public later]. best day ever.

well, until tomorrow...because i get to see my boys up close and personal [1st floor standing tickets HECKYESS!!], and tomorrow is the official release date of their new cd [in hard copy form...today was the digital release date].

omygosh i'm going to be so close to this hottness, i might dieeeeeeee~~

ALMOSTALMOSTALMOST!!

bigbang's comeback...it's almost hereeeeeee^_____________^

also, on friday, i'm going to the bigbang big show 2011~~and i can't freaking wait!!
i'm gonna be among the first to hear NEW bigbang liveeeeee~~excitement!!*^^*

BIGBANG IS BACK...almost

YG has been teasing V.I.Ps for months regarding BIGBANG's comeback album [as a group, they've been missing from the korean music scene for about 2 years...although they have released quite a few japanese singles, plus g-dragon, taeyang, gdtop, and seung-ri have released successful albums/mini-albums during bigbang's korean hiatus].

after pushing back the official release date just enough times to drive fans absolutely crazy, the official word is that bigbang's 4th mini-album will be dropped next thursday.

earlier this week, they teased us with the offical tracklist.

and today, concept photos!! YAYYYYYY!!

T.O.P's new hair looks kinda...fugly. but whatever, he's T.O.P and therefore will always be supersupersexy regardless of his hairstyle. also, HOLYCRAPDAESUNG. he looks...ahh-may-zing.

[승리//seung-ri]

[태양//taeyang]

[대성//daesung]

[지드래곤//g-dragon]

[탑//T.O.P]

[빅뱅 화이팅!!]

뻑이가요

i often knockout.

also:

I.

LOVE.

THIS.

MUSICVIDEO.

GD&TOP CD review

after eagerly waiting for what seemed like an eternity, GDTOP's album was finally dropped on christmas eve [as a special music treat for V.I.Ps//music lovers//people with ears//women everywhere]. i snatched it up the second that i found it, put it on my iPod approximately 5 minutes later, and haven't stopped listening to it ever since. [seriously, this album is the perfect soundtrack for: walking, sleeping, eating, putting on makeup, planning lessons, studying korean, taking the subway, working out, doing laundry, cooking, etc. etc. etc.]

now, before i start with my review i feel compelled to state that i absolutely adore bigbang and each of it's 5 members. but G-Dragon and T.O.P have always been my favorites. i think that everything GD does is fireeee: he's a talented singer/rapper/songwriter. i mean, i'll occasionally question his fashion choices [umm, GD, what's with the black skirt you're wearing in the heartbreaker video? and seriously, what's with the new hair? you look like "my little pony". for real.] nonetheless, i'd still consider him to be a fashionista and all-around cool guy. and then there's T.O.P. sigh. i freaking love him. i mean, i'd buy tickets to an event called "T.O.P standing on stage doing absolutely nothing for 3 hours". oh yeah. and if he did a song called "T.O.P singing the phone book", i'd more than likely think it was the awesomest thing ever. seriously. i want to marry this guy.

okay. all that being said, there is absolutely no way in the world that i can write a review completely devoid of personal bias. but i will definitely try my hardest, dear readers^^

***

i liked the cd before i even opened it. [based on purely aesthetic reasons, obvi.] it's black and simple, with a gold/paisley "playboy bunny" on the front. [i've also seen pink and silver bunny cases.] it's sleek, classy, simple--while at the same time being ostentatious and blingblingy. it's like GD&T.O.P are saying "hey, we're bad boys...but look how cool and smooth we are." it seems to fit their image quite well. the cd itself is really pretty and colorful-->like. and the album art...i really can't comment on this without being biased: i like anything that's a picture of GD or T.O.P, regardless of the crazy outfits/makeup they are wearing. [and there are some fashion disasters in these pictures...mostly just the weird fur stuff...it makes GD look like a woman.] ps~~the cd also came with a poster. it's pretty much the hottest thing ever.

ok, now on to the music!

intro: the cd starts off with an engaging old school beat with a deep voice shouting "brothers and sisters!" it gets me pumped up and excited everytime. in the first verse, GD sings about how awesome he is [literally, the lyrics are about how everyone wants/loves him], and in the second verse, T.O.P takes over to rap about how he's much different from what people think of him [classic bad boy...sigh]. and then at the end, GD introduces all of the songs in a really cute way. [ps~~when you're as smoking hott as GD and T.O.P, you can totally get away with singing songs about being awesome. it's not cocky if it's truth.]

high high: this song has been rocking the korean airwaves since it's release on the digital single two weeks ago. it has a super dancey feel to it; the chorus is especially addicting. everytime i hear it [regardless of where i am] i just can't resist doing the dance to it. [seriously, i'm listening to it right now, and i even stopped typing just so i could dance.] anyways, the song is great. GD and T.O.P really compliment each other, vocally and stylistically [is that even a word??]. it's so great to finally hear them as a bigbang sub-unit. also, i have no idea what "ghetto electro" means, but i fully intend on using it in daily conversation.

oh yeah: this song features 박봄 [park bom] from 2NE1. her voice is so beautiful on this song. the 3 of them blend so well together--the chorus sounds amazing. definitely no complaints about this song.

집에 가지마 [don't go home]: this song has a total 80s pop-ish feel to it. T.O.P's rap works really well when paired with GD's high, melodic voice during the chorus.

baby good night: everything about this song is sexy. it starts with a girl's voice, speaking in french. [and it confirmed my sneaking suspicion that GD is totally in to french girlsㅋㅋ] GD's voice sounds really good on this track. especially on the chorus--his high voice singing "baby good night" against T.O.P's husky "don't wanna say goodbye"--wow. just wow. and then the song ends with the same girl speaking in french. the whole track is just...sexy.

뻑이가요 [knock out]: this is easily my favorite track on the entire cd. the rap is tight. and the beat...holy crap, the beat. it's just sounds so raw and fresh. this song perfectly suits T.O.P's deep voice, and it's amazing. the only thing more amazing than listening to it on the cd is seeing it performed live. the song is so fun, and the bass is so tight during the live performance. everything about this song is absolute fire.

oh mom [T.O.P solo]: this song is a huge change from 뻑이가요 so it's kind of strange that it follows that on the cd. anyways, i was kind of worried when i heard that T.O.P would be singing a song. he always only raps or speaks during bigbang songs. i think he's sung like 30 seconds total. but, for a man whose voice so perfectly fits the very essence of rap music, he's actually quite good at singing rock. his deep, husky voice sounds really good on this song [but the lyrics are really sad].

악몽 [obsession//GD solo]: this is probably my 2nd favorite song on the cd. the chorus is so addicting, and i really love the beat and rhythm. it makes me wanna get up and dance! my only complaint: GD, you have a great voice~~why so much autotune?!?!

오늘따라 [today of all days//T.O.P solo]: gahhh, T.O.P's voice. enough said. [ps~~i love the part where he sings "i can do dat" ㅋㅋ]

어쩌란 말이냐? [what do you mean?//GD solo]: ok, not gonna lie. i absolutely did not like this song the first time i heard it. but, the more i listen, the more it has grown on me. it sounds like a hoedown. if i ever see this performed live, i fully expect GD to be wearing full cowboy get-up while square dancing around the stage. the best part is towards the end when GD says "가지마! [don't go!]" in a whiny voice--it's cute.

turn it up [T.O.P solo]: this song was officially released along with it's music video this past summer. so everyone's already heard it and knows that it's fire. and also that it has the greatest music video of all time--three and a half minutes of T.O.P looking super fine and doing things like: sitting in a giant coffee cup, playing piano on a girl's back, holding a gun, and doing the "baby bird" dance.

***

i definitely recommend purchasing this cd [support the artist]!!

opinions?? what do you think of the cd??

GHETTO ELECTRO

christmas eve was the tsocial party, which i had eagerly been anticipating all week. the dress code was blingbling [excitement!! because my whole life is blingbling], so i bought a fabulous strapless red dress, with bling-tastic accessories, black glitterly heels, and i wore silver-sparkly eye makeup.

for some reason, i had expected the party to be a lot more like the party from GDTOP's "high high" music video and a lot less like a concert. [actually, i think that was the original intention...or for people to at least dance or something...def not what ended up happening...]

anyways, i brought my friend jen as my guest and we both looked spectacular. we arrived in gangnam [about 1 hour from where i live] around 5:30 so we decided to grab a quick dinner. [we should have headed straight to the club.] the party was at club heaven [which, according to the internet, is supposed to be the hottest club in seoul.] we arrived at the club at 7 [the time the website said people would be let in], and the line was supersuper long. we waited in the freezing cold for foreverrr. and when we were finally let in, there was already a kazillion people in there, crowded on the dance floor in front of the the stage. def NOT what i had expected.

anyways, the event started at 8pm with some djs that i'd never heard of before. people started rushing the stage like crazy fangirls and fanboys. [ok, so i can be just as fangirly as the next person, but there is a time and a place for this behavior. in my opinion, at a club for a christmas party is just not the place for this...] also, apparently jen and i were some of the few who actually took the dress code seriously. most people wore jeans and sweatshirts. not very much blingbling. disappointment.

maybe around 8:45, 360 SOUNDS hit the stage. at this point, i think people were supposed to be dancing...but people just stood there. pushing. and shoving. it was ridiculous.

next was leesang...i'm familiar with a few of their songs, and they were fun to watch. but i'm not a huge fan.

after that was SE7EN [who i loveee]. people really started freaking when he hit the stage. it was completely ridiculous. jen and i ended up getting shoved closer to the stage [i mean, i'm not complaining that i got a closer spot. but seriously, people were just being stupid about it]. people were hitting, pulling hair, knocking people onto the ground...chaos. at one point, my feet weren't even on the ground. and then some girl stomped on my foot and i'm pretty sure i broke my toe.

finally it was time for the V.I.P. guest: GD&TOP. i got shoved super close to the stage...about 8 feet away. the opening beats for "heartbreaker" flooded the room, and suddenly G-Dragon appeared on the stage [wearing a super fabulous pink mcm leather jacket, by the way]. he was awesome, as always. after his song was over, he disappeared and the lights dimmed. a new beat filled the room, followed by a husky "yeah yeah". the stage lights flashed wildly and T.O.P coolly walked onto the stage, rapping "turn it up". [i freaking LOVE this song.] hottest performance ever? perhaps...

then, G-Dragon joined T.O.P on the stage and they sang 3 of their new songs: high high, oh yeah, and 뻑이가요 [knock out]. they were so fun to watch; they just looked like they were having fun performing, and the duo really knows how to interact with an audience and get them hyped up. i kept getting pushed and shoved, but i didn't mind. i was completely mesmerized by the performance.

ohh, also T.O.P and i def made eye contact. at which point he most certianly thought, "holy crap. that's my future wife right there." or else, "holy crap. i've seen that crazy white girl 18 times in the past 2 weeks."

ooooo, and on christmas eve GDTOP's highly anticipated album was released in it's entirety. obviously, i snatched it up the second i found it, and you can expect a full review up here probably by tomorrow. [spoiler alert: the album is FIREEEE.]

pictures:

GDTOP

yesterday was the official world premiere press conference for GDTOP [the name for the collab unit of BIGBANG'S G-Dragon and T.O.P]. they gave a sneak peak of their album which is pretty much going to be the greatest thing ever in the history of things.

today, the duo released their first digital single, which includes two songs off of their yet-to-be-released cd. additionally, they have released their first music video as a sub-unit.

both songs are incredibly catchy~~i'm listening to them right now. at work. [i should add that i'm also dancing to them. at my desk. people are staring.] i'm not sure that i can pick a favorite just yet, but i might be tempted to favor "oh yeah" because park bom's voice sounds incredible mixed with theirs in the chorus. [park bom is an incredibly talented singer from 2NE1].

i'm not sure how i feel about the music video for "high high". i like the song; it's really catchy and it makes me wanna dance and jump around the room. [ps i like anything that has T.O.P's voice in it. sigh.] but, there's entirely too many white chicks trying to dance up on him and that kinda sorta a lot makes me jealous. why was i not invited to this event?????? ㅠ.ㅠ [but, i really like that they say "aiight" because that is pretty much my favorite word^^ and also they spell the word "ghetto" which is awesomeㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

ps i freaking love T.O.P's hair. especially the way he had it styled yesterday for the press conference.

for your listening and viewing pleasure:

YG Family Concert Videos

here are some fancams my friend reallywally [thnx^^] took from the Sunday night YG Family Concert [the only one i didn't go to...] i didn't take any videos, but i did take some illegal creeper pictures [cameras technically weren't allowed], but i may or may not ever get around to posting my pics on here seeing as how i haven't even had time to put them on my computer yet ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

the first video is BigBang and 2NE1 singing "lollipop" [2NE1's debut song from a cellphone ad], next is SE7EN and BigBang performing together in the first encore song, and finally all of YG Family singing "we are the world". [holy crap, i LOVEEE T.O.P's voice in this song~~]

2010 YG Family Concert

i will readily admit that i'm kind of like a crazy person--or maybe i should say passionate. i'm passionate about kpop. and, of course, bigbang.

since i'm so passionate about kpop and such, i went to two of the three performances for the 2010 YG Family Concert at olympic park stadium in seoul. for those of you who aren't familiar with YG family, it's a korean record label [officially called YGEntertainment, but oftentimes record labels are referred to as "families"]. YG is known for creating unique talents, and the current, active musicians with YG are BIGBANG, 2NE1, psy, SE7EN, and gummy.

the first concert i attended was on saturday night at 7pm, and the second show was on sunday at 2pm. each concert was slightly different: some song order changes and different clothes/hairstyles/etc. the biggest difference between the two was that at the sunday afternoon performance, all of YG family performed psy's song "champion" as a collab effort. it was amazing.

saturday, 4 december:
col and i got there really early, around 4pm, because we were kinda nervous about lines and stuff [the website said standing sections would like up 1 hour before, but sometimes the concert staff don't always follow what the site says...] we got there too late for merch, unfortunately. but we did have plenty of time to walk around, eat dinner, take pics, etc.

once we got in, we were really excited about how great our spots were. we spent the entire evening being about 3 feet away from the stage, and our section was located right in between the main stage and 2 side stages. perfectttt. also, before the concert, we were photographed by an official concert photographer. heckyess.

ohh, i was also filmed on tv.

we waited for what seemed like an eternity while whoever was in charge of the commercials tortured us with g-dragon's "g-market party" cf at least 15 times. [seriously, "welcome to the g-mar-ket, i'm captian g" is only entertaining the 1st time you hear it.] anyways, finally the lights dimmed and the band started playing the opening music. suddently, the curtain lifted, the beat picked up, and 2NE1 appeared on the stage, starting the concert off with an incredible performance of "fire". it was the perfect song to kick-start an amazing concert.

they sang two more songs, and then it was SE7EN's turn to engage the audience with a truly awesome performance. gummy followed SE7EN. of all the YG artists, she's probably the one that i am the least familiar with, mostly because her songs are more ballady, while the other artists usually perform more upbeat/pop/dancey songs. but i will say that gummy is a truly talented vocalist and pianist.

bigbang was next. the audience went wild as soon as the lights dimmed and the opening beats for "gara gara go!" were dropped. everything about their performance was great. sososososososo great. sigh.

psy was the next artist to wow the audience. holy crap, he is an amazing performer. he kept the audience jumping and dancing the entire time.

after psy, there were a bunch of collab songs between various YG artists, and a sort-of tribute to the older/nonactive YG singers 1TYM and jinusean. one of my fav tribute performances was G-Dragon and T.O.P's rendition of jinusean's "전화번호" [phone number]. they came out wearing long fur coats, and it was hilarious. immediately following, taeyang and SE7EN joined GD and T.O.P on stage to sing 1TYM's "hot 뜨거", which was also tight.

for me, the highlight performance of the night was definitely when GD and T.O.P performed their new, yet-to-be-released song 뻑이가요. OH.MY.GOSH. i mean, i'd heard the song before because they sang it at the 2010 MAMAs. but holy crap it is BANGIN' live. i cannot wait for their whole cd to be released so i can put it on my iPod and listen to it everyday. [ps this song is currently stuck in my head.] if this song is any indication of what the rest of the album is going to be like, then holy crap, it's going to be.....i can't even think of an adjective good enough to describe the awesomeness that this album will be.

another highlight performance for me was when bigbang sang the acoustic version of "하루하루" [day by day]. this is most definitely my favorite bigbang song, and i always love hearing it live. plus, the acoustic version suits the lyrics of the song so perfectly. sigh.

bigbang ended the concert, but the audience screamed for an encore [which we all knew was coming]. all of YG came onto the stage together to perform 3 final songs, first, the YG boys, then the girls, and for the final song, everyone sang together. [T.O.P's voice in the last song was particularly hot.]

it was pretty much the greatest concert. EVERRRR.

since i was so close, a few of the singers waved. AT ME!!!!! and because i was so close [literally 2-3 feet away], it's easy to tell when someone is looking/pointing/waving at you. first, minzy from 2NE1 waved, then SE7EN pointed at me, seung-ri [bigbang] waved, and gummy waved.

finally [and most importantly] T.O.P saw my sign. [and pointed//smiled]

which also means that

T.O.P

saw

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stage one: making T.O.P aware of my existence--COMPLETED.]
[initiating stage two: meet T.O.P]

sunday, 5 december:
this concert was essentially the same. and also equally amazing. col and i were one section back from where we stood the night before, so we were further from the main stage, but still sandwiched in between side stages.

we got there real early because we wanted to be sure to acquire merch. i bought an autographed taeyang cd, and col bought an autographed cd from 2NE1.

also before the concert [perks of being super early], col and i were filmed AGAIN by the same guy that had filmed us the night before. but this time, we were also interviewed!! it's for some program by the discovery channel that is doing a special on visiting korea, so we were interviewed for their kpop segment. i have no idea when it will air, but OHMYGOSH i'm going to be on tv!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [maybe T.O.P will see it??ㅋㅋㅋ]

anyways, we ended up being about 2 feet from the side stage. a most perfect spot from which to view and be viewed. [which is exactly what happened.]

once again, i got waved at by minzy [2NE1]. then, SE7EN stopped right in front of me and col, pointed directly at us and waved. [col had the opportunity to meet him not long ago, so it's very possible that he recognized her. which would be tight.] daesung waved at me, too^^ and then, someting k-razy happened. seung-ri stopped right in front of me, we made eye contact, i smiled, and then he waved. and then on two more, very separate occasions, he came back to where i was standing to wave, each time making eye contact. the final time, he leaned forward and pointed [eye contact!] while he was singing, so i think it's not completely farfetched to assume that he was singing at me [making the kgirls around me glare enviously]. i've known for a while that i have kind of magical, cute, puppy dog eyes. but holy crap, i had no idea they'd work on someone like seung-ri.

also, T.O.P frequented my section, definitely saw my sign again, and this time we made very brief eye contact. it was the greatest .25 seconds of my life.

ps~ seung-ri might be moving his way up to my new second fav among bigbang members, mostly because of his attention during the concert.

pss~ i decided that i really love T.O.P's new hairstyle because up close in person it legit looks hot.

psss~ G-Dragon's new hair makes him look like a pony for real for real.

hello, december.

this december is definitely going to be the greatest month of my life so far. probably.

here's all the super exciting stuff that i have to look forward to:

saturday, 4 december: YG family concert. my tickets are for the floor section, stage right, in the front. i'm making a sign for T.O.P, and he will see it. ummheckyess.

sunday, 5 december: YG family concert. i'm going twice because i'm twice as awesome as normal people. or something like that...

wednesday, 15 december: T.O.P and GD's first digital single drops.

saturday, 18 december: C.N.Blue concert. yay-ness!!

friday, 24 december: this will be an especially exceptional day for two reasons. first, and most importantly, this is the day that T.O.P and GD's full-length cd will be released. EXCITEMENT!! second, this is the last day of school before my long-awaited and definitely well-deserved vacation. [and by "vacation" i mean, "not-vacation" since winter camps will starts the following monday. but, on the bright side i won't have to deal with certain...things.]

friday, 31 december: Rain's farewell concert. i also have floor seats for this concert, very close to the stage. since Rain will be joining the military for his mandatory 2-year service, this will be his last concert for a very long time. sadness.


i'm sure that december will hold other exciting things too, but these are definitely my best plans that i'm looking forward to!! this month will be a great way to send 2010 out with a bang~~

hottness overload

the MAMAs are over. 2PM won a crapload of awards. and taeyang, T.O.P, and g-dragon gave hands down the hottest performance everrrr.

OH.MY.GOSHHHHHHHHH.*dies*

also, last week i discovered the tragical news that my beloved T.O.P had destroyed his beautifully perfect hair by dying it. BLONDE. i was disgusted, heartbroken, and enraged. i desperately wanted to find the person who had done this horrible thing to him, and i dunno, injure them or something.

but then, after watching his performance tonight, i decided that he is super attractive no matter what his hair looks like, and he can kinda rock the blonde. although his black hair is much hotter.

YG countdown

i spent my afternoon eating ramen and watching bigbang concert dvds, because apparently i am a fifteen-year-old korean girl.

i'm currently watching the 2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards [MAMAs]. 2PM just won an award for their dance in their video "I'll Be Back", which is completely ridiculous because it's essentially them doing the running man for three and a half minutes. clearly the judges are on crack. or just saw the name "2PM" without actually watching the video.

anyways, i'm mostly just trying to waste time until 12am, when YG's countdown is finished. i'm positively dying to know what it's for!! no hints at all, just wild speculation. i'm hoping it's something bigbang related...like a new music video, song, official date for their korean comeback, T.O.P's phone number, etc. etc. etc.

in other news, i hate surprises.

YG, you're killing me!!

variety tv

i really love korean variety television shows. [i usually watch them at night when i'm trying to fall asleep...] now that i'm learning korean, i can usually understand [or figure out] most of what's going on. and it's usually reallyreally funny. a lot of programs parody popular songs, music videos, singers, tv shows, etc. hilarious

something unique about korean variety/reality programs is that it's usually only famous singers/actors that appear on the shows. there are very few programs [that i've seen] that have ordinary people on them.

anyways, infinity challenge is one variety show that i'll watch when i can because i think that the comedians on the show are absolutely hilarious. last week, i saw an episode where they parodied bigbang's "haru haru" [my fave bigbang song^^] sooo funny:


annddd, here's another one they did of girls' generation's "gee".
only in korea...

S.M.O.G.

yesterday was probably one of the greatest days ever. i met a S.M.O.G. *swoons*

[S.M.O.G.=Sexy Man Of God...according to me and my college friends haha^^]

i met my friend jen, and went to church as per usual on sunday afternoons. this past weekend, there was some kind of festival going on at the korean part of my church, but we didn't really know what it was all about. there were posters up, but they just said that some local singers/choirs would be performing, and that sunday's event would start at 4.

normally, i'm long gone from church by 4, since the english service starts at 1:30. but yesterday, i had to go to a meeting afterwards since i am now a greeter. the meeting ended at 3:45, so jen and i decided to stay just to see what the concert was all about.

best decision i've ever made in my life. [or it's at least on my top 10 list.]

they introduced the performer as a famous kpop singer named "brian". my heart started to race, and i looked at jen and said "holy crap, i think it's brain joo!!" and it most definitely was.

brian joo is famous for being a member of fly to the sky, an older kpop group that is no longer active. [but amazing nonetheless.] currently, he's been pursuing solo activities, having [relatively] recently been asked to record the korean version of jason derulo's "in my head". he's also working on releasing a christian music cd along with super junior member choi siwon [another S.M.O.G.].

anyways, he sang 5 songs, and 4 were in English [he's korean american]. and then when he finished, the pastor came out to preach. i suggested to jen that we should leave and try to meet brian, since we wouldn't understand 75% of what the korean pastor was saying anyways.

yet another good decision.

we walked around to the back door and waited there with a small crowd of maybe 30 people. brian did come out there, but he was quickly whisked away to his SUV, so no one was able to talk to/meet him.

not easily discouraged, jen and i left church and noticed a group of about 15 korean girls on the opposite side of the street. we crossed just as his SUV pulled out onto the street. we waved enthusiastically as his car passed by...and then...it stopped. brian rolled down the window, and out of everyone who was there...he talked to ME. well, and jen too.

he asked us if we went to church there, and i said yes. and then jen told him he was amazing and i agreed that his performance was really great. so he thanked us for coming. and then his light turned green and his car drove off and eventually vanished from sight.

sigh.

also, i've recently decided that brian joo is my perfect man: korean, speaks english, incredibly attractive, talented, successful, excellent singer, and he loves Jesus. 앗싸~

everything about this man is HOTT.

enjoy*^___^*

seoul soul festival 2010

this past weekend was the seoul soul festival, which was held at the korean war memorial in yongsan.

since the tickets were really expensive [88,000 KRW], i could only afford to see the show on saturday. totally ok, because that was the only day that SE7EN and 태양 [taeyang] were performing anyways.

i think i have officialy reached crazy fangirl status, because even though it was only my second time seeing SE7EN live, it was my fifth time to see taeyang live. unless you count the times i've seen him performing with bigbang, in which case it was my eighth time. [luckily--for taeyang and kpop singers everywhere--i will be taking a short hiatus from concert-going.]

anyways~~i went with al and col [my regular concert buddies]. we had to wait in lines for-freaking-ever. the event did not seem to be very well organized. the website stated that we had to be in line at 4pm to pick up our tickets. they didn't even open the eticket-trade-in booth until 4:45, and THEN there were supposed to be different lines depending on where you purchased the ticket, but the lines weren't labelled! it was a confusing mess. also, everyone was assigned a ticket number for their gate. the point was to line up in number order. this proved to be a task much too difficult for anyone to do. we all were like a huge, jumbled mass. also, the gates did NOT open at 5:30, as promised by the website. they didn't let my gate enter until almost 6:45!

but things settled down once we finally were able to go through the gate. col and i ended up having pretty amazing spots. we were about 4 people away from the stage [and by "stage" i mean "hottness"]. OH.MY.GOSH sooooo close!!

the concert itself was pretty amazing. SE7EN went on first, and he sang some songs off of his newest mini album [digital bounce*^^*...minus T.O.P ㅠ.ㅠ], as well as old favorites. he is an absolutely incredible performer. i mean, you can tell he's a good singer from listening to his recordings...but, to hear him live...you realize just how extremely talented he is. wow.

next was taeyang, who was incredible as always. he sang mostly just his brand new stuff, with the exception of 기도 and 나만 바라봐. [my favorites, so i was pleased.] obviously, this was not on as grand a scale as his solo concert, but he's still impressive nonetheless. fantastic vocals, fantastic choreography--he really knows how to engage a crowd. added bonus: he ripped his shirt off during his encore. sigh.

also, col and i were pretty much the only people with bigbang light sticks, and we're pretty sure that taeyang saw us.

after taeyang was the intermission, and i left during that because musiq soulchild was next and i have no idea who that is...

now it's time for YAYY pictures~!

SE7EN--ack! sooo close!!

ohh man...he looks like he's looking straight at my camera~~EEEEKKK~!

너무 멋있어요 *^^*

AHH-MAY-ZING

adventures in desk warming [part five]

today is my last day of desk warming. for a while at least. hallelujah!!

i just made an [important??] discovery. U-KISS released their newest music video for the song 시끄러 [shut up]. the song is pretty good [i usually like the stuff they put out...it's really dance-y].

also...the movie stars a white girl, a "trend" i've been noticing lately. bigbang's latest music video [for "beautiful hangover"] also starred a white girl, and narsha's song "mamma mia" featured two white guys in the video. sooo, i think i've found my true calling in life: to be the white-girl star of a kpop music video. and by "kpop" i mean bigbang. and by "bigbang" i mean T.O.P.



also, hello, future husband. sigh.

adventures in desk warming [part two]

games.

it takes me twenty minutes to walk to work. usually, the walk is quite dull, and even though i listen to music i often get bored. sometimes, to keep myself aware of my surroundings, i play games.

my favorite is a guessing game that i like to call "guy or girl?" sometimes, especially from a distance, people can appear to be androgynous. i attribute that to the fact that many of the styles here are unisex [this sometimes extends even to hairstyle]. also, a shockingly large number of men wear makeup.

the rules for my game are simple: i see someone from a distance, guess whether they are a guy or a girl, and then when they get close enough for me to tell i am awarded a point. if i guess correctly, it's +1 point, a wrong guess is -1 point, and if i still can't tell even when the individual is right in front of me, it's -2 points.

today's score: -2.

music.

F.T Island. 사랑 사랑 사랑 [love love love].
this song is not new, but i really like it. [actually, F.T Island has recently found their way onto my "top 5 favorite male kpop groups" list.]

eye candy.

F.T Island's spot in my top 5 may or may not have anything to do with my kind-of crush on lead singer, 이홍기 [lee hong ki].