i hate this love song~

so, lately i've been trying to avoid posting bigbang fangirlishness, and instead post about the other [less interesting things] that i do, which for some reason most people find more interesting to read.

but i reallyreallyreally like this. a lot.

a couple of weeks ago, bigbang released a special edition of their newest mini-album, with love song as one of the title songs. and yesterday they released acapella versions of three of the songs. they are seriously amazing, and this one is my favorite. [ackkkk~~T.O.P's voice at the beginning!!]



and here's the official music video for the song, if you'd like to hear what the song sounds like with the instrumental accompaniment.

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...

today's the big day!

8 hours and counting until the bigbang concert!!

i can't freaking wait^_______^

their new cd is banging, and if the concert is anything like last year's big show, then it's for sure going to be the greatest concert of my life~~EEKKKKK!!!!!!!!!

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~~

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!!]

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.

BEST. ANNOUNCEMENT. EVER.

this morning, at precisely 12AM--the exact moment that YG's countdown clock read 000:00:00:00, YG Entertainment released what were probably the four greatest announcements in the history of announcements.

when i saw the screen, i couldn't believe my eyes. a fit of mild crazy-fangirlishness, accompanied by screaming, clapping, and a happy dance ensued.

announcement #1: G-Dragon and T.O.P will be releasing a digital single on december 15!!

announcement #2: G-Dragon and T.O.P will be releasing a FREAKING FULL LENGTH ALBUM[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] on december 24 [merry christmas to meeeeeeeee!!] a track list was even posted EEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!

announcement #3: Seung-Ri [the little brother of bigbang] will release a new solo digital single on january 3.

announcement #4: BIGBANG COMEBACK FEBRUARY 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [HECKYESSS!!!!!!]

the only thing about this announcement that kinda sorta sucks is that i have to wait two months for bigbang's korean comeback [they haven't released a korean album in freaking forever].

but in other news, OH.MY.GOSH. G-DRAGON AND T.O.P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!