Where to begin? Let’s put it out there, I support idols-turned-actors and young actors equally. There are good/bad actors in both groups.
In response to: “’There are an abundance of actors so why would they use idols?’ A concern of an actor aspirant”
You’re in the entertainment world, which is competitive by nature. If Shin Se Kyung, Joo Won, Jin Se Yun, Yoo Seung Ho, Kim Bum, Yoon Shi Yoon, Yoon Jin Yi, Yeo Jin Gu, Kim Yu Jeong, Moon Chae Won, Yoo Ah In, Song Joong Ki, Lee Minh Ho, and many others could shine, why couldn’t you?
In response to: “Director Kang Woo Suk ‘I was adamant about refusing idols castings”
I would’ve respected him more if he gave everyone an opportunity to cast, but he found his young actors more suitable for the roles. Rather, he said he specially excluded idols because their companies were too pushy.
There are people like Kim Eun Sook and Shin Woo Chul who give opportunity to a mixture of veteran actors, young actors and idol-turned-actors and bring out the best out of everyone, including themselves. Now, that’s awesome!
I personally don’t have as much problems with idols-turned-actors. I just don’t like it when idols and young actors film idol dramas, but that’s just a personal preference.
OK, it has almost been 2 weeks, I Got a Boy and Dancing Queen have sinking in. Here comes my thoughts:
Normally we mostly focus on the title track, but Dancing Queen has too much awesomeness to be ignored. SM decided to release a 4-year old MV! That special year of SNSD and Sones. You may have already known, Dancing Queen was filmed in 2008 in preparation for Jan 2009 comeback. They couldn’t go forward with the plan due to copyright issue; Dancing Queen was a remake of Duffy’s Mercy. Thus, Gee was replaced at the very last minute. Finally explaining why some of SNSD’s Gee’s promotion photoshoots at the time appeared a little too sexy for the super cute and pure Gee (pix 1, Pix 2). And, those rollerblades made a lot more sense now.
I like Dancing Queen more than Gee as a song, but no Sone will ever go, “Why not Dancing Queen in2009 instead!” Gee took off SNSD’s career, it was meant to be. I also prefer SNSD to make a comeback and rise to fame with an original track more. In addition, I find Dancing Queen would fit better in 2013 than 2009. I’m not going to lie, I felt a little shy watching it with SNSD shaking their boobs, rubbing it, feeling their legs, etc… 2009 SNSD would be too young for me to take an interest in this concept. SNSD has matured now, yet I still feel shy on the first several views! (Or Taeyeon just suck at rubbing her chest and came out all awkward? Jessica gave a different feel, a better vibe, very smexy.) Whatever it was, Gee was meant to be! I’m grateful to relive 2009 Gee era through Dancing Queen, a wonderful remake indeed!
Moving onto I Got a Boy, I read a few popular reviews, and I follow suit the ones who found the song confusing at first and grew to love it after a few more listens! I prefer the more mature sounding parts over the cutesy one. I always like cute to classy sexy for the image (basically SNSD’s style) and newer sounding music (The Boys, Tell Me Your Wish / Genie, Oscar, Top Secret, Trick, XYZ, Talk Talk, 1st Japanese Album, etc.,) Since SNSD’s music is diverse, I get to enjoy my music of preference, as well as explore other ones with them. I appreciate that about them.
Quick thoughts on my biases:
I expected Yuri to totally feeling the hip-hop concept, and she sure did. She and Hyoyeon should start a subunit. I LOVE their I AM comeback stage on Romantic Fantasy!
I was a little worry about Jessica. She’s our little princess, who should dress up in pretty dresses, not baggy pants. I was about to say she might be too feminine for hiphop, then I remember how violent she is, so forget that. Even though I am concerned about her, as the main vocalist, it’s almost a given she will secure her screen time with decent focus. Haha! Her voice is simply amazing to me, it leaves me in awe each time, and this time is no excepion. Whatever people say, she’s still my 2nd favorite dancer in SNSD.
I didn’t know what to expect of Taeyeon, but she blew me away with both her voice and dance. Hiphop isn’t just Yuri and Hyo’s style, it’s Taeyeon too! This girl is quite adaptive! I’m especially crushed that in the recent performances, the girls edited out Taeyeon and Tiffany’s solo parts. I LOVE THOSE PARTS!!!
2012 came to an end for almost week now. Last year I returned to the dramas world, so here goes my updated biased list:
Current FAV Actresses
1) Ruby Lin – (since 1999 Princess Pearl II) – Home sweet home
I’m not a fan of women-focused palace scheming dramas, but I’ve finished Schemes of a Beauty and The Glamorous Imperial Concubine. That alone actually spoke of my love for Ruby and the productions because as a TVB regular, I couldn’t even move passed episode 1 for the popular War & Beauty and Beyond the Realm of Conscious. Her voice is fantastic for OSTs too.
2) Kim Ha Neul – (since 2002 Romance) – The best actress
Finally a romantic comedy TV series by Kim Ha Neul! I got to admit, I was way too hyped up for A Gentleman’s Dignity, because her co-star was the one and only Jang Dong Gun! Once you expected a lot, even if the drama turned out great (my #2 of 2012), something still felt lacking. What fell short? 1) Jang Dong Gun, my love from All About Eve, appeared like a perverted ahjusshi 12 years later. 2) KHN and JDG had to share screen time with 3 other couples.
KHN was hilarious as expected though! She got me into liking CNBLUE’s Step-by-Step, was that the title? lol! The drama got great OST!
Unlike Gentleman, I came into Nice Guy not expecting much, except Song Joong Ki was cute on Running Man. I left Nice Guy totally in love with the new actress, the new actor, their characters, the couple, the plot, the drama as a whole, which ended up my #1 drama production of 2012. Been such a long time since I last immerse myself into a drama. If this drama lacked anything, it would be the lack of a memorial OST.
The fun of discovering a new favorite – you ended up with a must watch list. Thumb up for her other hit The Princess’ Man!
4) Niki Chow – (since 2006 Under the Canopy of Love) – Yey, she’s back!
Bottled Passion & Sergeant Tabloid were typical, yet pleasant TVB dramas.
Queens of Diamonds and Hearts may appeared like another crappy TVB comedy, but I really enjoyed seeing a different side of Fala, who played Chung Mo Yim with a birth mark on her face.
I’m excited for her Triumph in the Sky 2 with Julian Cheung in 2013. I’m sorry for all her negative press from this filming and hope it won’t all affect her career. She’s one of few young TVB actresses with mature acting skill and willing to take on a variety of roles. I absolutely adore her independent mind, rather than being another TVB’s puppet. Fala has this classy lead actress vibe that reminds me so much of the original fa dans – Kenix Kwok, Ada Choi, Maggie Cheung and Jessica Hsuan. I hope she’ll be around for a long time!
6) Song Hye Kyo – (since 2000 Autumn in My Heart) – Where are you?
Although I’m trying to stay cool for her TV comeback That Winter, The Wind Blows in Feb 2013 with Jo In Sung, I’m totally excited. I miss SHK dearly.
7) Kim Tae Hee – (since 2004 Love Story in Harvard) – Korean goddess
I was watching KBS 2012 Drama Award and saw Lee Da Hae promoting IRIS 2. I decided to check out the original IRIS. What took me so long? Hardcore action drama isn’t my cup of tea. But hey, KTH and LBH were HOT together!!! That candy kiss was disgusting though. I miss KTH too!
Taiwanese dramas tend to be simple with recycled elements, yet it works perfectly for a romantic comedy viewer like myself. Sunny Happiness and Real Love Please Ring the Bell Twice were sweet.
9) Tang Thanh Ha – (since 2008 – Suddenly I Want to Cry) – SHE GOT MARRIED!!
Normally I’m very supportive of my favorites, but for once I am absolutely crushed that TTH got married in 2012! Why so early? It’s so difficult for VN to find a youthful actress who is comfortable in her own skin on-screen and off-screen. She’s beautiful inside out too. We finally discovered this flawless actress, yet the 26-year old actress left us with just 4 TV-dramas! The last production was back in 2008 too! I know TTH’s smart, but she doesn’t have to plan her career so wise – leaving at her peak. I wish her all the best.
10) Jin Se Yeon – (since 2012 Bridal Mask) – Most anticipated rookie of 2013
I was debating whether to put Shin Se Kyung or Jin SeYeon at #10. I knew them in 2012, and both gave me quite a fresh feeling.
Shin Se Kyung starred in Fashion King. The best thing and only thing right about the production was casting a fantastic bunch of young actors – Shin Se Kyung, Kwon Yuri (SNSD), Yoo Ah In and Lee He Joon. High Kick Through the Roof and Tree with Deep Roots were more of her representative works. I thought it was so anticlimax though; if you watch Chinese period dramas, when they’re preparing some top-secret activities, they’re training for some sort of big physical battle. Tree’s top secret was creating their own writing system, using words to represent themselves. It was cool!
In the end I keep Jin SeYeon at #10, not sure why really. I’m just more excited to see what the young actress has to offer in 2013.
The Forgotten: Kenix Kwok, Ada Choi, Maggie Cheung – Because they were a huge part of my childhood, I didn’t want to admit it. L
And, my ultimate bias – Girls’ Generation – I wouldn’t have returned to TV-dramas without them.
I was planning to skip SMTOWN this year, because I already saw the last 2. Plus, I wanted to save up for SNSD’s solo concert. The Google concert with a more variety of singers changed my mind. I wanted to see SNSD and WONDER GIRLS on the same stage. On Sunday, I knew I won Google tickets and booked everything for the coming week. Lol
Garden Grove
We arrived Friday night, went to a late dinner with a friend’s friend. I was so well fed during this trip, because we were in Vietnamese area! Yummyyyy!
The main point is still SMTOWN, well… SNSD. Next morning, Saturday, I bumped into Suju and Max the moment I stepped outof the elevator. Only if running into TAENG was half as easy. They went for breakfast at Hyatt. Exo also came down for breakfast afterward, my SEHAN were together! They took a shuttle to Disneyland, have fun while promoting….lol
My friend and I hung out in the lobby for but decided to leave for breakfast and would come back in time for Taeng, Fany and Seobaby’s check-in… Well, we rushed back after eating when we heard SooYoung was having breakfast at the lobby too. I asked fans there if SooYoung left, but they didn’t see her…. Didn’t matter because I turned around and there went Sooyoung! I went with my instinct and asked what I was concerned most… “Is Yuri coming?” She just smiled and left with her two unnies…. But yeyyy…. First SNSD of the day!
Don’t quite remember the order the artistes I saw… Luna was one of them, which I didn’t recognize until another fan told me afterward…. Apparently she isn’t quite photogetic, she looked beautiful in real life. She shook a fan’s hand…. I was about to reach out to shake her hand too, I mean she was heading toward me, might as well. Unfortunately, the staff directed her to the door on the left, and she turned before I got to do… So close…. lol
There was also the JUNG SISTERS. They came out of the elavator hand in hand. Jessica was really happy, she even waved! I got a really good fancam on my phone, which I dropped in toilet…. I hope I can recover it….
So where are TTS? We didn’t want to go to the airport because I barely got to see much of them at previous airport experiences, while people stayed back got a better chance at it. Fail decision…. I waited for a long time, 3 hours or so, no TTS. Someone even tweeted photo of Taeng at the hotel too…. What? The fans occupied the lobby, how could they escaped? ……..
My friend and I gave up and went to the washroom. If you follow twitter, you knew Taeng waved to fans from her room…… I was in the lady’s room at the time…. Failed!
I later learnt Taeng used the back door, waste disposal area…. I felt so sorry for them! I believe Hyatt got complained by other guests for the noise, which was understandable. Hyatt was quite large in comparing to the previous Sheraton. They held conference, some sort of fair, wedding, etc… It didn’t seem right to have friend laying on floor, etc… I was surprised they didn’t ask for room card at first.
It was a different scene when my friend and I returned from dinner on Saturday though. They cleaned out the whole lobby, even hotel guests couldn’t stay back…. They also rearranged all the coaches, removed as much of it as possible. lol Fans (guests or not) both lined up outside….. I joined them for a brief moment, saw F(x) came in… It was funny, 4 of them were girly and quickly walked into hotel…. A minute later Amber came out carrying this gallon size juice bottle on one hand and something else on the other…..All manly, lmao!
OMGGGGG WILL I EVER SEE MY TAEYEONNIE? How frustrating…
On Sunday, someone saw Sooyoung coming out of the hotel…. Has got to be the back door…. My friend joiuned a few fans there, came right in time to see the JUNG SISTERS! Exo, F(x), Suju left one after another, while SooYoung came back. The girl waved, she waved at us!
WHERE IS TAEYEONNIEEEEE, THE SUN IS BURNING ME….
Eventually SNSD came outttttttttttttt!!!! To be honest, my eyes automatically scaned for Taeyeon and found her. She wavedddddddd all cute at us. Did she see my huge SOSHIFIED tee? I bet she did! I want to believe she did, so please don’t doubt me! Lol OMGG! I’m so Taeng love sick. Mission sccomplished, and we just left….keke
Time for Smtown…. I bought just-happy-to-be-there tickets this time around, so I ended up all high up, kinda nausauses at first …. The concert was a lot of fun! I only wished YoonYul were there and SNSD had a different set list, different than previous ones…. Not enough of SNSD! I had fun, screamed a lot! This one girl on the back shriek my ears off tho….
San Jose
Sunday started off on a horrible note with my new phone dropped in the toilet…. It was my fault, so what could I do… Thank god I still managed to reach my 2 friends who I promised to give Google tickets to. Felt super powerless without a phone….
My friends and I arrived at venue right after landing at 10ish…. The lines were already so freaking long! I stood there from 10 to 5…. This time, the sun really burnt both of my arms, it turned into hot pink today! I had fun talking to this other general kpop fan about school, CA and Kpop… Fans would scream when came the buses with artistes inside… I couldn’t really tell any of them through the window, but I screamed anyway, including the time Simon something passed by…. Sorry, I don’t know the guy and girl, thought they were celebrities at first since fans came running to take photos. I screamed for them! Lmao
We finally made it in the 200 levels, which had pretty good view. Kpop fans are so energetic… Whenever the camera was on us, we would scream like no tomorrow. Keke I hope they caught me on camera, just because I had YURI’s hat on. I didn’t forget you YURI, never did. I screamed out your name both nights. I finally understood the power of SNSD. The moment I saw TAENY I forgot about my stupid phone and everything else. I freakinggggg loveeeeee TAENG’s everything haha…. Ahhhhh…. Again, screaming my heck out for everyone, especially my beloved SNSD! It wasn’t perfect as there was only 7 , but hey … Still SNSD!
Overall the trip went well, except the last day was a bit moody. However, I had a blast! Both concerts were just so so so much fun. I couldn’t imagine how epic it would be if YURI were to attend. That just mean, I have to love her double next time?
