Secret Shipment

  Usually Autographed CD offers come from rookie artists who are using the promotion to try and get their name out, so I was thrilled to see TS Entertainment's biggest girl group SECRET doing a signed CD push in not one but two different vendors! Well I wasted no time getting on THAT special, and just this week, my order came in! The CD box is very nice already, and when you open up the package, there on the inner cover were the four signatures, and in true celebrity fashion, all of them COMPLETELY illegible, rushed scribbling that would give any doctor a run for their money, LOL!

Just like the RAINBOW and 4MINUTE autographed CD's I'd gotten before, it was almost impossible to make out who ANY of the signers were, I'll just have to take their word for it these autographs spell out "Jiyeon", "Hyosung", "Hana" and Sunhwa", AHAHAHA!

Besides the cool autographs, the CD came with a set of beautiful postcards (and a stand you can display them in) along with a trading card and photo. I've already listened to the album online and like it a lot, especially the lead song "I'm In Love", with the girls going back to their FIERCE roots- for awhile now the girls have been pursuing a more "cutesy" concept, THIS promo reminds me of their kick-butt glory days of "Madonna"and "Magic" , sexy songs with sheer ATTITUDE! The Girls and Back!!

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Ladies Code RiSe Passes Away

 I just now learned the heartbreaking news that Ladies Code Kwon Risae "RiSe" finally succumbed to  injuries she sustained during the fatal crash that claimed fellow member EunB's life just a few days ago. There were problems during her surgery where her blood pressure fell so low they had to stop procedures. They eventually finished it up, bus she never regained consciousness. My relief when I'd heard she was out of surgery was cut by the news that her survival was still in doubt, today she finally let go. Ladies Code management Polaris Entertainment:
At the time of the accident on the 3rd, RiSe obtained a big injury to her head and was moved to the hospital. She was operated on as much as possible for a long time, but she has ultimately passed away. Her parents, who came from Japan, and the label employees stayed with her at the end. We are sorry to give another sad news since the late EunB and we cannot hide our sorrow."

I was just watching all my Ladies Code music show performances last night, tyring to get used to the fact that EunB is no longer with us, so sad to realize RiSe is gone, too. Here's the girls' very last, happy Television performance, just a few days ago.

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Projects of Hello Past

Coconuts Musume

  I was sorting through  some of my old J-pop promotional Posters from back in the day, and came across a group that I hadn't thought of in YEARS- Back in the early days of Morning Musume, Tsunku’s fellow SharanQ’er Makoto tried his hand at creating a group, and decided on a Hawaii based group called COCONUTS MUSUME. Though Coconuts Musume never quite made it, several of the members continued on in Hello Project with revamped Coconuts Musume releases as well as HP sub-unit “Shuffle” groups  and became quite well-known in their own right, Ayaka, for example was a joy to watch on Hello Mornings with her “English Lessons” upon the poor Momusu girls, and demure member Mika became the most prolific of all the Coconuts Musume girls when she became a member of the zany HP Sub-unit MINIMONI!
  It was in fact Mika Todd that figures into the story I’m about to tell … Way back when I was still working at Tower Records and J-pop was all the rage, they’d created a three-rack section solely for the Japan releases and above it, board frames for two promotion posters. Those posters rotated every few months, and if someone was lucky, they were able to take them home after promotions ended if the J-pop buyer gave his blessing. 
   So anyway, back in the summer of 1999, the aforementioned Coconuts Musume “Dance and Chance” poster had been posted up, and sometime during the week, who should stroll in to Tower Records but Miss Mika Todd herself! The J-pop buyer saw her and said to me, “Hey! Let’s take down the poster and let Mika autograph it for the store!!” I thought it was a GREAT idea and ran to get a ladder and brought the mounted poster down. With the poster under arms, we caught up to Mika and asked her if she’d mind signing the Coconuts Musume poster for us, and to our delight, she smiled and said “Oh…Okay?” She seemed genuinely surprised someone recognized her, and as we handed her a permanent marker, she paused uncertainly at the poster, unsure of where to start, before laughing and saying “Well, I guess I’ll have to get used to doing this, right?” “Right!” we laughed back! 

Mika's autograph!

 We thanked her and put the poster back up into the section, until the time came for a new poster to go up, and was I surprised when the J-pop buyer came to my room and asked me if I wanted the autographed poster since I liked Hello Project stuff so much! I took it happily, and I have to say that for awhile there, with the advent of Minimoni and all, it was quite cool that I had a poster she signed for us in person! Ah, but members and groups move on and on, and over time the poster got buried under a whole slew of newer promotional items, what a surprise to uncover this gem after all these years!

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Girl's Day Has Arrived!!

  YESSS! Looks like the DAI5Y Gods are looking down on me, for when I came home today after shopping, lo and behold, my very FIRST Girl’s Day Purchase arrived!!!! I'd ordered their latest album DARLING along with their earlier release EXPECTATION- Both Albums are so, so beautiful (Both of them photobooks, Darling a softcover with a transparent slipcover, and the girls’ Expectation a hardcover.

    Since I ordered my Girl’s Day CDs from CD Japan (I know you’re thinking, why order K-POP through a JAPAN site, but I had lots of points saved which I put to good use here!) I wasn’t sure if it was going to come with any goodies since it was an “import”, WOW was I STOKED to see that Darling came with a POSTER!!! So nice, and if that wasn’t enough, the bonus trading card that came with it was none other than…HYERI!!!!!!!! YES! My Girl’s Day BIAS!!!! Every Day IS Girl’s Day!!!!!

 As you may have guessed reading my blog here for the past three weeks or so, I have been REALLY getting into this group! Thanks to the plethora of English subtitled variety shows Girl's Day have been a part of, I'm getting to know these girls better and better....

Their most recent appearance on Weekly Idol (the show that, more than any other, does a great job of introducing you to the members of Idol Groups)from early this year has FINALLY been re-uploaded with English Subtitles (it had been taken down some time before), and I couldn't be loving them more! I had seen the episode before unsubbed, but while I was able to enjoy their epic tug-of-war battle with the two hosts Defconn and Hyungdon, the show is really based on playful insults and witty banter, so having it translated makes ALL the difference!

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In Lieu of APink News Season Four, There’s “APink Showtime”!

MBC has a running variety show called SHOWTIME featuring a different idol Group as its hosts, Season One had EXO, Season Two had BEAST, and for Season Three, Showtime introduced its very first Female hosts with Apink!

The Girls Ready for Adventure

Apink fans have been clamoring for a fourth Season to their beloved Reality Series APink News, and with Showtime, we get the next best thing, featuring the same kind of fun, interesting and personable stories we’ve come to expect from those zany Apink Ladies!

Panic for some when the Bungee Jump Challenge Comes Up!

Just checked out the first episode and it's already so GOOD! The girls go to a Activity Center where they are asked to show their bravery by BUNGEE JUMPING! Tuff tomboy Eunji couldn't WAIT to try it and once she was harnessed up, she took a HUGE leap into the fray (followed by the always-game and equally aggressive Namjoo), but it’s when Nauen is up for her turn that it gets hilarious, as Naeun is simply PETRIFIED to jump!

Eunji Jumps

 Naeun had done Bungee Jumping before, but it was in tandem with another person, and this time doing it alone, she finds she has no nerve at all! When the Ride Atttendant reaches for her back harness to stabilize her, Naeun flinches away, pleading “Please Don’t Push Me!!”, LOL! 

A Scared Naeun on the platform

The man assures her he has no intention of shoving her off and was only there to hold her in place. Thinking that Naeun is prepared to jump, the man counts her off, “1, 2, 3…Bunjeeeeeeeeeee!”…But instead of jumping, she turns around and says, "Hold on, hold on, not yet" HAHAHA!
   The attendant lets Naeun compose herself and says, “Okay, let’s try it again, 1, 2, 3, Goooooo!”  But once again Naeun can’t bring herself to jump off of the launch platform. She chides herself for being chicken, hitting herself on the head and hopping around in frustration, so freaking CUTE! The girls tell her not to feel pressure even though Eunji and Namjoo jumped, because they are the “Weird kids” with no common sense, LOLOL! But Naeun knows if she doesn’t jump she will regret it.

"Weird Kids" Namjoo and Eunji waiting at the bottom

  They try one more time, “1, 2, 3…Jumpppppp…” where Nauen becomes completely immobile, LOLOL! Bomi: “She’s Frozen.” Chorong: “She turned into a statue”. Bomi: “At least say you’re scared or something” LOL, Poor Naeun! Finally, the man lets Naeun off the hook, telling her to come off the platform!

A Completely Frozen Naeun

  Next up is wide eyed and innocent maknae Hayoung, who readily walks out and without hesitation, does a spectacular jump off!  This girl is really becoming a strong personality in APink with her  “I can do it” attitude, (reminds me so much of Goo Hara in Invincible Youth, where they called her the "Goo-ssian Bolt” because she would always do whatever they asked!) watching her giggling with nerves as she hung off the Bungee Line waiting for the boat to retrieve her, I knew that with this series, her popularity is going to go through the roof!

All Smiles Hayoung ready to Jump

   Next up was Bomi who did a fine (if very tearful) jump, but in the end, Naeun didn’t have to take the elevator ride of shame back down alone, as even Leader Chorong chickened out and couldn’t jump, HAHA! Much, of course, to Naeun’s relief! Eunji had to ease their guilty feelings by saying it was a win always since they at least TRIED to jump.

  The second half of the show had the girls sitting around chatting about various topics the staff brought up, including questions sent in by fellow celebrities.

Apink Roundtable

 One rather fun question was “Who looks best in Red Lipstick?”, one by one each girl applied the risque color to their lips and seductively posed, for my money, Bomi looked good in it, and MY GOD Naeun was SMOULDERING! Eunji chided her for pouting and doing all the trappings of cliché selfie poses, but Naeun couldn’t be stopped! YUMMY!

This is gonna be such a great ride, and I can’t wait for the NEXT episode to be subbed and posted!

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My Girl's Day Love Continues with a Terrific Performance of "Darling"!

  Ever since falling in love with Girls Day’s new single “Darling”, I’ve gotten about six different live performances of the girls performing the song, and I’ve loved every one so far, but WOW, their performance of Darling that the girls did on this past Sunday’s “Inkigayo” has to be the BEST one yet!!!
 For one thing, when the rapper introducing the song, instead of the girls emerging from behind a curtain, the song begins with the girls’ lovely backsides where they’re already on stage and simply turn around as the song gets going! And speaking of turning, another thing that this perf gets right is the camera focusing on all the spins and twirling the girls do during the song…you really get the “light and breezy” feel of the tune!
 The camerawork also gets some really nice captures of the girl’s solo screentime shots, all of them look great, (and might I add how freaking damn GORGEOUS Hyeri is here, ARRRGH!)

...but perhaps MOST important of all, this is the FIRST performance that really focuses on what I consider the “hook” of the performance- that alluring, sexy and CUTE Hip-Shaking Butt-Dance Move during the chorus!!! MAN, to me, THIS is the seller of the song, I can’t believe the other shows only show a few seconds of it, thankfully this show captures it every time, so perfect! 

 Besides all that, they look so HAPPY singing and dancing up there (I love how the performance ends with Minah cutely mugging at the camera before it goes to group shot pose) MAN, does this performance make me smile!!! Check It Out! 

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Calling All Sleepycats and Wildcats- f(x)'s RED LIGHT is Here!!!

f(x) Third Album Red Light: Wildcats & Sleepycats versions

  Already been spending the last two weeks listening to a downloaded version of SMEntertainment’s superpower group f(x)’s latest album RED LIGHT, and just today, my K-pop order for the physical albums came in! I’ve mentioned many, many times before how awesome I think f(x)’s releases have been, and Red Light has been no exception, blowing me away with each and every eclectic track, I was THRILLED to find that the actual album’s packaging is JUST as grand!
 Red Light came in two versions, a Wildcats version and a Sleepy Cats version. I had NO IDEA what either of these two concepts were, but I was curious about both of them, and when Kpoptown offered up a special package with both versions AND both posters, I decided to just get ‘em all! Come to find out that the “Wildcats” version is the “western” style theme I loved (where the girls looked like wanted cowboys in the old west) and the “Sleepycats” version had the girls romping around in the wilderness in a very avante-garde blurry style.

Each CD had a thick photobook with terrific pictures of the girls in a variety of looks- from futuristic, urban and pure pop fashion, and OH MY GOD look at these SEXY freaking pictures of SULLI! Holy CRAP, they are really changing her position in the group from the “Cutie” to the “Vixen”, DAMN! So Yummy!

 As well as a trading card in each CD (I got Krystal in one and Sulli in the other) and stickers, the awesome, awesome POSTERS that came with it knocked me OUT! One featured the “wanted” Wildcats cover, the other featured one of the coolest pics from the booklet of the girls in those cowboy outfits looking cool as hell, MAN, I’d wanted this picture since they used it as the intro-picture for their Music Show comebacks, to have a huge poster of it is just the MOST!

Bonus Red Light posters, both Sleepycats and Wildcats versions

Of course, the Main point of this whole thing is the MUSIC, and right now it’s just about my favorite disc! Just like their PINK TAPE album before and even PINOCCHIO from even earlier, every f(x) album is just FILLED with SO MANY cool, eccentric and just plain catchy dance cuts, and here’s just a FEW of ‘em that I really love:

The first time I played "Red Light" in my car, the bass sent my speakers into the red and it wasn't until I got a chance to listen to it at home on my Bose system that I realized how DENSE the bass is in this song- just FLOOR shaking! Super EPIC song!

Pure pop perfection as only f(x) can deliver- reminds me a lot of "Signal" off of Pink Tape.

Just makes you wanna run to the dance floor and boogie down!

After assaulting everyone with the masterpiece that is Red Light, the girls also promoted "Milk", a very "catty" song that really fits in with the album's feline theme, so sassy!

"Dracula"!!! My favorite song off of Red Light, MAN is this song catchy!!! I'm hoping and praying that somehow I'll get to see f(x) performing this one...THIS is the track that really MAKES the album for me!

And the album ends with this really sweet (and very Japanese-flavored) Paper Heart, this track wraps up the album so nicely you're left with this warm fuzzy feeling! Gotta spin it AGAIN!!!

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Mementos of J-Pop Video Past

 I was cleaning out my drawer where I kept my checkbook and bills, and came across a stack of old video rental membership cards. I had, of course, the accounts at all three Tower Records and Blockbuster, but what blew me away was seeing all my old J-POP Video store cards! Back in the days before the internet explosion, just about the only way to get ahold of your favorite J-pop Music Programs like Music Station and Hey Hey Hey Music Champ as well as variety shows like Downtown DX, SMAPxSMAP, and those wonderful FNS “NG” drama shows was to rent them from the Japanese video stores that dotted the Honolulu area!
 I first joined most of these places for Japan Superhero stuff, but once I found you could rent not only the new music shows, but older shows like SOUND ARENA and those elusive RED AND WHITE KOHAKU shows of yesteryear, it became a MUST visit. Since no one video store carried them all, you had to go searching to see what each place had to offer, and to get your weekly fix on J-pop related music and shows, you had to have multiple accounts at ALL of the stores! Japan Video, Nippon Video, Video Japan as well as bookstores like BunBunDo and Hakabundo, I had accounts at all of them, though some I visited very infrequently and the others almost every other day!
  Folks nowadays will NEVER know the thrill of going into the stores and seeing the latest episodes of Music Station ready for rental (and these were about two weeks behind the Japan airtime), MAN, I remember running to the racks and snatching them up, reading the spines of the VHS tapes to see what guests were on that week!  It was pure joy to go home and immerse yourself with the latest catch, and that was actually something that we enjoyed it so much, because BOY, the quality of those rentals sure SUCKED. First off, they re-used the same VHS tapes over and over again, so you can imagine, the generation quality was shaky at best, but the WORST thing about rentals HAD to be the fact that for SOME reason, they only dubbed the shows in MONO! I remember when you’d accidentally get an episode still in stereo, you’d be more excited than a kid finding onion rings in his fries!
  To even DREAM that there’d someday be a way to download or stream watch just about ANY Japanese (or Korean) Music or Variety show on your computer at the touch of a button and have it all in Hi-Definition, thunderous Stereo sound and mere HOURS after airtime was just unimaginable, and I’d never want to go back to the old ways, but boy, I gotta say, coming across these rental cards touched a part of my heart that I’d forgotten all about and made me very nostalgic for those old days!

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No, Sera, No!

Breaking News via Allkpop

Man, seems like not even a year since I was captivated by Nine Muses' Lusciously sexy Ryu Sera and now it's been announced that she's leaving the band! Nine Muses have been going through quite a bit of member shift, since even LeeSem and Eunji have recently departed, but Sera was not only one of the original members, but the group's leader as well!

 I'm hoping that the real reason for Sera leaving is to focus on a solo career, since she's been making a lot of these great homemade videos featuring her singing her favorite songs in relaxed sittings. My favorite one has to be of her sining the classic  King Harvest "Dancing In The Moonlight", Sera is so cute just hangin' around the home humming tunes to herself!

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The K-Pop Arms

Didn’t realize I’d be enjoying the new SBS reality show “Roommate” so much- I’d initially only tuned into it because I'd already seen the hilarious footage of the messy Afterschool dorm  when they went to interview cast-member Nana before she moved into the Roommate Building. The first episode was pretty much what I expected (awkward greetings and small talk among residents), though it was pretty cool seeing a side of Nana I hadn't before, I wasn't sure how much I'd be checking into the show.

Nana and Hong Soohyun

This all changed with the second episode and the sole reason for this sudden spark of interest in the show is because it was episode two when eccentric “4-Dimensional” 2NE1 vocalist Park Bom showed up! Holy CRAP, I FORGOT how freaking fun she is- she has SO MUCH personality and dizzy attitude that from the MINUTE she showed up, she had me cracking up and wanting to tune in for more! 

The One and Only Park Bom

From waking everyone up at 3 in the morning as she tried (unsuccessfully) to get ready for bed while the others slept, and finally giving up and sleeping in the living room (and how hilarious when the late night arrivals came home and found her sleeping there, LOL)

 ...to mischievously sneaking drinks and snacks into her bed and nibbling them under the sheets when she thinks no one is looking: 

...as well as talking to the cameras in her room like they are real life friends standing right next to her, it was like watching 2NE1TV all over again!

examining the camera as Song Gayeon looks on

 I’ll admit, when the other (guy) roommates are on, I ain’t that interested, but BOY, whenever Bom is there, it is as fresh and funny as anything! Recently, both Nana and Lee Sora have stated how much they love Bom, and it’s easy to see why- she is so naive and sapcey about things, she’s like a wide-eyed innocent child- a child who can belt out the ballads like a goddess!

Orange Caramel meets 2NE1

Future best Buddies Nana and Bom

Bom's quirky habit of speaking exactly what's on her mind has also paved the way for some fun scenarios like when she confessed that she wasn't keen on "Mom" Shin Sung Woo cooking their meals with his full mustached and bearded face, so with her pressuring, they trooped out into the yard to shave it off! Bom giggled throughout the segment, and when Shin needed water to wash off the shaving cream and she sprayed her water moisturizer all over his face, she was dying with laughter! So much fun!

"Mom" Shin shaving off his beard and mustache at Bom's request

 And trips to go shopping haven't been so entertaining since that 2NE1TV show when they went to London- as usual, Bom's 4-dimensional way of tlaking ans thinking had everyone cracking up!

Just shopping with the girls

 ...and even back at home, she's entertaining just sitting in bed all day (which she does, all the time, ahaha) bonus points for her venturing out sans makeup- though she DID have a bit of shyness when Nana came into the room straight from a Music Show appearance in full glamoured-up makeup!

Eeek! You're so pretty and I'm all ughhhh!

 Aw man, sad to say, I've been hearing quite a bit about how poorly the show is doing in the ratings, but for MY money, it's all the other boring storylines that are bringing the show down (I'm particularly bugged by the forced "lovelines" that they're always trying to start between flatmates) because when Bom is onscreen, it is 100% pure fun entertainment!

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Some Lustin' For Luvian

 My world of Asian gravure has been shaken to the core with The Chive (of all places) introducing me to the wonders of luscious Chinese Model Luvian Ben Neng (also known as Li Kai Shi 李凯诗) which all started when they uploaded THIS salaciously sexy photo:

 "HOLY CRAP, this girl is just DEVASTATINGLY pretty!" was my initial response, and after quickly perusing the other sexy samples the Chive uploaded, (and being stunned by them all!) I knew I had to see MORE! 

  Going Online, I was to soon discover that Luvian was already getting popular in gravure circles, and I was THRILLED to find that there were many, MANY photo sets to enjoy!  MAN, just going through the pics from a single set and you can see why she’s been getting quite a name for herself! 

 What IS it about this girl that’s so MYSTIFYING to me? Is it her eyes? Is it her slightly Eurasian looks, those lush (admittedly false) eyelashes, or is it that alluring beauty spot just about her Lips? Dunno, but boy, SOMETHING about her just set her apart from all the other models that have been coming out in the forums lately into a vibrant new package!

    Luvian’s photo shoots run from sexy Bikini Sets to Blisteringly HOT Lingerie Shoots, but she can also stun dressed simply in Fashionable Ensembles shopping around town! From Sweet to Sexy, CLassy to Coy, whenever I open a new photo set from her, I'm always surprised at what she's chosen to "dress up" in this time!

 Oh Yeah, I am DEFINITELY going to be keeping an EYE on THIS girl!!!

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