How is everyone's Monday going? Ready for a little therapy? I don't have a ton to discuss today, but I did find a lot of really fun videos last night that I wanted to share. As I laid there in bed last night watching YouTube video after YouTube video from that day's musical show performances, it hit me just how fortunate we are right now as KPop fans. The summer of 2013 has brought us just awesome music, hasn't it? The music scene in Korea is just exploding and pumping out one hit right after another. It's difficult at times to even keep up with the amount of awesomeness being poured out onto the music scene.
So this post will just have some of my favorite performances from the weekend. And maybe some other stuff. We'll see what catches my attention. I hope that you find something here that will help you tackle the rest of your Monday and get you pumped up for the rest of the week.
Enjoy! And feel free to share any of your favorite videos that maybe I missed either in the comments or on our FB page.
Here's the breakdown: The first group is for my VIPs out there. Lots of GD and Seungri from Inkigayo and M-Countdown. Then there's some other performances from Sunday's Inkigayo of groups I like (Teen Top, Nu'est, Henry, and BAP). Then there's the Japanese version of BAP's Warrior MV that wad just released a couple of days ago. I know what you're thinking, it's Warrior, we've seen that already, but no, if you haven't seen this version yet, trust me, you'll want to. It's awesome and amazing. Watch it fast though - my sources warn me that Japanese videos often don't stick around for long before they're yanked off the interwebs. (Hey Japan, maybe that's why KPop is so popular around the world and in your country because they're not stingy when it comes to sharing the love and making the music accessible - hint, hint) And finally, last but most certainly not least, I put up JYJ's new release, "Only One" that they did for the 2014 Asiad games in Incheon. I already gave my opinion on this video on my FB page, but in case you missed it, I'll tell you here as well what I think about it. I'm going to put it down below though after the video so as to not spoil it ahead of time. If you can't find something on this list that you like, then I just don't know what to tell you. Hopefully there's something here for everyone. Okay, there aren't any girl groups. You got me there, but otherwise, I think we covered a good portion of the recent musical gamut.
My thoughts on the JYJ video.... The boys look AMAZING! Especially my Jae and I don't say that just because I'm biased. Yeah, of course I'm biased, but he looks absolutely spectacular here. The song itself is catchy in a "you're never going to get it out of your head if you're not careful and it will drive you insane at some point" kind of way. And the video, oh the video. Cheesy fantasticness. If you're going to go cheesy, go all the way I say, and they certainly did here. One can't help but smile. It's a happy, cheerful song. Super duper sugary sweet cheesy goodness. Enough to warm even the most cynical of hearts. If this can't make you smile, well, then I just don't know what will. They definitely tried their best. I love Korea!
Almost a week ago one of our readers posted a list of topics & asked our thoughts on each of them respectively.
From B:
What are your thoughts on the following subjects:
* Why is Big Bang's comeback taking so long?
* Will JYJ ever be seen on Korean TV, even with the new rulings?
* Why were "Nail Shop Paris" and "Monstar" sooo ridiculously bad?
* Who's enlisting next?
* What do you think of the chemistry on Master's Sun?
*What was the best K-Drama of the summer?
*What was the best song of the summer?
*Is KHJ way over auto-tuned?
Well, that right there is a lot of questions...
So I'm just going to tackle them in order. But remember these are mostly MY Opinions based on news info &/or rumors.
1.) Big Bang's Late Comeback. I think the guys have been all too busy working on their own individual projects to focus on group activities. Also they did make the announcement that TOP will be entering the military sometime either later this year &/or very early next year. Followed by GD & Taeyang shortly after but nothing has been set in stone. Personally, I doubt a comeback of any kind, as a group, anytime in the near future. This is why Papa YG has been grooming & preparing more young group's for debut this year, to keep fans interested & active on YG, while the guys fulfill their compulsory service requirements.
2.) JYJ...sigh...my beautiful JYJ boys. I would love to be able to say that now that the rulings came out in their favor & now that the injunction against SME & their cronies have been laid to rest, to keep them from actively interfering in my beautiful boys schedules etc... we should definitely see them on TV again. But alas I have become somewhat cynical in this area. So while I hope with all my heart this is true a bigger, more bitter part of me, believes it will be a long time still before we the spectacularly talented guys we love so very much on South Korean TV. SME has a long reaching arm & is quite capable of continuing to intimidate the others in the industry for a long time. While the rulings, injunctions & fan love they receive at home & abroad is wonderful & is helping to make headway I just don't think it will be enough, at least not for a while. Yoochun is off filming movies, Junsu is on stage again, reprising his phenomenal performance as "Death" in Elizabeth & releasing spectacularly awesome albums, Jaejoong is releasing his own super awesome solo albums & working on building up his acting career as well. Plus, Jaejoong & Junsu just recently announced their own plans to enlist soon, no specific date, yet. Will Yoochun go with them, as they originally planned? I don't know. I hope so but it's all so up in the air.
3.) Now this one will be easy. I did not...yes I did NOT watch either Monstar OR Nail Shop Paris. I know a total gasp moment. I think Shannen watched Monstar so I will leave that one to her. But for this one I cannot give you any opinions.
4.) Who is enlisting next. It is almost that time for a lot of my favorite 1986 born idols to start turning their minds towards that goal. Today Song Joon Ki formally started his MS. I already said that tentative plans for enlistment have already been announced for BB & JYJ. But no matter who it is they won't have the cushy positions that celebrities previously held. They will now be split up & sent wherever the military deems it necessary & appropriate. Thanks to the scandals of celebrities not following the rules & sneaking out to happy ending massage parlors. But honestly I am a Navy Brat & I was not a fan of special treatment for the celebrities. Concessions for health issues I can understand but for simply being a Hallyu Star, not so much.
5.) Now for my favorite question.... The chemistry on The Master's Sun. OMO! I LOVE it! I am thoroughly loving & shipping the OTP on this show & am really hoping for a second pairing of the model & SIG's character. Their chemistry reminds me a lot of Jaejoong & Ice Cream Girl in Protect the Boss. But So Ji Sub & Gong Hyo Jin are perfectly matched to each other. Their timing, the way they play off each other, the way they compliment each other's acting styles is perfection. I am LOVING them so much & loving reviewing this show.
6.) Best KDrama of the summer... I think it's safe to say that I Hear Your Voice was pretty phenomenal. But I wasn't sure, since I spent a good portion of my summer playing catch up on the ones I missed at the end of the school year, also known as 'Spring' to those who don't have school aged kids in their house. So, I polled some great K Friends to see which shows they loved the most this summer. And IHYV had a slight lead over Monstar. Which tells me not everyone thought Monstar was "ridiculously bad". Sorry sweetie.
7.) Best song of the summer...okay I know {{AND YOU KNOW}} I am biased & so you shouldn't be too surprised when my pick for BEST SUMMER SONG OF 2013 is KHJ's Unbreakable. It's honestly my favorite of all his songs to date I loved it that much. But I would be remiss if I didn't also add that I adored Junsu's summer party song, "Incredible" as well. Seriously, a sincerely close 2nd to KHJ.
And last but not least....
8.) IS KHJ using over using Auto-tune? Hmmm... objectively I'd have to say that I think, in general, Auto-tune is overused by way too many artists, so if he is over using it, he certainly isn't the only one. Most use it in their songs as an artistic tool but some have gone beyond that & use it as a back up to not having any vocal talent or faith in their vocal talent. I do wish it were not allowed in a LIVE setting but sadly many artists have confessed to using it in performances, "just in case". While many more artists are anti-auto tune. I think honestly that he doesn't use it any more or less than many of his peers. I know he lacks confidence in his talent, as a singer a lot of the time, which is probably why he uses it. When really he has a naturally beautiful singing voice on it's own. He even said as much while auditioning on the singing episode for the 3 main music teams, Epik High, Dynamic Duo & Double Sidekick. When he asked to wear his sunglasses because he looks down when he gets nervous & loses confidence in his abilities. Also, in a society where perfection is the ultimate goal in all things I think there are a lot of Korean groups that over use this feature a lot, most likely as a result of following the company's orders. So yeah, he probably does, due to company influence & his own lack of confidence. Does he need it? Absolutely not.
And to give you guys some really fun MVs to get your self up & moving here are a few of this summer's releases...
Starting with .... Duh....KHJ. :)
Junsu: Incredible
Two from 2NE1 this summer:
Seungri's latest is HAWT! Big Bang's maknae is growing up quite nicely indeed.
EXO had a comeback as well this year.
CNBlue just released this sweet, fun song. I LOVE these boys almost as much as BB & JYJ!
And BAP seriously impressed me with the gritty Badman, set in the sad, crumbling once great music city of Detroit MI. As a native Michigander, it breaks my heart what Detroit has become thanks to the line of corrupt politicians.
And last but not least we can't forget how BAP set the "Loof" on fire in Hurricane. :)
I hope you all having a great week AddiKts. This week has been super busy for this ahjumma. Kids start back to school next Tuesday. I'm throwing a party to celebrate it that day. I am finally ready for them to go back. It was a beautiful, relaxing summer...time to get back to the schedule though. See you Thursday & Friday for my Master's Sun reviews. Until then.... Saranghamnida,
Yes, you read that right. It is Monday morning and I am back to say hi and greet you all! If you missed me the past few weeks, then my apologies. I missed you too and am excited to be back.
There's so much rolling around in my head right now that I want to talk about, but I'm aiming to still keep this short as whatever part of my body that is malfunctioning is not very travel-friendly and is protesting what I did to it this weekend. Oh yes, that's right. Did I mention that I spent the past couple of days in my own personal Mecca, aka California? Specifically KOREATOWN LA???? More on that in a sec.
First and foremost, today is June 4th in Korea and I wanted to take a moment and wish two special guys a very happy birthday.
Park Yoochun of JYJ
and
AJ (Jaeseop Kim) of UKISS.
AJ is one of my two UKiss biases. I just think he is the beesknees. And super, uber cute.
JYJ was going to be my theme of today even before I knew it was Micky's birthday. How's that for timing? Why was it going to be my theme of today? A couple of reasons actually. One, I was in KTown this weekend and while there I managed to snag some much sought-after JYJ socks and other paraphernalia. Score! I now can wear my boys on my feet and take them with me wherever I go. They spent all day with me yesterday in the car on the way home. We very much enjoyed our time together. The other reason was that upon waking this morning, all of my online social media was seemingly flooded with JYJ. Jaejoong tweets (did you see the two of him in bed? I had a lovely fangirl moment when I realized that my pillows were the same color as his. Not that I then fantasized that it was MY bed he was in or anything like that. Sheesh guys, who do you think I am??), new-to-me videos that YouTube was recommending for me, JYJ LINE updates, and the like. It was a JYJ invasion. An invasion of awesome. So I wanted to share of bit of it with you. Then I found it was Yoochun's birthday and it just fit in perfectly. Great timing. It's kismet. Beautiful, beautiful kismet.
But before I jump into the JYJ stuff, I'll start with AJ's birthday shout out.
Kim Jaeseop, aka AJ
of UKISS and now sub-group uBEAT (along with my other UKISS bias Eli)
June 4th, 1991 (22)
Lead rapper, sub-vocalist
Blood type A (woohoo!)
Three things I personally like and admire about him: he doesn't like doing aegyo, he plays the piano, he speaks English and sounds sooo adorable when he does <3
Singer, rapper, composer, songwriter, model and actor
Three things I like/admire/find interesting about him are: he plays piano and guitar, he once lived in the US attending middle school and high school there until moving back to South Korea in order to pursue a career in music, he has a bracelet given to him by his younger brother that apparently he wears all the time (he'll tape it up out of the way if it doesn't match the concept of what he's wearing for work)
Happy birthday AJ and Yoochun! We at The Crazy Ahjummas appreciate your talent and hard work and look forward to enjoying what comes next from both of you!
Now that we wished our two special guys a happy birthday, I will close out with a couple of videos that I had been planning on sharing. These were new-to-me videos, cover songs done by JYJ and its members. The first you may recognize as it is an English song. Frankly, it was one I wasn't too excited to hear covered because I'm just not all that crazy about it in the first place, but I'm glad I watched because I now have found a brand new appreciation for it. Turns out that watching my ultimate bias perform it was all that was missing from the equation ;) The second is a song I didn't know before but enjoyed watching and listening to Jaejoong perform it. His voice is just so amazing and powerful and I love it and him ever so much! Let's jump start this new week and new month with a little JYJ fun, shall we???
May you enjoy the rest of your Monday and have a wonderful week!
P.S. Here are the Jaejoong tweets I mentioned above in case you missed them...
P.P.S. I didn't want to bog down this post with my personal travel stories and detract from the real focus of today. I will go ahead and post a few pictures on my Shannen Dongsaeng FB page though for anyone interested in seeing a bit of what I did in KTown LA and stuff.
So last night I sat down after finishing my review of FBND ep 13 and tried to come up with a MMT post for this morning, but drew a big, fat blankety blank. So I just figured I would work on my review of ep 14 and call it good. Then I woke up this morning to a news item worth delving into a bit. Hooray! Now, as luck would have it, real life wasn't done playing, so I'm still a little late, but nonetheless, here to chat.
Let's talk politics for a moment, shall we?
Did you know that a historic moment happened in Korea as many of us slept? It's true. They just had their presidential inauguration. Yes, they just put in to power their first ever female president, which is noteworthy to be sure, but not exactly the historic moment I am referring to. The inauguration was monumental for another reason -- it marked JYJ's first return to broadcast since all their legal mess began. Pretty cool, huh? A moment that JYJ fans worldwide have been waiting for. Our boys, together, on stage and on TV performing their own music. It's probably no secret that they have been, for all intents and purposes, black balled in the industry and prevented from being broadcast courtesy of the far reaching arm of arch nemesis SM Entertainment. Now, for the record, what I am about to say is my own personal opinion. I have no evidence to back me up here and I'm not trying to point fingers in the wrong direction. If I'm wrong, I apologize. I am only trying to make sense of a bizarre circumstance based upon on my very best guess. I was just online reading an article about this at allkpop.com and was frustrated reading some of the comments, for it seemed to me like many were missing what I saw to be the point. I just wanted to scream and yell and say, "WAIT! I think that this is what is really going on!" but I didn't care to enter into the fray. It suddenly dawned on me that, "Hey! I can weigh in on this. I have a blog! Woohoo!", which is when I took up my post here at my desk dungeon and came to lay it out according to my instincts as to what may be going on here.
So, what's the big deal? They were on broadcast (cable) tv. People from all over the world got to see them perform on a stage on TV. Very exciting. And it was. But, like anything else political in nature, it's not without its controversy. In this particular case, I'm talking about the announcer that spoke over and criticized JYJ all throughout the performance. I didn't have the privilege of watching the performance myself when it aired. I tried, but no dice...couldn't find it. So I instead watched this video as soon as I woke up.
It was a great performance, but still an awkward video to watch. The empty chairs, constant movement in the audience, and the general lack of interest shown in the vast majority of those in attendance was disconcerting and distracting. And at the end, there was no applause that I could hear. It made me sad. I thought that the boys did a phenomenal job and should most definitely be commended for a wonderful, top-notch performance. They sure were not the issue. It was just a strange place and circumstance. Then I saw the article on allkpop that talked about how fans are criticizing the cable channel that broadcast the event, specifically this gentleman announcer who was talking during the show and remarking on how messy it all was.
Now, it is very possible that he was just noticing that same things that I myself was bothered by. It could be innocent. And if it is, then fine, whatever, let's just move on. But, I must admit that there is a part of me, the same part that gives an ear to many whackadoodle conspiracy theories out there, that wonders if something more nefarious was at work here. It would not surprise me in the least if SM played a part in the whole incident. Imagine this with me for a moment if you will. The new president of Korea wants JYJ to perform at her inauguration. Now, SM is powerful, but are they powerful enough to tell the president of the country to not put these 3 on stage? I doubt it. You never know, but I seriously doubt it. So here they are - President has given these 3 that SME has sworn to destroy a national stage and their ain't nuthin' that they, SM, can do about it. Or is there? It's not like they can stop the inauguration ceremony from being broadcast. It's not like they can even make all the cameras magically disappear when JYJ takes the stage (since there were other performers after them). So what can they do? They can strong-arm the uppity-ups at the broadcasting network to interfere in whatever ways possible during the actual performance. Enter Chatty McChatsalot announcer guy.
I would love to be proven wrong. Don't like how I'm painting you SME? Then prove that I am wrong. Let's see JYJ splattered all over Korean TV. When an album tops the charts, let's see that artist on shows like Inkigayo or Music Bank. Where was Jaejoong? Why didn't he appear anywhere even when his album topped the charts? Huh? Seriously, why? If it's not because of SM's efforts to block them, then what else could it be? I'm all ears if you have another explanation. I don't want to inherently hate SM or think of them as the enemy, but they're making it difficult to do otherwise. I guess if I want to be a fan of JYJ then it's a requirement that I choose up sides because trying to be neutral sure is not working out so well. I can't simply just sit back and ignore what I see to be a grievous plot against one of my absolute favorite groups. In the grand scheme of things, does it ultimately matter? No, yet the blatant injustice I see just upsets me every time.
Okay. So that was my "what the heck?!" rant. Now to end on a happy, adorable note. Here's a video message that JYJ created prior to the inauguration where they congratulate the incoming president and express their excitement and gratitude for this opportunity to act as ambassadors, showcasing all that Korean culture has to offer the world. I am just so proud of these three! Their consistent grace and professionalism, their constant rising above the challenges that they have had to face in their careers. They are truly a class act and Korea should be proud to have them as representatives out there in the world. As a non-Korean I can certainly attest to how effective they have been in winning my heart. <3 J <3 Y <3 J <3
Have a wonderful remaining Monday all! And just remember the lesson that JYJ has taught us - there might be some wrong in the world, but there's still a whole lotta right! Optimism and positiveness in the face of adversity! Fighting!
Writing this week's WWU has posed me with a conundrum of sorts. I want to be a well rounded writer & be able to write on a variety of topics & not allow myself to be pigeon holed as the actual "crazy" ahjumma. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore writing the funny posts, that focus solely on the hotness of our oppas, the hotness of the kiss scenes (or lack thereof) etc.... And I know last week I said that in general I am not a serious person. Which is true...I do have a tendency toward the foolish & laughable. That is a self defense mechanism though. My life has been full of trials & challenges, so to protect myself from focusing solely on the pain, I force myself to find the funny in... well, just about everything. I think that's one of the draws for me to Korean Dramas so much. When they do humor, they do it really well. I love their humor. Just like I like British, Irish, & Canadian humor. So when it came time for this week's write up, I was pondering the merits of a serious research based post or just a lot of fluff to make you all smile. And quite possibly make you shake your head at the nut job that calls herself Unnie. Seriously, who calls themselves Older Sister?!?! o.O In this respect I feel like an actor must feel when they face the threat of the dreaded "typecast". *Shudder*
Therefore, I have decided....{{drum roll please}} to write a mostly serious post w/ a little humor thrown in when it gets uncomfortable. I hope this works out in reality the way it sounds in my head. One friend suggested I go the humorous route & I almost did but this idea has been in my head for over a week now & I just had to get it out.
*Blows bangs off forehead*
One of the things I found out after becoming a KPop fan is that each performer/group has their own group of fans. And that the fan clubs have names. This is a new concept to me, who grew up with US music. It's not like MJ had a group of fans that called themselves the Billie Jeans or the Thrillers or the Mirrors.
{{Get it? It's from his song, "Man in the Mirror"?}}
They were just MJ fans. Or the fans of Madonna calling themselves the Virgins/Vogues/Rays of Light, you get my point. It just doesn't happen here, w/ the exception of Lady Gaga & her "Monsters", remember there are exceptions to every rule & Lady Gaga? Well, she's always an exception. But the KPop loving world takes their fan group names seriously. They cast votes & the artists approve the fan group name. This blows my mind. I'm not quite sure why. It was something I wanted to talk about though so I did a little research. There are the group names; BigBang fans are called, "VIPs", 2NE1 fans are called, "Blackjacks". And there are individual performers fan clubs. Kim Hyun Joong's fan group's name are the "Henecias" & Lee Seung Gi's are called "Airens". But there are also individual fan club names for members of each group. For example from the group Big Bang; G Dragon fans are called *for obvious reasons* "Dragons", T.O.P fans are called "Charmers" *again a rather apt name as he is himself exceptionally charming, sigh*. Even the actors themselves get fan club names.
The fans get even more serious when a group breaks up, as in the case of DBSK. When Jaejoong, Junsu, & Yoochun broke away from DBSK (TVXQ) & formed JYJ, the fans, for the most part, divided down the middle. Some stayed w/ DBSK & claimed that the 3 men that left, were traitors. And the other half of the fans, went w/ JYJ & called SMEnt & the remaining 2 members of DBSK their own bad names. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post regarding the treatment Junsu received from SBS during the Special Olympics Opening Ceremony & how they turned the cameras off before he could perform on air. I won't digress, if you didn't read it & your curiosity is now piqued you can see it HERE. I was also tweeting it constantly, supporting JYJ & Junsu & Jaejoong & Yoochun like crazy. That post alone gotten 497 views since it went LIVE on TCA. More than any other of my WWU has ever gotten. Shortly after that post one of my Jess Unnie followers on Twitter went on a rant using the foulest of language about how JYJ were the traitors & that I should stop spreading lies & a few other nasty things. Shortly after that, I no longer had that follower, not because I blocked him/her but because they simply stopped following me. I welcome all viewpoints, as long as they are given respectfully. This was not respectful.
It shook me to hear such vitriol come from another human being over a band's break up. Personally, I loved DBSK when it was the 5 guys & I still love it with Changmin & Yunho, 2 very talented & sexy men themselves. But I also love JYJ. But I wasn't around during the tumultuous & heart breaking break up. So maybe I would be split as well. My beef does not lie at the feet of the 2 men who stayed & continued to be DBSK. It lies with SMEnt alone. {{And all the broadcast companies & crooked politicians/judges who refuse to stand up to SMent.}} One of the things I absolutely love about KPop is that it is so much fun to listen to & that it just makes me smile & makes me want to move. But there are some songs that bring me to tears, especially after I hear the trials the group had to go through & I know where the song came from for them. It makes the song that much more poignant & moving & therefore more intimate for me the listener. Once I learned the story behind JYJ & its formation & then heard the song Pierrot I realized that that song would always be an emotional listen for me. Of course it's only a theory of mine, that Pierrot is about the whole JYJ/DBSK/SMEnt debacle. It's sad that this happened, it's sad that 5 wonderful friends are no longer in complete sync with one another, as they once were, but it happened & getting angry with the fans of the opposite team is wrong & even sadder still.
It's okay to love both groups equally. My only beef with K Pop/K Dramas are in fact some of its more fanatical fans. You are all human beings, all human beings deserve respect, dignity & grace. Stop fighting amongst yourselves & just support your difference of opinions. Value each other's humanity for crying out loud. I have always tried to be that person that tries to see things from every perspective. I want to take the opportunity to see it from your viewpoint, so I can decide for myself, what is best for me. There is always another point of view, another side to look at, & we have to remember it takes 2 to fight & it takes 2 to make it work. If I had one wish it would be for ALL the fans to stop trying to run down each others idols & just cheer everyone on equally. It's okay to have a bias & to support that bias to the very best of your ability. I do. But I remember that there are lots of incredibly talented artists in K Pop & K Dramas. And each one has the right to his/her supporters too. It's why I always have a hard time picking a favorite this or that. I like them all.
{{*whispers but Kim Hyun Joong is my absolute
favorite, shhhh....I'm trying to keep it on the DL
*giggle* not very successfully I'm afraid.}}
Just recently a pin began surfacing on Pinterest that I found intriguing & some what rude...
Sulli of the girl Kpop group, f(x) & Choi Minho of the boy KPop group SHINee
who recently starred together, in the K Drama, "To the Beautiful You".
I will admit, I didn't know f(x) or its members that well, until I watched TTBY. So by this fans remarks I was jumping on the bandwagon & following the crowd. One of my fellow KPop loving friends responded in this manner to the pin itself on her Tumblr...
"Here is a prime example of one of the things I hate about the so-called “die hard” fans of any artist/actor/etc. There are some who have been following a celeb since day one and have fallen in love with said person. In love enough to follow their careers from the very beginning. Whereas there are also those fans who are just now starting to follow that particular celebrity when he/she gets some recognition. This is not “jumping on the bandwagon” after the fact thing. This is the celeb getting new fans who may not have known about them prior to that “moment” that garnered them the recognition. One fan is not better than the other. We are all fans. PERIOD!!!"
I thought it very well put. Very succinct in summing up this part of the fan craze as well. Some of us have only been into KPop & K Drama for a little while & are still learning whose who of all of it. Dongsaeng just covered this in her birthday tribute to Donghae of SuJu fame. She knew of SuJu & had even heard a few of their songs & seen a few of their MVs. But it wasn't until she started watching the K Drama Panda & Hedgehog that she really noticed Lee Donghae. And from that moment on she had another bias. Kim Jaejoong, Lee Donghae & I know another one she will reveal on Monday.
{{Yes I peeked! Whatcha gonna do about it?}}
Although I want it known I've loved him since day one. Which simply means, she will have to stand in line behind me & about 20 billion other crazed fan-girls (& boys).
{{And no she hasn't fallen for my Hyun-y.
She knows that, that simply isn't allowed. ^_^}}
I guess I sum up this post by saying, "You people need to chill out!" KPop/KDramas & their stars are here to entertain & provide people for us to crush on healthily. Not to obsess over, stalk & even kill for. o.O They're trying to bring joy to the masses, we're the "masses" btw, you & I are the "Masses". Let them do their jobs. Sit back, relax, & enjoy the incredibly yummy view as they; act, sing, croon, dance, grind, & thrust their way into our hearts & fantasies. But remember to log off the Internet every once in a while & see the world around you, from time to time. It might help you to remember the people in your life are far more important than whether or not a group you like is splitting up or whether or not your favorite actor is getting the recognition that they so richly deserve, in your opinion. There are real problems in the world, that deserve more attention & concern than the behind the scenes drama found in the entertainment world. And this includes every country's entertainment world, including mine. I have never ever bought a rag magazine. I do not read them online. I ignore the TV rag shows as well. No TMZ is played in my house, no Entertainment Tonight & I only watch E to see Joan Rivers rag on the fashion faux pas' of the week. I seriously love her vicious streak. In real life I don't care which actor is sleeping with whom, or who is getting divorced or who is in rehab. Quite frankly, it's none of my business. As long as they continue to entertain me, which is their actual job, I don't want to know their personal details. Anymore than I want to know that about my neighbors. TMI peeps, T.M.I!
And just to prove my point that I like lots of different groups enough I looked it up & I am a; Henecia, a Boice, a VIP, a Blackjack, an ELF, an Airen, a Nastie, a B2UTY, a Baby, an Orion, an A+, SHAWOL, a Triple S, & A Kiss Me. So there. I'm probably a few more in there as well but I figure if I keep going on & on this post will never end. ^^
You all survived another serious post by Unnie. Well those of you that didn't immediately close the page when you found out it would be serious. Are you okay? Do you need to lie down? Should I quickly insert inappropriate humor here? How about if I give you something beautiful to listen to instead? And before I go, just a reminder that as of right now I have exactly.... 7 full days before I leave for AZ & my dongsaeng. And 8 days till we are on our road trip to So Cal. and only 10 days till BIGBANG LIVE AT THE HONDA CENTER in Anaheim. I am so SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE excited!! I CANNOT WAIT!!! I am so looking forward to this trip. It hit me today as I was trying to plan my family's menu for the next 2 weeks, so I could then write the grocery list. I had to actually stop what I was doing & text my husband & ask him what he wanted to make the kids those 5 days I was going to be gone, so I could add those ingredients to the grocery list! It hit me right then. My 2 week menu includes 5 WHOLE DAYS where I don't have to cook....for anyone!!! OH. MY. GOSH!!!!! It sounds so incredibly heavenly to me. I think 5 days off every 15 or 16 years sounds reasonable. Don't you agree?
{{HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE....they may have
to take me to the funny farm I am so excited!}}
*Whew! Okay, calm down Unnie. Big Breath In....And Big Breath Out. There I am much calmer & more rational now.*
Until next week AddiKts.
Saranghamnida,
Here are two beautifully performed MVs from DBSK when they were all together & in perfect sync. Really truly moving Live Concert Performance MVs. Enjoy AddiKts. <3 Unnie.
For a complete list of Fan Club Names, go to; All KPop Forums
We want to celebrate the class & dignity & grace these guys have shown in the face of trials.
Do you not know why we want to show our JYJ solidarity? Go Here & read the story.
We just decided it yesterday but have been so busy we haven't been able to really advertise it. So I'm doing that now.
How do you participate?
Easy peasy!
Just change your Facebook Cover/Profile, or BOTH, picture to any picture you want of JYJ. That's it.
Oh & spread the word. People need to know what went down this week. We'd like to show our wonderful JYJ guys how much we love & support them. And more importantly that SM & SBS have no real power. Won't you guys join us in little display of love? Oh come on, you know you want to.
You know my favorite picture, so why don't you show me yours! Change your cover & then head on over to TCA FB or visit TCA on Twitter or me on Twitter & show me the picture too.
Fill up the Twitter & FB feed w/ pics of our beautiful JYJ?!?!?
Who doesn't want to see that?!?!?!
See you there AddiKts!
Saranghamnida,
Unnie & Dongsaeng!
*****************EDIT***************
Thank you so much to all of you who participated in the JYJ Solidarity Day on FB & Twitter! We had so much fun! We should do a JYJ Solidarity Day everyday!! Oh heck yeah! Any day my FB & Twitter feeds fill up w/ hawt pics of JYJ is an awesome day to me. It was like opening dozens of boxes of Happy!
TCA received emails & Tweets & FB messages & even comments on this here blog. The outpouring of love for JYJ from our readers & fellow AddiKts was overwhelming for this crazy ahjumma! Thank you for your wonderful support for JYJ. Over the last few years they have treated us w/ amazing music, beautiful voices, sexy hot dance moves & humor & love, & exemplary examples of dignity & grace. We know that none of the JYJ boys or any of our fav K Idols will ever read this here modest little ahjumma post/blog & that they are completely unaware that it's even here, which is totally fine...we don't do this for them. We do it for you guys! {{and for ourselves because we're AddiKts too!}} However, I am so glad that we could help spread the word on such talented guys.
And AddiKts thank you again for the lovely things you said about Dongsaeng & myself. It was a very emotional day today. Knowing that we have helped even a few of you to not feel so alone in the lovely K World & that you love us as much as we love you, has made the many, many late nights writing, drafting, organizing these blog posts so worth it all. {{I doubt CA will agree with me there...he misses his wife. Giggle.}} But to me, & I know to Dongsaeng, it means the world.
While perusing various ideas for this week's WWU I decided to once again poll friends & readers to see if any of them could help me unblock the writer's block. Just some topic that would spark an interest in my brain & get it moving again. Thank you peeps for the many creative ideas that now reside on my iPad for future use. Then I saw an article that a friend posted on FB, that detailed the recent mistreatment of one of my favorite KPop stars, Kim Junsu (Xiah) of JYJ. What he had to endure at the hands of one of the top entertainment companies in Seoul, is deplorable. Now to be honest this is not the first time this company or one of its underlings has snubbed our lovely Junsu or the rest of the guys from JYJ. Oh no. It's just another example of the blacklisting & bullying our boys have had to endure in the last 3 years.
Pardon me AddiKts as I take a brief departure from our usually light hearted topics & delve a little deeper into a subject that I feel very strongly about. I hope that you stick through this post & hear my plea at the end. I am one of those people that have never been able to sit idly by & allow people to be bullied. No I have always done by my best to stand up for those I see being treated unfairly, unjustly or with cruelty. Will my little post make a difference I highly doubt it but at least I went down fighting the only way I could.
Let's get back to my topic this week....
Now most of you already know of the details as to why JYJ has been blacklisted (IE Banned) by the beasts of the South Korean Entertainment industry, aka SMEntertainment & SBS, but there are a few of you that are unaware of the details, so for you I will give a few background details...
In 2004 a new group called, DBSK entered into the world of K Pop. The group included 5 incredibly talented young men. Including the 3 men who would later go on to form JYJ. What happened? Well the boys, who were all signed by SMEnt, as TEENAGERS, entered into a grossly unfair contract. A contract that would then give the bulk of their earnings back to the conglomerate SME, something that SMEnt is well known for doing. Taking advantage of the talent it signs at incredibly young ages. Thereby leaving their talent, {{with all their hours & hours w/ very little sleep or down time because they are too busy; training, touring, promoting, singing, dancing, entertaining, as if they were slaves w/ very little to show for their hard work, sincere effort, sweat & tears}} out in the cold, contract wise. Figuring out that this contract was grossly unfair, 3 of the 5 members of DBSK, 5 years later, decided that they would try to renegotiate their contract, all to no avail. Here is where it gets tricky. What happened to the other 2 men? No one really knows. No one knows for sure if it was all 5 men wanted out of the contract & the other two changed their minds, or if the other 2 were pressured to change their minds or if they were never a part of the break away to begin with. Only those parties on the inside would know those details of the break up, and so far no one is talking. The other 2 men, also incredibly talented stayed w/ SME & continued to be DBSK. Meanwhile Kim Jaejoong, Park Yoochun & Kim Junsu decided to take their case to the courts. And they won. Their contract was declared invalid by the court.
Once the court declared the contract invalid, they thought they were free of the SME snare. However, they have found themselves in quite the opposite of that original belief....this story is far from over. Appeals were filed, of course. Years of dragging this & the guys through the court systems. Hearing after hearing all with no clear answer or ruling. During all this court drama, allegedly SM began what amounts to nothing more than coercion, bribery, blatant blackmail, strong arming, & threatening. Proving they are nothing more than playground bullies, who then "encouraged" the entire student body to blacklist the students, in this case JYJ.
Even though the men of JYJ won in court, SM once again, Allegedly - stepped in to interfere by ensuring that their contract w/ a Japanese based entertainment/production company, that was helping them to become JYJ, would be stalled. They have had numerous other troubles as well... everything from having a hard time getting passport clearances that would then enable them to promote their new album, to not being allowed to perform their songs on the stages of Inkigayo. No wonderfully fun & zany appearances on variety shows, & certainly no interviews scheduled to help promote themselves. Imagine being blacklisted & banned by your own countrymen?!?! Now Allegedly - SME has managed to not just influence the South Korean entertainment companies to keep the men of JYJ off their stages but they have also somehow managed to allegedly attain control of the courts. As once again the court's final decision has been delayed...this time...indefinitely. When will this nightmare for our beautiful JYJ end? Who knows.
Now what prompted my tirade against SM? Well this week, Kim (Xiah) Junsu was invited to perform at the 32nd National PARA Games Opening Ceremony, hosted by none other than SBS. A concert that was promoted w/ his name in full use for the event, drawing in thousands of fans. He was scheduled to be the last performer of the evening. However, just before the group ZE:A went on, Allegedly - SBS introduced them as the last performance of the evening. And when ZE:A was done, the cameras were turned off & packed away. At this point the MC for the night came back on stage & announced to the waiting & probably confused audience that Junsu was the actual last performance of the evening. Remember by this point the cameras were packed, the show was no longer being filmed or airing on TV. Did this blatant & disgusting show of blacklisting stop our Junsu? No. He went on stage w/ his beautiful smile showing the audience & the world that he was not going to be pushed under or aside by anyone. By all accounts, he performed his songs full of energy & happiness, telling the audience he was "grateful to be invitedto such a wonderful event" & then going on to say that this was his "first official gig as a solo artist and he was so happy to be there." Now there is a classy, graceful, intelligent, caring & inspiring man if ever there was one. Our Junsu ever the dignified & gracious gentleman. I was so proud of him! What an example of grace under fire. I applaud his humanity. Thank you for your heart Junsu. It's one of the reasons you are so loved by so many adoring fans. While my heart breaks for this amazing man, my insides seethe w/ anger at the injustice & cruelty of SBS & SME & the other cowardly companies who refuse to stand up to SM. While the South Korean entertainment industry are patting themselves on the back for garnering attention around the world for the success of Psy's Gangnam Style, they are at the same time trying to push down one of the most talented & creative men/groups around, just because he & his fellow JYJ members had the audacity to stand up for themselves & ask for fair treatment & to be properly compensated for their grueling schedules. THIS is the prime example of the "Flip Side of the KPop Sparkle". Does this mean South Korea or all of the entertainment world found within are corrupt? Of course not, what a ridiculous conclusion to jump to. These few men that seem to hold the most power & influence seem to be the main reason things are bad for artists. Remember what they say, "With absolute power, comes absolute corruption". I think these conglomerates have way too much money & avarice & are as corrupt as they can be, which has gone to their heads & they have forgotten how to be decent human beings. The South Korean entertainment industry is known for its hard, tightly packed schedules for its talent. Schedules that go all night long, filming schedules, concerts after concerts, promotional tours, endorsement deals, interviews. Very little sleep, improperly balanced diets & it leaves our favorite K Idols exposed & vulnerable to car accidents, health issues, exhaustion, & I imagine is responsible for a big portion for the depression & suicide problems facing SK artists. For a prime example of exhaustion leading to accidents, there was the huge car accident that nearly killed 3 members of the sensational group Super Junior, several years ago. Which btw also happen to be a K Pop group under SMEnt. There are no unions in South Korea & these companies work these men & women to the bone. I have not heard of this kind of malfeasance since McCarthyism took root in Southern California in the 50s & destroyed the careers & lives of anybody who stood up for themselves in the entertainment industry. Today this would never fly in the US, where the talent gets final say in their contracts & their schedules. Maybe you'd say US stars are spoiled & pampered too much, & I would wholeheartedly agree. And I believe there are few to none of our US stars, that have 1/10 the same work ethic that our favorite K Idols have. Do I still love K Pop & K Drama & South Korea? Oh heck yeah! But these things need to be changed. These artists are human beings & they deserve to be treated fairly & paid fairly for the amount of work they put in. They need to be protected from the greed & corruption they are forced to tolerate day in & day out. To that end I have a message for these corporations pushing out pop idols like automatons on a conveyor belt & pushing the talent to the breaking point. Just so you know SME, & your dirty partners in crime, you know who you are btw, you can pat yourselves on the back for all the awesome attention that the KPop phenom is garnering. But this means that the world is noticing you as well, which means the world is going to notice the dirty details soon enough. You can only hide it for so long. Then the whole thing will burst open & all your shady "under the table" dealings will be shown in the light of day. I will do my best to help expose you for the slime bags you really are, you might be saying who cares what a stay at home mom in the US thinks of all of this? And you are probably right. I am just a stay at home mom. I live in the safety & comfort of my upper middle class white suburban neighborhood. In the middle of nowhere Wisconsin. I am little and yes I admit, to you, I am even insignificant. But haven't you ever noticed how the little guy always wins in the end? And eventually all of us little guys & girls will amount to one great big voice & we won't be silenced so easily. Then like Daniel in the Lion's Den we'll prove that you, the evil in this story, cannot win. Bullies never win. Someday someone or something is going to stop you & justice will prevail. Until that day I will continue to cheer on all of the JYJ members. I will cheer for their hard earned success & I will cry at their conquests. They say that it isn't surviving the trial that shows who you are, but surviving the trial w/ grace & dignity & a smile on your face. So far I think JYJ is the winner. All you are doing is proving you are too ignorant to see you are showing your true colors to the world by your treatment of these amazing men. The saddest part of the whole thing is that all of us who were not able to be there in the beginning of DBSK & witness them as the powerhouse they were. Oh we have their YouTube MVs & fancams of their concerts etc... but if you have ever gone back & listened to their albums or seen their performances it is very obvious that this was THE group. I am so sad that I will probably never get to see all 5 men together on stage or in a new MV. I weep at the loss of friendship between the JYJ guys & Yunho & Changmin, the other 2 men of DBSK. I can't imagine the heart break that JYJ has had to endure through their trials w/ their bullies. How terrifying it must be to think your own countrymen have ill will & grudges against you. The trials of dealing with all of this must be exhausting. Emotionally, mentally & yes even physically. To feel as though you are constantly having to fight so hard just to make small gains in your career. Jaejoong, Yoochun, & Junsu we are on your side. We pray for you. We weep alongside you. We support & encourage you to keep following your dreams & never let the bully win. Keep your friendship strong & continue to give us beautiful happy pictures of your sweet bromance...
My favorite JYJ picture. They are so sweet & cuddly here.
I leave you AddiKts with this plea to please, of ALL the posts you read on TCA, that THIS one you share. Like it, Google + it, Pin & re-pin when you see the pin on Pinterest, help spread the word. SME & SBS & their dirty dealings need to be exposed. Do I really think TCA can make a difference? No, not really. We are small & insignificant. But all of our voices combined can make a difference. Even if its just to help the men of JYJ see that they are not alone, we are all rooting for them & love them. Sometimes that is all that is needed. They need to see our hearts. Another way you can help is by signing this Twitition to try & get SBS to apologize to JYJ. It may not actually happen but anyway we can get the word out helps. Until next week.... Saranghamnida,
