High Kick Through The Roof/ Unstoppable High Kick Season 2 (English subtitles)

Lately, I've been addicted to Korean sitcoms. A sitcom I'm currently watching and highly recommend is High Kick Through the Roof. I've been waiting for English subtitles for months!
An entertaining family filled, enjoyable and funny Korean entertainment. A must watch!

Here's a link if want to know what it's about: http://wiki.d-addicts.com/High_Kick_Through_the_Roof 

Thank you to Withs2 for subbing!

Here's the link with English subtitles: http://www.dramacrazy.net/korean-drama/high-kick-through-the-roof/

My Beginnings with Kpop

SeeYa's final performance at M.Net Countdown

After watching SeeYa's final performance as a group on M.Net Countdown made me realise how long I've been a fan for Kpop music and how Korean's mainstream music has changed so rapidly during these past few years. So, here's my story of my humble beginnings with Kpop music.

It all first started with my first Korean drama Full House in 2005. I know what you're thinking, what does Full House have anything to do with Kpop music: 1. the OST music and 2. Rain (Bi). I liked Byul's I Think I Love You in the drama.
I'm the type of person who likes to do some reading before or after watching a drama or movie. I originally didn't know Rain debuted as a singer. But after listening to his albums, boy did it made me like him even more. And from there, it all started.

But what attracted me most to Korean music was their heartbreaking ballads. I don't understand the Korean language, but music is a universal language, you don't have to understand the language to like it. Sometimes its about the melody or how the singer conveys their song. To add with that, a ballad with a heartbreaking storyline in their Music Video is what totally sucked me into Korean music as well. I think it was SG Wannabe, SeeYa and Brown Eyed Girls music was what made me appreciate Kpop. I remember SG Wannabe and SeeYa's popularity back then, compared to now. They made great music back then, same goes to Brown Eyed Girls.

Wow, I can't believe it's been 5 years since I started listening to Korean music. And this obsession with probably continue. I will miss SeeYa's music and their awesome collaborations. That's sadly one less ballad group in the Korean music industry. I hope Kballads will be recognised more in the future as idol music is now.

Here's SeeYa's The Last & Scent Of A Woman, SG Wannabe's A Partner For Life and BEG's I Got Fooled By You.

Note: Nowadays, the Kpop industry is saturated with dance tracks and bubblegum pop. I know that some Kballads have now also become monotonous and have a similar beat, but we should give credit to this kind of genre and appreciate it because it really is worth a listen to. Idols should promote more of their ballads on their albums, because some their ballads actually are good. 

Favourite/s Kpop Artists of 2010

Female Artist: BoA

Her long awaited comeback to the Kpop industry with the release of her 6th album Hurricane Venus and also the celebration of her 10th year anniversary. A great album demonstrating her maturity as an artist. BoA will always be my favourite female artist in Kpop. She's the Queen of Kpop!!


Male Artist: Taeyang

With his smooth and sexy vocals, who doesn't love Taeyang. I Need a Girl wasn't one of my favourite songs from his first studio album Solar, but overall the album is one of my favourites. Looking forward to his comeback with the Big Bang members.


Female Group: Wonder Girls

Even though they weren't that active in Kpop in 2010, the charismatic Wonder Girls will always be my favourite female group. With 4-D Sunmi leaving the group, many thought the Wonder Girls were going down. But they exceeded my expectations in their US debut, I thought it was going to be a complete failure in all honesty. Definitely looking forward to their debut album. Hope it is going to be a success!!


Male Group: TVXQ, DBSK, Tohoshinki 

With the heart breaking news of the lawsuit and the split of this wonderfully talented group, TVXQ isn't TVXQ anymore without all its 5 members. But even so, they're still my #1 male group. I hope they stand together as 5 on stage once more.


Rookie Group: Miss A and  Sistar

With the influx of Kpop idol groups especially female groups, Miss A and Sistar stand out of the pack in 2010. With great live vocals and fierce dance moves, Miss A and Sistar both shouldn't be compared or rivaled with since they have their own individual styles. Looking forward their 2011 activities!!


Side note: What I'm looking forward to in 2011 for Kpop Artists

• Wonder Girls debut US album. Fans have been patiently waiting for almost a year for Wonder Girls breakthrough into the US market. I hope this album showcases their talents and is not some manufactured mainstream auto-tuned crap song that you hear on the radio nowadays
• Big Bang's long awaited comeback to the Kpop scene. Since the Big Bang members have been concentrating on their solo careers and Japanese promotions during the past two years, fans have been patiently waiting for their Korean comeback. Hope their album is a huge success and is not some album that is only promoted for a month (that's the tend nowadays with Kpop)
• BoA's US film debut. She's got some sick dance moves!!
• Reconciliation between SM Entertainment and JYJ
• SNSD's Japanese promotions. Let's hope they release an original Japanese song not their Korean songs but in Japanese
• More understanding between Kpop artists and their agencies
• Brown Eyed Girl's comeback. Let's hope its a ballad, but I doubt it. I loved their 1st and 2nd albums
• More Kpop artists coming to Australia

 That's all I can think of so far...

I like Kpop but than doesn't make me a teeny bopper :(

Nowadays, it seems liking Kpop and not understanding the Korean language can make you seem like a teeny bopper. I'm ashamed to admit to my friends and acquaintances to my listening and following Korean music.
Yes, I don't understand the language, but hey, music is a universal language, no matter what genre or language, everyone can enjoy it. I'm not a die hard fan of Kpop since I do listen to English music, but enough for me to purchase their actual CD on online music stores.  

The connection I'm trying to illustrate between Kpop and teeny boppers is that of, for example the Bieber fever fans and Swifty fans (I am a fan of Taylor Swift, she's pretty talented for her age). The majority of Bieber and Swifty fans are teenagers, so people then come to a conclusion, hey you like their music....you are then labelled as a "teeny bopper". Same goes with Kpop, many international fans of idol groups are those in their teens.

Out of topic rant: What I find depressing with Kpop nowadays is the influx of idol groups (note: I'm not trying to discriminate, I do like some of the idol groups) and to stay on top with this fierce competition, catchy lack lustre songs are released every so often, it becomes ever so repetitive and monotonous. Idol groups are changing their styles every so often with every single/mini-album/album release, it now becomes a bit difficult to distinct each group. But I'll talk more about this in one of my later posts.      

Online shopping sites

Here are some sites which I have purchased items from, some which may help for those online shopper noobs:

http://www.asos.com/
A UK online site offering a great range of clothing, shoes, bags, accessories, makeup, etc. You can  find some cheap deals especially when they have sales, however they do offer the higher end brands. Decent shipping times, packages come on time and they charge a flat shipping rate, great for those buying a lot. Overall, a great place to shop, however their prices have increased and in my opinion some of their styles lack in quality.

www.shopbop.com    
An American site offering the higher end American brands in clothing, bags, shoes and accessories. A great site for those who don't want to pay for shipping costs ($10 flat rate for purchases under $100, free over $100). They have awesome sales and shipping times. It literally took 3 days from the time of purchase, to the package being at the front of my doorstep. However the downside is that they don't stock enough of some products.

www.yesstyle.com
An Asian retailer site selling a great range of clothing, shoes, bags, accessories and makeup. There are so many pages of clothes,shoes, bags, etc in different colours and styles. Their shipping rates a good (free if >$150), however their shipping times can take a while, since they have to purchase it from a manufacturer. There are some great deals, although in my opinion, there are some items which are overpriced considering its quality.

www.revovleclothing.com
An American site offering affordable and higher end American brands. They have a decent range of clothing, shoes, etc. Great shipping rates ($10 flat rate for purchases under $100, free over $100) and delivery times. Overall, it's a great site to shop as they always have discount codes and great deals. But the downside is their limited range of handbags.

http://www.strawberrynet.com/main.aspx
A popular makeup, skincare and hair products site. Excellent prices, free shipping, discounts and they're the real thing!! One of my favourite makeup sites, a must for makeup lovers. However, they don't stock all the products I was after. Overall, excellent site!!

www.yesasia.com
An Asian retailer selling CDs, DVDs, etc. Founder of the yesstyle.com site, a great site if you want to purchase cheap DVDs and CDs and of course Asian entertainment. Okay shipping times, took a while for my package to arrive but they do have good shipping rates (free >$39).

These are just the main sites which I usually browse in. Hope this helps :)

yesstyle.com purchase and review

I have to sadly admit, I have an online shopping obsession. However, this obsession has only been recent since the $AUD is strong and occasionally on par with the $US. Why not utilise its benefits. 

This is the second time I have purchased something from yesstyle, an Asian online retailer selling women's and men's clothing, bags, beauty, etc. I wasn't entirely satisfied with my first purchase, one of the items were cancelled and the other did not fit. However, that did not stop me from my second purchase since yesstyle does have decent service, shipping rates and times.

I purchased a leather handbag for casual use since I was in need of a new handbag plus I was forever eyeing this bag. And what can I say, when I excitedly opened my long awaited package, I'm in love!! I love how it has three compartments, its shape (sorta reminds me of the Mulberry Edie Bag), an adjustable shoulder strap,  the unique golden rustic colour and the feel of the soft leather. The bag comes in a range colours, which I like about Korean handbag manufacturers. Black and brown bags can be overly bland. Unfortunately, there is only one bad point, the bag came with a funky smell when I opened the box and I cannot eliminate it. But other than that, I am very satisfied with my purchase. Now, it's time to use the bag!!  

http://www.yesstyle.com/en/ashton-genuine-leather-shoulder-bag-black-one-size/info.html/pid.1023857821

The bag originally sells at $155, pretty decent for a genuine leather bag. But luckily, it's 10% off (if only I waited for a bit, I love a bargain/sale).

K.Will and Sistar’s Hyorin – Whenever you call

A beautiful rendition of Mariah Carey and Brian McKnight’s Whenever you call. One of the best duets I’ve seen in Kpop. A must watch for Kpop lovers!!

Sistar’s Hyorin has such a beautiful voice and I think one of the best in Kpop’s overcrowded idol industry.

Welcome

My venting space :)
Also sharing my thoughts and purchases.
This blogging site seems so much easier than wordpress.
Enjoy

p.s. please excuse my incompetent English