K-Pop Appeciation Thread

[Cat]

I love her with dark hair. I think the first time I ever encountered CL was thanks to you, and you posted a MV where for the purpose of that vid, she had colored her hair dark brown. Even though blonde is her signature and suits her so well (in a Marilyn Monroe kind of way), I have a soft spot for the dark and wouldn't mind seeing her rock it for a while. Kind of like I wish Gwen Stefani would try out black hair again.

Cheap, I'm sorry for not having come on here last week but I was tied up with doctor's visits and everything kind of snowballed from there. I'm fine btw but I was super-pressed at the time.

YES, I heard about SNSD kicking Jessica. Who to believe? Evil SM Entertainment with all the journalists in its pocket? Or Jessica who has wanted out for some time and is now wrapped up in her fashion career and millionaire beau Tyler Kwon? Perhaps SM and J are both at fault here. Anyway, it is always a shame to see somebody leave, even though I don't really follow Girls Generation. I tried watching that Korean reality show following Jessica and her sister Krystal [who is in f(x)], but after two episodes I gave up. They are not very outgoing personalities. There was lots of footage of them napping together and while I totally feel ya, Idols, in catching up on your beauty sleep, Must See TV this ain't. By contrast, EXO Showtime looked like an episode of How to Get Away With Murder.

Speaking of my favourite group, now that Jessica has up and quit/got fired, the rumor mill is in overdrive about... Lu Han possibly up and quitting EXO! He was not at SMTown Tokyo with the rest of EXO, and Chinese fans are saying that he wants to buy out of his contract because he is so ill with migraines etc. While I could totally see SM giving Lu Han a health hiatus until well into next year, I don't like to think that another Chinaline member might be leaving. And Lu Han seems a pretty decent guy and popular amongst the other members. Ironically, EXO didn't look all that shell-shocked or devastated at this Tokyo concert so I have to wonder how true these rumors are.

Meanwhile, people are suggesting that 2PM did not do so well with Go Crazy and I'm like, wut? I loved that song so much! Well, if they are in Japan now, hopefully they are killing it over there and making a mint.

I have yet to listen to BtoB but I want to! Soon.

OK -- I really like the Beast teaser! I like that it is simple and mysterious and with just one musical hook which actually sounds pretty decent. One more week to go!

Yoseob is so cute. I still remember that gif you posted back in the summer of Yoseob bopping to the end credits of a music show Beast were on. Dongwoon looked at him like wtf, but he just kept bopping and singing to camera.

ETA: I almost forgot to post this other scandal which has the Korean Twitterverse up in arms!

http://www.asianjunkie.com/2014/10/g-dragon-posted-a-molly-pic-isnt-the-smartest-dude-in-the-world/

http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/14268077.html

G-D, if you are hardcore into drugs (and apparently YG has the rep of being the "druggy" agency ), just... don't post about it on IG because the SK police force don't play.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Cat

[Cheap21]

Hope you're okay Cat. Good to see you back around here

GD/BIGBANG

Maybe its about a girl named Molly? LOL. Kind of dumb considering his drug scandal from a few years back

Speaking of him, he performed with 3 other members of BB at the Asia Games 2014. As already revealed Seungri couldnt join them . They sang Hangs Up, Bad Boy and Fantastic Baby. They really need to get some new songs. Its been 2 and a half years. Come on already

Girls Generation

I wasnt a fan so as an outsider, when you have a group that large, can you even notice when one member leaves? LMAO. I mean there's still 8 other girls. I know one might point to EXO, but I think thats different as they did operate as two subunits so going from 6 to 5 is more noticeable than 9 to 8. Just sayin! Sucks for her fans though

EXO

So sad if true. I hope not. I hope the label is more accommodating to the boys so a repeat of Kris doesnt happen

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cheap21

[Cat]

Thanks Cheap! Sometimes health stuff get in the way of the regularly-scheduled routine. But hopefully I can post a little more frequently now.

My feeling is that Big Bang do not want to do any new material, nor do they want to do any promotion for that new material. They just want to do their own thing which, individually, is quite different and far-ranging. Plus one of them is laid up in hospital!

And yet neither they nor YG dare disband the group because they need to ride on BigBang's coattails to sell their individual projects. I also think G-D is really into his drugs and not interested in being a wage slave anymore.

Beast comeback pics:

http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/14297206.html#comments#comments

Dongwoonie stole Whatshisname's hat!

For a moment there, I thought Hyunseung was giving the finger.

No word -- one way or another -- from either SM or Lu Han. This is starting to make me antsy.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cat

[Cheap21]

That makes me sad about BIGBANG. I hope its not true and they actually make good on actually pushing out a new album

Speaking of which, more bad press from them. Seungri is being investigated for his car accident last month. Apparently he was at fault as he was speeding: http://www.kdramastars.com/articles/43119/20141007/police-say-that-seungri-was-speeding.htm

The group will be releasing a Best of CD/DVD

http://bigbangupdates.com/2014/10/best-big-bang-2006-2014-release-info.html

BEAST

That actually looks like their last concept! I had to do a double take to see if they weren't recycled pics. LOL...I love it though. Cant wait

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They also just released a preview teaser of a new Japanese song

Edited October 8, 2014 by Cheap21

[Cat]

It does look a lot like Beast's previous concept! I think it is the same sepia tones as their old pictures when they were in that junkyard wearing wide-brim hats, shorts and opera blouses. And the sandy/gritty background. The clothes here suit them better personality-wise though (check out Yoseob the dandy with his sharp slacks, lol), although that damn hat made a return and even changed heads a few times. Like, the hat suits Hyunseung but not so much Dongwoon.

That's a cute song for the Japanese market. Wow, Japan really loves Beast, 2PM and SHINee it seems. These three groups are always releasing Japanese tracks or mini-albums.

I hope I am wrong about BigBang too. Maybe they just need more time. After all, it took a long time for Taeyang to release Rise, and that was a mini. Quality over quantity!

BTW Cheap, is it safe to check out GH right now? Judging by your avatar/sig, Sam and Patrick look hot (though I could have told GH that years ago. Both actors always had a lot of chemistry around each other).

[Cheap21]

Sam and Patrick are hot but GH is a HOT mess. I wouldn't recommend it and I wonder why I still bother. Sam and Patrick are the only thing keeping me interested. Everything else is just stupid and makes little sense

[Cat]

Well, it's official. Lu Han is gone. And not in the "amicable parting/health reasons" way that I had hoped. He ended up filing a contract dissolution lawsuit and is being repped by Kris's lawyer. I guess SM played hardball and wanted him to pay out $$$$ to be let out of his contract.

http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/14314696.html

SM's statement:

http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/14315507.html

It would seem he let the other guys know in advance, because Lay posted an understanding message on Weibo:

http://exochocolate.livejournal.com/923689.html#comments

Pressed fans are saying this will kill EXO off completely, I'm hoping that's not true because I really love them. They just have to merge into one group now IMO.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Cat

[YRBB]

Fabulous!

Really digging the atmosphere/look/lighting of these pics.

What's been going on with Seungri? Missing a lot, I have to catch up.

[Cat]

Seungri was in a car accident where the car he was driving flipped over. It was the middle of the night but police say he wasn't drunk, so it was probably tiredness or he was just speeding. He actually walked away from the scene and they thought he had minor injuries, but more recently he has had to go back into hospital with a high fever. They say he is ok, so hopefully this is just part of his recuperation.

Here is a quick article about some of this:

http://www.soompi.com/2014/10/06/bigbangs-seungri-summoned-as-a-suspect-for-car-accident/

Edited October 11, 2014 by Cat

[Cheap21]

Wow. Ive been away from the internet the last few days so Ive missed alot. So sad to see it go down the way of Kris. Sad that its another M member bc those rumors about them being treated worse are likely true.

I dont think this will kill off EXO, but they will need to go away for a bit and rework what the group is. They need to kill being two subunits and just work as one big group.

[YRBB]

Thanks! A sad situation but at least he seems to be OK.

[Cat]

Yes, sometimes your health really is the most important thing, and he seems to be ok for now.

Cheap, even though you are steering clear of Super Juniors for now (and since I am a little sad about EXO losing Lu Han), thought you might want to see these shots of Siwon surfing. Yes, he surfs.

[Cat]

Beast in full prep for their comeback. Junhyung updates his IG with Yoseob and Dongwoon. He also added an audio teaser of what's coming up (in the link):

http://onehallyu.com/index.php?/topic/109263-junhyung-updates-fans-in-the-middle-of-beast-comeback-practice-with-dongwoon-yoseob/

[Cheap21]

Man seems like a depressing time for K-Pop. There's Seungri's health and potential legal troubles and of course BigBang still releasing no new music. 2PM have stopped promoting their album. EXO continues to lose members. BTOB came back with a whimper. I guess there is at least Beast to look forward too.

Thanks. He most definitely is a beautiful man

They are the one bright spot in a dark time.

Thinking of EXO, once they get their ish together and assuming no one else bails, they should title their comeback album as EXO-X. The "X" could literally represent the 10 remaining members going forward as well as a dissolution of EXO-K and EXO-M as they promote as just group

[Cat]

It is sad but I am going to support EXO anyway. I mean, if D.O. or Kai ever left, I'd probably have my faith in the group severely tested, as one is the Voice of EXO and the other is the Face and Lead Dancer. But I hope they continue making beautiful music together and start promoting as one group. Right now, they seem to be promoting this EXO-L business (which is tied up with their new website or something) but I think EXO-X sounds better. X being the roman numeral for 10 (v smart Cheap) although some negative nellie might say X = to cut.

I know, what happened this fall? It's like everything went into meltdown (including my workload. Including the world economy. Including Ebola! etc). I think part of it is the K Pop fans, both in Korea and around the world, went back to school/work in September. In summer, even though I was working, I was more receptive to new music and keeping up with everything. The problem is, while I was more receptive, a lot of my favourite groups didn't have new stuff going on, or they were on summer concert tours in Japan. That's why Taemin's single did so well -- everybody was so excited that something new was coming out from SM.

K Pop is going to have to rethink that scheduling if they want to keep their newer and younger fans. Like the 2PM single should have been released in June/July. It SCREAMED crazy summer jam. Instead, it came out in September and everybody was already looking ahead to fall. Don't know what happened with BtoB but I suspect a crowded September market meant that they were left behind, too. Meanwhile, SM continues to play hardball with its talent and consequently 5 are already out the door within the space of 6 months. That is crazy and SM need to get it together, they have already lost millions off the value of their shares, and they need that to access financing and pay for the songwriters, producers, choreographers, plastic surgeons, stylists, managers and talent!

On the upside, Beast are keeping my hopes alive. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd *drumnroll please*

CL IS GOING TO THE US AND DROPPING SOME TRACKS IN ENGLISH.

http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/14356045.html

http://onehallyu.com/index.php?/topic/109626-cl-to-debut-as-a-solo-act-in-the-us-next-spring/

It has just been announced that CL will be trying her hand at the American crossover.

According to entertainment industry executives, the 2NE1 leader will be releasing a single in the United States in the Spring of 2015.

Currently, CL's status is that she has already finished many of the songs that she will be taking stateside, but it has been revealed that she will be debuting with a single release.

It has also been reported that CL has signed on Scooter Braun -- famous manager of PSY, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and more -- to be her manager in the United States.

YG Entertainmnet has yet to make a statement on these reports, but you can rest assured that moonROK will keep you updated as this story breaks.

Source: Star News

UPDATE: YG Entertainment has just confirmed that CL will indeed be releasing a single in the United States. A YG representative has just stated, "The plan is to release a single album in the spring of next year." The YG representative went on to confirm that CL will be joining forces with superstar manager Scooter Braun, and that all of the tracks for the American debut are already prepared.

Read more at Omona They Didnt: http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/14356045.html#ixzz3GIkDtUt8