Inspirational Reality

TVXQ "Keep Your Head Down" Album Review

2012-01-23T00:28:00.002Z

Who would have believed that the Keep Your Head Down album by TVXQ has already been out for a full year?

It was thanks to TVXQ for getting me into K-pop actually, so yes, I was a Cassie first before anything else and still regard TVXQ as my favourite group, whether they are a 5 or a 2. Naturally, like every other Cassie on the planet, when I heard the news of their split I was also left heartbroken...I knew my chances of seeing them live was slim anyway but now I wouldn't be able to follow them and get excited with new releases. "Bummed" doesn't quite describe it.

Fast forward a few years and - lo and behold - what is this? The remaining members of TVXQ - screaming champion Changmin and dance expert Yunho - decided to still go ahead! Of course it was sad that it wasn't all 5 members, but I personally was quite grateful that they wanted to keep the name alive and followed their footsteps when their new releases came. My dream finally came true and actually, I saw them both live last year at the SMTown Paris concert. With the growing popularity of K-pop in the UK, who knows? Maybe I could even see them in my home country soon!

So, it seems fitting that I review their latest album "Keep Your Head Down" shortly after their year's anniversary. To read my review, just carry on reading!

The original album was released on January 5th 2011 but the edition I have (the repackaged album) was released March 16th 2011, so the repackaged album is the one I'm reviewing.

So what's the difference? The repackaged album is like the "Before U Go" special edition. It has the Before U Go monologue, the song itself, and it also ends with a Before U Go instrumental, plus it has an extra track which features Seohyun from Girls' Generation. The standard edition has none of these songs.

In my review I will go through all the songs in the track listing and give you my opinion on them.

1. Before U Go (Monologue)

I absolutely love the song "Before U Go", so was really excited to see I basically had the Before U Go special edition album. Almost straight away when you hit play, a speaking voice is heard with the instrumental to the song playing in the background. The opening line is "TVXQ..." and then something that sounds like "We gonna tell about this". The person is quite obviously a Korean speaking English so has a bit of an accent, which is to be expected, but in comparison to the seriousness of the melody, it's kinda funny and out of place. Needless to say, when I first heard it my reaction was "...what the hell." But that's not all. The person then continues to talk in Korean for a full one minute and 13 seconds. Now, I know what you're thinking: "why do you find this so weird? It's no different than listening to a foreign song!" and you're right. I just wasn't expecting to hear a lot of talking on an album, especially on the first track. And songs are a bit different; with the emotion in the voices, the effects used and the melody of the tune, you can pretty much tell what the song is about. But what's this monologue about? Is it related to the song? Is it just an introduction? I have absolutely no idea, which is fine as it's a Korean album aimed at a predominantly Korean audience, so I can't exactly dock them marks for it. But still, as a foreigner, this track tends to sort of go over my head.

But then after one minute 13 seconds, TVXQ leader Yunho comes in and...starts talking a bit more. I was like "Yes! A voice I recognise!" and then the best thing happened...the talking stopped and Changmin started singing. And actually, it wasn't to the tune of the Before U Go we know, they had changed it a bit so it was like a whole new version of the song despite the instrumental being the same. As soon as this happened, I immediately wished they had brought out another version of the same song because, despite the instrumental being same, the tune they sing it to is completely different and I love it. It's just such a shame that the song itself doesn't last very long, but it's the song at the end that completely saves this track for me. If it wasn't for Yunho and Changmin singing (a whole 35 seconds out of a 2 minute 22 second track) I would automatically skip this everytime I listened to this album. If you don't understand what I mean, please search it. Go through the "what the hell?" phrase and blend right into "this is beautiful" phrase just like I did, and you'll see.

--2.5/5

2. Before U Go

Yep, this is the real song now. The tune, the melody, the voices, the lyrics...well, most of it anyway. This version does differ to the song in the dance MV which means no dance break. Heck, it even differs to the other MV (you know the one, the really epic MV that actually has a storyline) because although the storyline MV has the version of the song that's closest to the version on this album, there's a lyric in the chorus that makes all 3 versions of the song unique. Three versions of one song! Mental. Well, four if you count the 35 second clip in the monologue (see above). What I'm trying to say is, is that the version on the repackaged album (because the song Before U Go isn't even on the standard OR special edition albums) is not the version you hear in both MVs. You've probably read this and thought "WHOA. I'm confused!" so to make it easier, I'm going to break it down for you.

Version 1: Before U Go on the repackaged album

Version 2, the storyline MV: Has a different lyric in the chorus. Everything else is the same as the repackaged album version.

Version 3, the dance MV: Different intro, backing singers are more involved, same lyrics as the storyline MV version plus has the dance break. Also has a different ending to both versions above.

So what's my favourite version? It has to be the dance MV version. Don't get me wrong, I do still love the album version because I find the slow R&B tune and the melody heartbreakingly meaningful and beautiful, but there are elements - small elements, like the way the song starts and the way the backing singers go "hoo hoo hoo" after the first verse in the dance MV version, not to mention the dance break and the climatic ending - that I miss in the album version. And my brain still spazzes everytime it hears that new/different lyric in the chorus. Still, it's nice to have a change now and then so I don't always skip it, depending on which version I'm in the mood for. But really, it's the tune, the melody, the voices and the emotion that sells it to me everytime. It has elements of sadness and sorrow, regret, heartbreak, but also love and passion (especially if you've seen the dance MV. Hello thrusts!) it has so much emotion in it that, regardless of what version you're listening to, you really can't help but fall helplessly in love everytime.

--4.5/5

3. Keep Your Head Down

Right on! The first and lead single from this album. Their comeback single after that horrid hiatus! And man, they came back with a bang. Can't you just feel the energy and suspense when those first few notes blast through your speakers? "Keep your head down...Yunho time!" it's just epic from the word go. Oh, and also "You know what time it is? This is...return of the King!" I love it. Before their hiatus and split, TVXQ were enormous, leaders of the Hallyu wave plus they're able to boast about having the biggest fanclub in the world. "Return of the King" is just so fitting. If JYJ were able to create a new group, start a new singing career and be all "Ayy girl, we got a song that has Kanye West in it! Wanna see me roll down mah sexeh window?" (Thank you Eat Your Kimchi for this epic line.) then why shouldn't TVXQ explode back onto the scene with the same confidence and hard hitting attitude that they've always had? They're like "Yeah, there might only be two of us, but we're not gonna let that bring us down. We're not gonna let our fans down. We're coming back and we're coming back with a vengeance!" and come back with a vengeance they did.

The song is quite different to their older stuff - the only comparison I can make is "Rising Sun" with it's mindboggling amount of different musical elements - because it sounds a lot more mature. More angry, hard hitting complete with rapping, rough vocals and screaming from the once so innocent Changmin, not to mention the constant booms of drums in the background which really gives it that military, army feel. The song wouldn't be complete without those echoed cries of "wae" in the background, which sound haunting and seems reminiscent (not that I've had first hand experience) of an empty battle field where someone's just shouting "wae?" to empty space. I find the song - the chorus in particular - really quite war like. It's definitely an impressionable comeback single whether you like it or not, but for me, despite my "Whooaaa, what is this and what are those nasty tribunal fur suits they're wearing in the video?!" reaction, it grew on me very quickly and stuck to me like a leech. It's epic. The Kings have, indeed, returned.

--5/5

4. Maximum

Maximum is a song that often shared the stage with "Keep Your Head Down" during TVXQ's live TV performances and could be mistaken as an official single, except there is no MV for it (yet there's 2 MV's for Before U Go, 3 versions of the song plus a re-released album pretty much dedicated to that song despite the fact that it wasn't on the original album? Okay SM, you make complete sense...) I think it fits nicely with KYHD as it still has those strong, aggressive beats that are similar to the lead single. As a song that boasts about wanting to be the best that they can be, the music fits well with the theme as the song as it really pumps you up, makes you feel energised and raring to go. And have you seen the dance practice video to this song? There's only one word for that dance routine and it's called "epic".

The other good thing about this song is that, when they were a 5, Yunho was pretty much just the rapper and the main dancer, with Changmin basically just doing the high screams, but this song finally gets to showcase that there's more to them than just those talents. Yes, maybe Yunho did have the weaker voice between the 5 of them, but that doesn't mean to say he can't sing and this song proves it. Likewise with Changmin, he's not just a screamer. Both artists have a whole verse to themselves so you're able to hear their voices clearly and really hear what they can do. And while I know that as they're now a duet they're more inclined to get an even amount of lines now, the fact is that as a song that was performed live on numerous occasions on Korean TV, more people have been exposed to their vocal talent rather than just the diehard Cassies who have already heard Yunho and Changmin showcase their voices on previous solo songs on past albums.

-- 4/5

5. How Can I

A change of pace; a nice slow ballad after those two hardcore songs! And not an R'N'B ballad like Before U Go, but just a nice, gentle slow song with nice, gentle vocals, complete with a simple piano tune, soft drums and strings in the background. The music in the background sounds like it belongs on an OST as it sounds rather orchestrated (I'm not very musically inclined when it comes to instruments so bear with me!) It's a song I tend to listen to when I'm away in daydream land and it becomes a background song. Again, back to the OST - it really is one of those songs that would go well in a movie where a character is in deep thought and making a big decision, and the song starts playing to reflect the moment. At least, that's how I see it anyway - the general public can see it in any way they want and obviously people might disagree with it, but that's just my view. It's not my favourite song on the album, and...in case you haven't already noticed, there only tends to be one word to describe this song and it's "nice".

--3/5

6. Crazy

"It's yours!" blasts through the speakers the moment this song plays in perfect English, quite a nice change from the Konglish accent that can be heard in the first track! But this English speaking voice is neither from Yunho or Changmin's lips; in fact, a man named Jay from another SM Entertainment duet group called TRAX lays down some vocals on this song (the perfect English stems from the fact that he grew up in California, US).

I actually really quite like this song. It's a mixture of R'N'B with it's smoothness but it's also blended with a bit of pop, due to it's boppy beats that makes you want to bop along with it. It's a hard song to describe; it's kind of both mellow with a bit of funkiness attached to it, but it's a song that you can't help but sway your body to and it's definitely got "sing along song" slapped on it. Well, I'd sing along if I could sing Korean, but the English parts I definitely can't help myself with. Yunho and Changmin's vocals add a playful, boyish nature to the song whereas Jay definitely has the low, manly voice which adds a nice flavour of sexiness to it. Not too much, but during his rap the tone of his voice is definitely one to make you melt. But I suppose it depends on the age of the listener; a 15 year old might not find it appealing but as a young lady of 22, I happen to find his voice rather attractive and sexy to listen to which adds a slightly naughty element to the otherwise playful, boyish song with a touch of cheekiness. The music also contains a lot of synthesizers and electronic effects which is rather reminiscent of the 90's, plus it also includes a bit of - what I can only describe as - beat boxing from Yunho while Changmin's busy serenading the lyrics "my baby...so crazy.." So, if you're a 90's kid like me, you'll probably like the song!

--3.5/5

7. Honey Funny Bunny

I really can't help but like this song, despite the odd weird bits. It's definitely an odd title track and not exactly erm, manly, considering it's Yunho's solo song on the album. However with that aside, when I first heard it I didn't really know what to think of it. It's not the kind of song I pictured Yunho to have, and - what do you know - it actually features NO rapping whatsoever! Which is great, because it really just concentrated on the vocals and he even challenges himself with some beautiful high notes. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this song once I got passed some of the weirdness.

So, what are some of these weird things I keep mentioning? Well, the one thing grates me the most about this song is that, the last note at the end of the chorus is completely computerised, and it just sounds like something from a Mario game. Honestly, I'm not joking. Go search for it so you can hear it for yourself, it sounds like some sort of "level up" noise! I honestly cannot describe it any better, so needless to say when I first heard that I thought "what the hell?" and there are times when the music sounds over produced and you can't quite hear the quieter vocals at certain moments of the song, but maybe that's me being picky.

The song is a mixture of cute and sexy. It's cute in the way Yunho sings "Honey...funny...bunny..." but it's also sexy in some parts. It just sounds like such a come on, and after reading the translated lyrics...well...wow. He's definitely frustrated...and not in the angry way.

I'll leave this review right here...

--3.75/5

8. Rumour

I do like this song, but in all honesty I find it rather similar to "Crazy" in the sense that it's that kind of easy going, mellow-yet-poppy song that gets you bopping along and singing the lyrics. I know all of my reviews have been really long so far, but fear this one is going to be quite short. The only difference really between the two is that it doesn't feature Jay from Trax, and this one has more of a "smooth" factor to it. To (re)read my review on Crazy, just look above!

--3/5

9. Confession

Yunho's had his solo, but now it's "Max time!" The song starts off with just a piano which immediately tells you this is going to be a ballad, and a ballad that Changmin co-wrote I might add! What's really nice about this track is Changmin's soothing vocals (no screaming here) and the use of real instruments. The past few tracks have been full of computerised effects so pianos and strings were very welcome to my ears. Another thing that I like this song is the simplicity of the melody and instruments used as well; there's no over production, no "noise", just pure music.

The only thing about ballads is that, although I like them, I do have to be in the mood for them. Likewise with the song "How Can I", the only word I can conjure up to describe this song is "nice". Not terrible, but not overwhelmingly brilliant either. It doesn't take me to places or fill me up with emotion like "Before U Go" does, but that may just be me. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that undoubtedly love this song, and I do like it, just not a lover. But good effort to Changmin for getting stuck in with the writing though - I suck at songwriting and kudos to him!

--3/5

10. Our Game

This is one of my favourite tracks. Not a ballad, not one of those easy-going boppy tunes, but one of those songs with a solid low beat and a good bass. Did you miss some rapping? Well you're in luck because this song welcomes back Yunho's famous talent of rapping. It's got a hip hop vibe but nothing too hardcore, but it's one you can tap your foot and nod your head to. I also feel like this song has an underlying suspense which I think is helped by the repetitive hard beats, and after reading the translated lyrics it's easy to see why they've given the song the effects it has. With lyrics like "The enemy tempts me every day- wants me to crumble down but you can't stop me- My fans are like a sunflower looking at the sun" , "Stop right there- attention! You're a fake winner who imitates me. The elegance of my footsteps are different. Don't laugh- you still can't beat me" and "You're like a blade of a knife, why? (so sharp) You endlessly stab but my song is a shield that cannot be pierced" (many thanks to this website for their translated lyrics) it's definitely a song that evokes a lot of emotion, reminiscent of "Keep Your Head Down" and "Maximum".

In comparison to those two songs though, which are much more aggressive, hard hitting and attacking, this song seems like water in a saucepan that's simmering under the surface waiting to just boil. There's such tension and suspense, like a snake waiting for the perfect opportune moment to attack it's prey. I know you're probably thinking that's really quite over dramatic, but I think it makes sense once you've heard it for yourself.

--4/5

11. She

Another one of my favourites. I absolutely adore this song. It does kind of sound like a typical boyband ballad with the clicks, but it has a beautiful piano and violin tune as well. What I like about this track is that it has a nice mixture of real instruments vs computerised effects, so it still has that modernised ballad feel that still has a beat but is still soothing at the same time. Not only that, along with Before U Go, it's sung with such emotion and love. When the chorus comes it really lifts you up and it just makes me feel really happy. There's nothing crazy about it, there's no over production, just beautiful music, beautiful melody pieced with beautiful voices. It is quite simply a love song, but one that I think is done so well.

--5/5

12. Athena (Athena OST)

Probably the most different from all the above songs and one I think most vocally challenging. This is another song that I love, and was the first song I heard when TVXQ announced they were making a comeback. It's also the theme tune and on the OST for a Korean drama that goes by the same name, which features Choi Siwon from Super Junior.

Anyway, straight away your ears are bashed by what I think is mixed with an orchestra, computerised effects and an electric guitar. The speed the music's going at really builds up the suspense which is all of a sudden dropped to a quieter, slower paced level which is - in a way - reminiscent of "Our Game" in terms of that the hype has already been built up and it's continuing to rise by keeping you waiting for that crescendo moment. As the drama features a lot of action and thriller scenes, it's only fitting that they have a theme song that can keep up, emphasise and express the genre of the drama that it's promoting, and this song does it so well. The verses build up so beautifully it makes your heart rise, and the chorus is just an explosion. Powerful long notes with the drums in the background just give a sense of determination and desperation and you feel so lost in the music, but in a totally good way. When I heard the song for the first time, I felt so immersed and so involved. It doesn't matter that I don't know what the lyrics mean in English, the music lifts me and let's me run away with it and the vocals help carry me. I know that probably sounds insane and you're more than likely thinking I've lost the plot, but that's really what this song does to me, and hopefully you'll understand where I'm coming from if you listen to the song yourself.

A/N: The song features an awesome Changmin style scream towards the end.

--4.5/5

13. Journey (feat. Seohyun from Girls' Generation)

This song starts off with an American woman giving instructions when you're about to land after a flight and you can hear airplane noises in the background. At first I thought it was kind of odd then thought actually, I suppose it does fit with the title of the song. The song then starts off with Yunho singing low and softly, with just a few trickles of music in the background which eventually builds and creates more of a beat. So on first impression I did honestly think "oh, another ballad?" but as the song continued and the chorus came into play, the music and tune lifted to reveal a song that sounded more happy and uplifting. I would say it's similar to "Crazy" and "Rumour", but this is much more of a pop sound and kind of like an evening summer tune. One you'd sing to with friends round a camp fire or something, or perhaps a song you'd use in a home movie to celebrate some good memories.

Eventually after a short instrumental piece, Seohyun comes in with her sweet, soothing pretty voice. It's quite a nice break actually to hear the voice of a woman, as all we've heard is pure testosterone so far so to hear Seohyun sing gives this song a different dimension and element than all the other ones I've reviewed, and it's just quite pleasant to hear the contrast between this song and the rest of the album.

It's not an outstanding song but by no means awful. If anything, what makes this song work is the fact that it's different to everything else we've heard and that it's towards the end, so it's not too out of place on the album.

I can actually imagine this song being the ending song of a concert, because like it does on the album, it's the kind of song that sort of sums everything up. From beginning to end, this album has made your heart feel like it's been thrown against the wall with Before U Go, it's made you feel angry and on top of the world with Keep Your Head Down and Maximum, it's made you want to party, it's made you fall in love again, it's made you want to cry, it's made you feel lost in the music and then there's this song, which is just happy and sort of puts you back in your balanced place. And that's what the ending song at a concert should do; it should piece you back together and make you feel happy after all the highs and emotions you would have felt during those hours watching an artist perform. Again, it's not the best song ever, but for me, it does the job.

-- 3/5

14. Before U Go Monologue Part 2

Here we are, at the end of the album! We made it! And before you groan and think "oh my God, not another Before U Go confusion!" you honestly do not need to be confused by this. It is just music with no vocals whatsoever. By no means is it a sing along instrumental to the actual song, but it uses the same instruments the song uses and are played in a way that is similar, so you recognise that it's linked with that song.

Now, despite that it's just music, I absolutely adore it. After the ride of this album with it's variety of music genre, it's so nice to be greeted with slow, soft and mellow music to just zone you out and clear your head. Again, mixed with computerised effects and real instruments (including an electric guitar), it has that modern ballad/R'n'B feel with a hint of Blues. Kind of. It's a bit hard to describe! But I really love listening to it and hope you appreciate it as much as I do.

--4.5/5

Overall score for the whole album as a KPop Fan: 4/5

Now for the part where we review how well the songs would do in the UK...

Out of the whole album, Keep Your Head Down is quite likely to do well here. With it's strong beats, powerful vocals and edgy raps with an overall rock sound, it's the right blend of different but interesting that would make it appeal to a wide audience in the UK. It's less likely to do well with the younger teen generation, and more likely to do well with the more mature music listeners, because edgy military sounding rock doesn't appeal to the Justin Bieber entranced minds of young teens. (My dad, who is a lover of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and all that kind of rock'n'roll music, actually quite likes Keep Your Head Down! Point proven.)

Nevertheless, the song may well be able to reach the charts. The reason for it being more appealing to a UK audience despite it's clear lack of a Western sound is it's maturity. A lot of people who are not fans of K-pop usually use the word 'cheesy' to describe it when they first hear the poppy bright music, but Keep Your Head Down is strong, angry and out to attack, and there's nothing us Brits like better than a bit of angst. It's realistic, it's not overly happy or ridiculously sad, yet there's still a strong poignant emotion to it, and that makes it attractive.

Not to mention the sprinklings of English which are always fun to sing along to, who can resist imitating the low pitched 'Keep your head down'? Although, to appeal to a greater audience here, the song would of course have to be translated to English, which could make for more fun parts to sing along to. Whilst Yunho and Changmin's English isn't the best, if they were to debut globally, there's no doubt that like for their debut in Japan, they'd study hard to have the best English possible.

Another song that has the potential to do well is "Before U Go" I think, simply because of the R'n'B feel the song holds, and modernised ballads are really the way to go in the UK charts, unless you're special like Adele or something. But with Before U Go, what I find more attractive in this slow R'n'B ballad than in other English/American counterparts is the level of emotion and the use of backing singers to really emphasise the amount the song really holds. Not only that, it really brings some amazing untouched, raw vocals as well which also showcases the talent that TVXQ have. As trained A Capella singers, they need not rely on distorted vocal effects to get them by in the music industry, and this song really shows that off.

As for the rest of the songs, I'm not so sure they have the potential to do as well as the songs listed above. The thing with TVXQ, is that although they touch on pop, r'n'b, hip hop, ballads and such, there's still something quite contemporary about them and I'm not sure what it is, but for some reason I can't help but feel that the music they produce really sets them apart from other singers, both Korean and English. This is both an advantage and disadvantage; the fact that they are so diverse makes them more untouchable because whatever they come out with is a surprise and more often than not, it's done well and done with complete precision. However, it's also a disadvantage because as they stand alone, this means they also risk not being able to mould in with current trends which can, sadly, leave them forgotten about (this is more about England than South Korea) and give them a very short career. But would I want them to change their musical style just to fit in with the UK music scene? Absolutely not. If I wanted them to sound more generic, I wouldn't be listening to KPop in the first place and it's their uniqueness that made me fall in love with them in the first place, and I hope that my review has helped bring out some new Cassies!

So, in conclusion, my score for how well they'd do in the UK would be: 2/5

Okay. We've reviewed the songs as a KPop fan, and reviewed them how they'd be perceived in England. What about the packaging?

Before you think "Oh my God, where did you get a signed album from? Did you meet them?!" Er, no. Sadly I did not. However, as I am one of the people that run the London K-pop Dance Workshop and had SBS film one of our classes, they gave me a signed album as a gift. Delighted? Me? There were no words to describe the emotion that filled me as I received this CD.

Now, I have to be honest, I have seen better packaging for a KPop CD. In fact, it is quite similar to the standard CD packaging minus the plastic cover (I assume this hasn't been used for recycling reasons?) but I'm not disappointed with it nonetheless.

Although the colours are very grey and do tend to give off - erm - a boring vibe, it does actually go well with some of the angst, angry and heartbroken emotions of some of the songs on the album. The booklet comes with an array of photos, both black and white and colour, plus it also comes with lyrics. Obviously in Korean, which is barely any help to me but at least it tells you what the English bits are!

Thank you so much for reading my very first review. I hope you have found it somewhat interesting, informative and enjoyable.

KPop Dance Workshop Review - Kpop Hits 2011

2011-12-24T21:38:00.000Z

2011 has been an incredible year for KPop activities. SMTown in Paris, working on the London MBC Auditions, being interviewed by KBS and SBS, starting our own KPop Dance Workshops and hosting a masterclass with an SM Entertainment choreographer as the teacher with coverage by YTN...I just want to say I am thankful to each and every one of you who have made these memories even more precious to me. I've had such a fantastic year (we'll ignore the painful beginning) and I couldn't be happier that I've been surrounded by such lovely people throughout it all - I'm very grateful to have your friendships and I hope that, together, we can do much more next year!

Swiftly moving on from that soppy beginning, we hosted our last KPop Dance Workshop for 2011. The theme for this one was - quite fittingly - KPop Hits of 2011 so we asked our fans on Facebook to choose songs to learn the dances from that were released this year. We decided to choose a staggering 9 songs out of what people had chosen (we usually only teach 3!) and rehearsals began.

It's been terribly busy. I recently started a Christmas temp job so on my "days off" I've been getting the train to London to rehearse the dances with my fellow LoKos. I've barely had any rest and am so happy it's Christmas Day tomorrow! But yes - during the run up to the workshop I literally used up all my time for work or dance rehearsals and it was the same for the other members. We're utterly exhausted, so I hope everyone appreciates and understands how much work we put in to our dance lessons for you guys!

I was so surprised to see so many people turn up to our workshop. Usually we only have between 8-11 people but this time we had an amazing - I think - 23 people! Ranging from 14 to their early 30's. Incredible! Our profile really shot up since we started promoting the Baek Koo Young workshop but I don't think I really expected our normal workshops to become that popular. Thank you so much to everyone who turned up! I couldn't help but be surprised at every member that turned up at the tube station. And on a dark, freezing cold Sunday morning as well! Bloody troopers, I tell ya!!

I also met the lovely girls behind the blog "Korean Class Massive" because they came to review our workshop. To see their blog post on the workshop click HERE, and to read their blog post on us LoKos, click HERE. I assure you it's worth a read!

The dances we taught in order were Super Junior's "Mr. Simple", Rania's "Dr Feel Good", 2NE1's "I Am The Best", Beast's "Fiction", U-Kiss "Neverland", f(x) "Hot Summer", T-ara's "Cry Cry", Girls' Generation "The Boys" and last but not least, Infinite's "Paradise". I taught Mr. Simple and Hot Summer.

After a thorough and much needed warm up (yeah, I know my warm up's are pretty military. And yes Tammy I'm sure you did do the warm up in the common room!! I know your game...) I started to teach Mr. Simple. Hmm - after watching a couple of videos I'm sure I taught the sides wrong. But it's okay guys!! The moves are the same, but if I taught you on the right then you just move to the left, and the left side just move to the right! Simple! Bwara Mr. Simple, Simple...

Yeah. Anyway. All of our students worked really hard through every set. As it was our biggest class yet in such a small room, it was definitely a challenge to teach everyone so we tried to rotate the lines as much as we could so everyone had a chance to see the teachers. It doesn't help when the teachers are small! But if our workshops are going to continue to be over 20 people then we need to find a bigger studio to accommodate everyone. Thanks for your support everyone!

With 9 dances to learn, it was probably our most exhausting workshop yet and as the day got dark very quickly it felt like we were there longer than the time we actually were. But I really hope everyone had fun and I hope to see some of your faces at our future workshops!! When one ends, another one gets planned ... we're already trying to figure out a good date!

Here are some pictures and a video. To view more, please check out Korean Class Massive's blog.

Thanks again everyone! Have a good Christmas and have a brilliant New Year! See you in 2012 ;-)

Caroline and the LoKos xo

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Wonder Girls' "Be My Baby" Contest!

2011-11-30T15:03:00.001Z

For those not in the know, KPop group "Wonder Girls" are holding a dance contest! All you have to do is learn the dance, do a video and send it in! The prize? Oh, only winning a flight + accommodation to Korea for 4 days, no big deal...right?!

Well. I'm part of a UK Kpop dance group called LoKos, and we are the people behind the KPop dance workshops in London plus the SM Entertainment choreographer's workshop event. It's a fantastic prize so we learned the dance and shot the video - we've now sent it in so fingers crossed!

We danced on the rooftop of a hotel late at night - it was just 2degrees and in the clothes we were wearing it's safe to say that we were bloody freezing! Still, we were determined to perform as best as we could in the conditions we had to deal with and we tried to pump each other up.

I would like to thank Gavin for filming our video and for taking the time to actually film it for us, and thank you to Deanna for teaching it to us! And a massive thank you to Tammy for editing it so quickly.

This is our video, I hope you like it! Please share, rate and comment!

If you wish to know more about the contest, click HERE.

The LOKOs.
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SHINee at London Leicester Square Odeon

2011-11-04T23:01:00.001Z

I've been listening to KPop since 2008. My first SHINee song blasted through my ears in 2009 with "Ring Ding Dong". If you told me that in 2011 I'd see them three times in one year, I'd have laughed in your face and probably tell you to go do one.

But, it happened.

First off was the incredibly amazing SMTown concert in Paris on June 11th, and then SHINee at Abbey Road Studios June 19th. In fact, my videos of SHINee at Abbey Road are still growing by the day and so far I have over 75,000 views altogether.

Then...SHINee came to London to perform for the London Korean Film Festival. The news only came about a week before the concert was due to happen so it sent everyone in the UK into a huge frenzy. Such a huge frenzy in fact, that Shawols crashed the Odeon server and was down for hours, making the SHINee concert more popular than ticket sales for Harry Potter, Odeon said.
And why wouldn't it be more popular? With under 900 seats available, this would make one hell of an intimate concert, practically a once in a lifetime opportunity to see them so close. And my God was I astounded that my friends managed to nab us tickets in Row C!!

The concert started at 4:30pm which is like, the best concert time ever. No super late night with problems with public transport!! I was pleased that they'd perform for an hour...but in all honesty that hour flew by far too quickly and barely felt like it was five minutes.

As we entered the Odeon the atmosphere was buzzing with hundreds of Shawols already starting to fangirl. The auditorium was amazing - the stage was so friggin' CLOSE. I felt so lucky to not only be in the same room, but to be so near as well. And for the third time!!

SHINee came on stage to the sound of deafening screams. And who can blame these girls and boys? They've waited a long time for a Korean concert to happen and lo and behold - we finally got one. SHINee are the first Korean popstars to perform in the UK.

They started off with Ring Ding Dong. I think they may have been a bit nervous during the first couple of numbers because their personalities didn't really come out on stage until they performed their solos. I took several videos of the concert - the best ones being their solos because they all stood still (minus Key) and I got tons of beautiful close ups.
My favourite performances were Jonghyun and Taemin. Jonghyun has a gorgeous voice, and that smile and twinkling eyes of his...wow. You can tell he just loves being on stage. And those high notes! Sublime! He hits notes higher than me and I'm a girl...
But Taemin really surprised me. I always just considered him as the dancer of the group and not much of a singer because he never gets many solos. But whoa. Boy can sing and he can sing good. But he's also transitioning between boy and man...he's really starting to grow up and he's becoming less "cute boy next door" and more like "handsome young man."

Here are my videos.

Ring Ding Dong

Onew Solo

Jonghyun Solo

Key Solo

Minho Solo

Taemin Solo

SHINee Interview

"Hello"

Masterclass with SMTown choreographer Baek Koo Young and meeting Eunhyuk

2011-10-31T00:47:00.001Z

The London KPop Dance Workshop and OZ-Partners teamed up to create a very special event in London for KPop fans. We were very lucky to be given the opportunity to host the first KPop Masterclass in the UK with a professional choreographer/back up dancer for one of the biggest agencies in South Korea - SM Entertainment. This agency has artists such as BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, SHINee, Girls' Generation and f(x) under their belt.

Tammy (the founder of the workshop) and I (the lead promoter) only had about 3 weeks to plan this event. First of all payment had to be made for his travel, we had to find a studio big enough and cheap enough and of course we had to promote this event as much as we could. In fact, this whole planning lark was so stressful we only found a decent studio about a week before the event was meant to happen! Everywhere was fully booked!

We chose Husky Studios; a fantastic place with very friendly staff members and has been used by the X Factor and record label giants like Virgin, EMI and many more. The studios has many recording studios and 2 dance studios - thankfully the biggest one was available for the date we wanted it for.

We planned as much as we could and even got ourselves customised TShirts with our logo on so that the students could easily identify who the people in charge were, plus...it's just good to have custom made TShirts!

As I had to meet some of our students at the station, I ran out and actually bumped into Rak - CEO of OZ-Partners - Koo Young himself and his assistant Daniel for the first time. Koo Young oozed coolness and had his cap and shades on, looking like the cool dude that he is. I had to quickly scarper to collect the students and made my way back a.s.a.p.

When I came back the number of students in the studio had grown massively and we had about 30 people. Tammy and I gathered everyone together and introduced ourselves, thanked everyone for coming, welcomed Koo Young and Daniel by giving them a big cheer and after that, I led the warm up. Military style! Hope it got you guys pumped up and raring to go!

Then it was Koo Young's turn. He is honestly one of the sweetest, kindest and loveliest guys I have ever come across. He admitted he was a bit shy and was embarrassed at his English but he really needn't have worried - his English was perfect and practically fluent. He first taught everyone the chorus to Lucifer by SHINee which was a massive surprise, as the first class was meant to be a TVXQ number! At first I was annoyed that the dance had changed without us being consulted but then I was like screw it - I'm going to finally learn Lucifer!! And I then became very excited!!

He's a great teacher with mad dancing skills, but he also has such a funny sense of humour as does Daniel. The both of them kept every one of us giggling our socks off with their funny actions! They are both very down to Earth and approachable - not a single Diva bone in their body - and it was such a privilege and honour to work with them both.

We were lucky enough to have the Korean TV channel YTN come and film this masterclass, so hopefully you should see it on Korean TV soon! They interviewed us LoKo's and everyone dancing and stayed for both sessions.

An hour and 45 minutes later it was lunch time, so everyone got to chill out for an hour and look at all the merchandise OZ-Partners had brought along. There were posters, keyrings, post it's, even socks! It went down a storm and everyone was delighted at the merchandise that they bought. Koo Young went up to people and talked to them which was really nice of him. He could have just sat in the corner eating his Nando's but no - he gave everyone the time of day and was eager to talk to the UK fanbase. Likewise with Daniel - he also proved to be very popular with the students! He met Koo Young at SMTown in Paris and managed to get Koo Young to do 4 workshops in Paris, hence how we managed to get him over to London.
We also had two lovely women who used to work at MBC in Korea, they were even producers of the popular TV show "We Got Married". They live in the UK now and are studying, and they wanted to come to our workshop for research. They both had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the masterclass!

The second set was about to start so I led another warm up, and then Koo Young taught TVXQ's "Before U Go". Koo Young created this dance himself and you can see him in the dance video! (You can also see him in Keep Your Head Down and the Maximum dance practice video).
Again, it was a lot of fun learning the dance (there was a lot of banter about hip thrusts, emotions with your ex's and even the dance routine itself!)

Everyone worked really hard and really sweated it out! In both sessions Koo Young got people to do it in groups and then did the dances himself with Daniel. Videos of the workshop will be uploaded soon!

Sadly the masterclass had to come to an end at some point, and this was where everyone started to take their pictures with Koo Young, Daniel, the LoKo's and the new friends they made!

Koo Young was very impressed with the UK Kpop fanbase - you were all very enthusiastic and responsive, you worked hard and you all welcomed them so warmly too. Koo Young would love to come back to teach you all again - and perhaps some newbies! - and I told him to bring more choreographers with him ;-)

Tammy being interviewed by YTN

Baek Koo Young and Daniel

Second session group!

The LoKo Team with Daniel, Koo Young and Rak

Learning Lucifer

Daniel

Koo Young

After the masterclass we took the MBC ladies, Koo Young and Daniel out for a meal. The atmosphere was fun and friendly, with a lot of laughter going on, getting to know each other and just generally had a good time. As a thank you, the LoKo's gave both Koo Young and Daniel gifts which they were very touched with.

And then, the biggest surprise of them all...Eunhyuk from Super Junior was in London!! I had been out of the loop for ages so had missed Eunhyuk tweeting about London...so him coming to see the LoKo's and Koo Young especially was the cherry on top of a very large cake. Eunhyuk came strolling down the stairs in his grey jumper, his blonde hair styled perfectly and greeted us politely as we bowed and said "hello" in Korean. After a few minutes he came over to talk to us! He was just two seats away from me and tried very hard to speak English, although we did say he could speak to Koo Young in Korean and Koo Young could translate, but Eunhyuk was determined! He asked us how old we were and asked me who my favourite member from Super Junior was (I said him and Ryeowook...and he didn't understand...apparently after all this time I've been pronouncing Ryeowook's name wrong! It's pronounced "lee-oh-woo" apparently!) He was also very surprised at how much we knew about Super Junior and asked what our favourite song was. He was pleasantly surprised when I told him I had their latest album, saw the Mr. Simple video on Deanna's phone ("That's me! I got the coat!") and I also played him some of their songs from my phone, and told him "No Other" was my ringtone. I also told him I was at SMTown in Paris. We had some British sweets left over so gave them to Eunhyuk as a gift!

He stayed for roughly an hour before deciding to go back to his hotel for some sleep. He was really kind and very sweet, and we're very, very grateful he took the time to meet us. We took some pictures with him, and then he gave us all a hug each before leaving.

Caroline, Eunhyuk and Deanna

Caroline, Eunhyuk, Rak (OZ-Partners) and Deanna

Caroline, Eunhyuk, Tammy and Deanna

A massive, massive thank you once again to all of our students for being so brilliant, Koo Young and Daniel just for being themselves and for coming over to teach!! And of course to Eunhyuk who took the time to meet his fans.

Want To Be Taught A Dance Routine From TVXQ's Choreographer?

2011-10-14T20:56:00.001+01:00

Well, you're in bloody good luck!

The London KPop Dance Workshop - which I run alongside with my work partner Tammy - have managed to get an SMEntertainment backing dancer and choreographer to come to London to teach you dance routines! Don't tell me that isn't amazing, because if you think it isn't...you're nuts.

We are being sponsored by OZ-Partners, a Korean company that Tammy and I worked with on the London MBC Auditions. Together, we have managed to make this happen for the UK Kpop fans.

So Who Is This Choreographer?
His name is Baek Koo Young (백구영) and currently works with SMEntertainment. As stated in the title, he is the backing dancer and choreographer of TVXQ (DBSK!!) but he has also worked with: SHINee, Girls' Generation, f(x), After School, Son Dam Bi, Baek Ji Young, Crown-J, Jang Woo Hyuk and many more. Recognise any of those names? Of course you do. This man's big and he's willing to teach YOU!

He is also teaching in Paris for 4 days from 25th-28th October and has managed to make a short video for the Paris workshops. Unfortunately we have not received a video for the London ones (yet) but just so you can see what he looks like...(I apologise that these videos aren't embedded. For someone reason it won't work!)

Message from Baek Koo Young - For Paris - English Version.

Message from Baek Koo Young - For Paris - Korean Version.

Baek Koo Young is featured TVXQ's music video "Before U Go"

So What Are The Details?
DATE: 29th October 2011 (Saturday)
TIME: 10:45am - 3:15pm
VENUE: Husky Studios, 29a Amelia Street, London, SE17 3PY, Elephant and Castle. Just a short 10 minute walk away from Elephant and Castle and Kennington tube stations.

What's The Schedule?
10:45am - 11:00am = Registration
11:00am - 12:45pm = Session 1 (TVXQ dance - song unconfirmed)
12:45pm - 13:30pm = Lunch / 2nd session registration / merchandise selling
13:30pm - 15:15pm = Session 2 (Super Junior dance - song unconfirmed)

Do We Have To Pay?
Erm, well yes. But we promise you it's cheap! We understand that many of our KPop fans are teenagers/students, and in this day and age money is hard to come by. But we are having to pay for his travel, the studio and his time, and if we could make it free then we would, but unfortunately we don't have money coming out of our ears either.

So How Much Is It Then?
It entirely depends on how many sessions you want to attend.
One session only: £15
Whole workshop: £25

And that's all it costs!

So How Do We Tell You We're Attending And How Do We Pay?
Easy peasy. Just go to our event page (link is below), click "attend" and then send an e-mail to Londonkpopdance@gmail.com asking for an invoice, stating how many people are attending and what session(s) you want to attend. We will then send you an invoice, where you will pay by card and then your place is booked! Simple!

We're using PayPal for payments. PayPal is free to use so when you purchase your spot, that's all you're paying for. No add-ons whatsoever! Plus, you don't even need to have an account with PayPal to pay! How much easier can it get?!

ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE PAID IN ADVANCE. THIS IS SO WE KNOW PEOPLE ARE DEFINITELY COMING. HIRING A STUDIO IS EXPENSIVE, NOT TO MENTION WHAT WE'VE HAD TO PAY FOR TRAVEL. WE DIDN'T ORGANISE THIS JUST FOR PEOPLE TO NOT TURN UP! IF YOU'RE PAYING, YOU'RE COMING. NO PAYMENT, NO SPOT, NO CLASS AND THAT'S FINAL. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU PAY AS SOON AS YOU CAN. WE CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. CLICKING "ATTEND" ON FACEBOOK DOES NOT MEAN YOUR PLACE IS BOOKED. ENQUIRING FOR AN INVOICE DOES NOT MEAN YOUR PLACE IS BOOKED. PAYMENT DOES.

I'm Definitely Coming! Any Other Details I Need To Know About?!
Yes. We are also selling merchandise! Go to our Facebook fanpage to check out what we're selling.
Please read the following sub-headings:

Attire:
It is advisable to wear gym clothes, baggy clothes, sweat pants, leggings, etc. Basically anything you consider 'comfortable' and something you feel you can move in. As for footwear, you are allowed to wear trainers or plimsolls **AS LONG AS THEY ARE CLEAN** You are not allowed to dance in socks due to health and safety regulations. If you have dance shoes, feel free to use those as well or dance in bare feet.

Food:
**If you choose to attend BOTH SESSIONS please bring a packed lunch**
Also, bring water or something to drink. It is advisable not to bring sugary drinks because these types of drinks usually make you feel more dehydrated. Any litter from food must be cleared. These studios do not belong to the London Kpop Dance Workshop team or OZ-Partners, so please respect the studio rules.

And that's it!! If you have any questions then please don't hesitate to ask.

FACEBOOK
EVENT PAGE
TWITTER
londonkpopdance@gmail.com

London KPop Dance Workshop - October Dates!

2011-09-25T16:56:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone, the London KPop Dance Workshop is at it again; we've added TWO new fabulous workshop dates!

Our second and third workshop will be held in the same place as last time, Finsbury Park, and at exactly the same time. Girls and boys are welcome on October 22nd, but it's strictly girls only on October 28th!

The theme for the first workshop is Boybands so everyone will be learning 3 boyband routines! These are as follows:

Caroline:
TVXQ - Before U Go

Isabelle:
Beast - Shock

Tammy:
Infinite - Come Back Again

Feel like it's your thing? Excellent! Our workshop will be held on Saturday, October 22nd 2011.

If you wish to know more information (such as what to come in, what to bring, costs etc), please go to the Official Facebook Event Page. Please click "attending" if you are actually going to attend, and as there are limited spaces please write on the wall so we know what order people have said they're attending in!

The theme for the second workship is Girlbands so you're all going to be learning girlband routines! These are as follows:

Jem:
Miss A - Breathe

Deanna:
T-ara - I Go Crazy Because of You

Tammy:
After School - Bang!

The event page for this workshop is RIGHT HERE. The date for this is Saturday, October 28th 2011. Same rules apply.

Thanks everyone, hope to see you there!

London KPop Dance Workshop - FIRST LESSON REVIEW

2011-09-18T21:02:00.000+01:00

Hello to all my lovely readers, I'm so sorry this is late!

Anyway, as shown in a previous blog post, me and a couple of my friends decided to open up a Kpop workshop where everyone can come together to learn their favourite KPop routines! Because sometimes people don't want to learn on their own, or they find it difficult to watch the dance versions on YouTube and have no-one to ask how to do specific steps...we thought it was a great idea.

We held our first lesson on 5th September 2011 at the London School of Capoeira in Finsbury Park. We met our lovely students at the Finsbury Park tube station (one came from St. Albans, Hertfordshire and two other girls came from near Brighton!! Check out those troopers for getting up extra early!) and then we walked to the studios.

We started off with a nice, energetic warm up to get us pumped up (With Super Junior's song "Mr. Simple") and then we slowed it down with some stretching to TVXQ's "Before You Go". After everyone had something to drink, we started off our first Kpop Dance Lesson!

Before we taught the students any of the routine, we gave them a demonstration of what they were going to learn, so I danced to the first chorus of TVXQ's song "Keep Your Head Down". After that I got everyone up and started to teach them it! We probably taught the routines in the wrong order as I think this was the hardest dance for our students! Oopsies! They still did well in learning the routine considering the fact that none of them really had any dancing experience, and of course everyone picks things up at different rates. But still, I tried to teach it as best as I could! Usually I'm the dance student so it was interesting to view a dance class in a different light as a teacher. I had fun teaching it and hope my students had fun learning it in my lesson!

After that it was Tammy's turn to teach the chorus to SHINee's song "Replay". After performing it, she began to teach it to the class. Much easier than "Keep Your Head Down" I have to say! It was my first time learning the dance too, so it was good to mingle with the students and be in the same boat so we could learn together! Tammy was a great teacher who was very patient and bubbly, although a bit nervous when it became her turn to stand in front of the class!

We had an hour's lunch, so this was really the time to get to know my students more and just gush over KPop idols and listen to juicy gossip! I was so pleased that we attracted just a nice bunch of people who were enthusiastic about KPop and...well, not just a bunch of nutters really! I think I speak for everyone when I say it was so nice to converse with people who are on exactly the same level and "get" what you're into.

After that it was time for our third teacher, Jem, to teach Miss A's "Goodbye Baby". Everyone picked up the chorus quickly so Jem also taught everyone the floor bit at the beginning, which received a lot of giggles! The atmosphere was really positive and everyone got along, I think we all had a really good time! When Jem's set finished we had a good ol' recap to make sure all what we learned was still there, and then we said our goodbyes!

Me, Tammy, Jem and Christina (Tam and Christina are God-sisters) went to the outskirts of Chinatown to gorge on Korean food where Jem and I squealed in our chairs and danced to TVXQ's "Mirotic" when it came on over the speakers! Haha! (But it was in Japanese?! In a Korean cafe?! Why?!)

So overall, our first workshop was a success! Thank you to all who turned up!!! We hope to see you at our next lesson, and of course it would be great to see new faces too!! Here is a picture of the teachers and the students, and a video of our workshop so you can see what goes on!

Arirang UCC My K-Pop! 2 Cover Dance Contest & KBS Interview!

2011-09-18T15:28:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone!!

I am actually behind on my blog posts...I have to write up what happened on the Kpop Dance Workshop but I promise that will be up soon!!

Anyway, my friend and fellow K-Pop Dance Teacher Tammy and I decided to enter in the Arirang Contest. It was a lot of fun to do but also included tons of hardwork, and if I didn't hear this song again for a long time I think I'd be very happy!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE TVXQ and the song, but I've just heard it way too many times now...!

We decided to do "Keep Your Head Down" because it's funky, masculine, and as we rightly discovered, a dance that not many people would choose to do so thought it would help us stand out a bit more! Because I live in Essex and Tammy lives in London, and because of work and everything else, we only had 3 days to learn the dance itself. 3 days. And then we shot the video!

My friend Alex Morris studied film at University so asked him to film it for us on his super nice camera, and my friend Martin (yep, the guy that got me the job on the MBC Auditions: Series 2) came and helped us as well by driving us to Essex and supplied a bit of lighting for us.

The locations we chose to film in were East London and Southend, Essex. We nearly got mugged and frost bite on our toes due to the cold water but it was a good, fun day overall!! We decided to have dirty, grimy surroundings because we thought it went well with the music and made it look tough, just like the lyrics are (although we clearly weren't tough when running away from the hooded muggers lol!) We spent a whole 12 hours shooting the video.

Editing was a complete nightmare because we wanted to edit it in iMovie, so I used my friend's Mac laptop. In a Currys store. Because that's where he works. And also where his Apple Mac was. Bit odd and embarrassing! We were there all day editing it, and then I had to go back the next day to transfer the files onto an external hardrive so I could take it home and upload it onto YouTube because the store had limited internet access...except the external hardrive was only windows formatted so we had an absolutely traumatising time trying to partial it so it was half Mac and half Windows, except it decided it just didn't want to work so had put all the files (including all the "behind the scenes" stuff) onto discs. 7 of them to be precise. It took a very long time and made me want to cry.

But that wasn't all! Oh no!! We soon realised we made a boo-boo because at the beginning you're supposed to say a slogan before your video starts. We had decorated pieces of paper that said the slogan but we physically didn't say it ourselves! *serious facepalm* Thankfully I was seeing Martin who had a Mac, so we downloaded the video from YouTube and used iMovie to dub the voice on top. PHEW!!!!

Some pictures...

Southend Central carpark

Tammy and I looking very moody in East London! Maybe it was because of the smell of wee and a used condom nearby?? Classy!!

Southend beach

Before the "mugging"...

Tammy and I looking very unamused...

Southend carpark

On Southend beach with Martin

Peace to Arirang and Korea!!

Dancing in the "forest"

Keep Your Head Down!

Thank you so much to everyone's hardwork and for everyone's support and patience!! Our video is right here...please "like" our video, comment on it and share with your friends!! Thank you!!

Tammy and I are also featured in an interview with KBS about the popularity of K-Pop in the UK. Our friends came too! It was a lot of fun to film and many thanks to KPop In The UK for advertising the chance to be interviewed. Please watch it HERE, we are featured from 6:14 onwards! (No idea why it's not embedding so a link will have to do!)

End of Summer KPop Dance Workshop

2011-08-22T12:01:00.001+01:00

Tired of trying to learn your favourite idol’s dance routine by watching the music videos a million times? Finding it hard to follow tutorial videos? You can’t find a decent mirrored, slowed down, hd videos to follow?

Inject the end of the summer holiday with a last minute dose of Kpop and attend the end of summer Kpop Dance workshop!

WHERE:
London School of Capoeira Herança
Unit 1 and 2 Leeds Place
Tollington Park
London N4 3RF

WHEN:
Monday 5th September

TIME:
10:00am – 5:00pm

DETAILS:
The Kpop Dance workshop

3 people will teach their favourite kpop dance set step by step in 3 slots during the day. There will be an hour lunch break in between and a recap of all the dances at the end.

Open to all levels. (It’s Kpop, it’s universal!)

As this is the first workshop we want to have a good mix of dances - beginners, to intemediate to difficult.

DANCE LIST AND TEACHERS.

Miss A – Taught by Jem Redah
(teaches Kpop dance classes at her college)

DBSK – Taught by Caroline Stacey
(18 years dance experience)

Shinee – Taught by Tammy Jane M.
(a simple Kpop lover or addict - as others might say haha!)

The cost of the one day workshop is £20.

A normal drop in dance class averages at £10 per hour.
Our Kpop workshop is £20 = £2.85 per hour for our 7 hour workshop. Bargain!

This workshop is limited due to the studio space, so it will be a first come first serve basis. ***IF YOU CLICK ATTEND PLEASE WRITE ON THE EVENT WALL so we can monitor who the “first” attendees are***
We will confirm the attendees with an inbox message.

This particular workshop is ONLY open to GIRLS. This is due to religious reasons with one of our teachers.
Apologies for this, future workshops will be open to everyone.

**Clothing and other items**
I shouldn't really have to say this, but PLEASE wear appropriate clothing!! Although this workshop is meant for fun, we're going to make you work as well to bring out your inner potential! So please avoid wearing sleeves (unless they're baggy), wear comfortable bottoms (jogging bottoms, 3 quarter lengths, leggings etc are acceptable. DO NOT wear jeans! Whatever you do, do NOT wear jeans!) When in doubt, wear what you would wear to the gym! For those with larger breasts (hey, it has to be said) please wear a bra that supports you and/or a crop top to hold you in. Nothing worse than sore boobs!!! I (Caroline) have to deal with it when I exercise so just passing on the message lol.
Please also AVOID wearing trainers in the studio. Not only does it hinder your performance ability due to the rubber soles rubbing on the floor (IMO, personally) but they can also leave marks on the floor and we DON'T want that!! These studios have to left in PRISTINE condition when we finish and I don't think they'll like walking in to see black marks on their floors! Also AVOID dancing in socks. This can lead to slipping and causing an injury! So please dance in BARE FEET. Anyone with verruca's is required to wear a plaster. If anyone happens to have any dance shoes (i.e. ballet shoes - as in proper ballet shoes, not the "fashion" kind - or jazz shoes) then you are welcome to wear those.
Please, please, PLEASE bring lots of water with you. Again, we aim to not only teach you how to do the steps, but how to do the dance properly so you need to consume lots of water to keep you hydrated. Please avoid sugary/fizzy/easily stainable drinks. We cannot provide food so please bring your own or bring money to buy some!
Please also bring deodorant! Obvious reasons as to why this is lol...

**Future Workshops** Ideally, we would like to run more classes during the school breaks (as this one was last minute). If anyone cannot attend this one, don’t worry, we are planning to organise more! Also, if there are dances you would like to learn leave comments below.

!!!Teachers!!! Anyone who would like to teach their favourite Kpop dance in future classes, please inbox message (Tammy Jane) with the dance/s you know or would like to teach. You DO NOT have to be a professional dancer or dance teacher if you would like to participate as a teacher.

FOR THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE, CLICK HERE.

MBC UK Auditions - The Aftermath!

2011-08-07T19:32:00.007+01:00

Yesterday was the MBC Auditions in London, and I have to say I can't remember the last time work was so much fun!

As a big K-Pop fan, I was delighted when I was asked to help out with the project. It's been a bit stressful at times; calling people around the UK and Europe making sure they're still attending, writing e-mails, not hearing back from people, trying to sort things out a.s.a.p, organise some filming... it's been one hell of a ride! I thoroughly enjoyed helping out with all the organising though - a massive thank you to Martin who trusted me enough with the job and gave me the chance. I hope I did you proud!

August 6th seemed so far away when I was asked to help but all of a sudden it seemed to come round in a heartbeat. Excited, I jumped on a London bound train and arrived at Westminster Central Hall at quarter to nine in the morning.

There was hardly anyone there and for a while I was the only English person around! More Korean workers came in after some time and Martin gave us a tour around the building...all in Korean I might add! After the tour he explained a couple more things in Korean while I just kind of stood there trying to stifle my giggles. I really had no idea what was going on! Eventually he went silent and looked around the room, so I assumed that the last thing he said was "Are there any questions?" so I sheepishly put my hand up and said "Can I have a translation in English please?" which made quite a few people laugh! Thankfully some of the Koreans knew English!

It was exciting watching all the cameras being set up, and looking around me I couldn't believe I was part of such a big production. Bit hard to believe I was working for a Korean TV channel and that all of this was going to be aired in another country! And the fact that I helped organise a few bits too. It was just really special to work behind the scenes and see it physically come together, and come together so well!

Some of the crowd outside

My post was on the registration desk where I would sign in the English and European contestants. We had an excel sheet on our laptops that had a list of all the contestants who applied; we had to find their application, staple their consent form to it and then give them a number. I'd like to say it was easy, except that we often had trouble with the application forms! Sometimes they weren't in a folder so we had to print it off instead, or sometimes their application wasn't on the system at all so they had to fill out a new one. I think a lot of pens mysteriously went missing...

Anyway, after a short while everyone was gathered onto the top balcony so they could film the contestants chanting in Korean. (Martin was great at getting everyone's attention - considering he's so little it's surprising how much his voice can BOOM. Mind you, it was a bit echoey...anyway...!)
Shortly after they gathered everyone into the waiting room so they could watch Shayne and Hyung Woo-Cho perform a duet together. They were both contestants on the previous series; Shayne's from Canada and Hyung is from Korea, although he did live in Surrey, England for about 4 years if my memory serves me right, so his English was very good!
I watched some of the performance and a camera man clocked me. He said he knew who I was, which was very bizarre! Turns out he knew of the videos I took at Abbey Road Studios when SHINee came, and said he'd like to interview me! He gave me his business card so I need to get in touch with him at some point...very cool and very weird at the same time...In fact, I had a couple of Korean TV camera crew people saying they recognised me. I'm really not sure how! One said he thinks he saw me on TV...I did appear on Korean TV for like a split second once, but that was it! Very, very bizarre!!
After that the signing in commenced! It was a real buzz, really loved it. Everyone that was working on the desk was so lovely and friendly too which made the whole experience that much more awesome, so thanks everyone! It was fantastic to work with you all.

Spreadsheet!

Folders upon folders...

Contestants on balcony!

Contestants in waiting room watching Shayne and Woo-Cho sing

Shayne and Hyung Woo-Cho

Soon it began to die down as most of the contestants had gone into the waiting room. We decided it was time to grab some lunch so we went to the staff room (Shayne warned us that the vegetarian sandwiches were "horrible", haha! Thanks Shayne. Maybe next time you should try the non-vegetarian variety as you're not a vegetarian?! Funny boy! I personally thought the ham sandwiches were quite good...)
The MC - Sang-Jin Oh - was in the staff room at a table on his own playing his guitar (although I didn't know it was actually him until I saw the orange jeans. I was teasing and saying to the girls how he was just attention seeking because he was playing guitar - jokingly of course - and then I saw it was him and realised he understood English perfectly. I hope he didn't hear me and think I was being serious...!) Eventually Hyung came in and sat down with us to have a chat, and then the camera man who knew of my videos came in too and joined us. Turns out he actually got my videos from SM ENTERTAINMENT THEMSELVES?!? I think I nearly died!

After that it was more work time! More signing in...and after a while there wasn't really anything to do at all. Shayne came to reception and sat next to me, laughing at all the British expressions I kept coming out with and used a laptop on the desk to surf the internet!

I began to wander around to see if there was anything to do elsewhere. I found some co-workers in the waiting hall, where I also saw Hyung and Sang-Jin. The girls convinced me to have a picture taken with both men (I was shy - can you blame me?!) so I did! Sang-Jin put his arm around me and did the peace sign, and Hyung lent in and put his head close to mine as we posed for our photo. Many thanks to the girls that took the pictures for me!


Me and Hyung Woo-Cho


Me and Sang-Jin Oh


Major LOL at the Korean dudes behind us!

Soon after I got to chat with Sang-Jin for quite some time, about 15-20 minutes! He's a very nice, approachable man who loves his job - he's been to the UK about 4 times hence the good English skills! He said I should have auditioned...well, maybe I would have if I could sing in Korean!!

After more milling around, more banter with Shayne and more snooping at all the behind the scenes stuff, it was time to clear up!!

Hyung being being filmed with an auditionee

A massive thank you to all who attended, it was a very successful day! And it was great to finally put a face to a name too with some of you! Thank you to the team for all your hard work and enthusiasm, thank you to Martin for, well, everything!! And a massive thank you the Shayne, Hyung Woo-Cho and Sang-Jin for coming over; it was a pleasure and a privilege to meet you all! I hope to see you again in the future and stay in touch!

Me and Shayne

Congratulations to those who got through, and for those who didn't...better luck next time!! ;-) Hopefully the MBC Auditions will come again next year!!

Make-up Artist Charlie Short

2011-08-01T19:09:00.002+01:00

I have known my best friend for so many years now - 18 years to be precise - and he's always been a creative soul who enjoyed drawing and making things. Together we made home videos, stories and animations, so it's no surprise that he took the creativity route when choosing his career path.

His is currently studying make-up and special effects at Leicester University.

I'm aware that this blog is slightly different to my other blog posts, but I really do think he deserves a mention and some advertising (and not just because he's my life long friend either!) He truly has a talent and, more importantly, really, really loves it. He is always striving to improve and is constantly practicing on himself, his partner, his classmates and of course...me!

His course is going to end soon, so he's partnered up with YouTube and is currently giving tutorials online, has his own website and is trying to go freelance in the hopes of pursuing a successful career in the makeup industry.

Because he has specialised in not only make up, but special effects, body painting, and character/theatrical as well, this means he has so much more to give. So whether you want to have someone do your makeup for your wedding or photoshoot, or you want to hire someone to do special effects/character makeup for a theatre production/TV, or for a child's birthday party...Charlie Short is your man.

Here are some pictures to show what he can do.

Special Effect Body Painting


Photoshoot makeup

Body Painting

Avant Garde makeup

Avant Garde Makeup


Photoshoot

Special Effects Burn Victim


Charlie Short at work!


Money Success Fame Glamour


Character and Theatre

Avatar

...There's so much more to show you, all of his links are at the bottom of this page if you wish to check out more. As well as makeup, Charlie has also been trained with hair too. In the Avant Garde photos (they're of me, by the way) my hair was styled by him.

Here's an example of one of his tutorials. As you can see, he's a really friendly, approachable person with a very bubbly personality!

So, if you need anyone to do some makeup for you, please drop Charlie a message! On his website, you can see more photos and read about his experience. If you want to contact him, you can do that through his website!

LINKS
www.charlie-short.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/Pinkstylist

Dok2 Concert with KPOP Team

2011-07-31T21:50:00.005+01:00

A team of people in the UK, called the KPOP Team, are a dedicated team of people who try to bring KPop fans together so they can enjoy KPop music, they throw competitions, and recently they held the UK's first open Korean concert, featuring Dok2.

Dok2 is a Korean hip hop and rap artist and also produced a few songs too, even collaborated with the likes of Jay Park. As I had a meet and greet ticket, I was lucky enough to meet the man himself.

I befriended a couple of excited fans who were very friendly and very excited about the evening. As we climbed the stairs to the room where Dok2 was mingling with other fans, one of the fans I was with got cold feet and started retreating! I literally had to pull her up the stairs and shove her into the crowd! Bless her, she was really nervous, but at the same time you only get one chance so make it count!

The atmosphere was really relaxed and mellow. There was no pushing or shoving, no screaming or shouting, just fans meeting Dok2 one at a time, having a photo and an autograph, and then letting someone else have their turn. It was a great meet and greet as it goes, in terms of behaviour.

Finally it was my chance, and I have to say I was very surprised at his height. He is actually rather short, not much taller than me at all and I am only 5 foot! He was very polite and also seemed very sweet too, dare I say even a bit shy; you imagine rappers and hip hop artists to be outgoing and generally quite "gangsta" but he seemed to be rather reserved. I kind of just wanted to pinch his cheeks (I must stress that this didn't actually happen...)
The KPop Team had printed off a number of Dok2 pictures which they gave the fans so we could get it signed, which was very kind of them. As I had a friend who is a big fan of Dok2, I asked him to sign it for her - which he did - and he also signed my E-Ticket for me! (He spelt my name wrong, called me Carolina instead of Caroline, but I'll let him off!)

The meet and greet video:

So the concert started shortly after with lots of support acts first. There really wasn't that many people at all to start off with, and my friends and I were worried that not many people would show up when Dok2 eventually performs. However, as the entertainment went on, the Coronet Theatre began to fill a bit more so by the time Dok2 came on stage he had more of an audience to perform to, thankfully!

I'm really not that much of a fan when it comes to rap/hip hop music, I have to be honest. However, I have to say I did enjoy my night out and I did really enjoy Dok2's performance. The crowd were loving it, waving their hands up in the air and despite Dok2's earlier shy meeting, he was confident on stage and really got the crowd going! So kudos to him, I was really pleased that the night was a success.

Some of Dok2's performances:

A massive well done to the KPop Team for organising this event! I look forward to going to more in the future!

My friends at the Dok2 concert with him on stage!

UK's First Korean Concert - DOK2!

2011-07-02T13:09:00.009+01:00

Korean music is finally coming to England, and the first Korean artist to hold an open performance here is none other than Hip-Hop/Rap artist Dok2!

Don't recognise the name? He is also known as Gonzo Tha Notorious Kid and The Dirty South Korean. He's been in the industry since the age of 12 and now, at the age of 21, he has a become a producer, composer and has even collaborated with the likes of Jay Park, Drunken Tiger, Epik High and Supreme Team.

So, are you interested in coming? Here are the details:

Where: Coronet Theatre London, 28 New Kent Road, City of London, SE1 6TJ, UK
When: Sunday 24th July 2011
Time: 5pm - late. Performances start from 7pm-9pm.
Who Can Attend: Over 14's only. ID will be required upon request.
Start Price: £20.

You can purchase your tickets by clicking HERE. (There will be more tickets on the door.)
You will see that there is also a chance to meet the man himself! The price to do so is slightly steeper but for £55 I think I'd be more than happy to pay that to meet my favourite Korean stars!
Dok2 will also be handing out some of his CD's to some lucky winners and all prizes are sponsored by yesstyle.co.uk and yesasia.com.

It's going to be a very eventful night, so if you want more details and want to come, join the facebook page right HERE.

If you want to familiarise yourself with Dok2 and his songs, check out the songs below:

It's Gon' Shine

Jay Park feat. Dok 2 "Abandoned"

So get clicking and buy those tickets, and have a great time!

MBC AUDITIONS UK

2011-06-29T21:20:00.003+01:00

Want to become a popstar in Korea?

Don't lie; we've all done it. From singing into our hairbrushes in the privacy of our bedrooms pretending you're singing in an arena, from singing karaoke pretending you're the next big thing, or even just singing whilst doing housework wondering when you're big break is gonna happen, we're all guilty. We've all been there.

This audition is slightly different though. Love K-Pop? Want to be a star there? Well you're on the right damn page! MBC are coming to London on the 6th of August 2011 and they want to hear from YOU!

That's right, it could be you competing with the likes of TVXQ, Big Bang, BoA, Super Junior, 2NE1 etc for the number 1 spot in the charts this time next year. But before you start getting excited, there are of course rules!

So, what are these rules?

You have to sing at least one song in Korean. (Half a song should be okay, then you can also sing English songs according to the official Facebook page).
You cannot apply if you are already with an agency or working as a professional singer.
You can sing on your own OR as a group.
You must sing acapella or you can play an instrument whilst performing.
You can dance if you wish or do other performances. You must provide a CD with the track you wish to use.
You have to send off your application form by 3rd August 2011.
You DON'T have to be British! Other people from other countries are welcome to come over and try their luck, too.

So, what are the details?

The auditions are happening on the 6th of August 2011, although the venue is currently unknown. If you are lucky enough to pass the London audition, you will be invited to Korea and join other contestants for the survival stages. The winner will be rewarded with a cash prize and a recording contract opportunity in Korea. MBC will provide flights and accomodations, so it won't cost you a penny!

Okay, I understand all of the details. Where can I sign up?!

In order to sign up, you can go to their Facebook page and download the application form, then send it to europe@mbc.co.kr.

Yes, it is THAT simple! So what are you waiting for? Make your dream a reality!

Best of luck to those who enter!

SHINee @ Abbey Road Studios 19/6/2011

2011-06-20T19:11:00.000+01:00

Okay so first I found out about SMTOWN coming to Paris. Major freak out moment. And then I discover SHINee are coming to the UK? HOLD THE PHONE. Are you serious?! Second major freak out moment of epic proportions!

SHINee are an all male quintet all the way from South Korea. Their music is labeled "contemporary" and are one of the hottest bands around at the moment, with huge hits under their belt like "Ring Ding Dong", "Lucifer" and "Hello".

They were about to make their debut in Japan, so to celebrate they decided to hold a mini gig at the Abbey Road Studios in London, where The Beatles recorded. So! Where can I get tickets? Sign me up!

...What do you mean it's only for Japanese fans?! Well, I suppose it makes sense considering they're making their Japanese debut, but one has to wonder...why did they come all the way to England to do it? What about the English fans?

I guess you could say we were pretty annoyed and frustrated, that's like dangling a bone in front of a dog but still keeping it out of reach. Still, despite our disappointment, we couldn't help but be excited either. SHINee were coming to England. They were not only going to be in the same continent, but in the same bloody country. Korean artists never venture here at all, so either way it was an absolute privilege they were here in the first place so what better way to celebrate by being there and showing them our support, and showing that they actually have a strong fanbase here?

I rocked up just after 9am after making some friends on the tube (I was wearing my customised SMTOWN T-Shirt from Paris so I guess this made me rather distinguishable), and there was already quite a few people there. Some arrived at 7 or 8am, and some people had even come as far as the Isle of Wight. This event was going to be a bit bigger than I thought.

The atmosphere was already buzzing; people were chanting SHINee's name, singing their songs...but you could tell there was apprehension in the air, too. I mean, how long would we have to wait until they arrived??

Our answer came quite soon; a silver van turned up between 10-10:30am. Naturally I got my video recorder out, but unfortunately an excitable fan next to me started jumping up and down, so even though I managed to capture SHINee (Onew, Minho, Taemin and Key) on camera, it was a bit shaky. Annoying, but at least I got a shot of them. We were concerned that Jonghyun didn't arrive with them...where was he? Why wasn't he there? Was he going to turn up at all?

As the time passed, plenty of SME staff members, Abbey Road staff members and Japanese and Korean TV crew came out to film and take pictures of the crowd, even interview us as well! Everyone in the crowd did chants like "We want SHINee", "SHINee saranghae!" (Trans: "SHINee I love you!") and "London SMTOWN". The crowd also sang along to some songs and plenty of people brought and made their own banners to show their love and support. Despite being cramped and squished into a tiny place (because let's face it, fan events = squishiness and people trying to push in) the whole atmosphere was electric and positive, there were no fights or arguments between fans or anything. In fact, most people behaved pretty well the entire time.

SIDENOTE: There was a MEGA MEGA CUTE Korean MBC reporter so if anyone knows his name, you must let me know. I am in love with him and wish to have his babies. Thank you.

By the time 2pm came around, Jonghyun finally arrived. The crowd screamed of course, but as we saw him go up the steps he didn't look very well at all and it left us very concerned. We hoped he was okay but he certainly didn't look like he was in any position to perform.

Fans for the gig also turned up. We knew the venue hall could only accomodate 130 people so I was expecting to see 130 fans. Wrong. There were only about 20 fans and not all of them were Japanese, which left the rest of the crowd very confused and, once again, slightly annoyed. How did these British people get tickets?! And why were there only around 20? Sure, the venue is probably also filled up with SMTWON staff and camera crew, but adding them altogether doesn't make 130 people so where were the rest?!

Anyway, despite the way I kind of felt about the event, I genuinely wished and hoped they had a very good time. Sincerely! I mean that. I mean, if I won tickets I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be booed, which is what some people did when they first arrived. Of course some of us told them not to because it wasn't fair or nice.

They went in round about 3pm and we knew the gig started at half past...but we had absolutely no idea what time it was going to end. Some people decided to leave - though not many - but I stuck around in the hopes of catching a good shot of SHINee before they leave England.

The gig was quite short - only 45 minutes! - But then again it wasn't exactly a proper concert so I suppose it made sense. Jonghyun left shortly after it finished but the rest of the members didn't come out until 5:15pm, roughly. Okay, this is where the crowd went nuts. I was suddenly shoved forwards and was practically merging myself into the girl in front, and because everyone was becoming excited they started to jump and shake themselves about, which meant my camera was wobbly again! I was unamused, I was tired, my legs and back were aching, I was bloody starving, and this behaviour was not helping my mood. Thankfully SHINee moved to the other end of the crowd first, which sent the crowd on my side into a frenzy as they gathered onto the other side to catch a glimpse. Me being the smart one (for a change), I knew they were going to come our way as well so I stayed where I was and I also had more room too, so I had a moment to breathe! SHINee came our way so naturally everyone came back, but I found myself in a slightly better position and managed to hold my camera much more steady this time, so I got a really good shot of the 4 of them facing us and waving. They turned their backs to us to do a bit of filming, and then we started to chant "SHINee saranghae!" The band members turned round pretty much as soon as we started chanting this, and waved at us again. They eventually retreated to their van and officially left Abbey Road Studios.

As I had been facing the studios the entire day, I finally got the chance to have a good, proper look at the crowd. Christ there was a lot of people! I hung around for a while as I wanted to wait until everyone or most people had left as I didn't want to be caught up in all the people-traffic, so I managed to talk to some competition winners who were actually Japanese! They really enjoyed the show, asked how I got into K-Pop, who my favourite member was etc. We must have been chatting for about 5-10 minutes before a security guard came over and told us we must leave the venue immediately.

As I left I clocked the super-duper cute Korean reporter guy, so I went up to him and said thank you for everything that they had done. He told me that the footage they took would only be shown on South Korean TV, so I'm hoping someone records it...? I kind of chickened out in telling him he was cute, I felt a bit silly, but he was definitely one to drool over.

ANYWAY...

Was it worth getting up at 5:45am? Was it worth standing up 9 hours straight with no food, water or toilet breaks? Was it worth being squished to an inch of my life? Was it worth having my leg bashed against the wall and receiving a nasty bump as a result (although that was entirely my fault)?
Was it all worth it, the possibility of being on Japanese and/or Korean TV, seeing SHINee in the flesh and up close, making new friends, being surrounded by people who understand what this is all about?

Would I do it all again?

In a bloody heartbeat.

Gomawo SHINee! Come back to us soon!

KBS VIDEO!! KOREAN TV. SHOT OF THE CROWD.

SMTOWN Concert in Paris 11/6/2011

2011-06-15T22:39:00.135+01:00

Holy Christ. I really don't know where to begin with this one. I hear the beginning is a very good place to start (thank you for these wise words Julie Andrews) but even after 5 days I'm still sort of overwhelmed by the whole experience.

For those unaware (WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?) the Korean agency SMEntertainment held not one, but TWO concerts in Paris, France. Confirmed artists were f(x), Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee and TVXQ.

Needless to say when I discovered the lineup I almost peed myself from excitement. I mean flippin' heck, my favourite Korean artists were going to be in my continent! At the same time! Lord knows when or if they'll ever come to London, so I knew right then that I was going to go to Paris no matter how much it was going to cost. This is an opportunity far too good to miss! Tickets were bought (trust me, it was a nightmare. They sold out in 10 minutes), hotel was booked and so was the coach.

I only found out about this concert in May, so I only had to wait less than a month before the concert finally came round. Before I barely had time to blink, I was on my way to Paris with my sister, who kindly accompanied me despite the fact she never really knew who these people were!

One thing that greatly angered me was the touts; there were so many of them and they had so many tickets. Both dates were completely sold out so it annoyed me that there were a couple of empty seats due to the touts getting the tickets before genuine fans. It's a nasty business.

The Le Zenith venue has a capacity of 6000, although it didn't actually look that large inside. It's a great venue in my opinion - it didn't matter where you sat because you always had a great view. They had the normal stage, but then they attached a catwalk to it which then branched out in two ways so everyone got to see everyone! And although I was quite near the back, I was still able to see a lot so I was a happy bunny!

First on were f(x), the band I was least familiar with. I have googled them since and they are so young! The youngest member is only 16, but at the time I thought that they must have been in their early 20's like the other band members are. I have to say, despite their young age they were really good and energetic live, not to mention they got the crowd going! At first I wasn't sure if it was the type of music I'd listen to on a regular basis, but it was definitely good party/concert music. As the concert went on and even as the days have gone by I have discovered that their songs have been circulating my head, so I think I'm definitely a fan now!

Super Junior were exceptional live. They were so energetic, so much fun and above all, they looked so bloody happy to be there as well. They were also really good to their fans in the front row as they really interacted with them. When they weren't dancing they were running around the stage like little boys high on E Numbers! They were great fun to watch and such good entertainers; it really was a pleasure to see them live!

I don't consider this next song to be one of their more well known songs (well, it was my first time hearing it at the concert!) but I absolutely love it. So energetic and happy! I love how this video really showcases their personalities and enthusiasm - especially towards the end!

Girls' Generation were, of course, also just as good. The crowd went absolutely wild when their big hits "Run Devil Run", "Oh!", "Gee" and "Genie" came on. Everyone sang along at the top of their voices and really stuck their teeth into their performances. They performed perfectly and their timing was excellent - although the dances aren't the most technical they are very effective and you can make any dance look good if everyone moves as one, which is what Girls' Generation do. Check out their exceptional performance of Run Devil Run here:

Can't forget SHINee!! What an adorable bunch of lads!! Just like Super Junior, they were energetic and enthusiastic, really an absolute delight to watch. They have great chemistry on stage as well! Their songs were really popular - especially Ring Ding Dong and Lucifer! Onew sang a solo as well, singing "Nessun Dorma". Unfortunately his voice cracked at the end but otherwise did a very good job and his pronunciation was really good, too!

Last but not least...my absolute favourite...TVXQ. Oh em gee. This was the first Korean boyband I listened to back in 2008 and here I was in the same room as them, about to watch them perform. Utterly incredible. Of course it was sad that it was only 2 and not 5, but at least I got to see them! They didn't come on until very late which was a bit annoying, as I had absolutely no idea that the concert would be over 3 hours and my video camera battery ran out! So I had to use my picture camera to record instead which means I couldn't zoom in anywhere near as close and the sound quality wasn't as good either. But still...footage is footage!
They really brought a lot to the table. The crowd went nuts when they were announced on stage! It was like everyone had been waiting for them and they were the main act, and boy did they not disappoint! Their live vocals were perfection as was their dancing - sharp, masculine and powerful! They were very serious whilst performing - unlike Super Junior who were game for a laugh - but I quite liked that each group was different.
TVXQ sang new hits such as "Why (Keep Your Head Down)", "Before U Go" (which is a very steamy number, I'd like to add!) and "Maximum", but they also sung old hits like "Mirotic" and "Rising Sun"!!! I really could not believe my ears. Rising Sun was the first song I heard from them so it's really special to me. I never, ever thought I'd hear those songs live simply because it was way back when they were a 5-piece, so it was an absolute treat and a complete surprise!

Here's a video of Maximum, the last song to be recorded on my video camera. Sorry it's a bit shaky in places! The more I zoom in the more shaky the camera becomes, but it stops after a short while! Please enjoy.

If you wish to see anymore of my concert videos (I took over 20 and it took me 3 bloody days to upload...) my channel/playlist is right HERE.

So, was it worth it? Would I go again? Hell to the YES. It really was worth every penny, and considering it was over 3 hours long I really did get my money's worth. I feel absolutely privileged to have seen it with my own eyes and hope that, even though some of my readers may not have attended, you still feel a part of it by watching my videos. I know it's barely any consolation at all, but I do hope all the fans get to see them at some point. Good things come to those who wait!

London MCM Expo 29/05/2011

2011-05-30T01:04:00.001+01:00

So! This is my second time attending this event. Last year, what attracted me to go was the fact that my voice actor friend Kyle Hebert was going to be there (to read this entry, click HERE) but this year, it was singer-songwriter iMMa. I've written several entries on her performances but this one was definitely special!

Let's rewind before her set, though. My friend Danika and I arrived earlyish and got our tickets as soon as we got there. The costumes were just as nuts as last year and the free hugs were still going around. As I had already witnessed the weird and random that is Animé Expo, it didn't faze me as much. After we got our tickets we went outside to try and find iMMa to see what time she was on, but alas! She was not there yet. We waited around for a bit, but decided to go back inside and check back later. As we were climbing up the stairs to go into the merchandise hall, we heard a "hello" behind us. Danika was worried it might be a weird random and was ready to run for the hills, but as we turned around we discovered it was Jimmy!! (Jimmy being Mika's bass player, do I have to say this everytime I mention him in a blog?! While I'm at it, iMMa is also Mika's backing singer.) Jimmy greeted us with a smile and a lovely hug, and told us he had already been here 20 minutes and the poor guy was on his own! So, he tagged along with us.

As we wandered inside, we talked about the costumes, the vibe and what we all thought of it. There was someone in an alien costume from "Alien VS Predator" which, despite knowing there was someone inside it, was still rather intimidating. The alien went for Jimmy first and then me afterwards (it must only like gingers). I started to try and run away from it much to Danika and Jimmy's amusement, so Jimmy decided it would be a cool idea to take a picture of me with the alien. Thanks. Thanks Jimmy. *thumbs up*

After that encounter, we meandered around every section staring at the Japanese sweets, drawings, artists, books etc. We must have been in there about half an hour before iMMa phoned Jimmy to let him know of her arrival. We then went back outside to say hello and watch her perform!

iMMa was all smiles as always as she welcomed us with a hug. The day before the gig I had baked some cookies (as iMMa couldn't make The Chain House Gig and missed out on the cupcakes and Victoria Sponge) and they went down really well!! Everyone really loved them which I was so happy with, as my first attempt at cookie making went terribly wrong! Phew!
Not long after it was time for iMMa to perform, so, armed with my camera I managed to record all of her songs! I've been to quite a few of her gigs and this was the best crowd yet. The audience were really engaged with her and were fist pumping, jumping up and down...there was a lot of connection and energy; the type of crowd that iMMa really deserves. She beckoned them over and they all came running along like the mice (or rats?) enticed by the Pied Piper and squashed themselves up against the stage! iMMa's interaction with the audience was brilliant as she directed them what to sing and at what moments, what actions to do, and they followed her every word. You could tell iMMa has having a blast as she jumped off the stage and started to rave with her new fans! It was great (and amusing) to watch, and I couldn't have been happier for her. The gig went so well.

Here are the videos so you can watch them!

Chasing Heroes

Poison Eyes

Good Girls and Bad Boys

I'm Just a Nobody (Trying To Be a Somebody)
Unfortunately this is where the video quality goes downhill. I forgot to charge my video recorder and it was really low on battery at the end of the last song, so I had to use my photo camera instead. Yes, I know the sound is pretty rubbish, but you get what you're given and you'll like it, so there!

Tear Out My Heart

Wonderful

After her set, I walked up to iMMa to let her I know I had it all recorded and we had a bit of a small chat. Eventually some of her new fans came over and were asking for pictures and talking to her, which was really nice to see. iMMa said she thinks she's found her niche audience! I left her to it and returned to Danika, Jimmy and our latest addition, the lovely Cherisse!! She's also in Mika's band and plays the drums. She's an absolute sweetheart and also loved my cookies (and about my height too) so obviously she's awesome.

The next band Instrumenti are from Latvia, and they opened Mika's show in Latvia a while ago. iMMa is good friends with them and I believe managed to get them the gig here. iMMa, Cherisse and Jimmy absolutely love the band so I was curious to see what they were like. The lead singer came out in the weirdest large black wig I have ever seen and the drummer came out wearing a Panda mask. As they sang their first two songs I have to admit I wasn't entirely sure if it was my thing, but from the 3rd song onwards the music became more pop-like and found myself tapping my toes along to the beats. The last song was my favourite and it's clearly a favourite of iMMa's too, as you can see her rocking her brains out in this video!

We chilled and talked for a bit before deciding to head inside the merchandise store and actually shop!!!

Despite it being predominantely Japanese, the only things I bought were Korean!! I bought 2 posters of the ever so luscious Yunho who is in the Korean group Dong Bang Shin Ki (he's also my boyfriend, he just doesn't know it yet), a mug with all five members of the same group (despite the fact they have now split and there is only 2 left) and a SHINee key chain. The group broke up and met up several times as everyone was browsing at different stalls. I showed off the posters of my boyfriend (cough) and talked to the lovely Macc Kano - stand in guitarist for iMMa that day - about Japanese and Korean bands. It's nice to actually have something in common with someone quite normal, because let's face it, some of the people who go to these conventions are a bit...well...kooky, shall we say.

Jimmy left shortly after and then so did iMMa. We said our goodbyes and it was just Danika and I left in the building. We collected our anime portraits and then we departed for home ourselves.

It was an absolutely terrific day; so relaxed and casual. Thanks so much to everyone for your fantastic company, it was great to meet new people and well done for a great gig, iMMa!

Here are some photos:

Singer from Instrumenti's wild wig

Surprise!! It's Cherisse and iMMa!

Changmin and Yunho

Mickey and Jaejoong

Junsu

My Yunho poster!

Second Yunho poster...please excuse me while I drool.

Animé portraits: Me on the left, Danika on the right!

My SHINee keyring!

Jonghyun

Thanks for reading!

The Chain House Gig

2011-05-16T23:55:00.000+01:00

As stated in my previous blog post, my UK friends and I had some Canadian friends come over for a visit. We had always raved about a band called The Chain and we thought it would be fantastic if we could all see them at the same time. So...that's how the House Gig came about. After a bit of organising, The Chain were due to arrive at my friend's house on the 13th May.

My friend Danika and I had planned to cater the entire evening (and by "catering", we mean "cakes") so, after the Sam Beeton gig the night before I stayed over and rose early the next day to go shopping. After discovering that Ben, the male singer in the band, was actually lactose intolerant we had to be careful what to buy! If you ever need dairy free whipping cream go to your nearest health shop!

We started baking round about 2pm. We stuck on a few tunes and pretty much baked the entire day. 60 cupcakes and one Victoria Sponge! But it was fantastic fun having someone to bake with and I was excited for the evening - I hoped everyone liked them and was eager to hear comments! I'm not really much of a cook so felt like a 4 year old kid wanting to show off their crappy drawing hoping they'll be told they're the next Picasso.

We timed the whole thing perfectly; literally as soon as we finished putting the cakes in the living room, setting up the room and doing the odd finishing touches, our friends arrived and shortly after the band did too! Ben was as funny as ever with Kate and Andy both being lovely as always. The atmosphere was very warm and friendly and it was hard to believe that this band - who we barely knew about just over a year ago - were holding an exclusive house gig just for us. Bit of a surreal "look how much has changed and how lucky are we?" moment.

A few minutes after the band arrived, guess who else did? Jimmy and Cat! Jimmy is best friends with Ben and also the bass player for Mika, so we actually found out about The Chain through Jimmy. Cat is Jimmy's very wonderful fiance; so easy to talk to with a good sense of humour and just generally loveliness in human form. Anyway, forget the history and the details! All of these amazing people were in one place at the same time.

The cakes were going down a storm; everyone really liked them and were impressed they were all dairy free! And of course Ben really appreciated it, too!

The entire evening was just full of banter and tons of laughter. The night really could not have gone better and even as I write this blog I can't help but grin stupidly at the memories. It was just such a fun, lively atmosphere and truly a perfect way for the Canadians to end their trip to the UK.

The band tested a few new songs out on us which was fantastic to hear! It was just awesome to have the band sitting right in front of us performing without any weirdos (i.e. drunk ladies doing a weird dance) or strangers around us talking throughout the entire set or anything - house gigs over pub gigs all the way!

Naturally I recorded all the songs! Unfortunately, all the footage I took during the baking of cakes took up a lot of memory so after a while I had to start using my photo camera which meant the quality wasn't as good, but at least it's still all there!
Here they all are, I hope you enjoy them!

I DON'T LOVE YOU LIKE I USED TO & TWISTED GAME OF LOVE

LINCOLN BOULEVARD & ST. CECILE

HIT ME LIKE A HURRICANE & LOVELESS NIGHTS

THE HEART & NEW SONG

NEW SONG & THE COLOUR WAS BLUE

TWO NEW SONGS

HEAD IN THE SAND

COVER - "1, 2, 3, 4"

And here are some pictures:

Crowd!

The band

Jimmy, me and Cat

Ben

Group!

UK and Canadians

Just another big massive thank you to the band and Jimmy and Cat for doing this gig for us and for your entertainment in general. Another massive thanks to Danika for holding the gig at her place, and another thanks to the Canadians for coming over...because if it wasn't for that occassion, this house gig wouldn't have happened at all.

See you all in the near future!

Sam Beeton @ The Regal Room

2011-05-16T18:44:00.000+01:00

A few of my friends from Canada came over to London for a short break and it was suggested by another friend that we go see a musician named Sam Beeton. I had never seen him live before or even really knew his songs so was excited to have a night out with friends and listen to some good music.

It was a really intimate setting and we had a table really close to the stage, so we had a fantastic view. I recommend seeing a musician at the Regal Room because not only do you get that "private" feel, but the sound is really good and the audience were silent throughout everyone's performances which really heightened the experience. There is nothing more annoying than trying to listen to someone sing with loads of chatterboxes in the background!

Sam had already met a couple of my friends that live in the UK, so it was great of him to come over and have a chat with us and meet his new Canadian fans. He's a super friendly guy with a great sense of humour who just oozed charm and charisma. We had a group picture with him and he also posed with our mascot! (Please don't ask about the mascot, I'm not really sure if anyone knows what it really represents...!)

Sam's set was simply gorgeous and stunning. Despite troubles with the first song (I'm completely musicially incompetent, so as much as I would like to sound smart and say what went wrong, I don't really know how to explain it to be honest...) Sam carried on like a trouper and sang it completely acoustically. Between his songs Sam used his charisma, charm and humour to get the audience laughing and the atmosphere was just really relaxed.

I recorded all of his songs which you can see here:

Good Natured Child

What You Look For

Rain Down On You

Doll

Storyteller

She's Not In Love

I particularly love the last song as Sam used his talent and humour to change the words and direct his song towards his Canadian fanbase! It had everyone in the room giggling.

After the gig had finished, my friends and I stayed in the room and had a nice long chat with Sam, his friend Patrick and another musician called Zarif. Her set was also absolutely stunning, complete with catchy, poppy tunes and a fantastic voice with great stage presence. Both Sam and Zarif were once signed on the same label but it was this night that they first met, which was quite cool. So, we managed to talk to Zarif too and we've all become a fan! Sam and Zarif sang a little duet just for us, which you can listen to right here (it was dark so you can't really see anything):

After that it was just more talking and we didn't leave till about midnight! It was a fantastic night with great company and great music. Many thanks to both Sam and Zarif for spending so much time with us and entertaining us throughout the night!

SAM LINKS
Twitter
Facebook
Official Website
YouTube

ZARIF LINKS
Twitter
Official Website
Facebook
YouTube

Born This Way...To Be An Attention Seeker?

2011-03-24T21:45:00.002Z

Before I get a possible high number of "Monsters" getting angry with me, let me start off this blog by saying that I do actually quite like Lady GaGa. She's got some catchy tunes, has a killer voice and is actually pretty talented. I got on the GaGa bandwagon a bit late admittedly, but as her career progresses and as the video for "Born This Way" hit the internet, I couldn't help but think "Hmm..."

I understand that bullying and prejudice is a huge issue. As I am someone who suffered from it from my child years to my teen years along with my best friend, I can say that I truly and honestly relate to a few other people's bullying stories. And I understand. I have nothing against the song; the tune is a bit familiar but it's great to see an artist as big as GaGa take a stand. When you're feeling low - whether that be because of bullying or depression or whatever else - everyone needs a "pick me up" song that helps give them confidence and we all need someone to look up to at some point in our lives. As GaGa has dubbed herself as "Mother Monster", I guess she wants to be that kind of figure for her fanbase. Although obviously every artist/celebrity wants to be a good role model.

So anyway, I have nothing against GaGa or the song. It's the damn video.

Seriously, what is it with her making weird little mini series? These edits don't make it on music channels. Sure if people wanna watch the full thing they can just YouTube it, but it doesn't make it on TV nor is that weird spoken story bit on the radio either. I know it fits in with the storyline of the song and all (well, Telephone didn't exactly fit...) but is it really necessary? Maybe everyone loves them and I'm a minority, but it gets on my nerves a bit. GaGa, just do a music video please? I don't need the weird stuff, and the giving birth bit is not epic or inspirational, it's minging.

Secondly, she sings about gays, bisexuals, transgenders, people who are bullied, those who are black, white, oriental, and everything else. Erm, where are they in the video, GaGa? All I see is a dingy, dark, black background with attractive dancers in barely anything and you in skimpy underwear parading around with all cameras on you. We all know you love attention GaGa, but surely this is the one song where the video should have been focused on those to who it matters to most and not on you, for a change? How amazing would it have been to see all the people she sings about in one video looking happy and accepted? I mean, that's the core of this song, that's what it's all about! "No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life, I'm on the right track baby, I was born to survive. No matter black, white or beige, chola or Orient made, I'm on the right track baby, I was born to be brave." So tell me, how is GaGa dancing around in tiny underwear relevent to this song at all? This song matters to a lot of people, it's quite clear by the amount of comments on YouTube. Wouldn't it have been more meaningful, more uplifting, more inspirational for people if it had included people like them? Clearly not a lot of people have a problem with the video so maybe I should just shut up, but it bothers me that even though it's a song for others GaGa still takes centre stage.

Take a look at these videos that contain a very similar if not identical message to GaGa's song. The first one is called "Ugly" by the Sugababes. Not the best song in the world in my opinion, but the video is filled with people who have unique skills (and probably bullied and considered freaks because of them) showcasing and celebrating their skills, with the artists themselves joining in with them and having everyone hold up blackboards with the lyrics to the song written on them.

The second one is that famous video by Christina Aguilera, which features several people who are clearly uncomfortable with themselves and how they look, and the torture and shame they go through because they're considered different by society, but pulling through and accepting themselves for who they are, not caring about anyone else. It's a very simple video but works very well and really gets the message across, even if some bits are uncomfortable to watch depending on the individual. I was about 14 when it came out and it was the first time I ever saw a gay kiss!

Even Katy Perry managed to do it better than GaGa with her video for the song "Firework". In this video she showcases parents arguing in front of children, a girl unhappy with her body, a cancer patient, a gay man, someone getting mugged etc. It's an uplifting song with an uplifting video to help people realise that you're worth more than you realise and that you matter.

This also came out when I was at school, round about the same time as Christina's "Beautiful". It's a very emotional and powerful video of the actions of victims who couldn't take more of life or those who were victims to random shootings. It's not exactly in the same boat as the videos above as they're more uplifting and inspirational whereas this one is designed to make you think about your actions and how you treat others, but it's still about the vulnerability of others.

And then you get GaGa dancing around in her underwear.

Just sayin'.

#PrayForJapan

2011-03-14T16:29:00.002Z

First off, sorry for the lack of blog updates. My computer got eaten by a virus! But it's had a good doctor seen to it, had a motherboard transplant and now it's all good!

Now, onto the blog entry.

It saddened me deeply when I heard the news of Japan's earthquake. It's a magnificent country that has given the rest of the world so much; TV's, game consoles, animé, vehicles, karaoke, martial arts etc. It's a powerful country with the best technological advances and to see parts of Japan's towns reduced to nothing is heartbreaking. It's a huge realisation to know that, even though the Japanese are prepared for Mother Nature, it doesn't matter how much your buildings are capable of withstanding earthquakes or how much training you've had, nature still has the upperhand.

I have literally been glued to the news since Friday. I have so much love for Japan my heart could burst and to see such a beautiful country (that I've yet still to visit) going through such hardship and to see so many lives lost is just awful.

The earthquake was first recorded with a magnitude of 8.9 - the worst earthquake to hit earthquake prone Japan - but has since been recorded with a magnitude of 9 instead, and is in the top 10 of the Earth's worst natural disasters. The earthquake happened underwater a few miles away from the north east coast. An earthquake happens when the tectonic plates under the Earth's surface collide. As this happened underwater, when the plates collided it caused a tsunami which caused the most amount of damage. As seen in the pictures and footages below, you can really see the destruction caused by a 33ft wall of water. Although the earthquake was extremely strong and made ceilings collapse, furniture to fall over etc, the tsunami was so powerful it destroyed thousands of homes as it took the houses and buildings off their foundations and broke them down into tiny pieces.

Embedding disabled by request but click here to view the magnificent destructive force of Mother Nature.

Incredible footage of the tsunami waves hitting Japan's coastline. At 1:25, you can see the waves pushing homes away from their foundations and the sheer force and speed the water travels at (reports have said the water was travelling at 500 mph when it hit land - that's the speed of an aeroplane.)

The whirpool

Amateur footage of the earthquake affecting a supermarket

Before and after photos: The shocking image of green, habitated Japan and the ruins then left behind.

The earthquake has also caused a number of fires and several nuclear powerplants to be affected and shut down, with many residents nearby forced to evacuate.

Now onto factual figures. It has been reported that 1, 886 deaths have been confirmed, 1, 919 injuries with 2, 369 missing across 16 prefectures. As high as these numbers are, it is expected that these figures are due to rise above 10, 000. Around 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity and 1.4 million without water.

Many people are left homeless, jobless and without family members. How do you even begin to rebuild your life when you have lost so much? And how do you even begin to repair the damage? The mess that has been left behind is simply indescribable. Where do you begin? It is going to take approximately tens of billions of US Dollars to build up the places that have been destroyed. It has been reported that Justin Bieber has donated $1,000,000 towards Japan, Lady GaGa donated $16,000,000 and has now brought out "Pray for Japan" wrsitbands with proceedings going towards the country. Many have encouraged their fans to send donations by texting. If you wish to donate, you can by texting REDCROSS to 90999.

I'm very proud of my country and other countries for having their troops fly out to help Japan in their time of need. Despite the wars and conflict that goes on, it is heartwarming in this dark time to know that we do all still care about each other's wellbeing and are willing to give a helping hand to those who are reaching out for help.

Japan has suffered over 70 aftershocks since the earthquake and they are also due for another big one any time soon, apparently. I hope and pray that the effect that the second one has (if it happens) is significantly lower than the first and that the nightmare will soon be over for them, although I know that it will take years for the country and it's people to recover.

I send all my love, hope and strength to Japan and its Japanese citizens.

The Reality of Rabbits

2011-01-14T20:59:00.003Z

There's a lot of misconceptions about rabbits. A lot of people think they're cute, cuddly, friendly, clean, easy to handle, good with children etc.

Wrong.

I've had experience looking after rabbits for nearly a decade. See that gorgeous grey and white dutch rabbit on the top left? That's our boy Hunee (I didn't name him), and he turns 10 in March 2011. We had two other rabbits like him - they were all brothers - called Thumper (grey and white) and Crunchie (black and white). Unfortunately they are now in Bunny Heaven, but now we have two more little rascals by the name of Chilli (middle) and Oscar (right).

Rabbits may be cute, but each rabbit has it's own little personality and one that can change throughout the months and years you have them. Are rabbits cuddly? Well, Hunee is. Hunee thoroughly enjoys being handled and having cuddles with his human family, but Chilli and Oscar are the complete opposites. Chilli has a mind of his own and will do whatever the hell he likes, and Oscar is a maniac who will scratch and kick his way out of your arms if you don't hold him tight enough.

The next topic is friendliness. I am telling you right now that rabbits have mood swings too and won't hesitate to nip or bite you if they are angry. Recently for example, I went to get Oscar's bowl out of his hutch so I could feed him and he ended up biting my finger. A proper bite on the knuckle; I bled and everything. It wasn't a terrible bite and the blood wasn't gushing out, but they are confident enough to break your skin if they feel like it. This is why they are not necessarily easy to handle or good with children, because some rabbits can have Diva Attitudes.

As for clean...well, rabbits do groom themselves, yes. However (I can only speak for bucks, because I've only had bucks) they will poo wherever they like. They each have a litter tray and it does get used, apparently they can even be litter trained (we tried but alas, it didn't work), but not all the time. And their poo can smell. Especially if one suffers from diarrhoea.

Let me tell you about Hunee's sweet, adorable brother Crunchie, who unfortunately passed away June 11th 2010:

Crunchie was the perfect, docile rabbit. He absolutely adored attention and would let you stroke and cuddle him till the cows came home, he would shower you with affection by licking you until you had no skin left (this didn't happen but probably would have done) and was just generally very loving, very sweet and curious about the world around him. However, Crunchie, no matter how hard we tried, was a little on the tubby side. This caused a number of problems, one being the fur. Rabbits will molt in the summer, and they will molt a lot. You may often see tufts of fur poking out amongst the fur, it can be really noticeable and you can even pull out the fur yourself. It doesn't hurt them as the fur is already loose. But anyway, the reason why this is bad is because tubby bunnies can't reach everywhere therefore making it very difficult to groom themselves, so you will sometimes have to groom them for them. You may need to do the same with a fit rabbit, but with a chubby bunny you will need to do it more regularly and more often. Another bad thing is that if they do have lots of tufts of fur, rabbits may end up swallowing it through grooming. Rabbits aren't like cats and can't cough up fur balls due to their complicated digestive system, so the tuft of fur will get stuck in the intestines, the rabbit won't be able pee or excrete and if left untreated it can become dangerous and fatal. (If this happens, giving your rabbit pineapple juice will work wonders as the acid helps break down any blockages. I have had to do this a few times with my rabbits including Crunchie, who nearly died from this exact problem when he was just a year old).

This is how much fur I got out of Hunee. Crunchie's was very similar or worse.

Another problem that tubby bunnies have, which links back to their cleanliness, is that they may not be able to properly clean their bottoms. Crunchie, for some reason, suffered from diarrhoea pretty much all his life despite us feeding him less rabbit mix, more pellets and more hay etc. It didn't matter what we did, he would have it. Anyway, sometimes the diarrhoea was so bad that it would clump together and stick to his bottom (not to mention completely REEK) and the poor thing found it uncomfortable. Sometimes it would just drop off if he walked round the garden, but we sometimes we had to clean it for him. Crunchie was perfect though; he would sit there on your lap with the patience of a saint whilst tissue after tissue would clean his bottom. Sometimes it would be so bad that he needed to have a bath. Sounds cute, but it's rather time consuming. And gross.
The other dangerous thing about diarrhoea being stuck on a rabbit's bottom is Fly Strike. I am both relieved and surprised that Crunchie never suffered it, but Fly Strike is absolutely terrible and can be avoided if your rabbit is cared after properly. Diarrhoea smells worse during the summer because of the heat, and that attracts flies. Flies will latch onto the poo stuck on your rabbits bottom, lay their eggs, and then when the maggots hatch they will eat their way through the poo and can end up inside your rabbit which can end in a fatality. But Fly Strike can be prevented by making sure that your rabbit A) Doesn't suffer from diarrhoea, B) doesn't have any poo on their bum when they go outside or C) has had a certrain spray sprayed on him that repels flies.

A rabbits digestive system is complicated so if you are thinking of buying a rabbit you will probably end up experiencing some runny poo at some point. Hopefully not to the extent that Crunchie had though! Not all rabbits have it that badly, but it is just a word of warning. Those ignorant about rabbits may assume that they are clean and do not smell, but trust me, they can smell a lot. Chilli, Oscar and Hunee both have perfectly normal, round poos but they can still smell despite having a normal, healthy diet. I don't know why, but trust me. It stinks. Including the wee! I cannot stress this enough - please do not buy a rabbit if you are not prepared to get your hands dirty once in a while. Rabbits need you like a newborn baby relies on you when they have bad bottoms.

Back to personalities. Like every human, cat or dog, rabbits have their own personalities too. Amongst all the problems you have when it comes to looking after rabbits, interacting with rabbits makes it so worth while. Rabbits may be a bit silly sometimes and hit things when they run around at high speed, but they are intelligent creatures. All of the rabbits I've had have always known when it's food time (when the light goes on in the rabbit room at night-time they are all up by the bars acting like zombies that are in desperate need to chew a brain or two), Thumper was known to put his paws in his food bowl and rattle it around when he wanted food, all the rabbits will look at their water bottle, look at you, drink a bit, and look at you again hinting that they want you to squeeze it because they're too lazy to lick the spout (I'm serious), they will tell you when they want to be stroked by forcing their heads under your hand, they will examine every corner of your house to see if they can outsmart you by going somewhere they shouldn't, etc. They are cheeky little things but it's always funny seeing how their minds work, how they see the world and how they have their own way of communicating with you. That's what makes the hardwork rewarding in my opinion, because you can actually communicate and play with them, but you have to adhere to their individual personalities.

Hunee

When we first got Hunee, he was the Devil. Moody, unsociable and willing to attack anyone who dared bother him, he was very difficult to handle and I was actually afraid of him. This is why rabbits can be unsuitable for children. When all 3 of them (Thumper, Crunchie and Hunee) were old enough, they got the snip. Getting the snip can alter the personalities of rabbits as it lowers their testosterone levels and it particularly worked with Hunee. Instead of being a boisterous rabbit with a personality similar to someone in the Mafia and would growl at you if you dared enter his personal space, Hunee became very shy. Before, Hunee would try and wriggle his way out of your arms if you held him, but now he will happily stay there and enjoy all the attention in the world. He won't lick you like his brothers did, but will come up to you and nudge you lightly to say hello and will interact with you.

When Crunchie passed on, Hunee became rather depressed and quiet, but when we got the new bunnies about a month later, Hunee got a spring in his step. As we had 9 years of experience under our belt, we brought up the two new rabbits slightly differently and now Hunee has accomodated to it too. In the past, Hunee was always partial to a bit of cuddling on the sofa whilst we watched TV, but now that we have given them more freedom around the house, Hunee is more than happy and confident enough to jump off the sofa whenever he wishes and have a wander around. Chilli is a cheeky rabbit, and Hunee is increasingly copying his attitude which I find hilarious for a 9 year old rabbit! It's like he's discovered the meaning of life all over again. Recently he started tugging at my jeans with his teeth, and then eventually going after my top that was situated on the radiator and eventually pulled it off! But when he's not being cheeky, he is happy enough to sit under the chair I am using right now and lay by my feet. Cuteness overload.

Chilli

I assure you that Chilli is not dead in the above photo. He is well and truly alive! In fact, he has energy bursting out of him almost 24/7. That's why I can only take pictures of Chilli when he is laying down, because he just moves too much!
He is an energetic soul who enjoys being around humans. In fact, sometimes I wonder if he knows he's a rabbit. However, he hates being picked up! As they are now allowed to run around in the living room unlike our past rabbits who could only run in the garden, we set up a little area and when Chilli's hutch door gets opened, Chilli runs straight to the right area. Too cute and so clever! Although we can't manually handle him it doesn't really matter, as he for some reason knows where to go. We bought a teddy bear for Chilli who has become Chilli's best friend and sex partner. It's his sex partner because Chilli humps the poor thing ALL the time (it's actually how we found out Chilli was a boy as the people in the pet shop told us he was a girl...) but Chilli genuinely loves the bear. He always licks it and plays with it, and if you pick up the teddy bear and run with it, Chilli will follow! It's absolutely adorable and a good way to get Chilli on the right path if he starts to wander off when he isn't supposed to. But this is why I love playing with Chilli because he loves to play with the bear. He prefers being played with as opposed to be being stroked. He likes to have his own space and can keep himself amused at all times. He may even chase his tail now and then.

Oscar

Oscar is a small framed, dainty little rabbit but can zip around at the speed of light. Even though he is very sweet, he can be a bit of a nightmare and Oscar is the perfect example of why rabbits aren't necessarily for children. Oscar hates being handled with a passion. The moment you try to pick him up he will try to escape, even if it means you, the owner, getting injured. Because he hates to be handled, it makes it very difficult to catch him if he is being let out for a run. Rabbits need lots of exercise and they love grass, so of course he needs to be let out to have a good run around, but when time is up he won't let you get him. He will run around the garden trying to avoid you, even if he is absolutely shattered, and you can literally be out there for an hour. So, what do you do to combat this problem? It's a difficult situation. Oscar is my sister's rabbit and she can handle him the most, so I think that the only thing you can do is to just spend as much time with him as possible so he can get used to you. When he lays down he loves to be stroked and fussed over, just don't pick him up unless you want a ton of scratch marks. Don't get me wrong, Oscar is an absolute sweetheart and rarely bites (apart from the one time when I went to feed him) I just find him a complete nightmare to handle.

The Conclusion

Every rabbit is entirely different, and it can be difficult to tell what your rabbit's personality is like when you're "rabbit shopping" in a pet store. All of our rabbits have been bought from a pet shop (when we got our first 3 we were rabbit beginners, and I didn't even choose the new two) but apparently it's strongly advised that you get pets from either animal shelters or breeders, as they have been surrounded by people who have loved and cared for them properly, therefore probably easier to handle.

So considering 3 of my rabbits were brothers and the other two were bought at the same time, can they run around together? Well, no. Not anymore. When they're babies/only a few weeks old they can run around and play with each other no problem in my experience, but a couple of months later when they start to hit their teens, they start to get aggressive towards each other, they will try to dominate each other and mark their territory.

Thumper and Hunee got into a horrific fight once and a rabbit fight is similar to a cartoon sketch - it's one big fuzz ball with fur flying everywhere! But the fights can be very dangerous. Our rabbits have been injured but nothing serious - they have however been cut and started bleeding, so if your rabbits start to fight I would recommend trying to break it up before it happens rather than let them have it out. I tried to stop Hunee and Thumper in mid-flow by myself when I was a teenager, but one of them (don't know who, they're both grey and white) bit the side of my hand which bled and gave me a mysterious marking which scarred me for a few weeks. Oscar and Chilli nearly fought a couple of times but we separated them when we knew it was going to happen.

So what can you do to make them less aggressive? Apparently getting them "done" can reduce their aggression for the reason stated earlier, but I found this to be untrue when our 3 Dutch rabbits were done, as they still fought afterwards. So how did they live their lives? Each rabbit had their own hutch, inside and out, but these hutches were close together so they could still see each other and be in each other's company. They spend their days outside and their nights inside. Several years later, we tried to put Hunee and Crunchie together when they were 8 or 9 years old. We held the rabbits so that we could stop them in case they began to charge at each other, but it turned out to be a good result as Crunchie started to lick Hunee!

Chilli and Oscar during happier times together...

The problem with getting rabbits "done" though is that they have to go under anaesthetic, and that's something rabbits don't always respond well to. My rabbit Thumper died not long after his 3rd birthday in an operation, and my friend's rabbit died just a few hours after being under anaesthetic. They even have to go under anaesthetic to have an X-Ray done just so they stay still. Rabbits are small, fragile little creatures but you have to decide what you think is best for your rabbit. With Hunee, getting the snip worked wonders for him as he became much more manageable, but as for Chilli and Oscar, we like them just the way they are and we don't want them to change so it depends entirely on the rabbit and entirely on the owner. Hunee and Crunchie have been under anaesthetic a few times and have both been fine, but after Thumper's horrid death on the operation table it has made us very wary and we try to avoid anaesthetic if possible. For example, if your rabbit needs an X-Ray, I recommend them getting an ultrascan instead as they don't need to be put to sleep.

Rabbits are much more hard work than some people realise. Hutches need to be cleaned out according to how quickly they get dirty (with Hunee we can do his weekly, but with Chilli we need to do it at least every other day), they need to be fed properly to avoid stomach issues and given the proper amount of attention, and if they become ill they need to go to the vets immediately as they quickly deteriorate. As gorgeous as rabbits are, they can be both docile and vicious, but each and every one of them are fragile.
Rabbits were not made to just be shoved in a hutch and be said hello to once in a while. Rabbits need constant love and attention otherwise they can get depressed. If you're buying a rabbit for a child then the child can get bored and you, the parent, will have to look after it. Children can get bored of any pets, not just rabbits, but people need to be made aware that rabbits are unique and can be difficult to manage. Having a rabbit is not the same as having a gerbil or a hamster, not in the slightest.

I could go into plenty more detail, but if you're that interested in getting a rabbit then get a rabbit book written by a professional (because I am not professional, I am going by my own experience) and doing some proper, extensive research. They are mysterious little things but not always the ideal pet, so please do rabbits a favour by either buying one and looking after it correctly and lovingly, or by not getting them and let them go to someone who can care for them properly. It doesn't matter how nightmarish or difficult the rabbit is - all it needs is a little bit of patience and a little bit of love.

JYJ VS Homin

2010-12-20T16:04:00.003Z

As some of you may or may not be aware, the 5 piece group Dong Bang Shin Ki are on a hiatus due to a lawsuit. Three members (Junsu, Yoochun and Jaejoong) had formed JYJ, while the other two members (Yunho and Changmin) had formed Homin.

You can read my blog about JYJ right HERE, but in short, JYJ's music is so bland and one level in comparison to their Dong Bang Shin Ki music, whereas Homin...

Okay. Let's rewind. When I first heard of Dong Bang Shin Ki - shortened to DBSK - my favourite members were Changmin and Yunho. Changmin has a terrific, powerful voice and as Yunho is the best dancer out of them all, his vocals tend to get overlooked but I sincerely believe he has a great voice too. (His dancing skills are hot though...anyway.)

So as you're reading this you may think I am a little biased, but I honestly don't think I am. While I may not be a fan of JYJ's music, I still think that each member is talented and wish them all success, but I do think that Homin's musical comeback is on a much greater, epic scale.

When I heard about JYJ I was so excited, but after hearing their music I couldn't help but feel disappointed. However, when I heard about a possible musical reunion with Changmin and Yunho, I prayed that this would be a little bit better.
As a five piece group they were absolutely brilliant and they all gelled so well together, so in sync. As a 3 piece it just fell apart, but as a 2 piece I found myself going "YES!!!"

Homin have GOT IT. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to their song "Athena" which is on the OST of a drama series with the same name (which features the acting talent of Choi Siwon, member of Super Junior). This song doesn't feature an American rapper, nor is it synthesised, nor is it boring, nor is it bland. It's real music featuring real instruments, amazing vocals, brilliant harmonies and an uplifting crescendo for the chorus that it makes you want to jump out of your seat and sing to the Gods. I can totally imagine this song being played in an arena with thousands of fans screeching every single word. This is what a real song sounds like.

HOMIN - ATHENA

Compare this piece of Pop/Rock epicness to the R'n'B sound of JYJ...

JYJ - AYYY GIRL

So why do the Good Girls always fall for the Bad Boys?

2010-11-08T17:42:00.001Z

If you told me earlier this year that I'd be starring in a music video, I'd have laughed in your face and told you to stop lying. However, when iMMa messaged me asking to be a backing dancer in her new music video, I was both over the moon and floored.

I still remember it. Just a simple Twitter DM could make my heart pump fast and my hands shake. What the hell have I just read here?
iMMa is currently Mika's backing singer and before the music video happened, I had only met her twice and talked to her on Twitter a couple of times. Now she was asking me to be a part of her own musical project! Quite a big ask if you ask me, so I was absolutely honoured.

A few messages later and I was asked if I could round up 7 other dancers which, even though I go to a dance school and know quite a few dancers, was quite hard to do!! It took quite a number of weeks to get everyone together and it was a close call too!! After sending iMMa everyone's names, pictures and measurements, it was nearly show time. I was emailed a call sheet and passed it on to everyone else and before I had time to blink, the morning of the first shoot arrived.

I woke up painfully early and decided to check my emails and eat my Coco Pops before getting ready. I had an e-mail from iMMa, asking if any of the dancers and I had any of these clothing items...

Picture this: This email was almost as long as my arm; my tired eyes suddenly became very awake and the arm holding my spoon that was full of Coco Pops rested near my mouth, unable to go any further from complete terror. I sat there frozen trying to take everything in: trilbee hats, clinch belts, brogues, white shirts, 50's style dresses, petticoats, leather jackets...you name it, it was there on that list. I woolfed down my breakfast and rummaged my wardrobe for anything that could be worthwhile and wrote a 5 page text message essay to each and every dancer.

We arrived at the station with our suitcases and had a nice ol' catch up with old dancing friends and new ones throughout the journey to Bethnal Green. We were slightly late due to being a little bit lost, but Laura (iMMa's manager) came to our rescue! iMMa greeted us with a welcoming smile and a nice warm hug, and we all stepped to one side so they could look through our clothes and get changed. Turns out that very little of what we brought was useful (and lugging a big suitcase round London in the rain is never fun!!) but luckily they were equipped with lots of things as well. We were given our roles based on our height, so the tall ones were dudes and the short ones dudettes. Quite glad I was a female - the guys had to have a bandage round their chests to flatten their boobs!! And that wouldn't have gone down very well with me...!

After several changes, we had a quick bite to eat and met Cat - the producer - for the first time, who is an absolute treasure!! So easy to talk to and generally just loveliness in human form. After that we were taken to another room to have our hair done (Maria - Mika's wardrobe assistant was one of the helpers!) and they all swapped stories of people they've styled and what life was like on the road. I also found out at this moment that Ida Falk Winland - the woman who sings on "Happy Ending" and is one of Mika's friends - was going to be an extra too! Surprise!! As our hair was being done, iMMa was shooting her performance bit on the stage.
After that it was makeup time, and soon after iMMa picked her 3 main girls (Gemma, Sarah, and...oh, me!!) and we began to shoot!

The first scene was of us three running down the stairs and entering the club, looking around, and then running to the bar. Sounds dead easy but took several, several shots. After that wrapped, the boy version of iMMa and the other "boys" sat by a table and did general "bad blokes" stuff like drinking, smoking (HERBAL cigarettes I'd like to add...), roughing it up, chatting up the ladies...

At one point when we were just sitting around waiting,, Ida sat on a chair opposite me. It was the first time I had ever seen and met her, and just kind of wanted to say hello and introduce myself really. So I said "You're Ida, right?" and she replied "Yes I am, who are you?" whilst extending out her hand so that I could shake it. One thing that struck me was her accent - I believe she's of Scandinavian descent (but if I'm wrong, lemme know) and looking at her in this man's outfit you'd never believe she was an Opera singer! Whilst shaking her hand I said "I'm Caroline, I'm erm..." and I just thought yikes, what the hell do I say now? Oh well, might as well come out with the truth... "I'm one of Mika's fans." Ida smiled and laughed a bit, but our conversation was cut short due to her phone ringing.

That was pretty much it for day 1! We all went home and had a good ol' rest...had to be up at 5:30 tomorrow for a super early start!!

The good thing about my clothes not being any good was that I no longer had to travel with a big suitcase!! We all arrived before iMMa did and we met our choreographer Christina who was very nice, talented and a gem. We all partnered up and began with the footwork. Luckily the routine was simple so was very easy to pick up - Joe Yoshida, the drummer, said that it was already starting to look slick and clean despite only learning it for 10 minutes! Dancing in my shoes was literally a pain though, as they were a size too big and had to stuff tissue down them which made my toes sore!

For absolute hours we were doing this dance as the camera men wanted to do several shots. I lost count how many times we did it, the camera men even got a dolly and track out and everything! Exciting stuff. At one point whilst waiting for the cameras to roll, I was practicing on my own and flicked my arm out...accidentally hitting someone! I thought it was probably a dancer but it wasn't, it was Ida! And it was quite a hard whack! I felt so bad and apologised profusely...
We were constantly having our makeup retouched and always going over things, but it was so much fun! We soon had a break and I decided that this was my chance...

To say thank you, I decided to buy iMMa something. It was only a box of chocolates but I was so grateful and happy to be a part of something so amazing and something that meant so much to her, the trust she put in me as well...I approached her and announced that I had a gift, and to my complete surprise iMMa bounced up and said "I have something for you, too!"
She ran off and then came back holding a bundle, jumped up and down like an excited child and said "you first!!", so I handed over the box of Thorntons chocolates, and then she began to explain her gift to me. She said "This was something I bought in Japan and I wore it for a show, but I'd like you to have it..."
Already I was stunned and I hadn't even seen it yet! Not only because it was from Japan but because it was so personal. I took it from her and it was this lovely black kimono style jacket. As I thanked her I broke out into this geeky mini speech about how pleased I was to be involved in this music video and that I never thought I'd ever get to do this in my life and I got choked up and everything xD Man I need to work on my cool streak...

She then drew a picture for me in my memory book, complete with a very sweet message!

"Thank you for all of your help...you have been amazing, all your support - this video would not have happened without you!! Dance through life gracefully!!"

After the break we did a bit more dancing, then shots of the 3 main girls running onto the dance floor, and even a kissing scene! But I shall not elaborate, I'll let you watch the video.

After they had finished with us, iMMa put a few gifts in a bag, and everyone put their hand in and grabbed something! Bit like lucky dip. I got this pretty hair clip with a dangling flower which I believe is from Sweden, while Chelsea - another dancer - got her hands on iMMa's first E.P!

That was pretty much all that happened, as far as I can remember! Here is a video of what happened behind the scenes:

A few pictures:

And of course...the video itself!!

I sincerely hope you all like it, it was such a BLAST to make and I would love nothing more than to do more!!

I've said it so many times, but thank you again iMMa so much. It wasn't just a privilige to be in your video, but to actually work with you as well including the wonderful team that support you. Each and every one of you helped make this video AWESOME.

Congratulations on a great video everyone! We all worked really hard and the final product was SO worth it.

Here are some links:

ARTIST - iMMa
iMMa's MySpace
iMMa's YouTube
iMMa's Facebook
iMMa's Website
iMMa's Twitter

PRODUCER - Cat Knowles Fitton
Cat's Twitter
Cat's Website

CHOREOGRAPHER - CHRISTINA ANDREA
Christina's Facebook
Christina's Twitter
Christina's Website