Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems…

While most of us were shocked by the earthquake in Sichuan, China and saddened by the devastation it caused, there were others just waiting for the chance to turn it to their advantage. You know the type of netizen, if they get the scent of blood, then they go in for the kill.

Their current victim is entertainer Andy Lau. Like a host of other celebrities, he has donated a considerable sum to the relief fund. However, when it was revealed that the amount in question was “only” $100,000, members of the online community were up in arms. Their problem was that someone with the riches of Andy Lau should be giving far more than that. Yeah, he’s so selfish, right…

I wonder how much money these Cyber-Champions of Sichuan donated? It seems that celebrities can’t do right or wrong, damned if they do, damned if they don’t. The same problem arose last year when Korean celebrities went to volunteer and clean up the oil spill at Taean. It was out of the question that, despite their high profile careers, celebrities might actually want to help. No, no, it was those crafty DBSK boys taking any opportunity they could to make themselves look good. Another SM marketing technique. In fact, they probably orchestrated the whole oil spill just for the photo-ops…

Is anyone else getting sick and tired of these bad netizen attitudes? Why is it so hard to believe that Changmin has a pretty face and a big heart too? Speaking up in Andy Lau’s defence, Feng Xiaogang revealed that $100,000 had been agreed as the standard contribution from all members of the Hong Kong Performing Artiste’s Guild. After all, not every actor in Hong Kong makes as much money as Andy Lau, it had to be a figure that everyone could afford. Furthermore, there’s nothing to stop Andy making subsequent donations privately, which I’m sure he has done.

But why should the truth and common sense get in the way of a good internet scandal? Let’s vilify Andy – he’s famous he can handle it…

As for the vicious netizens who seek to spoil an act of generosity, I wish they would take a closer look at the victims of the earthquake. Absolutely ANYTHING that they get is helpful. Maybe people making negative comments about people who do help should reach into their pockets before reaching for their keyboards.

Oricon Single Chart 21/5/08: Prisoner of Johnnies…

…well, a girl can dream can’t she?!?!

The big shock in this weeks Oricon charts is that Utada Hikaru’s much vaunted single “Prisoner of Love” (ohmigodthebstsongeva!!!!!11!1onelol) FAILED to make the number one spot on its release. Instead, the gold medal went to those cheeky paedo-bait from the Jimusho – Hey! Say! JUMP!

They top the list with “Dreams Come True”, while their senpais KAT-TUN are still going strong with “DON’T U EVER STOP”. A good week for Johnny to be sure.

Full list:

1. Hey! Say! JUMP – Dreams come true
2. Utada Hikaru – Prisoner of Love
3. Otsuka Ai -Rocket Sneaker/OnexTime

4. KAT-TUN – DON’T U EVER STOP
5. The Cro-Magnons – Right Beat
6. Takeuchi Mariya – Shiawase no Monosashi/Ureshikute Samishii Hi (Your Wedding Day)
7. Micro – Odore
8. 9mm Parabellum Bullet – Supernova/Wanderland
9. Sakai Masaaki – Wasure Mono/Saike na heart
10. Aqua Timez – Niji

Do You Recognise Her With Her Clothes On…?

Ok, that might be a little bit harsh…

It looks like Gillian Chung (Ah Gill) of Twins is preparing to make her return. Arguably the one who lost the most in the fallout from the Edison Chen sex scandal, the Cantopop star is clocking up the hours in training.

She is reportedly studying three types of dance, taking vocal training, practicing with an English tutor and even learning martial arts. Watch your back Edison!

She has also lost weight, which apparently has a direct correlation to her looking “prettier”. Whatever.

I’m one of those people who don’t want to see Gillian, Cecilia Cheung, Bobo Chan et al suffer indeterminabley for those raunchy photos. Yes – they were naive, even stupid. However, it’s sheer madness to suggest that any of them should retire from the public eye. Furthermore, credit has to be given to the totally innocent parties in this case – Charlene Choi, for example. Gillian’s bandmate has continued working through the media storm and kept whatever is left of Twins’ positive image alive.

Credit to to Gillian for obviously appreciating Charlene’s hard work. There is a massive debt to be paid. Let’s hope she gets the chance to fulfill it.

http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Gillian-Chung-Secretly-Training-to-make-a-comeback-spotted-looking-slim-and-hardly-eating-talk543575.html

Utada Hikaru Free Stuff!

…sort of.

If you like Utada and her new track “Prisoner of Love“, then I suggest you check out her Official Website.

You can get some wallpapers and a REALLY cool screensaver at the moment.

So go ahead and pimp your desktop – Hikki style!

http://www.emimusic.jp/hikki/download/index_e.htm

Anna Tsuchiya In Mourning

News is filtering through that Joshua Niimura, the ex-husband of Anna Tsuchiya, has died.

The Japanese star, whose highly sucessful career has encompassed singing, acting and modeling, is mourning the loss of the father of her child. Known professionally as “Joshua”, he and Tsuchiya got together when both were models. They married in 2004 but divorced two years later.

For Dream! sends our condolences to Anna and her daughter Sky. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.

http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-3256

Shinhwa, So Good!

We’re almost half-way through the calendar year, and guess which Korean lovelies top the album charts so far?

That’s right, it’s the daddies of K-pop, Shinhwa! Their 10th Anniversary album, released in April is leading the way with 96,320 units shifted so far. Not bad.

In second place is Epik High’s “Pieces, Vol. One”, having sold 54, 227 copies. And don’t you just KNOW that it’s killing Tablo. After his recent outburst condeming the download culture that exists among Korean netizens (and, to be fair, the rest of the world) this is not what he wants to hear. I don’t doubt that twice as many copies of “Pieces” have been “aquired” and while Tablo is not childish enough to be concerned with oneupmanship against Shinhwa, these figues must grate…

Nonetheless, well done to Shinhwa. They’ve put the work in all these years, it’s good to see them keep going strong.

Dr. McPouty

Everyone’s favourite perma-pout is back.

Yamashita Tomohisa is set to lead the cast of a new Fuji TV production entitled “Code Blue:Doctor Heli Kinkyu Kyumei“.  The premise of the drama is “special-op” doctors who can reach emergencies quickly by helicopter, a directive that was recently started in Japan.

As well as Yamapi, ther are some other stand out names in the cast: Aragaki Yui, Toda Erika (Hana Yori Dango 2, Death Note 1 &2), Asari Yosuke (Fuurin Kazan) and Terajima Susumu (Moon Child).

I can’t say I’m chomping at the bit for this one, but we’ll wait and see…

It’s Times Like This That I Really Wish I Lived In Japan…

…for the concerts, if nothing else.

This year saw the marking of Avex’s 20th anniversary. As Japan’s biggest record company, you would expect some sort of massive showcase…and you’d be right.

This year’s a-nation line-up is hotter than ever. If you’re lucky enough to be in the area, you have your choice of artists including TRF, Every Little Thing, Koda Kumi, Otsuka Ai, Suzuki Ami, DBSK and AAA. Doing significantly fewer dates are EXILE, SEAMO and mihimaru GT. All concerts take place in July and August.

Of course, the big question is where on Earth is Hamasaki Ayumi? She may not be Avex’s brightest star anymore but she’s still their biggest name. In fact, with the exception of DBSK, she’s their their most bankable ticket-seller. So why isn’t she involved?

Although this is pure specualtion on my part, I suspect her health might be the reason. I don’t think any of us will forget Kohaku 07 in a hurry. There may be concerns over her abilty to carry off such a tour successfully. Now, I’m not really a fan of Ayu, but I can’t deny that she’s the ultimate professional. I think she could handle the strain. It’s what she does. If Avex don’t want to risk damaging her ears any more, that’s one thing. However, if they don’t want to risk their brand at her expense…they’re making a big mistake. One way or another, I don’t think we’ve heard the end of this…

Ticket info can be got at the official site (Japanese):

http://a-nation.net/index.html

Now excuse me while I just DIE from envy….!

Well, I’m Certainly Looking Only At Him!

Well, I’m speechless.

First Wonder Girls surprise me, now it’s that whippersnapper Tae Yang of Big Bang.

His two solo PVs have been released from his album “HOT” and I’m shocked at how good they are. With both Rain and Se7en trying to make waves in America, the market for a Korean-urban-good looking-singing-dancing-too cool for school-bad boy (but in a non-threatening way) is wide open. Tae Yang has certainly staked his claim for this spot. However, Big Bang’s management have confirmed that he will be reeled back in to the fold to promote BB’s upcoming album so this is all we’re getting (for now…)

The first release is “Look Only At Me”. It’s a nice track, not quite as striking as the next one but a top notch pop/RnB song all the same. The video rather special too. For the most part I love it – the dancing is fantastic – an interesting concept that they really pull off. It reminds me of a musical. It’s nice to see the BB boys there – there are a lot of fans who will get a thrill out of that. The video is well casted and well directed. The only criticism I have is the little bit at the beginning in the café where Tae Yang is….”acting”. That’s the only way to describe it, but I’m using the term generously! Still, it’s only a minor flaw, I’m nitpicking. Good song, great video.

The second track is “Prayer”. This is simply stunning…I certainly see the comparisons that have been drawn with Omarion. The dancing in the PV is reminicint of his “Ice Box” PV. Tae Yang looks amazing though, no two ways about it. Wow, look at that toned bod! It’s a much more mature look than Big Bang has…or maybe it’s just put together better. Big Bang sometimes look like they’re trying to hard to be “gangsta”… Here is Tae Yang looking raw and ready. One request though – sort out the hair. Better yet – keep wearing that cap!

No disrespect to Tae Yang, but he never struck me as the one with the most solo potential in Big Bang. I’m certainly reconsidering my position now! It almost seems a shame that he has to return to the group so soon…hopefully the other guys take some pointers from this!

Congratulations Tae Yang, this should shut a lot of people up!

Tae Yang – Look Only At Me

Tae Yang – Prayer feat. Teddy

Note: If the videos are unavailable, let me know. You know what Youtube is like with this sort of thing…

So Hot or Not?

I’ll be brutally honest with you.

Since the publicity photos introducing to the Wonder Girls’ new image were released, I’ve been dreading their new song. By all means, the girls look good in the pictures – but it’s just not Wonder Girls!

Or so I thought.

The video for “So Hot” has been revealed and I take it all back. JYP sure knows what he’s doing. The outfits, in the context of the video, now make sense. It’s still a retro style, maybe a little bit more 80’s. The girls still look cute, just not so innocent. And why should they? Any successful artist needs to reinvent themselves (to a certain extent) between each album. You have to keep things fresh, right?

I’ve read other reviews of the video where the girls have been slammed for their new “sex pot” image. People need to grow up. The girls may still be young but their not stupid. How many of us didn’t glam it up when we were in our late teens? Besides, I hardly think acting your age and reflecting the materialistic society we live in today qualifies them as selling out to sexy.

The song itself echoes their previous hits with a retro disco beat. The tongue-in-cheek message of hard it is to be cute and popular is one that every girl is going to be singing on a night out. It’s catchy, the dance is cute – I’m sure it’s heading straight for number one. To be fair, most of the criticism seems to be directed towards the image change, rather than the song.

If you want your girl groups to fake their innocence and milk it for all they can, you can go and listen to SNSD. I’m happy with the Wonder Girls keeping it real. Now where can I get those pink socks like that….?!?!

Wonder Girls – So Hot (English Subbed)