I think it's only fair to mention after that last post regarding CD Japan's overeager Artist Alerts (and lack thereof) that there are a few of my favorite artists that CD Japan DOES keep me abreast of (AAA and Shakalabbits, to name a few), and in act, they've just let me know that one of my good old favorites from my golden age of J-Pop is releasing a Limited Edition Complete Singles 3 CD Collection, and that would be none other than Ms. CHISATO MORITAKA! Okay, I'm pretty sure there isn't going to be ANYTHING on here that I haven't already seen or heard before, but it's nice to have them all in one set, and I'm VERY curious as to what the Photobook is going to have inside! As it's set for an August release., I'll be curious for A WHILE! Thanks CD JAPAN, for THIS alert, you did good! LOL
Ah, CD Japan, you just keep me in stitches! It's funny enough when I'm getting deluged with alerts for releases that have barely any connection to the artists I've ordered (order an Arashi CD once, and you get weekly alerts for months when someone even remotely associated with Johnnys appears on a magazine cover, and you have no idea how many times Ohno Satoshi's been on a magazine cover this year!), but it's even more funny when I randomly check in on an artist that I DO love, and find that they've released something new months ago with nary a peep from them! AHAHA!
This happened before with both Nishida Hikaru and Ribbon when Pony Canyon released special "Complete Single Double Disc collections: by the time I found out about it, only the regular single disc was available! I was able to get the Nishida Hikaru one via ebay, but the ribbon one remains out of my grasp to this day! Since both artists were on my list of alerts, I'm wondering if the day they sent to email my smap filter was on high and directed it to my trash bin, or if they simply didn't bother!
Case in point: So I'm browsing through old favorite Yumi Matsutoya's catalog, and I was pretty surprised when I saw that not only had Yuming released a new album called ROAD SHOW, it had come out last July!!! LAST JULY?!!! GADS! So I hurriedly sent out that order, and unless there was some kind of limited edition that I missed out on (seeing as how the CD I got was a regular cased release), it looks like I caught the tail end of that order in the nick of time! I'll be sure to give y'all a proper analysis of this new album but i'll need time to catch my breath! WHEW!
I’ve
always been a fan of good dance moves accompanying a catchy song, and when they
first came up with the idea of “Dance Versions’ of music videos, they surely
had someone like me in mind! While a Normal Video would cut between face
shots/story supplement intercut with the dance footage, Dance Versions would feature the entire video
with a straight ahead camera focusing only on the choreography)…
One of the first videos I remember
seeing this from was for Morning Musume’s “The Manpower”, eventually, having a dance
version along with the regular PV became a regular thing for them. Soon it
seemed like every musical group that featured dancing also released a dance
only version, and these were ALWAYS the ones I loved above any other versions!
The choreography in the song performance is always an important factor for me,
being able to watch an entire dance session uninterrupted is an addition that
can make me love the song even tenfold more!
I
remember watching the PV (or, as K-pop refers to it, MV) of KARA’s “Wanna”,
and, noting how awesome the snippets of dancing they showed was, went off to
see if they had a dance version of it…sadly, none existed! Luckily I hooked up
with a terrific live performance of the song which was shot at a wider scope,
giving me lots of uncut dance move goodness! Oh how I love those dance moves
for WANNA!
But
sometimes neither the PV or the Live version shows you the entire scope of the
choreography, so the omission of a dance version is really detrimental for
maximum enjoyment of the song! Then I discovered another avenue- PRACTICE DANCE
SESSION VIDEO FOOTAGE!
SNSD practice for "Into The New World"
This is
something that I’ve so far only seen in K-pop (though I’ve been told Johnny
acts have them as well, and who knows who else), the first time I saw it was
for SISTAR and then Girls Generation performing “Into The New World”, and then
while watching SHINee practicing their epic song “Sherlock”, I was blown away
at how EFFECTIVE a practice video could be!!
Shinee Practice Video for "Sherlock"
Note the same background as SNSD, their SME labelmates
So as
you’ve all read, I’ve been getting pretty big on T-ARA lately, and though I’ve
liked their song “Lovey Dovey” well enough, I didn’t associate the song with
any kind of catchy dancing. In both the PV and live performances, the camera
edits were either too quick or they didn’t; focus on the girls legs or feet at
the appropriate time for me to see the entire act as a whole…
Enter
the Pratice Session Video! Honestly, as practice session videos are pretty
amateurishly shot, the lighting is dark and the members are sometimes far off,
but the Lovey Dovey video looked intriguing I just HAD to check it out, and was
it intriguing?…WAS IT EVER!
MAN!
Until I saw this Practice Video, I had NO IDEA how much moves, legwork and
footwork went into this song! The girls are literally slippin’ and slidin’ ALL
OVER THAT FLOOR, with enough Foot
Shuffling and Moonwalking to make any Michael Jackson fan proud! I cannot tell
you how many times I watched and re-watched this performance, it. is. so. DARN.
COOL!!!! (for best results, click on the embed and watch on Youtube)
After
watching this enough times that the images were burned into my brain, I went
back and watched the PVs and Live Performances I had of Lovey Dovey, and sure
enough, something’s missing…the edits, crops, and angles are too restricting
for the glory that this song has!
I therefore present this link for the
betterment of all mankind, or at least of all T-ARAfan-kind!
So I mentioned the other day that I'd just received a bunch of K-Pop CDs including Rainbow, SNSD and T-ara. Well, since then I've had a chance to give all of them a few good listens, and though all of them are good enough songs to satisfy, I have to say that T-ARA's "Temptastic" Album came ouf as the far-ahead winner...This album is just top notch AWESOME! Opening with the pounding Electronic dance tune YaYaYa, you knew this was going to be fun ride, (and O my aching car speakers were rumbling off their stands, SO Bass-Heavy!!!) Next came Wae Ireone (which gave off a REAL "SNSD" vibe for me!!!) and Ma Boo which featured those sultry vocals I love so much from them (a la Cry Cry), I thought it couldn't get any better, but then came the song that solidified the deal for me: "Mollayo"!
MAN! Mollayo is SUCH a CUTE, FUN and CATCHY song, I was smiling from ear to ear with its pure pop perfection! I've never gotten more happiness out of a breakup romance song ever! LOL! Man, I can't explain why, but Mollayo may be one of my favorite T-ARA songs ever! Closing with the power ballad "Gwaenchanhayo" and you've got yourself a nicely wrapped up K-pop masterpiece! Throw in Temptastic's wonderful packaging, hardcover booklet and color pictures and you're solid! Ever since falling in love with their song "Naega Neomu Apa (I'm Really Hurt) and then subsequently falling in love with their Breaking Heart album, T-ARA has consistently surpried me at how much "quality" is put into each album, all the songs are so darn good! I'm not a big fan listening to Japanese versions of K-pop songs I'd already learned in Korean (and vice versa), I am diligently waiting for their "Jewelry Box" Japan release coming out in a few weeks, mostly to see the live DVD that's coming with it! It's a good time to be a T-ara fan (heck, it's a great time to be into K-Pop!)
Been watching the reality show Kko Kko Tour because SNSD’s Yuri was part of the celebrity “guests” on the show, but though Yuri is looking more beautiful and adorable than I’ve ever seen in any other show, I don’t know if I can continue watching it for long…because as much as I love Yuri in it, the parts that irritate me are overwhelming!
Yuri Chooses Gil as her Date!!!
Poor Yuri doesn't know what she's getting into!
It’s not just that the shows’ regulars kind of get on my nerves with their selfish and bossy ways (especially Amy and Siah, YIKES!), but Gil, the guy paired up with Yuri is just being absolutely mean –spirited to her, and though I know it’s all for comedic effect, I just will not stand for anybody being so cruel to someone so wide-eyed and innocent as Yuri!
Ditched and Stranded at the Hotel!
It was kind of humorous (I guess) watching him shrug her off and ditch her at the resort, if only because Yuri’s frustrated reactions were so damn cute, but I really got taken aback when Gil fed Yuri a Cabbage Wrap…with a chicken bone inside that he’d already eaten! LOL, that’s DISGUSTING!!! Poor Yuri-ah!!
Yuri Bites into the Cabbage Wrap Gil's made her...Wait,What is this?
Laughing amazement that he'd do such a thing to her....
...But then it gets even WORSE! AHAHAHA
LOL, Poor Yuri!
Aw, Who am I kiddning, I've GOTTA tune into this show- Yuri’s looking SOOO good on this show, wearing the cutest outfits and showing off her most adorable charms, I gotta stick around and enjoy every minute of her, but C'MON, it’s time Gil started treatin’ that girl right! AHAHAHA! Oh well, Tiffany (Yuri's fellow SNSD member and former Kko Kko Tour guest herself) DID warn Yuri to stay away from Gil, guess she's learning the hard way that her big sister knows best!
Girls Generation~The Boys Repackage Album and goodies
Part of my latest K-pop CDs came in today (the other half from CD Japan won't ship 'til T-ARA's new album "Jewelry Box" gets released next month), among them one of the RAINBOW albums I mentioned ordering my my last "gush about Woori" post.
T-ARA albums Temptastic and Funkytown
Besides the Rainbow CD, two T-ARA CDs "Funkytown" and "Temptastic" also came, as well as "Girls Generation~The Boys", the Korean re-released version of Girls Generation's eponymous Japanese Debut Album. Since I already owned the Japan Release, I didn't think I needed to buy the repackaged album, however I was to later realize it was the only album with "Time Machine"on it!!! Aww, this sure is confoozin'!
Rainbow's First Album "Gossip Girl"
One thing I have to say is how impressed I am by theses albums and the beautiufl pacakging! When ordering them, I thought all of them would be in thin paper sleeves, but the care and quality of these sets is truly a work of art! The T-ARA album "Temptastic" comes in a hardcover 7x10 book, the "Funkytown" release im a 6x9 Hardcover book, the Girls Generation comes in a hard slipcase containing a gatefold booklet with a 36pg photo book, a CD and DVD of videos! Even the Rainbow CD comes housed in a pretty hard box case with a photo booklet! Man, with this K-Pop Mania, I've been dropping change like it was going out of style, and while that DOES worry me a bit, at least the rewards I've been receiving have been entirely satisfactory! LOL
Getting More and more into that wacky Variety/Reality show "Running Man" on SBS, Such an entertaining show! Though each and every episode is unique and the races are the msot imaginative and creative races ever seen, some of the things I can always count on is:
Running Man: Haha, Jihyo, JongKook and Gary
1. Jihyo "Ace" Song looking as rockin' fine as any super heroine this side of Wonder Woman! I have to say that i've fallen for her enough that I've even gone online to look up her past pictures, films, etc, sexy stuff! Somehow, she reminds me of CoCo's Azusa Senou all grown up, which as anyone who knows me knows, is a plus!
Pretty "Ace" Jihyo
2. The Skill and prowess of Commander "Sparta" Jong Kook "The Lion" as he tears into the opponents, cast regulars and guests alike, it's his determination that turns a light variety-show type of task into the epic chase-master race it is, where everything matters!
JongKook about to piggyback 4minute's Hyuna across the bridge, while Jihyo and KARA's SeungYeon look on
3.The hilariously playful and silly Haroro, Haha the Penguin! His schtick is to not only be the befuddled jokester in all situatuions, but also to be the drooling, gushing host whenever a pretty idol or actress graces the stage!
A dumbfounded Haha realizing he's the target for the race
When the team found out in one episode that two memebrs of SNSD was chasing and eliminating them, One member said, It's Sunny and Yoona", to which a happy HaHa, exclaimed, "Yoona's the Best!!!", not caring that she was the enemy, simply ecstatic that she was there! AHAHA
Adoration over Mission is Haha
4. And of course, what would any episode of the Running Man be without its resident "Shleprock", poor KwangSoo, the man that bad luck follows jsut as night follows day! If his ineptness wasn't bad enough ,he's also famous as the groups's regular" traitor", always turning in his friends for a minute longer on the playing field! "Grasshopper" Jaesuk sums up the feelings to the team perfectly here:
Must make special mention of the wonderful folks over at KSHOWNOW.NET, for whom without I wouldn't understand squat and would be missing out on half the FUN of the show, which is their wittisicms and barbs as the chase and flee from each other across the country!
I have to say that after watching about 6 episodes of Invincible Youth, I think I'm developing a crush on Woori. Something about that pretty face of hers when she's making all those grouchy pouting faces, it just kills me!
Sneakily voting for herself as "Hardest Worker"
Playfully wrestling with Hyoyeon of SNSD and Jiyoung of KARA
With all the challenges against her television "sisters", it's inevitable that she can't always get her way, and watching her go through her "frustrated child" play-tantrums, I'm finding myself wanting to just reach out and HUG her more and more! Ahhh, Lucky for me I'd already put in my orders for all of RAINBOW's back catalog awhile back, or I'd be frantically scrambling right now to fulfill my desires!
With my friend TsuyoBoogie blogging about her love for Hey!Say!Jump KIS-MY-FT2 & Tohoshinki and me entertainingly countering her with various KARA and Girls' Generation posts, it's always good to find some "common ground"we both can agree on, and though there aren't any SMEntertainment/Johnnys meetings on the horizon, I came across these old Haptic Motion Cell Phone CFS that are bound to keep the loyal SNSD and DBSK fans happy!
LOL, Have to laugh when Xiah is walking to the elevator,
He's singing SNSD's Theme Song "Girl's Generation"! AHAHAHA
On the subject of the Amazing Race and Korean Reality shows, there’s this one other pretty frickin’ entertaining show called “Running Man” featuring teams racing against each other or engaging in massive “chase master” games towards a victory goal, and thanks to the inventive tasks and totally wacky hosts, it is a real SCREAM! The first time I turned into the program was because (naturally) they featured those sweet n sassy SNSD girls in a special “Couples” racing challenge where the girls got paired with the regular participants in a race around town. Everyone was so much fun and wisecracking with each other, it made for an INCREDIBLY entertaining show! BTW, I really love this shot of the girls getting ready to be paired up with their eventual partners…each girl’s personality is CLEARLY evident with their body poses!
Guests Girls' Generation
From right to left: Taeyeon scratching her head like a frazzled soccer mom (and as leader of SNSD, what else can she be), stoic Yuri crosses her arms with an air of confidence and bemusement, Jessica has a flirty and sassy slant, Good Girl Seohyun looks like a elementary school student about to take roll call as she stands with her hands behind her back, Hyoyeon stands tuff and straight as the tomboyish gal she is (those black shoes fit her to a T!), and Yoona stands like the bright, fresh faced everyday girl she is!
Yoona leads her team in trying to have a picnic in 3minutes!
From games like"finding Couples accessories on a budget" to "Speed Picnicing" the guys and gals ran through a flurry of silly shenanigans that was entertaining from beginning to end! After seeing these awesome episodes, I jumped back online and found a few other ones featuring those charming SNSD girls, and then began seeing ones with girls from groups like f(x), Miss-A and....YES! KARA!!! By the time I finished watching those episodes, It didn't even matter if there were any notable guests on the show, as I'd already learned to love all the "regular" cast runners! Jaesuk, Suk Jin, Gary, Jongkook, Haha, Kwangsoo and the always spunky (as well as only regular female runner) Ji Hyo, it is THEIR dynamic that makes this such a FUN and ENTERTAINING EVENT!
Just this past weekend, I cobbled together a whole bunch of my favorite "Running Man" shows and after turning him onto the wonders of KARA and SNSD (a BIG Hit with him, BTW), we marathonned three whole races, and he was HOWLING with laughter throughout the entire thing, saying "I haven't laughed this much in YEARS!"
Just finished bawling my eyes out after watching the first episode of the new drama Mouichido Kimi Ni Propose, a result that was totally unsurprising and completely expected; When You’ve got a romantic tearjerker of a man who has to win the love of his wife all over again after she loses her memory, what other kind of result could there be?
I went in, and was lovin’ every minute of it!Been awhile since I saw such a straight-forward romance story, but I decided to check it out because this one had all the feel of those good old shows from what I consider the “golden age” of j-dramas, the late eighties to the mid-nineties, indeed, the drama even STARS two of the greatest actors from that era, the incredible Takenouchi Yutaka and Wakui Emi!
Such a thrill to see these greats still giving command performances for us, the humble j-drama watching public! These two are in a handful of maybe ten actors that I consider the reason I began watching j-dramas in the first place and I find a kind of comfort still being able to sit back and enjoy them even now! Keep up the terrific work!
Not really big on Reality Television (though I'm a HUGE fan of the AMAZING RACE, as readers of my other blog know well) but I have to say that when my friend Shanomac told me about a program called INVINCIBLE YOUTH where they choose seven idol girls to go work and live in the harsh countryside to experience a new side of life, it DID sound like something I'd wanna see! And then when he told me that this season's show featured not only Sunny and Hyoyeon from Girls Generation, but cutie-pie Jiyoung from KARA, it suddenly became a MUST SEE!
Hyoyeon, Jiyoung, Amber and Yewon
Placing eight beautiful girls (collectively called G8) in the middle of "the sticks" and putting them to hard work can be both hilarious and uncomfortable to watch, and there are times when I feel like the judges and foremen selected to arrange the tasks can be selectively favoring some of the members while giving some others REALLY hard work, but there as so many fun and interesting scenes to it as well, that you always end up enjoying the show!
The G7 guests of INVINCIBLE YOUTH Season One
By the time I got to the episode where the girls are taken out to the ocean to catch their first seafood (with a Biggest Crab challenge), it had become my nightly television show to watch before I turned in for the night! Then during the talk part of that episode, one of the hosts mentioned that Season ONE of Invincible youth featured both Yuri from SNSD AND Hara from KARA! Can you say HOLY CRAP, I NEED TO GET THAT SHOW, TOO!!!
Hara and Yuri in Season One
Have to say that this show is a wonderful way to get to know these girls better and quite intimately ( you don't get much more personal than watching Hara scoot around trying to find the best squatting pose to pee in a hole in the ground! LOL) and after each show ends, I come away falling more and more in love with them, especially Yuri in the Season One show. Additionally, I'm getting to know all the girls form K-pop's other prolific girl groups: SECRET, JEWELRY, BROWN-EYED GIRLS, MISS A, F(X), T-ARA, SISTAR, RAINBOW and more, there's at least one girl representing all of them! What a great introduction to those other acts!
In response to Tsuyoboogie's recent clips of Kis-My-Ft2 eating spicy senbei, I bring you this clip from Invincible Youth of SNSD's Yuri being forced to eat a chili pepper they've just picked...
Video by Soshisubs via Youtube
LOL, Have to laugh, when Yuri tries to spit it out, Kim Shinyoung won't let her leave, saying, "Swallow It, Swallow it! Dangerous, Wooo!" AHAHAHA!
My Friend Shanomac was responsible for introducing me to a lot of the new K-pop groups that were coming out, and one of his faves was a group called T-ARA (pronounced like tiara) and told me to check out songs Roly-Poly and Lies. While both of them were good songs, they didn’t light a fire under my butt to go run out and get any of their releases… no, THAT directive came from another source which I trace back to my love of KARA! How, do you ask? Simple!
Loving KARA the way I do, I was in a frenzy trying to download every video I saw of them, especially the Live Performances which are my favorites, and I came across that live perf of “Lupin” that I blogged about a few weeks ago. Well, the OTHER act on that night’s broadcast was none other than T-ARA, and the group was a LOT different from the incarnation I saw singing Roly-Poly!
While the RolyPoly tune was a very idol-lish sounding song, the two songs they sang for this show were totally solid rockin’ tunes! One of the songs, “I Go Crazy Because Of You” was a decidedly Lady Gaga-ish flavored song, but the one that really blew me away was the song “Naega Neomu Apa~ I’m Really Hurt”, a tune that was sooo cool and catchy that I knew I just HAD to get it! When I found out that BOTH songs were off the same album (the repackaged release of their album “Breaking Heart”), I didn’t waste any more time ordering that one!
Gotta say that right now that CD’s in the car and is one of the albums I listen to all the time now- such a catchy collection, complete with pounding techno tunes, groovy pop songs, gentle ballads and even that totally wacky (and yet strangely addictive) song “Bo Peep Bo Peep” AHAHAHA
A couple of weeks back, I was online perusing the various new K-pop songs and videos that were popular at the time, and happened to come across a video from a girl group called RAINBOW. Remembering that Rainbow was one of the newer groups on the DSP Productions Label coming up to follow after KARA’s footsteps, curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on the link to a song called simply, “A”. Despite them being on the same label as booty-shaking KARA, I expected this new group to be more on the “cutesy” side…BOY was I ever wrong! Far from the freshly scrubbed image you would have expected from a group named Rainbow, THESE seven girls were givin’ it all up in those frenetic, gyrating dance moves- SLICK and SEXY as HELL! And that song: Bass-heavy and pounding out a blasting groove, what a kick ass tune! These chicks rocked!
The following week when I checked in with the K-pop gang at the local bookstore, the first thing my friend Shanomac (who was the primary person responsible for introducing me to so many of the K-pop acts I love) said,“Oh, dude, I forgot to ask…you ever hear of that that group Rainbow?” “OH Hell Yeah!” I responded, and then both of us at the same time pointed at each other and said, “A”!” LOL So the past week when I’m online putting together that massive GIRLS GENERATION order, I’m browsing around on the dealer’s ebay store, and see that they’re selling a few Rainbow CDs…could they possibly have the album with A on it? A quick trip to Rainbow’s wikipedia info told me that “A” appeared on their album SO GIRLS, and sure enough, the dealer had it listed! I didn’t hesitate adding that to my order! The following week I received my Rainbow CD (along with all those other SNSD goods) and when I got a chance to listen to it, was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did “A” rock, the whole album was pretty solid from beginning to end, and I found it even included another Rainbow song I saw online, the hoppin’ track MACH! Just awesome!
Woori
Funny, but shortly after getting this CD I began watching the reality show “Invincible Youth” with Sunny and Hyoyeon from SNSD and cute Jiyoung from KARA, as well as a bunch of girls from other groups like f(x), MISS-A and Jewelry. At some point I realized one of the cast members was from Rainbow, but couldn’t remember which girl it was! Running back to my CD shelf and pulling out the CD, I flipped through the Photo Booklet, and had to laugh as soon as I saw Woori, going “AH! This is her! Wow, she’s so funny, who would have though she was from Rainbow?!” Even more bizarre is just the other night when I happened to re-watch that astoundingly sexy PV of “A”, I totally recognize Woori in it, and I gotta say, far from the cute n wacky chick on Invincible Youth, the girl in the videos is confident and HOT AS HECK! AHAHAHA
SO, continuing my chronicled descent (ascent?) into the K-pop Madness that was initially sparked by KARA, I now enter the SECOND phase of K-pop Obsession, this time with the lovely ladies of SNSD- GIRLS' GENERATION!! After falling in love with the girls and their variety shows, specials and music I knew that this group was another "keeper" that fueled a need to get my hands on whatever CDs I could find, and was happily able to locate a dealer in Korea with an ebay store who hooked me up with the goods straight from the source… and O MY GOSH, did those GOODs turn out to be GOOD! Upon receiving my SNSD care package, the first thing I noticed was that there was a separate parcel- a tube for the Bonus POSTERS! HOLY CRAP, can you DIG IT?! Ah, the joy of unpacking that box of Girls Generation goodies...Though the SNSD albums I picked up may not look like much in the above picture, trust me when I say that besides the terrific music and stunning pictures of the girls within each release, a whole treasure trove of GOODIES was packed within!
Girls Generation First Album, Gatefold + Booklet
The first two albums GIRLS GENERATION and GEE were your standard (non-limited) releases, but both featured thick picture booklets with terrific glossy shots of the SNSD members, and as someone who doesn't own much stuff "image-wise" of the girls, It was a thrill to immerse myself in pages and pages of pictures of the girls! Flipping through the books, little did I know it would only get better and better!
First Mini Album Gee
Gee Inside Booklet
Breaking open the wrapping of SNSD's first Mini album OH!, I didn't even have to go searching for any bonus stuff, as the collectible card featuring all 9 members fell right out and into my lap! Once again, this CD contained a nice thick picture book of the girls, and then but I didn;t have time to stall as I moved onto the NEXT CD...
OH! CD, Booklet and Collectible Card
DJ, Put It Back On! Next we have the song that stepped up the girls from mere idols to sexy goddesses and first introduced me to their music, the majestic TELL ME YOUR WISH~GENIE, featuring another wonderful glossy picture booklet and featuring one of the SEXIEST covers SNSD's ever put out! The cover featured luscious Yoona and the inside booklet cover featured YURI! As this was a period of time when I REALLY liked how each member looked, the Booklet's pics were a MUCH CHERISHED item indeed!!!
Tell Me Your Wish~Genie CD
Tell Me Your Wish Booklet
Then we've got the amazing MR. TAXI CD (a repackaging of The Boys, see below), which came wailing in with a mighty 13 huge glossy postcard set, a cool 16x24 poster of the CD cover, and if things couldn’t get any better, the bonus card of the random member was none other than…JESSICA!!!! Yes, If there was such a thing as luck on my side, it was here now! LOL!
Mr. Taxi 18x24 poster , Booklet, Glossy Postcards and Jessica Trading Card!
Mr. Taxi Postcards (back) and CD Gatefold
Then we’ve got their RUN DEVIL RUN album (which technically I kind of had since it was more or less their “Oh” album with Run Devil Run” thrown on), Got it just 'cause, what a wonderful surprise to find that each CD came with a fold-out randomly chosen poster of one of the members, and once again I lucked out as this time I was rewarded with SNSD’s reigning Dance Queen Hyoyeon!
Run Devil Run CD, Booklet and Fold-Out Hyoyeon Poster
And now we come to the BIG TIME regarding what we call the "Bonus" stuff, simply put, SNSD's HOOT and THE BOYS albums push the envelope once again of what quality goods really are! Opening the amazing HOOT! "Spy Themed" gatefold, you're already presented with two terrific gifts: a 5x7 sticker sheet of the girls (with individual die-cut circles around each member should you only want to stick your fave!) and a glossy bonus trading card of a random member (who turned out to be YOONA, doing her best Diana Rigg!)
HOOT! Cd, Stickers, Yoona Trading Card and Postcard Book
I had seen pictures of some of the HOOT bonus postcards (one of Yuri) and was hoping the edition I bought still included them...little did I know that they were actually part of the thick Postcard Book , each postcard actually a page in the booklet (with perforated edges to remove), these cards are SO DAMN nice, I wanted to scan 'em but the thickness of the pages made it difficult, and there was NO WAY IN HELL I was gonna tear them out! In the end I simply took a picture of the book where you can clearly see the colorful, James-Bond styled Swinging Sixties designed cards!
BEAUTIFUL 36x24 HOOT! Poster
If those wonderful cards weren't enough, there's also the POSTER included with this EP...a HUGE 36x24 sheet printed on thick paper of the girls in "austin Powers" mode, SO COOL!! I have to say that this poster would be something worth buying, so AMAZING to get it for FREE!
Elegant, Collectible Tin for "The Boys" CD
But for bonuses beyond bonuses we must give the crown to the incredible First Pressing of THE BOYS. Released in a beautiful collectible tin, the points were already ratcheting up for this one, upon opening and checking out the contents, was presented with a trading card of randomly selected SEOHYUN and a pack of 13 glossy postcards featuring the girls all done up in various states of cosplay, from retro, techno to classic portrait!
Then there’s the two external bonus POSTERS which I have to say were soo soo fricking g0rgeous, I was just beside myself with happiness, sooo beautiful! The first one was the poster featuring a randomly selected member, in my case it was the lovely "kid Leader" Taeyeon all done up in an old Victorian styled outfit, and keeping with this theme, the OTHER poster was this GORGEOUS 24x36 poster of all nine girls done up in similar fashion, looking so pretty and elegant- MAN, what a PRIZE!
The Boys CD, Postcards, Booklet, Seohyun Trading Card & Taeyeon Poster
Gorgeous 36x24 Poster for "The Boys"
Just Fantastic! And if that wasn't enough, for some reason, the dealer ALSO threw in a poster of the Girls' First Asia Tour album, if not for any reason than to prove that this SNSD order went beyond the call of duty for GOODIES and to show how SNSD was the GUIDING LIGHT for AWESOME Fan Appreciation!
