Sustaining My APink Habit With “We Got Married”

Taemin meets the Sister-in-Laws in WGM

 Ever since I finished watching all the Apink News Seasons, I have been going through a bit of withdrawal from not having the girls as part of my evening programming- when you consider that APink News Season One started before their debut, it seems like through both Apink News and Birth of a Family, I’ve been watching their everyday lives since the beginning, and to suddenly not know what they’re doing on a day-to-day basis has been heartbreaking!

Naeun and Taemin in We Got Married

   I’ve been consoling myself on the loss of Apink Goodness in my life  by watching Naeun on We Got Married along with SHINee’s Taemin, and was BLOWN away when, beginning with episode 182, I got to see my beloved girls once again when, first, Taemin got the EXO boys to deliver Naeun and the gals a birthday present and some fine beef cooking! 

EXO grillin' up the Meat for the Birthday Girl!

Funny that the performance Apink did of "NoNoNo" (which Taemin studiously checked to see if she was wearing the rosary bracelet he got her) was actually one of my very favorite perfs! And after, was hilarious to watch Apink checking out the latest episode of We Got Married on TV in the dressing room, to a bemused and embarrassed Naeun! Was even MORE funny to see the girls reactions when Taemin admitted to lying to Naeun about ever having a girlfriend, LOL

APink watching the latest telecast of We Got Married

"Whoa!" So He DID have girlfriends before!"

Then in following episodes 183-184, Taemin had once said that he missed Naeun so much he'd come visit her some day, and so delivered himself to their doorstep in a big cardboard box. Upon seeing Apink back in their living quarters, it was like I was back watching Apink News all over again! So cool to see Taemin meeting Naeun’s “Sisters” Chorong, Bomi, Namjoo and Hayoung, playing with them, eating pizza with them and pranking them all- just having a good time!

Apink and Food, always a good combination

And then the show got even BETTER, when, in the following episodes (185-186), they got EUNJI to join Naeun and Taemin on a double date with Taemin’s Shinee partner Key! 

Gotta be a Special Lady: Jung Eunji

...Here Comes Happiness!!!

Taemin, Naeun and Eunji Bemused, KEY very Nervous!

Man, did Key and Eunji have amazing chemistry and made the show so much FUN! Made me remember why I love Eunji so much, the brash Busan girl really is the “Happy Virus” she’s famed for- so full of life and warmth, a hearty laugh and an eye-smile to die for!

We are the Fun-Makers!

Awwww YEAHHHH! Energetic Eunji

Ahhhn, So COOL that I’m able to still “see” my beloved Apink Girls this way, because right now I’m still on a major high with them and I REALLY need my FIX every day!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Spica and Ladies' Code Arrivals

Ladies' Code and SPICA Autographed Editions!

 Got a couple of CDs today from the folks over at Yesasia as part of their awesome Autographed Specials, Ladies' Code's new Mini-Album "Pretty Pretty" and SPICA's single for their new song Tonight". Though I've liked both groups enough, this is the first time I've ever purchased anything from them. I'd actually really REALLY liked SPICA's song "I'll Be There" from last year, and couldn't WAIT to purchase the album, alas, it was one of their "digital release only" songs, and when their new mini-album "Lonely" came out, "I'll be There" was not to be seen on it.
  I like SPICA's song "Tonight" well enough, and I TOTALLY LOVED Ladies' Code "Pretty Pretty", but naturally, the thing that pushed me into quickly ordering these CDs was that they were autographed! And sure enough, both albums came with the members pretty signatures adorning the jackets...
  SPICA's signatures were particularly neat and legible and I love that they signed under the images of themselves. Ladies Code, on the other hand,  was signed on the cover which made it sort of hard to make out since the cover was so crazy and LOUD, LOL! I wish they could have flipped the book over and signed the BACK of the CD since their cute pictures were right there!

Ladies Code "Pretty Pretty" Front and Back Covers

SPICA's album also came with a set of Buttons (how's THAT for 80's nostalgia?) as well as a SPICA earcap, which, of course, made me go online to research "Just What the HECK is an Earcap?" 

SPICA CD, Button Set and EarCap

Turns out it's a designer plug used to cover your earphone jack so dust doesn't get in it, and there are TONS of different kinds out there! Ahahaha, I guess I'm just not tuned into these newfangled Iphone-y Accesories (was even recently amazed when my friend's girlfriend showed me the rubber "octopus" stand she got to prop up her phone while watching movies) but I was quite interested seeing all the collectible earcaps available online when I DID find out what it was!

Assorted Earcaps

OK, Time to start ripping these Bad Boys to MP3...
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Trying Out A New K-Pop Dealer

With the Amount of Damaged Product I've been getting lately, I've been really researching different avenues to get my K-pop stuff (keeping packaging and pricing of both product and shipment in mind).   Most of the dealers I use only ship out the CDs in bubble wrapped envelopes, and I've been finding that this DOESN'T protect the items too well, as my recent APink Une Annee CD will show, (and even my Rainbow CD from Soompi came to me dinged and scuffed, which broke my heart a little!) since most K-pop goods are made up of paper boxes instead of Jewel Cases, they are quite fragile and VERY susceptible to getting crushed under loads of packages. I don't know if it's just that Korea is so faaaaaaar away from Hawaii or I have particularly vengeful mailmen (this is probably true), but so many of the packages come beat-up, and since the MAIN reason I purchase K-pop goods is for its collectible/visual element, getting stuff that's banged up is really the pits!!!
   My friend Car has always ordered her K-pop goods from K-Poptown, a dealer I'd never purchased items from, but she swears it's the way to go, not only is the pricing for the time itself cheap, but the speed of the arrival is pretty fast, too! She DID, however, admit that their shipping prices were a little, well, pricey, and even THEY send their stuff in bubble-wrapped envelopes, so even THERE, that might be a problem. In any case, when I was looking for a dealer to purchase the new T-ARA album "Again", Car once again suggested Kpoptown to me, so I thought I'd give it a try! We'll see how the package arrives in few weeks....

Fave K-Pop Groups, By The Month

I remember back when I was first totally getting into that awesome SM outfit f(x) and announcing to my friend Car that they were my new *favorite group*, Car dismissively saying, "Awww, you like a new K-pop group every month!" And while I have to admit that it WAS pretty much true when I first got into K-pop, there was just SO MUCH awesome goodness to discover for the first time! As you can see by the chart below though, it seems like since the new year, my new "Favorite Group Discoveries" have leveled off somewhat, and have been averaging about once every three months or so! My Faves By the Month (More or Less):

2012.04: KARA
2012.05: GIRLS' GENERATION
2012.06: T-ARA
2012.07: RAINBOW
2012.08: SECRET
2012.09: F(X)
2012.10: AFTERSCHOOL
2012.11: 4MINUTE
2012.12:  
2013.01: 2NE1
2013.02:
2013.03:
2013.04: SISTAR
2013.05:
2013.06: DAL SHABET
2013.07:
2013.08:
2013.09: APINK
2013.10:

Of course, in between, there've been a whole lot of other artists and groups that I've liked as well, but these are the ones that really affected me in a BIG way...Gosh, who will be the NEXT BIG fave I’ll get into? Only time will tell!  
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Hyomin Is Hot as Hell

Good Gravy, When I first saw T-ara coming out with their incredible new song "Number 9", I'd already acknowledged that Hyomin was still the hottest idol out there, and here we have a Hyomin fan-shot video taking my lust love of her to even GREATER heights! Damn, is this chick HOT or WHAT!

Man, it seems like just yesterday I was falling in love with Hyomin's adorable antics on Invincible Youth, in such a short time, she's turned into this K-pop goddess!
PS: Yeah, I know, Hyominnie doesn't really sing too much in this song, does she. Oh well, when ya look that good....
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

It's PARK to the CHO to the RONG!

Well, it was a hard-fought battle between Eunji, Bomi and Chorong as to who'd end up my favorite member of APink , but after watching weeks and hours of videoclips, shows and specials featuring those Apink Girls and all their adorable antics, I have to say that the one who stole my heart and made me SMILE  was the group’s cute mumbling leader, Ms. Park Chorong!

Kind of funny when you consider that Chorong was among the very last members I really noticed and I'd initially thought of her as mostly a “supporting character” type in Apink. Ahhh, but once I started watching the APINK NEWS program, I really got to know her funny and quirky style, and before you knew it, I was watching all the scenes just WAITING to see what she would say or what she would do! Yep, she went from “backup” member to “most cuddly” in mere weeks!

  I was recently on an APink forum explaining the virtues of why Chorong had somehow become my Numero Uno Apink member, and I cited four major reasons that the adorable kid-leader had stolen my heart:

1. Her hilarious SASSINESS, especially when it comes to getting attention and her way, and the way she would balance complete apathy in one second and spazzily stress out in the next! I got my first taste of what I would dub the “flustered Chorong” effect when Rong and Bomi (who’d been forced to come along as a support) went down to the DMV so she could get her Driver Test forms filled out, and I got to hear her famous "Park to the Cho to the rong!”

(Subs by PinkPanda Subs)

2. Her mischievous and hearty laugh- In one episode, Eunji is seen using Han River Park’s exercise equipment to work out, and a little later we see Chorong happily torturing Bomi on one of them. Little does she know that soon Eunji and Bomi would gang up on her and make HER hang upside down, and her maniacally happy peals of laughter just melted my heart!!!

(Subs by APINK.NET)

3. Her adorable “nasally” way of mumbling when she knows she's being naughty or coy, usually when trying to gain favors out of the staff or delegating chores to the other members, like this episode where APink are having a Café Benefit for fans to purchase snacks and drinks for charity, and while assigning the positions to her dongsaengs, she uses her disarming nasal voice to FULL EFFECT, sounding both bossy and hopelessly lost at the same time! I was in love!

(Subs by PinkPanda Subs)

And reason number 4: Her enthusiastic attention to EATING, which is simply no joke!!! From Pasta to Pork Cutlet bento plates to her beloved Chicken Feet, it's always Chorong's mission to eat as much as she can, and usually at the Director's expense! 

So I was watching an episode of APINK NEWS3 where the girls had gone down to a “Wedding Café” for a photoshoot, and there was this simply ADORABLE short scene where Chorong showed ALL FOUR of the charms that make me LOVE her so much, the laugh, the nasal voice, the sassiness and the EATING, LOL! 
In this scene, the girls are seated at a table loaded with pastries and cake, but are told that the goodies are “Photography props” and not to be eaten. Chorong, however, has her own agenda, and while Bomi and Hayoung are videotaping each individual member, she does what comes naturally…

(subs by FeelChokCross Subs)

As I spend my evenings watching the last few precious episodes of APink News Season Three, I'm only finding myself more and more enthralled and dazzled by her energetic (and yet wholly lazy) approach to everything- When Naeun worries that she has no comedic talent or personality on the show, Chorong sagely advises, "I don't EITHER- I just BLURT things out!" LOLOL, that's the truth and that's her charm! Good ol' Rong Unnie- there's no one like her!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

T-ara's "Number 9" Inferno

Ooooh, MAN, T-ara is BACK with their new song "Number9", and it looks like this time they intend to take no prisoners! Coming on with an all-out attack, the girls look so damn FINE and the songs are so kick-BUTT- this is clearly the return of the original "fierce" T-ara I first got into with songs like 'Cry Cry" and 'I'm Really Hurt"...so full of BAD-GIRL ATTITUDE!

 

 

 

Been awhile since I've seen them doing the "Sultry Leather" thing, everyone looks hella killer, especially my main girl Hyomin, who continues to rock my socks off even now- this gal is one of the HOTTEST k-pop idols out there, PERIOD!!! I'd been talking to a friend not-so-long-ago about how Hyominnie was still one of my VERY favorite girls even after all this time, and WOW here she comes along and re-confirms it once AGAIN!

Besides the shredding "Number 9" , T-ara's comeback also consists of the svelte crooner "I Know The Feeling", showing the girls all done up in satin and lace- such a great contrast to the former song! Aw Yeah, the Girls are back in town! Can't WAIT to order this one (when the HECK are they going to put it up for sale, anyway?! It's already the 10th!)

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Time For Some APink Goodness!

APink Shipment! Une Annee, Seven Springs of APink and Snow Pink

 My APink order arrived on my doorstep this morning, and all at the height of my APink Mania, to boot!!! After getting their latest album Secret Garden, I fell head-over-heels for APink and just HAD to have ALL their back catalog, including Seven Springs of APink, Une Annee, and what has become probably my favorite album from the girls, the superb Snow Pink!!
 Awww, such beautiful packaging as usual (for a standard K-pop release), Snow Pink and Seven Springs came as beautiful hardcover booklets with beautiful thick photo books within:

Snow Pink and Seven Springs of APink

 ...and the Girls’ first full-length album Une Annee pulled the stops by giving it a deluxe postcard box treatment with innovative flaps that hold the actual CD, removing the CD opens the flaps which reveal the photobooklet and trading card (I got Eunji), such a sweet package!

Apink Une Annee Box wi Booklet, CD and Eunji(!) card

Aw, just about the only thing that bummed me out about the order was the way they mailed the goods to me- I really wish Yesasia would ship their packages in sturdy cardboard boxes like CD Japan than the usual plastic bubble wrap and envelop because my order, though tightly wrapped, was pretty squished, and the oversized Une Annee box was totally thrashed, as if an elephant stepped on it, or at least Bomi doing her “gorilla” imitation!  

Une Anneee Damaged in the Mail

Looking at it, I may well have to order another copy, though probably NOT from Yesasia this time! Aigoo! I may have to sic Eunji and Chorong on them- THEY'LL reprimand anyone daring to damage the Une Annee Album, that's for sure! LOLOL

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Some Shocking KARA News

Just found out today that what some have been speculating about for  the past few days is apparently true- seems Nicole won't be renewing her contract with DSP and even Jiyoung is musing about leaving when her contract expires in April to go back to school. AIGOO!  Man, when THAT happens, even though it seems Gyuri, Seungyeon and Hara are planning to continue under the KARA banner, it just won't be the same!
  What a Bummer- as you all know well, KARA was the group that initially got me INTO K-pop and the whole K-scene in general. I'll still be supporting our girls, but we'll have to see what direction the group will be going after this HUGE change...
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

APink's Sweet "Birth Of A Family"

As readers of this blog know well, when I get into something, I get into it full throttle, and my latest adoration of ACUBE Idols APINK is no different! After immersing myself in their wonderfully entertaining reality series APINK NEWS, I was REALLY falling in love with them, and had to have MORE! Through an Apink Forum, I was introduced to a mysterious reality series of theirs called "Birth Of A Family"... What WAS this show and why were Apink fans (dubbed "Pink Pandas") so into it?
  Well, come to find out Birth of a Family was a show from this past year where the girls were put in charge of two recently rescued shelter dogs who needed human interaction so they could be put up for adoption and once I learned THAT, I just HAD to get my hands on the series! Girls and Puppies, who could beat it!!!

Well, the series delivered, and THEN SOME! What an INTERESTING show Birth of A Family was! Watching the Apink Girls as they lived day to day caring for two puppies "Quick" and "Dalie" as surrogate "mothers", we get to see a side of them that is so sweet and gentle. Within each and every  you can see the love the girls have for the dogs, whether it be dresing them up to take walks in the park...

or the serious things like giving them medicine and taking them to the veterinarian for checkups 

...or the simple days of lounging around and playing together!

When Apink were first given the dogs, Dalie was so introverted and shy, but as the days went on, you could see him come out of his shell and run around playing, happily interacting with the girls (especially Bomi, who really became like a mother to him!) After three months, the dogs were ready to be adopted, and thus we come to the totally HEARTBREAKING part of the show, when the girls had to finally give the dogs over to their new owners. MAN,was this episode hard to watch!!! For three months the girls have lived with and taken care of these two dogs, and it is SUCH an emotional WRECK watching them saying their final goodbyes to their beloved "children"... Yup, even I was totally destroyed!

Thanks to this emotional series, I can safely say that APink has absolutely become one of my very favorite groups after all this time, and I've even just started watching the "We Got Married" show again to see Shinee's Taemin and Apink's own lovely princess Naeun filming their reality nuptials! The APink craze continues....

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

APink Pop Perfection with "Prince"

  Besides all the Reality Shows, Music Appearances and Interviews, I've also of course been devouring all of APink's Musical back catalog (While I wait for my physical copies to arrive, I've been making do with MP3 downloads) and I have to say, if the reason I didn't originally get "into" Apink when I first heard them because I thought they were too "J-Poppy" sounding, it's that SAME J-poppy sound that is making me LOVE THEM so darn much NOW!
   Really, as I listen to their Albums and Mini-Albums, I'm BLOWN away at how doggone CATCHY these tracks are, and one song out of all of them seemed to stick out and shine even brighter for me, and that's their awesome song "Prince", the "album "closer" for their great album SNOW PINK. The song first caught my ear because it reminded me of the classic Pony Canyon style (in fact, it's intro and refrain reminded me of my favorite CoCo song "Yume Dake Miteru") and every time I came on, it gave me such a positive feeling!

   Yes, so positive that I was pretty shocked when I finally read the translation and found that the song was more about a loser of a guy who's about to get dumped because he doesn't appreciate his girl than any chivalrous "prince" demeanor, but it's all in fun as the song ends with the girl giving him another chance (and secretly confessing she'll always love him!)

A perfect album closer for an incredible album that also includes the superb "My My", the sweet "He's My Baby", "Yeah" (which I immediately recognized as the APINK.NET intro to all their subbed videos, LOL) and the bittersweet "Like A Dream" (which was made even sadder when put in context of "Birth of A Family" which used the song in its final episode. And that's just ONE of their CD releases! As Baloo once said to Bagheera in the Jungle Book, "There's more, Baggy, LOTS more!"
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com