Right Now It’s Dal★Shabet!

Dal Shabet

With all these k-pop comebacks coming in left and right you would think I had enough on my plate without getting into another new group, but that’s exactly what happened when somehow Happy Face Entertainment act Dal Shabet snuck in with their new song “Be Ambitious” and stole my heart!

Getting Ready for "Be Ambitious"

Dal Shabet was one of the handful of new groups my friend introduced me to when I was first getting into K-pop. He’s always been an ardent supporter of the “Rookie” groups that seem to arrive (and disappear) in the blink of an eye whereas I've never been keen on investing a lot of time in newbie artists that probably won’t be around for long, so unless I really dig the song they’re promoting, I usually pass ‘em by. Not my friend. He looks forward to these acts and actively reads up on the new groups and sends me links to ones he particularly likes, over time he’s sent me vids to groups like Gangkiz, SHE’Z, Hello Venus, and even my beloved Crayon Pop, and among the acts he’s sent to me, one of the first clips he sent me was for Dal Shabet’s latest (at the time) single “Hit U”...

The deadly "Hit U" MV

...and another boyfriend goes down...

Now, I don’t know how many of you have seen the video for this song, but it is a dark and fairly disturbing video of a girl killing her cheatin’ lover and because of it, I assumed these girls were more of a Hip-Hop/Urban style of music than the happy, peppy K-pop I was getting into, so I have to say that at the time, I didn’t really get into them too much. Come to find out that Hit U was in fact a dramatic change in style for the girls, and that their earlier releases were much more in the fun, poppy and wonderfully SILLY styles that I love!

Fun early Dal Shabet with "Pink Rocket"

Yep, seems like the heart of Dal Shabet's music was really rooted in idol goodness, and nothing alerted me more to that fact than when the girls came out with their single “Mr. Bang Bang”. I have to say that this song was SO DAMN catchy and the girls were so DARN adorable performing it live (with their sexy western “Cowboy” outfits and boots) that they really moved up in my list and became a group I kept an eye on!

"Mr. Bang Bang" Promotions

 I followed the girls as a casual fan through their single "Have, Don't Have" and liked it enough to be excited when I began hearing about their 2013 comeback! I wasn’t sure which Dal Shabet I was expecting to see with their new song “Be Ambitious”, what I got was a Cute, Playful AND Sexy act, one that blew my mind and FINALLY sent me over into true FAN status! Beautiful Girls in Sexy Outfits and super catchy tunes, what more could a K-pop fan ask for?!

Leggy Ladies in "Be Ambitious"

Though some people had "issues" with their promotions, first for their using their own CD as a prop for their song “DalShabet Girls”, which they called tacky, but in MY opinion, I thought it was a hilarious and ingenius way to Let everyone know what they're getting; when you’re singing a song with the lyrics “Dal Shabet is my name!”, why NOT have them cutely gesturing to the CD? LOLOL!

Using their new Mini Album as Stage Props! LOL

The other hot topic of controversy is, of course, their undeniably overt sexual overtones in the dance choreography, a common complaint that has been hung around a few of the acts lately, 4Minute being the most famous, I guess… To this all I can say is “I Know what I LIKE!!” Man, that Be Ambitious’ sexy “Skirt Removal” dance move TOTALLY MADE the song for me and for a song about a girl telling a guy to check out her legs, what other KIND of choreo would you expect? To me, that was a total WIN!

The Marilyn Monroe Skirt Reveal move. Aiyaiyai!

 After a few feverish nights of non-stop Dal Shabet youtubing, I think I’ve finally gotten down who not only who each to the members are, but their distinct personalities as well! May I introduce you to the lovely ladies of Dal Shabet:

Serri

WooHee

JiYul

AYoung

Subin

Kaeun

After immersing myself into the girls songs and absolutley falling in LOVE, I rushed over to Yesasia where I planned on getting not only their new CD Be Ambitious, but also their previous Mini-Album Have, Don't Have AND the awesome “Bang Bang” Full Album that I admittedly shoulda got a LONG time ago! Sadly, they were out of Bang Bang, so I had to go online and find another dealer who could get me all of those albums at a decent price, thankfully I found someone who had 'em all (as well as the first HelloVenus album which I'd been wanting to pick up), so those discs are ON THEIR WAY!!!!  MAN, can't wait to get these discs so I can start cruisin' around town blasting these babies!! I'm loving these gals soooo much right now!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

My Saturday K-Pop Shipment!

Uwaa, been spending the weekend listening to my CDS so  much I didn't have time to even post about 'em yet! This Saturday arrived three BEAUTIFUL CD releases, SISTAR's new album "Give It To Me", Rainbow's "Rainbow Syndrome Part II" and Afterschool's new album "First Love"!
  The SISTAR release (which is quickly becoming my favorite out of the three to listen to in the car!) is gorgeous. in fact, it looks exactly like SISTAR19's recent release- they look like CDS fromt he same "series" if you will! I was worried the absence of Brave Brothers would change their sound, but DoubleKick has carried on the SISTAR banner nicely!
   Was ecstatic to get the UEE version of the Afterschool album-both front and back covers featuring her, as well as the insert trading card- kind of funny-at first I didn’t even realize the cover featured a random member til I was online on ebay (looking for Dal Shabet) and noticed people selling their Afterschool First Love albums with the description “Eyoung Cover”, "Lizzy Cover", etc. only THEN I realized Uee wasn’t on the cover of ALL of them!!! Pretty stoked, because out of all of them, I think Uee looks the best with this "Dark" look of theirs!

Probably the CD that surprised me MOST was the Rainbow Syndrome Part Two release- from the outside it looked just like their previous Part ONE, but as I opened it, the center of the gatefold was a POP-UP scene with the image of Rainbow coming up and the CD itself being "served" to you on a platter! SOOOOO COOOL!

Man, once again K-Pop raising the bar with new and totally INNOVATIVE packaging!! What'll they think of next?
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Real Surprise Ending to Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" For Me

I'm sure this is common knowledge, but I sure didn't know about any of this...

So I was watching the new Disney/Pixar flick Wreck-It Ralph today (totally awesome movie, by the way), and when the movie ended, I let the credits run in case they stuck a clip or teaser on at the end (they didn't, but it DID have a very nice short "Paperman" following the movie), anyway, I got up to clear the table of snacks n stuff, and as the ending song played on in the background, I was stunned to realize: the ending song had at some point turned into a song sung in JAPANESE! 

I turned to the screen and said out loud, "The ending credits to Wreck It Ralph is a J-Pop song, and it sounds like a bunch of idol girls!!" I HAD to sit down and wait for the song credits to go by, and when the music titles came up, I was properly STUNNED to read: "Sugar Rush" performed by...AKB48!!!

WHAT! AKB48 sang the ending song to the latest DISNEY flick...in AMERICA???

Gotta say, I was impressed.
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

The Return Of Doona Bae

Doona Bae in Cloud Atlas

So I’m watching the movie Cloud Atlas, and I’m at the storyline set in the futuristic Neo-Korea of 2144 where a genetically cloned servant girl named Sonmi-451 is being interrogated about her socially conscious “awakening” which took her from her former docile and hive-minded state, into her period of “social awakening” which took her to human-like status where she eventually became a rebel figure.

As it plays on, the plot began to remind me of that touching and bittersweet Japanese movie Air Doll (Kuki Ningyo), the story about the innocent and wide-eyed blow-up doll that came to life and her interactions with humanity, not only did the STORY seem similar, in fact, the actress PLAYING Sonmi 451 looked a HELLA lot like the actress playing the Air Doll,too! By the time the movie was about halfway over, I was convinced: this HAD to be the same girl- she was too similar and PERFECT in the role!

Doona Bae in Air Doll

Well, when the movie ended (after an epic 2 hour and 45 minute odyssey) and the credits ran, I saw the name “Doona Bae” go scrolling by, and realized that, yep, that’s exactly who it was! So amazing, those Watchowski Brothers probably saw Air Doll back in the day, and when they read the story of Sonmi451, the girl who left the world of compliant, blind servitude and went out into the real world to experience what it meant to be alive, they knew EXACTLY who to go to!

Gotta say that not only was she totally awesome in the role, her storyline actually ended up being my favorite of all the arcs IN Cloud Atlas! So mesmerizing as the former servant girl who gets elevated to martyr status, but that isn’t all- you ALSO get to see her Doona Bae (under heavy prosthetics makeup) portraying a chatty Mexican woman, and you ain’t seen nothing til you’ve seen her as a red-haired white woman! Amazing!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Disturbing K-Pop Trend

T-ara N4

Hey, What De HELL is going on with all of these K-pop Girl groups making their comebacks in outfits that look like they raided the local Boy's Athletic Storage Room and ran off with their football and Basketball jerseys?!!!!

4Minute

Rainbow

Sistar

  I tolerated it with T-Ara N4, but then with 4Minute's "What's Your Name" and then Rainbow's "Sunshine"comeback and THEN even SISTAR's comeback with "Hey You", I'm all like, (in my Popeye voice) "I've stood alls I can stand, but I cants stands no more!!!"
At least Rainbow's outfits look sort-of like Cheerleader outfits, the others have this urban street style that make the girls look like Parappa The Rapper, MAN, these tomboyish/androgynous wardrobes have GOT to GO! 
Thank GOD there's Secret and After School to remind me not all is lost....
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Nishida Hikaru / Kokoro Dake Sobani Iru~Here In My Heart

 With Hikaru coming back with her brand new single after all this time, I’ve been getting back into Nishida Hikaru in a BIG way, digging out all of my concerts and CDs, and have even been going online to hunt for any live television performances that may have been uploaded since I checked last! 

Well, this time I REALLY lucked out because there was this extremely awesome person who had uploaded a whole TON of awesome classic (re: early 80’s) performances from some of my most favorite artists including CoCo, Moritaka Chisato and Ribbon and among them all were four live clips of Hikaru, and in clear audio and crisp definition to boot! 

  Not only were these of such high quality, they happened to be some of my favorite songs, and at the top of the list was a song I’d NEVER seen performed live, her wonderful song Kokoro Dake Sobani Iru~Here In My Heart…MAN,watching this performance just hit me right in the feels and reminded me of why this girl is one of my favorite artists of all time! 

Back in the days when I was first getting into Hikaru and everything was new, I had chosen some of her albums (recorded onto cassette for my walkman) as my traveling companions for my long bus ride home from work, and her album “Esprit” was on as I made my way through my neighborhood towards home.

  By the time I’d reached my house, I’d listened to most of the album and was about to remove my earphones, when the keyboard chimes for the song Kokoro Dake Sobani Iru began, and it sounded so gentle and sweet, instead of turning the walkman off and going in the house, I sat in our garage listening to the whole song. What a sweet, comforting song, with sweet vocals and a guitar refrain that reminded me ever so slightly of CoCo’s “Wedding”, I was entranced!

  By then, the sun had begun to set, and the entire garage had taken on that hazy, orangey effect and I just had this warm, comfortable feeling as I sat there with that beautiful song playing. When it ended, I finally turned off the tape player and went in, but I couldn’t shake that magical feeling, and from then on, I always tried to listen to that song and album during the evenings to retain that warm, fuzzy feeling!

  Eventually, Esprit became my favorite CD from Hikaru, and one day listening to it I realized that not only was Kokoro Dake Sobani Iru my favorite song on the ALBUM, it was in fact my favorite song from her EVER! That feeling I had listening to it watching the sun set that one evening is the same feeling I now get listening to almost ALL of her albums, and I consider that period of my life a very special one, indeed!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Crayon Pop's Amazing New Feats of Wonder!

They've been so, so many comebacks these last few months, but I have to say that for the most part, I've been buying these new releases more because I like the ARTIST than that I like the song, but when I heard Crayon Pop was making their comeback, I hoped THEY would bring something interesting to the table...and HOLY CRAP, DID THEY EVER!!

 The Girls latest offering is the soon-to-be released comeback song "Bar Bar + Bar" (or Ba Ba Ba, depending on where you see it listed) and OMG, is it CATCHY!!!! Although not officially promoted yet, the girls did a highly energetic performance the other day at the Migliore Festival Live event, and it was a sight to BEHOLD!

Along with the regular catchy refrains, the song is accompanied by their always irresistible dance moves which, while always fun and snappy, have been upgraded to almost MOMOIRO CLOVER-Z eccentricities! Seriously, when they came out in helmets, I was all like WTH???! But then the song started and from the first beats in, I was hooked, and watching them jump around (and up and down) onstage, I was BLOWN AWAY!!! SO MUCH FUN!!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Aw Man, out of ALL the comebacks going on, this is ONE that I'm sooo excited for! I first fell in love with the girls when they released "Bing Bing" last year, but was DENIED a real CD release (they releaased a remixed and remade version, both of which weren't as good as the original) I'm praying this is the album that really makes them, though so far, no lsiting for them at YesAsia, which isn't good news when you want to pre-order the album!!! C'mon, you guys, get with the program!!!

Itsuka Hi no Ataru Basho de

Been curious as to why my Naoko Iijima post has been getting so many hits in the last few weeks, and wondered if she’d recently appeared in some new super-popular drama, and that’s how, when investigating online, I came across her new drama Itsuka Hi no Ataru Basho de with Aya Ueto. Now, I hve no idea if this is the reason for Naoko’s recent surge in hits, but WOW, this was a drama I WANTED TO SEE!

The drama stars Aya and Naoko as Komoriya Hako (Ueto) and Eguchi Ayaka (Iijima), two women starting their lives over again after spending time in prison (Hako for scamming drugged clients out of their wallets and Ayaka for murdering her abusive husband) and the ordeals they must go through to re-enter the world. Watched the first episode and so far, seems like a very moving story!

So awesome to see Iijima Naoko still out there doing dramas (and like other actresses from the 90’s like Shinohara Ryoko and Mizuki Arisa, getting even BETTER with time!), and MY GOD is Aya Ueto more gorgeous than EVER?! 

Seems the more she becomes a lady and moves away from her idol roots, the more elegant she becomes! Even in this sad and bittersweet role, I find my self just in AWE of her beauty! Seems like melancholia suits her well!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Sending In My K-Pop Pre-Order...

To save on shipping, I wanted to wait until SISTAR, AFTERSCHOOL and Rainbow ALL had their albums up for pre-order, but I wanted to make sure I got my order in before Rainbow's release date (so my purchase would count towards their overall sales, though I'm not sure if Yesasia even reflects the Korean charts) and with only one day left to go (Rainbow's release is the 6th) they FINALLY pre-listed SISTAR's new album, so I made a mad dash to the site and put in my order:

Ah, should be a grand old time come the end of this month, I tell ya!!!!

Hikaru Nishida "Just Lovin'" is HERE!!!!

My Nishida Hikaru CD "Just Lovin'" Comes in Today!!!

YATTTTTTAAAAA!!!! Just spent the day off listening to some of my beloved Hikaru Nishda CDs (this time A File Of Life, Love For All Seasons and 2-4) and came home to the most AWESOMEST of surprises waiting for me on my doorstep- her brand new CD Just Lovin' arrived today!!!! WHOOOHOOO

Aw man, can't stay long to write much since I am going to go out cruising and listen to this album RIGHT AFTER I post this entry up! Already heard some of it through her promotional video clip, can't WAIT to hear how the whole Maxi-Single sounds!!!! 
OK, SEEYA!!!!

Hikaru Nishida "Just Lovin' Back Booklet Pic

EDIT:

Okay, just back from giving the album a few whirls, and AW YEAH, Just Lovin' is so damn GOOD! Man, I was happy to hear that she sounds exactly like the Hikaru I know and love; Her voice as warm and carefree sounding as ever, and these happy, upbeat tunes could have EASILY been on her earlier Pony Canyon releases, that’s how much she’s retained her signature sound!!!

From the album’s opening with “Egao No Tane~ Seeds Of Smile”, I was beaming from ear to ear (so I guess that song really DID have the power of growing smiles!), parts of the song even reminded me of her super-catchy “Dear My Soul”, but it was all mixed into this fresh new tune!

Followed by the cool, relaxing “Nagisa No Gradation” with its gentle samba “Antonio Carlos Jobim” vibe, this was perfect for driving along the beachside (which was good since that was EXACTLY what I was doing!) Note the appropriate picture accompanying the lyrics inside the booklet!!

When I read the tracklisting for the EP and saw “Over The Rainbow” coupled with “What A Wonderful World”, my first thought was, “Hey, is Hikaru doing a cover of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole? Shrugged it off, but when she began singing, I began LAUGHING, for that’s EXACTLY what it was! Though her version is so bright, summery and GENKI that I didn’t recognize it at first, the vocal arrangement is pure IZ (even down to the tru-hoo-hoooo’s), and this made Hikaru’s cover have a bit of a “Hawaii” flavor to it which was like an added BONUS for me! 

Gotta say that when the fourth and fifth tracks were only karaoke tracks, I was SOOO disappointed that my time with Hikaru had ended! NO problem- I went back to the beginning and listened to the CD TWO MORE TIMES before getting home!!! BTW, when I got in the car and first took the CD out to put in the deck, I realized there was one more picture of pretty Hikaru hidden behind the disc! Had to dig out my camera again to capture that!

Awesome CD, Hikaru, looking forward to many more!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Back On The Road With Galileo

The Masaharu Fukuyama Detective drama Galileo is back, and I gotta say that the thing that's got me MOST excited about its return is the new addition of uber- cutie Yuriko Yoshitaka as Kishitani Misa, Yukawa "Galileo" Manabu's new "partner" in crime-solving of the strange and supernatural!

When the show began, I actually wasn't sure how she'd would fit in with the overall feeling of this show since the dynamic Fukuyama and Shibasaki Kou had between them was what really made the original series, but it didn't take long for Yuriko's trademark "Manic Pixie" persona to come out and begin stealing the scenes!

The first episode eases us into the new situation nicely with Shibasaki's Utsumi Kaoru character showing her replacement the ropes before leaves to pursue crime in Oklahoma, of all places. I like the rapport between these two (with Misa reacting with disbelief at all the nutty things the seasoned Utsumi accepts as just another day at work), and in fact wouldn't have minded it they kept the formula like this! It coulda been like a Japanese Cagney and Lacey!!

But soon it's time for Utsumi to leave and finally Yuriko takes center stage. Her character "Misa Kishitani" is a person who regards herself very highly, and though she rubs people the wrong way, her heart is true, and soon Yukawa finds she really is someone who wants to make a difference, and a new "partnership" (of sorts) is born!

Oh, the show certainly has its serious sides, but the BEST scenes for me are the ones where she's her usual super-energetic self, arguing with Yukawa, and (most hilariously) with poor maligned Kuribayashi (Ikkei Watanabe) who finds himself at the receiving end of most of her venomous remarks and haughty attitude, LOL!  Ah, this show looks like a good one!

PS. Only gripe, where the heck is Maya Miki?!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Nishida Hikaru PV on DVD!!!

With this flurry of recent Hikaru Nishida activity going on regarding her  mini-tour and Maxi Single "Just Lovin", I thought it would be a good idea to check up on her CD Japan status to see if any other new releases were scheduled- and WHADDAYA Know?!! Hikaru's FINALLY releasing her PV Collection on DVD!!! WHy, I had JUST been watching some of her videos from her VHS Twin Collection- SOOOOSTOKED to finally have these clips in "hard" format!!!

  Taking a look at the cover of the DVD, it doesn't look like much- just a collage of screencaps from her various videos over the years, but then I looked closer and had to LAUGH as I spotted something that made this cover pretty COOL for me!!!
   Awhile ago, I had mentioned that Hikaru had shot her video "Kitto Aiga Aru" here in my state of Hawaii, and not only did she film it in my hometown, at some point in the video, she rides her bicycle right past my house! I call this my "Greatest Hikaru Moment"and screencapped it here:

Hikaru-chan rides right past my apartment!

Well, imagine my surprise when I saw that the very same scene featured on the cover of the Nishida Hikaru DVD Collection- Hikaru riding her bicycle with my apartment right behind her!!! LOLOLOL! Yes, True Believers, however miniscule- MY HOME IS ON THE COVER OF A NISHIDA HIKARU DVD!!!!

LOLOL, Okay, Okay, looks like the image CD Japan had up was only one of them "temporary" image holders and the actual cover of the Hikaru DVD will look a lot more...professional! AHAHA

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com