Asian Pop Acts

Once again sorry for the long absence, hopefully this dreadful semester will be over soon.

So when I first started listening to music that was outside of my home country, the first thing I was introduced to was J-pop. Thanks to the anime opening and closing songs. For a while there I was really into J-pop, however oddly enough I only really got into solo artist or bands no J-Pop groups. Mostly because youtube was still just starting out and Japanese companies were not posting stuff on there yet and I was unaware of the different website out there that helped promote different Japanese acts.

Once I got into high school I had less time to watch animes so my interest in J-pop declined. It wasn't until I entered university that I discovered K-pop. By this time I was able to find a number of K-pop sites that helped me learn more about the large number of groups/solo artist out there in K-popdom. 

Slowly though, every now and again, I would find a group in the recommendation side of my youtube page that had a group. I would click on it thinking that it might be a new k-pop group only to find out that the group was not singing in Korean. This is how I discovered T-Pop, Thai-Pop.

Recently, the same thing happened to me, I clicked on a group from the recommendation side of youtube and found that the group was an I-Pop group, Indonesian-Pop.

So i'm going to ask you guys for some help. Since my readers are from all around the world I would love to find more groups from around Asia. If there is a group that you think I should check out could you comment and give me a few suggestions.

Right now I'm just looking for groups, but I have a lot of favorite solo artist from various countries in Asia. (You can even suggest songs from artists I featured below, there is a good chance that if it's not a title song I haven't heard it.)

Here are a few of the groups I've found from around Asia.

[Many of these groups have more videos then what is shown below,  I just picked a few of my favorites]

Thailand:

Candy Mafia  (Their company is really great, they add English subtitles to a lot of their videos)

3.2.1 (See! The co:ed formation does work)

SWEE:D (I really miss this group, they disbanded but I admire the girls for pursuing their education.)

K-OTIC: (They disbanded in 2012)

No More Tear (Haha I snuck in a T-Rock band)

I swear they had a video for ฉันเป็นดีเจให้เธอ (I am DJ for you) but I can't find it anywhere, but it is one of my favorite songs of theirs.

Indonesia:

S.O.S [Their name stands for Sensation Of Stage] (Hanhae from Phantom is an actor in their music video >-<)

Taiwan:

S.H.E (Their name stand for Selina, Hebe, Ella, the names of the members)

Feature [17 ]May Doni

So you might have wondered who his the girl in the P of my banner, well her name is May Doni and she a very talented singer with an interesting story to share.

BIO: May Doni was born in the United States and she was discovered by a JYP talent project in 2001. She was later sign with YG Entertainment in 2005, she left YG in 2007 and signed with Nega Network. She left YG because her sister Yenny was deemed not good enough to debut, May Doni wanted to debut with her sister and therefore when her sister was kicked out she decided to leave as well. May Doni went on to make an unofficial debut with Cho PD. In 2009 she made her official debut as a solo singer. After that she seemed to drop off the radar only occasionally posting videos of herself covering various songs online. In 2010 she recorded a duet with Hwanhee. She then made her acting debut with a fairly large role in the horror film "White." In 2012 she signed with J2Star Entertainment. She is now making her comeback in February of 2013 so support this talented girl! 

OFFICIAL WEBSITES: Official Website: 

                                           (I think this is a fan channel)Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/HDPmegainu/videos?view=0 

                                           Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimmaydoni

        

                                         

MUSIC VIDEOS:

메이다니(May Doni) - 교실에 오면 [TEASER]

[Here's a link to the full audio] http://pann.nate.com/video/221257372

조 (PDIS) - 끌려 (Feat. 메이다니 May Doni) 

Strangers(남남)-Hwanhee(환희) & May Doni(메이다니) 

May Doni - Molla Ing (feat. 2AM) 

[a live performance] 처음처럼[Like the First Time] (feat. July)

[cover]Jessie J-Domino (This is one of my fav covers by her)

[cover]David Guetta-Titanium 

[cover]Adam Lambert-Whataya Want From Me (the video and audio are a little out of sync but she still sounds amazing)

(showing off her rapping skills)

(dance practice) 

I really like her because she is a triple threat (she can sing, dance, and rap, oh and act as well) and she has stage presence and knows how to connect with the audience.

Feature [13] GP Basic

Hello everyone, this is a review that has been a long time coming. I'll be talking about a group that had an anti club even before they debut. A group that has constantly been under-appreciated simply because of one factor, age. I think you should have by now figured out who i'm talking about, yep it's GP BASIC.

MEMBERS:

Zion (Vocals)

Leah (Leader, Lead Vocals)

Trinity (Rapper, Main Vocals)

Amet (Sub-Vocals)

Mui (Sub-Vocals, Rap)

Janey (Maknae, Rapper)

Ex-member

Hannah (Leader, Main Vocal) 

BIO: GP Basic is a six member girl group who debut in 2010. They made noise in the music industry for having the average age of 15. Maknae Janey was just 12 (13 in Korea's age system) when they debut and was actually banned from performing on some of the music programs until she turned 13. Even though the girls have had doubters from the start they have worked hard and proven they do have talent. The girls have managed to gain fans, they have even managed to last longer in an industry that often sees a group fade out after just one year in the music industry.

INTERESTING FACTS: It really bothered me that a group that clearly has talent was receiving such hatred simply because of age. So I decided I would check and see if there was anyone else that debut at a young age without receiving hatred.

List of ages when they debut:

15&: Jimin and Yerin were 15.

Apink: Hayoung was 15.

Teen Top: Changjo and Ricky was 15.

Chocolat: Tia and Melanie were 14.

C-Clown: Maru was 15.

F(x): Krystal and Sulli were 15.

SHINee: Taemin was 15.

2NE1: Minzy was 15.

TVXQ: Changmin was 15

KARA: Jiyoung was 14

BoA was only 14.

4Minute: So Hyun was 11 when she first debut with Orange and was 15 when she debut with 4Mintue.

OFFICIAL WEBSITES: Un-official Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/gpbasicVids 

                                         Un-official Cafe: http://z15.invisionfree.com/GirlPower/index.php?

                                         Un-official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GP-Basic/124883190891513

                                         

MUSIC VIDEOS:     

Game

Jelly Pop

V

Christmas' Carol

Now I'm not saying that I think it's ok for the music industry to start pumping out young groups left and right. However I believe that people should not automatically assume that they will be bad simply because of their age. I mean seriously how is what GP Basic is doing, any different from what child actors do. Child actors are on sets for long periods of time, they have to go to events, they are also subject to public opinion, yet no one seems upset with that. Or what about kids who appear on shows like Star King. They are much younger then these girls and are applauded for appearing on a show at such a young age. GP Basic has a great deal of talent, I hope to hear more from them in the future so please support them.

You can help support these girls by purchasing their music on itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/gp-basic/id459005470
https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/edge-ta-single/id502788713

Feature [10] Shinhwa

Hey guys, I have a new feature for you, however with this one I will break one of my own rules that I follow when I write features. And that rule is, that I never feature a group/solo artist that has won first place on M! Countdown or similar shows to M! Countdown. If they have managed to win first place on shows like that then that group/solo artist is clearly not unknown by kpop fans. However i'm going to make a special exception for Shinhwa, because I know that there are people out there who like myself, were introduced to Kpop later in the game and are not very aware of who Shinhwa is and what they have accomplished in the world of Kpop. So sit back and relax and allow me to introduce you to The Legends.

(Shinhwa Early Days)

 (Shinhwa Now)

(The Real Shinhwa lol)

MEMBERS:

Eric (Leader, Main Rapper)

Minwoo (Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist)

Dongwan (Lead Vocalist)

Hyesung (Main Vocalist)

Junjin (Vocalist, Visual, Lead Dancer)

Andy (Lead Rapper, Maknae)

This is going to be a long bio since this group has been together for fourteen years, so there's a lot to talk about.

BIO: Shinhwa (which means Legend) debut in 1998 under SM Entertainment. Their first album did not perform well and SM Entertainment was greatly considering disbanding the group, however the they was saved by their second album T.O.P which helped move the group away from a cute image and helped establish them as a fierce and edgy group with amazing dance skills.
     As Shinhwa grew in popularity they were not without problems. For their fourth album Hey, Come On!, Andy did not take part in this album leading the media to speculate as to why he was not involved and leaving fans to worry that he had left the group. However Andy returned in time for their fifth album Perfect man.
     In 2003 when Shinhwa's contract expired with SM Entertainment it is rumored that SM only wanted to resign a few members of the group and not all of them. So the members that were offered contracts turned them down and the whole group signed with Good Entertainment. However Shinhwa did not have an easy transition to Good Entertainment. SM Entertainment claimed they owned the rights to the name Shinhwa and the members of Shinhwa had to bring SM Entertainment to court for use of their name. They won their court battle and started their new life at Good Entertainment.
     Under Good Entertainment Shinhwa began having more control over the songs they sang and the concepts they put out. The year 2003 also marked when members began pursuing different solo projects, such things as acting in dramas, making their own solo singing debuts, and solo CF's.
     In 2007 after releasing very well received albums under Good Entertainment, Shinhwa members decided to branch out and sign individual contracts with different companies. However they were very adamant that they would still preform together as Shinhwa even though they were under different companies.
     At their 10th anniversary concert the members made what came to be known as "The Promise" which they stated that they would return after all the members had finished their mandatory military enlistment. In 2008 Eric and Dongwan enlisted in for military service, Junjin enlisted in 2009, Andy and Minwoo 2010, Hyesung was exempt from military service due to a knee injury he had sustained in 2001. Minwoo was the last to be discharged from the military in March of 2012, setting in motion Shinhwa's return.

(It's ok if you feel like skipping the top part this next part is what you should read because it talks about what they are doing now.)

Shinhwa created their own company, rightfully named Shinhwa Company in 2011, with Eric and Minwoo being co-CEO's and the rest of the members as share holders. In March 2012 Shinhwa announced their comeback, they released their 10th studio album The Return that same month. They have since participated in various variety shows in which they are more open about past experiences and troubles they've gone through over the years. They also have their own TV show named Shinhwa Broadcast, with the theme of the show being that each week they try out different TV show formats. Shinhwa is the longest running boy band in Korea, and truly are legends.

OFFICIAL WEBSITES: Website: http://www.shinhwacompany.co.kr/
                                          Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shinhwacompany
                                         Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/shinhwacompany
                                         Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/user/SHINHWACOMPANY

Shinhwa Broadcast:

(Shinhwa has released a totally of 25 videos over the years so i'm just going to pick my favorites.)
MUSIC VIDEOS:

T.O.P-

Wild Eyes-

Brand New-

Throw My Fist-

Once In A Life Time-

Run-

Venus-

They really are an amazing group, not only are they talented but they are so much fun to watch on variety shows. If nothing else watch the first three episodes of Shinhwa Broadcast and you will fall in love with them I'm sure of it.

Please support Shinhwa by purchasing their music legally you can find it here at their itunes page http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sinhwa-shinhwa/id398937836

Feature [9] Broken Valentine

Hello everyone,


I've got another feature for you guys and this time i'm featuring what I believe to be one of the best K-Rock bands i've ever heard, Broken Valentine.

Vocal -Van

Guitar-Byun G

Guitar- Ansu

Bass- Sunghwan

Drums- Koopa


This band has been together since 2002 but officially debut in 2011. Their sound is described as rock and post grunge, and in my opinion they are adding a new and much needed element to the K-Rock scene.

Their official website: http://www.brokenvalentine.com/


Their Music Videos:

Down

Noname

This band really brings a real rock element that is reminiscent of American rock bands more so then normal  k-rock bands in Korea like FT Island or CN Blue.

Feature [6] Cherry Filter

Hello everyone,


Todays group I will be featuring is the rock band Cherry Filter.

Cherry Filter Debut in 1997, since then they have become one of the most popular bands in Korea, however they are not widely know among most kpop fans.


The band consists of:

Youjeen (Vocals)

Zin (Guitar)

Yaenhead (Bass)

Sonstar (Drums, Rap)

Their Official Website http://www.cherryfilter.com/

They have released a lot of MV's here are a few of my favorites:

Pianissimo

Flying Duck

Romantic Cat