Lollipop.

Fire.

Top of the World.

Pretty Boy.

Let’s Go Party.

In The Club.

Breathe.

The Leaders.

She’s Gone.

Where U At?

ORA Yeah!

Let Me Hear Your Voice.

Hallelujah.

You And I.

and finally, Wedding Dress.

Despite my pretty obvious SM bias, I can appreciate that YGE has put out some really good stuff this year. Enjoy it.

Maki

NOW. No, I mean, right now – like right this very second. Just click on that little video that I’m posting down there and listen to the song. Your life will not be complete until you hear it. It’s ‘The Greatest Story All Over The World’.

Credit: iluvyesung

Sooooo I love this song – I’ve only listened to it once but I love it already because it’s so moving. Is it not moving? Are you not being moved while listening to it? If you’re not, then listen to it again and again and again until you are successfully moved. But seriously, this is such a beautiful song – Yesung’s voice is so soft and soothing here and you really do get the sense of a story being told from the way that he’s singing – this is a duet by the way, between him and Lee Sejun – and this could possibly be my favourite thing that he’s ever done ever. And that’s only enhanced by the fact that this is a Christian song and that the proceeds from the sales go to charity and I mean, you have to be able to appreciate that at least, right? Honestly I didn’t even know that Yesung was a Christian until he released this but that’s very good, you know – I am one too and you should totally look into that (yeah, you, the person reading this) if you’re not. It’s not a bad way to be, imo. But I digress – so yes, check the song out – it’s beautiful and I am going to try to see if I can buy it from mnet.com or somewhere like that because it is for charity and all.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that – so enjoy!

Maki

So I really like this song. I’ve had it on repeat for most of tonight.

Credit: 919urnobody919

Honestly when I heard the first teaser, I wasn’t impressed – I didn’t like the sound of it at all. But now that I’ve heard the entire thing, I think it’s pretty good. Pretty and fun and melodic and easy to follow, the dance looks interesting enough and most of all, it’s not just ‘catchy’ or overly repetitive like the last few hit songs from SME have been. Mind you, I liked those songs but you know that kind of thing gets old fast so this is a nice change. Here’s their new MV teaser for those of you who haven’t yet seen it – it looks nice enough, the car is really cute:

Credit: urasiansourceKpop

Also just wanted to post this cute fancam I came across of IU and Eunhyuk performing MC Mong and Lyn’s ‘Run To You’.

Credit: pri3an

I know it’s a bit old now but I felt bad about not posting anything new about IU in awhile considering I’m supposed to be trying to pimp her out a bit more and what with her one year anniversary coming up in just a few weeks. Speaking of, if you want to get more info about her, definitely hit up her new international forum, WeHeartIU! She also happens to be Soompi’s Artist of the Week this week so make sure to check out the article! Anyway, she and EunHyuk both sound really great here and I feel like you can really tell Hyuk is fond of her from watching this. I don’t know if I’ve said this before but it makes me really happy to know that she’s got someone like him looking out for her. He’s a really good guy, EunHyuk and I don’t think he’d steer her wrong.

In addition, I heard that she got a regular spot on one of EunTeuk’s Sukira broadcasts so that’s also really good news – I’m sure that will be very good exposure for her and since she’s been on the show a few times already, it should already be a fairly comfortable environment for her. Anyway she’s going to be their first regular guest on a live request segment of their broadcast where listeners can call in and ask her to sing certain songs for them. Considering how she’s becoming known for her excellent acoustic covers of popular songs, I’m really not surprised to hear that she was chosen to do this. I’m extremely happy for her and I hope it turns out well. And in case you don’t know about her lovely covers, here are a few – the ‘Lies’ one is my favourite, by the way:

Credit: Alysoche

Enjoy!

Maki

So I’m just updating to let all you SHINee fans know that SHINee Subs is back on Youtube! Their new channel is called sfinee so make sure to subscribe if you haven’t and don’t forget to drop them a line and tell them thanks for coming back, okay?

For more subbed SHINee goodies, go to SHINeeSubs own streaming site as well as SHINee Forums for downloads.

That was all. Over and out!

Maki

Hola – sorry I’ve been MIA as of late but anyway, I just wanted to share this song I just heard. It’s by Ilac and ChaeRin from Brand New Day and it’s really bright and cheerful and perfect to get you in the mood for summer. It certainly cheered up my less than stellar day so here you go. Enjoy!

credit: 101Nanonine101

Maki

So today, in honour of SHINee’s first anniversary, I’ll tell you a little story of my history with the group. I know I have a tendency to ramble though so I’ll try to keep things succinct. ^^

So once upon a time, a looooong time ago (exactly 11 months), I stumbled across a K-pop video by the title of Noona Nomu Yeppeo. Having never listened to K-pop before and having no idea of what to expect, I decided to check it out – figured it couldn’t hurt, you know, I mean, it’s not like I’d become obsessed or anything (or so I thought) but anyway so I watched the video – I didn’t know the names or ages of the boys, didn’t know their management company (didn’t care), didn’t even know they were a new group. All I knew is that those kids could dance their butts off and as I told a friend of mine, the day I posted the video link on her wall, they could give Chris Brown a run for his money (although I wouldn’t compare them now). After I got over my surprise at their dancing prowess however, I realized that Replay was a pretty good song and it really did make me want to ~replay~ it over and over again. (It’s a classic, dude, I’m telling you.)

After that, I went looking for more SHINee music videos but of course there weren’t any because they had just debuted but I didn’t know that. As such, I went off and watched some Wonder Girls and SNSD videos (what can I say? the ‘Related Videos’ tab led me there) and for a short time, I entertained the thought of becoming a Wonderful but that didn’t last long because SHINee came out with another song, Love Like Oxygen. I listened to the song before I saw the video and I hated it, hated it with a fiery, burning passion – I thought that was the end of it, that I was done liking SHINee – but then, I watched the video. And again, I was impressed by the boys’ slick, in synch dance moves (it didn’t hurt that they looked pretty cute too) and I thought “maybe it doesn’t matter that I don’t like the song, you can’t like everything, right?” So I decided to watch their comeback performance, their very first performance of the song to see if they could really pull off those moves in real time – and whaddya know? They did it – and they sang pretty well too! I was quite impressed and suddenly inclined to start paying a lot more attention to these five boys (and maybe even learn their names too).

In the months that followed, a lot of things happened – for them and for me. I left my former fandom and jumped right into the world of K-pop, created this blog and started following SHINee in a big way – joining all sorts of communities and visiting fansites and I even started proudly proclaiming myself a member of the SHINee World. And a lot of things happened in that time for SHINee also – they released three (now four!) music videos and albums, got first place twice with one of their singles, won a boatload of Newcomer awards, got a number of endorsements and sang a few OST and CF songs. They got to perform along with their sunbaes, not only those from their company but lots of other Korean artists as well on so many different stages, not only in Korea but in China and Thailand as well. They’ve already started doing overseas promotion – they’ve been to Thailand on three separate occasions, spent Christmas in Taiwan and are now planning to have a Japanese fanmeet (SM, please don’t send them to Ilben permanently just yet or ever), they got to do tribute stages for FTTS, DBSK, HOT and Shinhwa as well as joint stages with Kara and Super Junior (SJSHINee!!!), Taemin got to be a part of the SMTown dance battle as well as the dance battle in one of the end of year shows last year, Jonghyun got to perform with one of his own idols, Jung Yeop from Brown Eyed Soul and got to perform his solo song, Hye-Ya, not once but three times! They even had their own reality show, SHINee’s Yunhanam where they basically acted out their debut song, Replay and went on dates with some very lucky noonas (it’s not as creepy as it sounds – really, it was very cute) and they’ve just done so much – way more than I can fit in a tiny paragraph (or even a long one) but I did try.

In that time, the boys have grown a lot – as a group, as musicians, as performers, as people. I’ve seen them become more confident on and off stage, in front of the camera, in interviews – I’ve seen MinHo open up so much – he actually looks at the camera now and talks a good bit more than he used to; I’ve seen Jonghyun learn to stop talking so much and step back and give the others a little bit of room to get a word in edgewise – sorry if that came off harsh but he really did talk a lot before, he’s gotten a lot better at that now; I’ve seen Onew step up as the leader and find his own way to assert his authority – it may not be immediately obvious to some people and I know that there are people who still think that he wasn’t the best choice for the leader but trust me, SM knew what they were doing when they chose him, he’s doing a fine job and he’s even managed to stem his tears a bit when they win awards – aww; as for Key, well, I’ve gotten to see how fantastic and eccentric and quirky and funny he is and I certainly hope he never changes in that respect and as for my little maknae, the first person who caught my eye in the group with that brilliant smile of his, I’ve really seen him grow up (and I’m still seeing it) – I’ve seen him become more confident with his singing and get a lot better at it, I’ve seen him spring up like a beanpole and probably exacerbate poor Jong’s height complex, I’ve seen him rock like a ton of different hairstyles and still look good, I’ve seen him own the stage with his charisma and his fierceness when he’s dancing and I hope that he can learn to bring that into his singing as well. I’ve seen him (and all of them) just grow up – I’m watching them come into their own.

I told a friend of mine once that I didn’t care if SHINee became as successful or as popular or as beloved as their SM sunbaes (of course, that would be lovely and I’d be happy for them) but that, to me, popularity isn’t everything. What I really want for them and what I hope they want for themselves is to truly come into their own, to make a name for themselves and to live up to their full potential. Because all of those things that I mentioned just now – all of their accomplishments and achievements – I know that they are going to pale in comparison to the things that they’re going to achieve in the future. Those boys have so much potential and they’ve only just begun to tap into it – they still have so far to go, they still have so much to do and luckily, they have the opportunity to do it. People can be fickle – they like you one day and the next day, you’re old news but I think that they’re going to be around for a long time, I think they have the potential to have that kind of staying power and I hope that I can see that happen. I want to see them grow even more, I want to see them truly tap into all that potential I see in them and I just want to see them shine, keep shining I mean. They’ve brought a lot of light and joy to my days and I hope that they can continue to do that – not just for me but for many others as well. So here’s to bigger, better and brighter things. Stay strong and positive, boys and may God continue to richly bless you and help you along your paths in this life. To a better SHINee and another amazing year, one that’s even better than the last.

25th May, 2009 – SHINee celebrates their first anniversary.

Congratulations, boys – to many more, just like this one.

God bless these five shining boys.

Maki

PS:- Posted at exactly 12 AM on the 25th here. Yay!

So while I work on Jonghyun’s birthday post – whoo, saengil chukhahae, my little 4D boy! – I’d like to share with you a song that I’m really feeling right now. It’s from Navi’s second single – the title song, ‘Heart Damage’ features Crown J but I really prefer the second song on the album entitled ‘Gireseo’ (On The Road) – it’s beautiful and her voice is so piercing and soulful here that it can’t help but make an impression.

credit: RinZzzanie

I hope you enjoy it.

Maki

So this is a little unusual for me but I decided to something different and recommend to you an American artist that I’m growing to be pretty fond of. She’s a new artist – new in the sense that she isn’t particularly well known as of yet in the States and she was only recently signed to a label – but she’s already released her first studio album, which I bought a few days ago – her name is Erin McCarley and her album, ‘Love Save The Empty’ is titled after one of the songs on the album.

edit: Oh, the official video for ‘Love Save The Empty’ was uploaded to Erin’s Youtube channel today and it’s also already on VH1’s Top 20 Countdown (number 18) so go vote for it, okay?

I came across her sort of by accident after hearing one of her songs, ‘Pitterpat’ on the CW show, One Tree Hill late last year. It was probably only about a minute of the song but I fell in love with it right away and was desperate to hear the whole thing – a rare feat for me. So I puttered around online until I found the listing of the songs used in that episode – I found it on this great fansite which is updated even faster than the official CW site and which in addition to hosting a list of the songs used in the episode, includes where in the episode the music is used as well – it’s very helpful – and found out her name and the title of the song. Then naturally I went to Youtube looking for it but it wasn’t there. In fact, there wasn’t anything there by or about Erin McCarley. I was really shocked and I’m not sure what happened next – I think maybe I Googled her or something – but I ended up coming across her official website – which was still under construction at the time – which redirected me to her MySpace page.

The MySpace page was where I hit the jackpot. She was still working on her album at the time but there were three songs available for listening on her page including Pitterpat, the one I’d been looking for. The other songs were Pony (It’s Ok) and Love Save The Empty and after listening to each of them, I was sure that she was going to be one of my new favourite singers. Each song has a completely different sound from the other but they all share a common thread in the recurring sense of melancholy conjured up by each one, even Pony which is a pretty upbeat track. It’s funny because even though Pitterpat is the song that led me there, after listening to the other two, I think Pony became my favourite. I’m no musician and nowhere near a music connoisseur so it would be difficult for me to describe each one and to explain exactly what appeals to me about them so I’ll just say they’re all beautiful tracks and they come highly recommended from yours truly.

Erin says that her music is at once very personal and also meant to deal with issues that affect the current generation and while that sounds really heavy and topical and slightly depressing (you know, like Epik High sometimes), it’s really not. Her music is lovely and light and it’s actually really easy to just get lost in it and enjoy what she’s saying even with songs like ‘Love Save the Empty’ (which was also on the OST for ‘He’’s Just Not That Into You’ which I finally got around to seeing last weekend) in which she talks about children who grow up without parental guidance and as such, end up making a lot of easily avoided mistakes as well as another song off of the album entitled ‘Lovesick Mistake’ (my new favourite) which is a love song about rejecting someone in order to protect them from the hurt you’re afraid you’ll inflict on them. The music is somewhere along the lines of pop/rock (or at least that’s where the cd was located in the FYE store that I bought it at) and she writes and composes all of her own songs. I’m still taking in her album at the moment but now that I’ve gotten a chance to listen to some of the other tracks, there’s a bit of a blues-y, slightly retro (I’m thinking late 60’s) feel to some of the tracks that, as someone who’s particularly fond of music from that decade, I really like.

Hmm, I’m not sure that I did a very good job of introducing her to you here but I hope that you’re at least intrigued and willing to check her out. Her music may not be for everybody but I think that she has a lot of potential and I hope that she achieves a significant amount of success in the American market because I really think she deserves it. I really love her stuff. <3 At the moment, she’s on the road, touring and playing a number of small gigs and just doing promotions for the new album. If you’re interested in listening to her, you can hear previews of her entire album on her official website or you can here some full length tracks on her Youtube channel. If you like her or are already acquainted with her and would like to keep updated with her schedule or just drop her a line, you can go to her Facebook page and since she’s not that popular yet, I think she might actually read it! And then of course for all you MySpace users, there’s still that MySpace page that I mentioned earlier. So check her out, okay? I’m telling you she’s still new – so now’s the time to get into her – so check her out, ok? Go, go, go! And if you really do like her stuff, do like Will Smith said and “don’t download, go out and buy the record”. That’s what I did – and you should too!

So good luck to you, Erin. I wish you all the best! (I hope she gets picked for the next batch of ‘you oughta know’ artists on VH1 or something – man, that’d be so cool….it’s really great exposure. SM should try to do that for BoA too.) Anyway, thanks for reading.

Peace out.

Maki

Yo yo yo, all you SHINee fans out there. Just in case you didn’t know today is the deadline to submit your entry in SHINee Forums’s special Jonghyun birthday booklet – you just take or get a picture of a random object (not a picture of you or of SHINee or of Jonghyun) that reminds you of Bling and then you post that along with a short message explaining why you chose that item and wishing happy birthday and so on. It’s actually quite nice – people come up with some really interesting objects! – and I think this is the first time that they’ve done a booklet just for a specific member so you know it’ll be memorable.

Anyway, if you want to participate, this will take you to the official thread. If you’re a member, then just go to the first page, read the rules, then post and if you’re not a member, you’ll have to join first – but it’s totally worth it! SFI is the best and most organized place to get all your SHINee info, news, pictures, videos, etc. So go and participate! Quick!

XD I actually did mine on Tuesday – did not leave it to the last minute for once. Yay!

Maki

source: shinee-ing
reupload: sanbi
credit: sanbi

Those earrings that he’s pointing to are part of the last batch of gifts that SHINee Forums sent to the boys in their last SHINee project and while we saw Taeminnie wearing one of the hoodies that was sent, Jonghyun’s taking the ‘fan service’ (LOL) to another level by wearing these basically all the time these days and even showing them off back stage. So you see, these projects have results~ Now don’t you feel like taking part? Right now, we’re working on both Jonghyun’s birthday project and the SHINeeversary project – come on, it’s the boys’ first anniversary as a group – so you know it’s going to be really special. So join, join, join!

Hmm, the boys didn’t have a schedule today so I haven’t got much to talk about, although I will tell you to watch this video – SHINee went to a gag concert the other day and naturally, the comedians there made jokes at their expense. It’s not subbed yet so I can’t say much about what happens but there’s this hilarious part towards the end where Park Jisun a.k.a. ‘the scary noona’ from Yunhanam goes and tries to sit on Key’s lap and he FREAKS OUT. OMG, it’s so funny – I’ve never seen him so skittish before. When it’s subbed, I might repost it or edit this one with more deets.

So on to the Song Recommendation of the Day: it’s Utada Hikaru’s teaser song for her second US album, ‘Come Back To Me’ which is available for listening on her Myspace page. Okay, I didn’t really check out her first US album but if the songs were anything like this, then I need to. It’s a lovely, R and B track – the music is simple enough to really allow the vocals to shine through and although it may seem a bit repetitive with the ‘Baby, come back to me’, she really manages to bring across the emotion, especially the vulnerability in her voice and everything just seems to blend together really nicely. It’s simultaneously familiar and refreshing. I was surprised at how much I liked it, to be honest (and at how good her English is) and I definitely recommend it. I’m not a big Utada fan but I think this is a wonderful offering from her and you should definitely check it out. (Gosh, I suck at these song reviews, don’t I? Sorry about that.)

Anyways, going now but just as an addendum, here’s what the writer of Inkigayo Backstage Diary had to say about Bling’s bling…

The 2nd time with SHINee, Jonghyun showing off his earrings.
I was trying to concentrate on his earrings but the cameraman liked his hair more so it switched to that.
The gender of the cameraman, was it a girl?
Anyways i remember it was a bling bling white diamond shaped studs.
If someone gave it to him as a gift you should buy yourself a congratulatory drink. (It’s funny he should put that in, huh?)

Adios!

Maki

Oh, and I heard that Yuri, Taeyeon, Sunny and Sooyoung from SNSD have all been down with the flu for awhile and have been in and out of the hospital lately. What a terrible time to be ill. I really hope they get better soon – hearing news like that is always so scary. Anyway, please pray for them! Even if you don’t like the group, you shouldn’t wish ill on anyone. That said, get better soon, girls! I’ll be rooting for you! Fighting!