So I was going to start regularly consolidating my K-pop celeb birthday posts into digests like I did last month but I feel that this guy deserves one of his own.

Today, Donghae, on your 23rd birthday, I just wish you lots and lots of happiness. If there was anything I could wish for you right now, it would be that you could have a birthday (and subsequently a year) full of joy and good times and laughter and fun because I think that you deserve it. Not just because you’re my favourite Korean boy but because you’re a beautiful, kind, pure, loving person who always tries his darnedest as well. In addition, I hope that you’ll continue to be content and find fulfillment in the life that you’ve chosen for yourself, I hope that you’ll grow closer to God and I hope that you’ll continue to blossom into an even more amazing human being.

I love you, Lee Donghae and I wish you all the best on today, your 23rd birthday. Saranghae. ♥

So there are a number of K-pop celebs who are September babies (comme moi!) and I just wanted to wish them all a collective bonne anniversaire! I’m just writing this off the top of my head though so it might be a little odd. If so, I apologize in advance.

Premierement, there’s my first favourite member of SohNyuhShiDae, HyoYeonie! Birthday: September 22nd, 1989 (20)

Ah, I still remember watching the ‘Into The New World’ video and wondering who that blonde girl was and how come she got a dance solo. Lol. Anyway, she struck me instantly and for a long time, she was the only member of the group that I cared to know. After I really got into the group, that changed but I’ve still got a safe spot for her because of that. I think that she’s an incredible dancer – I mean, when you watch that girl dance, really dance – no, I don’t mean the ‘Gee’ dance, I’m talking about something more along the lines of this – you can’t miss that fire, that passion in her eyes. She’s doing what she loves to do and I’m happy to get a chance to watch her do that.

You know I’ve seen people say that Hyoyeon’s not pretty and things like that and I really have to wonder who they’re looking at because I have always thought that she’s gorgeous, inside and out and I just can’t even fathom how other people can’t see that and it makes me really sad to know that there are even people who claim to be SNSD fans who openly claim to dislike her – I mean, if you’re a fan of a group, even if you don’t like everyone, you should at least support them all and you should be able to appreciate that they all bring something to the group. That said, I know she tends to be on the quiet side in group interviews and during appearances and whatnot but if you catch her on her own or if you look closely during shows, you’ll see what I see – that she’s really fun and lovable and cool. The other girls claim that she (and SeoHyun) are the mood-makers in the group, meaning that they’re the ones who lift their spirits and keep the mood up. You couldn’t do that if you’re not fun!

But regardless of who likes her or who doesn’t, I believe that Hyo’s a beautiful, loving, wonderful, talented individual and I wish her all the best in her future endeavours. I really hope that she continues to get a chance to shine and to share her talents with the world and that she continues to support and show a good side for her team. To one of my favourite Soshi girls! Happy birthday.

Next, we’ll go on to the first person I ever did a birthday post for when I just started this blog last year, SHINee’s lovable Key-gun! – September 23rd, 1991. (18)

Yay, it’s Key’s birthday, you guys! I’m not going to lie – I almost forgot about it but that’s beside the point. So in the post I did for him last year, I just wished him that he would improve as a musician and an entertainer and I’m very pleased to see that this has occurred. I really feel that he’s improved so much over the last year – vocally, performance-wise and just as a person. Did you know that he’s sending money to a charity every month to starving kids? If that’s not becoming a better person, then I don’t know what is. It’s a little surreal to think that one of my precious SHINee babies is already 18 – well, i don’t think of the older two as babies obviously – and I’m really happy for him that he gets to be out there doing what he loves and to be surrounded by people who love and care about him day in and day out.

I know that things aren’t always easy and I hope that he manages to get some time to spend with the other people who love and care about him (his family) during this time and that maybe he’ll get a chance to hop on over to Daegu and spend some time there as well. Ultimately though, I just want him to be happy (and well rested!) and I sincerely, sincerely hope that he continues to find happiness and fulfillment from performing and making music and from this life that he’s chosen for himself. I just want them to be happy (and healthy). That’s all. I want to see smiles like this forever.

So Key-gun, I hope that this new year will be filled with even more joy and good experiences for you and that you’ll learn to take the setbacks and the tough times in stride and persevere all the same. Stay true to yourself and remain your upbeat, fun, unique self because the others need you to cheer them up, okay? Take care of yourself, bb~ And happy birthday.

And finalement, I want to wish an early happy, happy birthday to Dong-dddddong-dong, ShinDong! September 28th, 1985 (24)

Ah, I don’t think I ever mentioned but ShinDong was the first member of Suju that I ever learned – I actually knew of him before I even got into K-pop. It’s a long story but I’m really happy that I knew about him that way because I don’t know if I would have paid as much attention to him, had I not already known who he was. I mean, I think he’s a really good dancer and a great guy – super funny and sooooo sweet – but even though he appears to be one of the more visible members of the group,  when you really start to watch Suju things, you realize that he’s not always the most vocal so I feel like he blends in a bit. But I still love him though – if you said I could get free hugs fom Suju and you eliminated my biases, I would definitely choose ShinDong because he seems so nice and warm and I’m sure he gives the best hugs.

He also takes pretty awesome selcas. Yes, ShinDong is the selca king! So anyway, I just wanted to wish ShinDong a happy birthday and I hope that he continues to grow as a person, to be loved and supported and appreciated and that lots of blessings rain down upon him. Happy birthday, ShinDong oppa! ^_^ God bless you~

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

It’s my birthday today, readers so I’m sharing a happy song with you. Guaranteed to make you smile!

Credit: Youtube

Also I can’t not post about this a.k.a. THE BEST TEASER IN THE HISTORY OF TEASERS

Well, after watching that, I’m excited. I mean, I was excited before but this has taken my excitement to a whole other level. Everyone looks fantastic, especially Siwon – HOTNESS! – and I’m finally noticing that Zhou Mi is actually pretty hot too. (OMG, when did this happen?! I’m shocked!) Also I think their style here seems to be a mash-up of ‘Sorry, Sorry’ and ‘It’s You’ and this song appears to be the one they mentioned that would be in a similar style to ‘Sorry, Sorry’ so I’m not complaining – this should be good. So yes, if you’re not into SJ-M, I suggest you get into them like now, right now – no, right this minute! – so you’ll be able to fully appreciate this sure-to-be-epic comeback. Okay? Got it? Okay, good! ~Wo shi ni de Shupaman~

I’m off to enjoy my day now. Have a good week-end, all!

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 to make up for the fact that I haven’t updated this thing in forever – I’m very sorry to any loyal readers I still have – and in honour of the fact that I am supremely excited that SJ-M actually have a date for their comeback and LiYin has officially announced that her comeback is also approaching, I’d like to post my favourite picture of HanGeng. You guys can’t stay mad at me after you see this.

Source: on picture and pretty boy power

See? See? You’re not mad anymore, right? XD So yes, I am really looking forward to September 10th for SJ-M’s official comeback – they are my favourite Suju sub-group, y’all and I cannot wait for all of the fail!Chinese, authoritative!Geng, fun!Siwon, snarky!Kyu, rampant Sihan, seeing Henry and ZhouMi regularly again and the new music, of course. OMG, if you are not into SJ-M, you are missing out – I will not lie to you – but just remember that there is no time like the present so go check them out now, now, NOW. Like right this very second, now! If you need help, I can rec some videos, don’t worry – I am always willing to help. And I also cannot wait to hear what LiYin’s been cooking up while she’s been gone and for that new MV featuring Donghae bb that I keep hearing about. The next two months should be fun – thank you, SM for giving me something to look forward to and get me through my first few months of uni. So good times are ahead, right, you guys? Come on – get excited!

Oh, and since I’ve seen a few people asking – they said that they’re not going to remake ‘Sorry, Sorry’ but that they will have a song in a similar style on the album so in case, you were not looking forward to that like me, you can rest assured. Anyway, have a nice day and for all those people going back to school, good luck and jia you!

Maki

That’s how long I’ll be in love with KyuHyun’s voice – if it doesn’t turn out to be longer. Ah, maybe you got it, maybe you didn’t but that was just a silly joke referring to his just released solo song which is a remake of YooYoungsook’s ‘7 Years of Love’. Just in case you don’t know, YooYoungsook decided to release an album to mark his 20th anniversary in show business featuring reworked versions of some of his songs (he reworked them himself, I believe) and he chose Kyu to particpate in it and gave him this song to sing.

Anyway, long story short – the song’s finally been officially released (fancams of Kyuhyun singing it at YooYoungsook’s album showcase were floating around the web for about two weeks prior to this) and it’s just beautiful – I’ve been replaying it since I found it a little while ago and I see myself doing so for quite some time to come. It’s a bossa nova rendition of the song and as I’m no bossa nova buff (really, I know next to nothing about it), I was pleasantly surprised to see how well Kyu’s voice suit that style of music. He sounds so breathy and his voice is so light and soothing here – soothing is really the best way to put it. Listening to it, I feel like a spell’s being woven over my mind and as though I’m being lulled off to the very sweetest dreams of Kyu hopefully – it’s equal parts sad and romantic and even though it’s a pretty long song, about 5 and a half minutes, the song just seems to fly by. Every time it ends, I feel a little sad and empty but most of all, surprised that it’s already done. All in all, it’s a really lovely song and definitely something to check out whether you’re a Suju fan or not. I think KyuHyun should be very proud of himself.

So here’s the MV courtesy of Sup3rJunior

And one of those fancams I mentioned earlier of his performance at the album showcase:

credit: kyunerdful

You’ll check it out, right? You really should….trust me – you don’t want to miss out on this moving piece of music. Go, watch the videos, you know you want to.

That said, yesterday was my last day of work so I’ll have a good bit more free time on my hands for a little while and will hopefully be a little more active around here as a result – expect lots of posts about old things that you probably already watched a million years ago now. ^^ And let me say a short saengil chukhahae to one of my favourite leaders, Teuk-Teuk-Teukie! I have to do a proper birthday post for him in a little while so I’ll just wish him all the best and all of God’s blessings for now. I hope that he looks at this birthday and sees it for what it is – another year of life passed through safely and a chance for a new beginning in his life should that be what he so desires.

Well, that’s all for now. Ja ne!

Maki

Hmm, so I guess I’m a bit late in saying this but I’ve seen a lot of negativity surrounding Kibum as of late and I just wanted to say to all those people who have been getting on his case lately that I know you’re upset and angry but please try not to hate on the guy too much. He still has a lot of loyal fans and it really does hurt them to see him blasted like this and also, regardless of what’s going on right now, Kibum’s generally not a bad guy, you know, and I really don’t think that he deserves all of this hate. Remember that we still don’t know what’s really going on with him. So just tone it down a little, please?

(Sorry, I don’t know who made this – let me know and I’ll credit them.)

Maki

So Kyuhyun and Sungmin were on a show called ‘Love’s Family’ recently where they went to a home and took care of disabled kids and oh, it’s really sweet. I just watched it – subs courtesy of sjsubs09 – and I was just bowled over. Sungmin and Kyu were adorable, of course – Min obviously knows what he’s doing and Kyu, for as awkward as he was at the beginning, he really got the hang of it at the end and they really seemed to enjoy themselves with the kids but I don’t know – just seeing them doing that moved me. I mean, I’ve seen celebrities do volunteer and charity work before but this is the first time that I really looked at them and thought ‘man, I should be doing something like that’. But I guess that’s the point, right?

Anyway, go watch the show and when you’re done, remember to tell the sjsubs staff how awesome they are for subbing this – and so quickly too!

Maki

Here it is!!! EDIT: I changed the video to the official one, btw – turns out the one I posted before was the leaked version, my bad. Anyway, it’s really not that different – it just has some longer solo shots and a few added scenes as well as added effects in the dance portion. The effects are a little distracting but other than that, it’s okay – still a fantastic video.

credit: wondersmurf

Enjoy! Spazz to come. I’m warning you – this will be long. It might rival my ‘Amigo’ spazz post – just saying.

Okay, so I came home today, hoping (but not expecting) that the video would be released and planning to write a ridiculously long Suju spazz post to get out all of the random thoughts that I have about them and to hopefully get some of my fangirliness out because I am so totally a Suju fangirl now. Really, I’m ashamed of myself at this point – I can’t believe how much I love them. I’m just watching all their videos and dramas and lurking around Suju posts because I am a loser to read the comments and just generally being very sad and pathetic. But that aside, the good thing is that the video did come out and it’s good. Hmm, I think if you don’t like the group but you like the song, you’ll think it’s just okay but for me in my current non-logical fangirl state, IT IS FANTASTIC. Did you hear me? FANTASTIC. It’s definitely one of, if not their best, MV to date.

Agh, where to start? First off, let me talk about the song – I really like it. No, I love it. It’s mature, it’s sexy, it’s good – not catchy like ‘Sorry Sorry’ or cute or fun like some of their other songs – it’s just a good song and I’m very impressed with it. Suju have shown that they were serious when they said they wanted their sound to mature and I think their music’s going in a very promising direction. In addition to that, even though this song uses synthesizer and whatnot, their voices aren’t digitalized and I can actually hear each person clearly which brings me to my next point. The lines are distributed fairly evenly – everyone gets a part (except Kibum)! Man, I’m hearing Teukie, Heechul, Shindong AND Eunhyuk which is certainly more than in ‘Sorry, Sorry’. Of course, they’re all getting like two lines but with so many of them, that’s to be expected, right? Now let’s move on to the video, shall we?

Good points: First off, I actually like the dance. The first time I watched it, I thought “ah, it’s okay – there are some awkward parts but it should carry over all right on stage” but then the more I watched the video, the more I liked the choreography, especially in the mainly dance parts like during the little interlude between the first chorus and the second verse. This dance routine doesn’t immediately make me want to get up and learn it like ‘Sorry, Sorry’s did but that’s okay – I think it’s good enough and works well for the song. It’s better than the choreo for ‘Why I Like You’ at least and that makes me really happy because as much as I liked that song, the choreography was so random and cheesy and all over the place. Methinks this is a lot better. I particularly liked the little dance portion with EunHyuk, Donghae and Shindong as well as the choreo that goes from Sungmin’s lines to Shindong’s in the second verse.

credit: hightimejump on LJ

Then, almost everyone looked good in the white portion of the MV – except Kibum. Please take off that headband and then we can talk. It is nice to see you though. Yesung and KyuHyun basically stole all my attention in this video. Seriously there is not a shot where those two did not look good – Yesung totally had his stage charisma on and Kyu, I take back what I said about you not being sexy. I don’t know how I could have thought that – he proved me wrong here. Ryeowook is also looking pretty good here, he almost made it to manly, not quite there but he is very close – a far cry from the awkwardness I perceived in the ‘Sorry, Sorry’ video – and he looked so sweet at first with that bouquet of flowers. Sungmin’s hair….I keep thinking I don’t like it and then he’ll start dancing and it will swish to the side and I’ll end up going ‘ooh, pretty~’ so I guess I only like it in motion then. after watching the video some more, I really like it. It’s mesmerizing, instead of looking at his face, I just keep looking at his hair. It’s a very nice colour – a pretty plum. I’m not sure if it suits him though.

Honestly, Hae, Geng, Teuk and Siwon looked fabulous here as well – I was just too busy spazzing about Kyu and Yesung to focus much on them. They got some nice close – ups though. That’s another thing – everyone got almost equal screen time! That’s practically unheard of for a Super Junior video – I love this, they really seem to be trying to even things out somewhat amongst the members (except Kibum but that’s a whole other story). And Heechul looks unlike himself but in a good way. He has a really versatile look, that Kim Heechul, I feel like he’s always reinventing himself. Like Madonna, ooh~

Okay, Not So Great Points:

Okay, I’m sorry but clothes-wise, there was a lot of fail here. They seemed to be going for some sort of vintage, 1950’s feel with the outfits (or at least, that’s what I was getting) but if that’s the case, then what happened to EunHyuk’s street outfit? He looks like a total hoodlum and it really doesn’t flow with the others (his random graffiti-ing is also a little bit odd, it’s sweet too – ‘only4you’) but whatever, his dance outfit was very nice. Actually it worked out like that for most people where they looked good in either the dance or the street scenes but not in both – notable exception being Yesung (I LOVE both of his outfits, especially his black and white shirt) and Kyu – no, really, this isn’t bias – it’s the truth! The shots did flow very nicely into each other though – whoever edited this video did a really good job.

Also, the actors were over-acting a bit. Kibum, Heechul, Hangeng and Siwon, I know it’s supposed to be sad but y’all went a little too far – I ended up laughing at them instead of feeling sorry. Well, looking at it again, I guess they didn’t do too badly but I still think they could have pulled it back a little.

The others did a pretty good job though and like I said, the dance portions were nice. The video could have been a little more colourful or so but  guess the dull colour works with the theme of longing and heartbreak. But anyway, it’s a really good video! I quite liked it and I’m going to go watch it again. You do that too, okay? I really can’t wait to see a performance of this now – remember, the first one is going to be this Sunday, the 17th on Inkigayo. I’m excited – are you excited? You should be. Come on, get excited! It’s going to be great! SJ fighting! ‘It’s You’ – Dae Bak! (And you guys know what comes after the 17th, right? SHINee’s new song teaser on the 18th – yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! These next two weeks should be fun – don’t miss it if you can!)

Anyway, I’m really going now – have a good night. Hope you liked the video. Laters. (And you guys, I promise to respond to comments – I know I’ve been lax on that recently but you’ll get your replies soon, okay? Sorry, Sorry!)

Maki