K-Pop

Can we just stop and talk about K-Pop for a while? 

First of all, happy Monday!  My Monday wasn't all that great.  How would you feel if you had to start the first day of the work week with sore feet?  I just hate breaking in new shoes.  Your feet look cute but inside the shoe, they're miserable.  Even with the socks, I had to put a band-aid on the back of my right foot to prevent blisters.  Ugh.

Snails.

I had to limp so that it won't hurt that much.  I managed to forget about it after a couple of minutes but my walk to the train station was a pain.  Literally.  Things went slower than usual.  I didn't see any ravens or crows but I managed to spot these two snails crossing the sidewalk from one grass pad to another.  I see snails all the time during my walk but this is the first time I saw a pair, a "family" of snails.  I just had to take a photo of them.  They're so cute!

Also, I noticed that for the past few days since last week, I tend to accompany my morning walk with K-Pop songs.  Specifically 2NE1 songs.  I usually start with I Am the Best and just let the whole 2NE1 2nd Mini Album play.  I pretty much love all the songs in that EP.  In fact, I like all 2NE1 songs, some more than others.  It's insane how good they are!  CL, Bom, SanDara, and Minzy.  From the first song that I heard from them, Fire, I was hooked.  And impressed.

If Dara sounds familiar, it's because she's Sandara Park, "Sandy", for the Filipino fans.  She first found fame in the Philippines as one of the winners of the first Star Circle Quest.  She disappeared from the spotlight for a while until she reemerged in her native Korea as part of 2NE1.  I've always said that it is her "destiny" to become famous.  Why?  Because in the Philippines, she broke out right when the Asian dramas were becoming popular.  She's Korean but basically grew up in the Philippines so she spoke the language so well.  And then when she tried her luck in Korea, her music group becomes one of the hottest Asian talents in the world.

What I love about 2NE1 is that they're pretty much international.  Collectively, they speak 5-6 languages, three of them could speak fluent English growing up in English-speaking countries.  And all of them can dance and sing live.  I've watched other K-Pop groups and you're lucky if they can keep in tune even with a voice track running in the background.  And even so, the track is louder than their voices.

Nevertheless, I also like some songs from these other K-Pop acts.  The song that introduced K-Pop to me is Because I'm A Girl by KISS.  Man, the video of this is just the most heartbreaking thing ever.  And for the longest time, this is the only Korean song I have memorized.  I also am beginning to like the band f(x).  Yeah, I was turned off by their first single, La Cha Ta, whatever that is.  But lately at work, my lovely co-worker played their song Electric Shock and that's when I began to pay attention.  f(x) is a quintet, 3 Koreans and 2 of Chinese descent.  I have to say that my favorite members are those two Chinese girls, Victoria and Amber.  Amber just has the charisma -- and her being from Los Angeles makes her more interesting to me.  As for the boys, Big Bang all the way.  I knew of them for a long time and I know they're good but only am I paying closer attention to their music.

For a time, all I did on Youtube was watch 2NE1's live performances.  They are so very good.  Same songs, different performances, all of them fantastic and electrifying.  And you can't say that they are all flash... they have a LOT of acoustic and unplugged performances that showcase their true vocals.  (Can you tell I'm impressed?  I'm gushing!)  Watching their choreography makes me want to go back to dance.  Hmmm... maybe...

Anyway, for Music Monday, here is my favorite contestant from the first season of The Voice, Dia Frampton with her sister Meg, collectively known was Meg & Dia.  (And yes, I've known of them before The Voice.  Heh, hipster moment.)  Here they are performing an English-translated version of a 2NE1 song, Lonely.

And oh, Meg & Dia Frampton are half-Korean.


Kisses,