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Entertainment News -
Korean Entertainment News
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Written by Paradiso
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Wednesday, 11 July 2007 |
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It may be hard to imagine, but even a long-time boy band member like Kim Dong-wan can get nervous when embarking on a solo career.
Even having sold hundreds of thousands of albums as a member of Shinhwa, Kim admitted he is a little apprehensive at the reaction to his first album ``Kimdongwan Is.''
``I'm kind of nervous to have a performance by myself, to stand on stage by myself and to do a whole song," he told The Korea Times at a cafe in Apgujeong, Wednesday.
Wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and jeans, Kim looked relaxed and showed no sign of fatigue, even though he was in the middle of rehearsals.
Kim said it was Shinhwa's successful Asian tour last year, which brought them to Singapore, China, Thailand and Japan, that prompted him to decide to pursue a solo music career.
``I realized that Shinhwa was loved in Asia. I felt like I had something special I wanted to share with fans… Now I think this is the right time for me to debut as a singer,'' he said.
If the pressure of going solo was not enough, Kim also has to compete with fellow Shinhwa members Lee Min-woo, also known as M and Shin Hye-sung who are both releasing solo albums this summer.
``I consider them as my rivals,'' Kim said, with a smile. ``I want to win over the fans… But I still consider them as my friends, of course. We're friendly rivals.''
Even rivals help each other out, as Shinhwa members appeared on various songs in Kim's album. Lee composed a song called ``My Love," which also features a rap by Eric Mun. Shin sings a duet with Kim on ``Person Who Stays," while Andy Lee raps on ``I Like Summer."
Overall, Kim opted for a more Asian, if not, J-pop-influenced R&B sound for his album. ``Shinhwa's music is more of boy band music. It was more American R&B and candy pop. But my album is more of J-pop, and very Asian. I even remade a Japanese song by Glay and Exile in the album," he said.
His first single ``Handkerchief" is about a guy who consoles his girlfriend and wipes away her tears.
In preparation for his debut as a solo artist, Kim obviously dropped a lot of weight. ``I went on a diet, since it's not good for a ballad singer to have a muscular image. Someone singing ballads should have a lean, 'hungry-looking' image," he noted. |
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Entertainment News -
Japanese Entertainment News
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Written by Paradiso
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Wednesday, 11 July 2007 |
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Erika's new single "Free" has climbed to the top of the Oricon weekly music rankings that will be released on July 16, showbiz sources said.
Erika is the singing stage name of actress Erika Sawajiri. 
Sawajiri's prior single, "Song of the Sun," which was released in August 2006, also topped the Oricon weekly rankings. Erika is the first female singer to have two back-to-back singles reach No. 1 in the rankings since Hiroko Yakushimaru did so in the 1980s.
Erika reportedly sang "Free" dozens of times before settling on the version. Source: Mainichi Comment Here.. |
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Entertainment News -
Japanese Entertainment News
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Written by Paradiso
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Wednesday, 11 July 2007 |
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In Hong Kong last week, Japanese boy band W-inds was welcomed by some 1,000 teenage girls at the airport.
And some 2,000 of them turned up to see the dance-pop trio perform last Monday at the Pop Rock Gala, a concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
t was W-ind's first visit to the city since shooting to fame in 2001.
Keita Tachibana, 22, is the main vocalist and also the tallest member of the group at 1.81m.
The Fukuoka native was picked from a talent search by artiste management agency Vision Factory in 2000 and teamed with Ryohei Chiba, 23, and Ryuichi Ogata, 22.
The latter two came from the same dance school in Hokkaido.
The boy band started out as nobodies performing in the streets of Tokyo but grew so popular that its official debut in Shibuya drew an 8,000-strong crowd.
A sure sign of its popularity in Hong Kong were the 10 trophies the men picked up from their three-day trip.
W-inds is the best-selling Japanese musical act in Hong Kong in 2004-2006, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
It is also the most popularly searched international artiste on the Yahoo! Hong Kong website.
But not all was rosy for the guys during their visit.
They were booed while leaving the post-concert media interview.
Blame it on their manager, who incensed the local TV crew.
Ming Pao Daily reported that the manager refused to allow the trio to hold TV mikes, so broadcast journalists had to squat in front of them to hold the mikes.
And he got security officers to push away mikes that came too close during the five-minute session.
Then there was controversy over the 'startlingly high' asking price of HK$1 million ($195,000) that they pocketed for a mere 20-minute performance.
Reporters tried to verify it with the W-inds guys, but their replies were truncated during translation.
The singers themselves seemed polite enough but were tight-lipped about personal details.
But they did let on what were their favorite Hong Kong dishes.
Keita loved the crabs, Ryohei loved fried wanton and Ryuichi, century eggs.
The chaps are now back in Japan to plug their new single, Love Is The Greatest Thing, which was released on 4 Jul.
Source: Electric Comment Here.. |
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Entertainment News -
Chinese Entertainment News
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Written by Paradiso
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Wednesday, 11 July 2007 |
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 Two members of the Taiwan four-man pop group Fahrenheit, Jiro Wang Dongcheng (Dadong) and Aaron Yan Yalun, enjoyed themselves by visiting Hong Kong Disneyland on Tuesday.
The two pop stars were invited to host the media preview ceremony of Hong Kong Disneyland's summer party "Mickey's Summer Blast". The other two members Wu Chun (Wu Zun) and Calvin Chen Yiru are busy shooting drama ‘Princess Little Sister’ or ‘Gong Zhu Xiao Mei’ and can not come to Hong Kong.
They also had fun viewing the wacky waterworks parade by Mickey Mouse and its pals and joining the amusement activities.
The summer party will open to the public on July 14 and will run through August. It will also feature "plunder the fun at pirateland" and "animation academy".
Source: CRI, asianbite Comment Here.. |
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Entertainment News -
Chinese Entertainment News
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Written by Maverick
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Wednesday, 11 July 2007 |
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Since the success of "Heart of Greed," the popularity of veteran actors with audiences was undeniable. Next Monday, July 16th, TVB will be airing 60 episode series, "The Drive of Life" 《歲月風雲》. The first 10 episodes focus on the love and hate among the Wah brothers, Damien Lau Chung Yan, Liu King Sung, and Michael Miu Kiu Wai. Numerous netizens complain that the story dragged and the series was boring.
Veteran actors, Michael Miu and Sheren Tang Shui Man will have significant screen time.
Although the series will focus on Charmaine Sheh, Myolie Wu, Raymond Lam and mainland actor, Feng Shao Feng, Michael Miu Kiu Wai stole the show in the first 10 episodes.
Although married to Sheren, the wealthy Michael continued to be a player. Unable to withstand Michael's womanizing habits, Sheren reunited with her ex-boyfriend, Ng Wai Kwok in Vancouver. Returning to Hong Kong with Ng, she divorced Michael.
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