Mesmerised fans who term themselves as as B2UTIES (Beauties), maneuvered amongst teens and adults to proclaim their adoration, flashing words of support and encouragement across self-made boards.

Comprising of leader Yoon Doo Joon, Jang Hyun Seung, Yong Jun Hyung, Yang Yo Seob, Lee Gi Kwang and Son Dong Woon, the band named BEAST performed to a packed auditorium of almost 5000 screaming fans who nabbed their showcase tickets the moment they were released.

Their screams went into stratospheric decibels when the boys themselves took to the stage, opening the night with the first song, “Special”.

The excitement began to build up with their next renowned dance track from their third mini album, “Soom” and fans sang along to the Korean lyrics of the song. It was heartening to witness the fans, who had clearly taken the extra time and effort to learn the words, break out into the Korean fan-chant to express their fervent love for their idols.

The next section was an interview by the host of the night, 100.3 FM’s DJ Ah Ken, whose feeble attempts to crack jokes with the audience went hardly appreciated. As the Korean heart throbs made simple introductions of themselves one at time, fans went hysterical whenever their idol spoke.

It was a battle of the B2uties as they tried to out-scream each other to show support for their personal favourites. It was wave after wave of cheering and the audience inexplicably found the energy to maintain its roar. Indeed, when members Jang Hyun Seung, Lee Gi Kwang, Yang Yo Seob and Son Dong Woon went the extra mile and introduced themselves in whatever little English they knew, it drove the fans crazy as they felt it was “really cute”.

Fans were treated to a more intimate peek into the lives of the b2st members when DJ Ah Ken asked the boys to “reveal one secret of the member on your right”. Hyun Seung’s revelation of Gi Kwang’s secret definitely heated up the atmosphere: “Sometimes he only wears his underwear in the dorm, but most of the time he is in casual clothing.”

Doo Joon sent the audience into heaps of laughter as he revealed that Hyun Seung “sleeps with his eyes open”. He jokingly asked if Hyun Seung was sleeping as they spoke, once again sending the hungry-for-more audience into squeals of delight. “How can I sleep in front of so many fans?” Hyun Seung retorted wittily.

The pitch turned frenzied as the highlight of the night, the games section, got underway. 6 lucky fans were handpicked and given that once-in-a-zillion chance to get up close and personal with B2ST. As a bowl filled with ticket studs was rolled out onto the stage, fans held their breaths and the deafening silence in the hall was broken by the thumping of their hearts. It was the only moment in the entire night when their tired vocals took a well-deserved rest as they waited for Lady Luck to smile on them.

The lucky ones screamed and jumped up from the seats and as the last one was picked, tears of joy were replaced by tears of disappointment on some dejected fans. The winner of the game walked away with a photograph taken with B2ST and an autographed poster signed on the spot.

To up the ante, the distance between the lucky fans and their idols gradually narrowed during the game, prompting the not-so-lucky audience to scream (read: moan) even more. Fans of Gi Kwang went faint when he gave the lucky fan a hug, watched on by the hapless thousands who could only do what they have been doing all along. Scream yet again. A cake was then brought out on stage.

Decorated with mini figurines of soccer players and soccer balls, fans had sprung a surprise to celebrate Doo Joon’s 22nd birthday, which fell on Jul 4. Fancy having a birthday song sang in 4 different languages of English, Chinese, Malay and Korean. That certainly attests to their widespread fan base.

Winners of the B2ST Shock Dance Cover Contest were also given the honour to perform in front of B2ST who later fired up the audience with their own version of “Shock”, followed by “Beautiful” (B2UTIFUL) and “Fiction”, before making an engaging contrast and setting the mood for the close with their slow and emotional track “On Rainy Days”.

The air electrified as fans sustained their applause and chanted calls for encore. They demanded and were rewarded with not 1 but 3 more songs – “I Like You the Best”, “V.I.U” and “Oasis”- which brought the house down. Definitely, a handsome finale from B2ST that riveted the B2uties.

For the many die-hard fans, they were not disappointed. It was clear everybody was having a blast and received every cent worth of the 100-minute show.

In the midst of label-mate Big Bang‘s promotions, 2NE1‘s Park Bom sprang a pleasant surprise for fans on Wednesday with the release of a new track and MV for ‘Don’t Cry’.

And it looked like Blackjacks (fans of her band 2NE1) were relishing every single moment of her solo comeback, as it garnered more than a million views within 2 days of its release on YouTube.

Bom’s record label YG Entertainment, which revealed teaser images one day prior to the song’s premiere, enlisted the help of their new PR (public relations) manager Sandara Park – who happens to be Bom’s fellow bandmate in 2NE1.

And the ever-cheeky Dara posted her tongue-in-cheek version of the teaser through her me2day micro-blog. The 12-second video showed her literally wiping off ‘tears’ from the screen of her Macbook Air, which was playing a video of Bom on it.

With all that hype surrounding YG Entertainment artistes since February, how did Bom’s sophomore single fare? The UrbanWire checks it out.

1TYM is all it takes

Just like ‘You and I’, Bom’s debut single released 2 years ago, ‘Don’t Cry’ was produced by none other than YG’s resident rapper and music maverick, Teddy Park.

The leader of rap group 1TYM sees his production style depart from the typical R&B and hip-hop instrumental arrangement prevalently utilised by him from 2008 to 2010.

Gone are the recognisable sounds of the hi-hats, hybrid snare-claps and toms, Teddy’s trademark sounds commonly heard in songs like Taeyang‘s 나만바라봐 (‘Look Only At Me’), ‘Where U At’ and of course, Bom’s ‘You and I’.

Instead, Teddy’s musical style has shifted with the times, fittingly so, with the introduction of club-house synths and thumping dance-pop beats.

‘Don’t Cry’ is thus a pleasant tune for easy listening, with its soothing piano riffs reminiscent of ‘You and I’. Bom’s command of the English language is ever-resounding, seamlessly belting out the chorus, “It’s okay, baby. Please don’t cry.”

Still, will this song be able to wrestle away the top spot on the charts from label-mate Big Bang, whose latest single ‘Love Song’ has been at the peak for 4 weeks? Only time will tell. Good luck, Bommie.

‘You and I’ – Part II?

If you haven’t watch the music video of ‘You and I’, here’s a tip – watch it right now.

Like ‘You and I’, the music video for ‘Don’t Cry’ has its own storyline.

The former’s storyline depicted Bom’s struggle and hard work to cheer up her ailing lover, who, as most melodramatic Korean music videos would have it, passes away at the end.

‘Don’t Cry’ seems to be a sequel to the 2009 hit, as the video chronicles her chase for her deceased lover, taking her into an alternate world.

Shrouded in mist with dark clouds looming ahead, the set of the video is reminiscent of Taeyang’s ‘I’ll Be There’ music video, sans zombies and gravestones.

Park Bom's alternate world (left), compared to Taeyang's graveyard (right).

A blue monarch butterfly appears halfway through, supposedly the manifestation or reincarnation of her deceased lover (played by actor Kim Young-kwang). The winged insect leads her to a long-awaited reunion with her lover, now in human form.

A touching scene of embrace plays itself out, with flower petals as confetti adding vibrancy to an otherwise drab and gloomy backdrop. Sadly, the reunion lasts only 30 seconds, when her lover returns the matching ring on his finger.

The heartwarming ‘awww’ factor gets bigger after his departure, when the rings magically bond – an allegory to the phrase “love never dies”.

4-stars 4 effort

Just like 'You and I', 'Don't Cry' is another heart-wrenching tear-jerker.

All in all,  we couldn’t help but feel a sense of irony in the title of ‘Don’t Cry’. The music video is another successful tear-jerker from YG and another potential hit for Bom, whose band 2NE1 is planning for a Korean comeback after breaking into the fray in Japan. 4 stars for a simple but brilliant music video from Bom.

Rating: ✭✭✭✭

]]> http://theurbanwire.com/2011/04/23/review-park-boms-dont-cry-mv/feed/ 4 http://theurbanwire.com/2011/04/03/singapore-e-awards-2011/ http://theurbanwire.com/2011/04/03/singapore-e-awards-2011/#comments Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:27:34 +0000 Tan DingXiang http://theurbanwire.com/?p=19090 The Singapore e-Awards 2011 kicked off with much pomp and pageantry at 7pm at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday night, with local and foreign artistes strutting their stuff the red carpet for the awards show.

The theme of the night’s event, organised by SPH’s Radio 1003, was 亚洲娱乐，独e无二 (“Asian entertainment, like no other”), with ‘e’ being a pun on the Chinese proverb 独一无二.

The UrbanWire’s Tan DingXiang picks out the highlights of the night, including the laughs.

Best Fan Moment

It looked like Derrick Hoh‘s intimate moments on stage with a female fan would come out tops for the night, with the local singer placing her hand on his chest.

Sorry Derrick, but channeling the infamous Heartbeat Molester (we kid) wasn’t enough, as Ambience, the official Singapore fanclub of Taiwanese pop trio S.H.E, made the most, um, touching moment of the night by belting out a rendition of one of SHE’s hits, together with Ella Chen, one third of the trio.

Ella Chen, one third of the S.H.E, collected fellow bandmate Hebe Tien's award and many more for S.H.E's musical accomplishments within a decade.

Despite the absence of fellow bandmates Hebe Tien and Selina Jen both bandmates had their own personalised messages to their loyal fans, some of which had been following the girls since their debut in 2001.

Selina, whose recent injury threatened to derail her career, sent an assuring message to fans about her wish to return to Singapore once more, with a “…我很想念 char kway teow!” (“I miss char kway teow!”), directly referring to the local delicacy.

Seems like food is what keeps pop idols coming back to Singapore, huh?

Best Quote of the Night

Fly Entertaiment‘s founder, Irene Ang, stepped up to receive her award for her contributions to the local film industry.

But more than ever, it was her ever-humourous demeanour that stole the show.

Comedienne Irene Ang tickled the audience with her casual banter amidst a somewhat serious event.

Best remembered as Rosie from the local hit sitcom Phua Chu Kang Pte. Ltd., Ang was ever-indignant about the fact that her command of Mandarin Chinese had improved over the past year.

Poking fun at her own Hokkien accent, she drew rapturous laughter from the hosts and fans alike, upon mentioning about her skills in the English language. “Even if I speak with Hokkien slang [sic], anybody also can understand. Correct or corr-wrong?”

The character of Rosie Phua has been reprised, this time, off-screen.

Most Stellar Performance of the Night

Taiwanese-American pop singer Anthony Neely undeniably put up the best vocal performance on Saturday night.

Taiwanese-American crooner Anthony Neely put up the night's most stellar performance.

The former One Million Star contestant rocked his way through, solo, with not a single note missed, throughout his rendition of “缠斗” (Struggle), the theme song of the Channel U mega-drama, Secrets For Sale.

Not even a struggle for Neely, as he breezed through his performance, drawing incessant screams from local fangirls.

Most Memorable Comeback of the Night

If beleaguered local director Jack Neo had come onstage to, let’s say, reprise his role of the absentminded old lady Liang Po Po, it would probably have been the best comeback for Neo, whose extramarital affairs were uncovered in 2010.

But Neo was merely invited as a VIP for the night and would only reveal that his future plans would be to break into the fray in the Malaysian film industry.

Still, local songstress Kit Chan was the lady to watch as she made her comeback with a Canto-pop number.

Kit Chan makes a dazzling comeback at the awards show.

It was a pretty easy feat for the 38 year-old, given her acting experience and ability to converse in Cantonese, as seen 11 years ago in the Hong Kong TVB drama serial, Healing Hands II.

The highlight for the singer, best remembered for the 1998 National Day staple Home, was when she belted out an array of 3 classic songs of hers from the past decade, including 喜欢你 (Liking You) and 炫耀 (Showing Off).

After an illustrious career spanning 18 years and more than 20 albums and EPs on,  Kit still hasn’t lost her lustre. Not one bit.

Best Musical Tribute

It was a case of senior reuniting with her juniors on-stage. SIGMA, the Taiwanese power-pop trio under HIM International Music, paid tribute to their seniors S.H.E, with a rendition of one of their hit songs. Ella Chen, a third of S.H.E, expressed her approval by singing along in the stands.

Sincerity and gratitude were the virtues shown in SIGMA’s performance, but it was a powerhouse team of Tay Kewei, 插班生 (The Freshman), Serene Koong and dayDream that brought the house down with a medley of 新谣 (“xinyao”, Singaporean song) classics from the likes of Stefanie Sun, Ah Niu and many more.

Loudest Cheers of the Night

Korean singer Se7en, the only YG Entertainment artiste to walk the red carpet.

The Korean wave was undeniably the strongest of the night, with the loudest cheers coming from fans of Korean pop singer Se7en.

The YG Entertainment artiste, whose real name is Choi Dong Wook, got the crowd dancing to Digital Bounce, his latest hit single to date. He was crowned as the Most Popular Asian Artiste for the night.

His juniors Big Bang were not present for the night, but the crowd still went crazy when it was announced that the quintet bagged the award for Most Popular Korean Artistes.

Photos by Jimmy Oh.