I will be back in 2 weeks.
Bye Bye!
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
K-pop girl groups
The effects of Hallyu (Korean Wave) has hardly subsided after nearly three years of dominance. Since the start of 2009, numerous Korean groups have emerged, particularly female ones. Today, we shall take a look at the music industry of South Korea. Which girl group has what to boast? Who will survive? Who is just a passer-by? Who will outlive the rest?
I don't know the exact number of girl groups singing pop songs in South Korea but it should be no less than 25. After some research, I decided to group them according to ratings. Of course, the ratings are of my own opinions but without being biased (hell, how can I be biased in this kind of thing?)
Those who score a B or above are the ones who will prevail. they started off in the industry before/during the "girl group boom" era which is between early-2009 to mid-2010. Those who received a B- are also popular but struggling to see their ratings increase.
The rest who are below B- still have a long way to go but if they continue to work hard and have a bit more luck, a B+ is still achieveable. These groups are usually those who debut after the "girl group boom" era, hence making it harder for them to survive in the market.
Without further ado, I shall list out the groups which I believe "can make it" or you can say able to survive in the pop scene.
The traditional Big Four of Wonder Girls, Girls' Generation, Kara and 2NE1 are a shoo-in. The remaining ones are After School, Brown Eyed Girls, f(x), 4minute, T-ara and Miss A.
Among the Big Four members, Wonder Girls is arguably the most successful since they are the original singers of "Nobody"-the most famous K-pop song to date. However, relying on only one song is unrealistic and luckily, they didn't do that.
Let's go slightly more in-depth by analysing each of the "can make it" groups.
Wonder Girls: A
The so-called wonderful years for Wonder Girls are nothing but just history. They never really made it big with a studio album or the image and concept they wanted to portray. However, these girls must have been blessed with endless luck to rise to stardom with one song.
Now, that's a feat very few singers in the world can achieve. However, they have yet to fully shed away their image from this song which was released for more than three years ago. When people think of Wonder Girls, they usually only think of "Nobody".
"Nobody" has also been over-commercialized due to its popularity in many countries. Therefore, it appears to be seen if Wonder Girls can truly look like a musical group.
Girls' Generation: A
If this 9-member band doesn't deserve an A, then why bother calling them Girls' Generation? Never mind that it took them 18 months since debut to become well-known after releasing "Gee".
Although "Gee" pales in comparison to "Nobody" in terms of popularity, it is the song which propelled Girls' Generation to become one the most successful bands in K-pop.
Without much debate, one can say that SNSD (the band's other name) has replaced Wonder Girls as the leading girl group for more than a year.
It boasts other popular songs like "Tell Me Your Wish" and "Run Devil Run".
Kara: B+
The only group which can pose a challenge to SNSD. Debuting in the same year as the above two, Kara has seen ups and down since then.
The most notable controversy occurred early this year when four out of the five members filed a lawsuit against their agency. The dispute was resolved three months later and all five members teamed up as one again after much deliberation.
But no matter what, there is already a dent on their image and it is not wrong to suspect if their days are numbered in the industry. They deserve an A but internal conflicts made me opt for a B+.
Most successful single was "Mister" along with the butt dance choreography.
2NE1: A
Easily scores an A. Their powerful and heck-care image has won them many supporters. Top it up with electro-pop songs that sound so addictive and you get a an A-class group.
Their strong emphasis on female empowerment, reluctance to flaunt their legs and "un-uniformed" costumes make them stand out of the crowd and at the top.
Will continue to pose a threat to conventional girl groups like SNSD until they finally run out of ideas, something that is highly unlikely to happen.
Most of their songs will sound pleasant if you like the up-tempo, electro-pop genre.
And now, for the B graders. The following groups are good enough to make it to the shore and stay there for good but are also the first to be swept away if a huge wave pays a visit.
After School: B+
Has many members. As of now, there are eight after a few changes. Constant modifying of members will only make the band look messy and disorganized. Never really made it big with any of their songs. But the group name still rings a bell in many heads. "Shampoo" is their most decent piece of work so far.
Brown Eyed Girls: B
One of the oldest girl groups around. 3 out of its 4 members will be 30 this year. They have not release an album for more than two years and look likely to be overtaken by younger counterparts. Most successful single was "Abracadabra" and it looks like their only song.
f(x): B
Hails from the same label (SM Entertainment) as Super Junior and SNSD. Might not have risen to stardom so quickly had it not been "the younger sisters of Korea's two most successful bands". The youngest member, Krystal, happens to be SNSD's Jessica's sister so it is inevitable to think that f(x) relied on their label mates to gain popularity.
They also have a tomboy and a Chinese leader in their 5-woman team to make things a little unique. "Hot Summer" and "Danger" are highly addictive songs.
4minute: B
The first post-90 Korean girl group. None of the five members are older than 21. Their style is something in between 2NE1 and f(x) but with a 100% Korean ensemble.
Started off with a bang with hits like "Hot Issue" and "Muzik" and portraying a powerful image. Has seen subsided after a couple of years. Their musical style has become blurred somehow.
T-ara: B+
Do not mistake it as Kara or its label mate. Both ara-s are of different agencies. One of their members, Soyeon, used to be a SM Entertainment trainee and was poised to become part of SNSD but nothing materialized eventually.
Their most famous and only song of note, "Bo Peep Bo Peep", took the pop scene by storm since its launch. Ironically, their youngest member, Jiyeon, turns out to be the face and representative of the group. This 7-girl team is still quite a strong force till date.
Miss A: B
They could have gotten a B+ but B looks more suitable at the moment. Made up of two Koreans and two Chinese, Miss A is not exactly a K-pop band. Being label mates with Wonder Girls hardly affected them at all as they portray an independent image of the latter.
Their debut single "Bad Girl Good Girl" is still their only song of note to date. Miss A is still a long way from getting an A.
Secret: B?
I would like to include Secret here because they are like sort of stuck in the middle. Still stranded in the sea but very near to the shore, hands not long enough to reach the fringe.
Their extremely successful single, "Magic" propelled the four girls to instant stardom. After that, things started to return back to square. Maybe After School or T-ara can loan them a member?
Other groups like Sistar, Rainbow, Dal★Shabet, Jewelry, 5dolls and SeeYa still linger around the B- to C area. Anything below C- equals out in my opinion.
Anyway, in the long run, I foresee the K-pop girl group battle to be between the conservatives and liberals. Conservatives refer to SNSD while the liberals are 2NE1. Do you agree with me?
Which slogan will outlive the other? "Right now, it's Girls' Generation!" or "What's up, we 2NE1!"
Oh anybody still remember Baby V.O.X and Fin.K.L? What's with all those . . . in the names of these once-famous-now-defunct bands?
Oops, this one is AKB48 of Japan.
I don't know the exact number of girl groups singing pop songs in South Korea but it should be no less than 25. After some research, I decided to group them according to ratings. Of course, the ratings are of my own opinions but without being biased (hell, how can I be biased in this kind of thing?)
Those who score a B or above are the ones who will prevail. they started off in the industry before/during the "girl group boom" era which is between early-2009 to mid-2010. Those who received a B- are also popular but struggling to see their ratings increase.
The rest who are below B- still have a long way to go but if they continue to work hard and have a bit more luck, a B+ is still achieveable. These groups are usually those who debut after the "girl group boom" era, hence making it harder for them to survive in the market.
Without further ado, I shall list out the groups which I believe "can make it" or you can say able to survive in the pop scene.
The traditional Big Four of Wonder Girls, Girls' Generation, Kara and 2NE1 are a shoo-in. The remaining ones are After School, Brown Eyed Girls, f(x), 4minute, T-ara and Miss A.
Among the Big Four members, Wonder Girls is arguably the most successful since they are the original singers of "Nobody"-the most famous K-pop song to date. However, relying on only one song is unrealistic and luckily, they didn't do that.
Let's go slightly more in-depth by analysing each of the "can make it" groups.
Wonder Girls: A
The so-called wonderful years for Wonder Girls are nothing but just history. They never really made it big with a studio album or the image and concept they wanted to portray. However, these girls must have been blessed with endless luck to rise to stardom with one song.
Now, that's a feat very few singers in the world can achieve. However, they have yet to fully shed away their image from this song which was released for more than three years ago. When people think of Wonder Girls, they usually only think of "Nobody".
"Nobody" has also been over-commercialized due to its popularity in many countries. Therefore, it appears to be seen if Wonder Girls can truly look like a musical group.
Girls' Generation: A
If this 9-member band doesn't deserve an A, then why bother calling them Girls' Generation? Never mind that it took them 18 months since debut to become well-known after releasing "Gee".
Although "Gee" pales in comparison to "Nobody" in terms of popularity, it is the song which propelled Girls' Generation to become one the most successful bands in K-pop.
Without much debate, one can say that SNSD (the band's other name) has replaced Wonder Girls as the leading girl group for more than a year.
It boasts other popular songs like "Tell Me Your Wish" and "Run Devil Run".
Kara: B+
The only group which can pose a challenge to SNSD. Debuting in the same year as the above two, Kara has seen ups and down since then.
The most notable controversy occurred early this year when four out of the five members filed a lawsuit against their agency. The dispute was resolved three months later and all five members teamed up as one again after much deliberation.
But no matter what, there is already a dent on their image and it is not wrong to suspect if their days are numbered in the industry. They deserve an A but internal conflicts made me opt for a B+.
Most successful single was "Mister" along with the butt dance choreography.
2NE1: A
Easily scores an A. Their powerful and heck-care image has won them many supporters. Top it up with electro-pop songs that sound so addictive and you get a an A-class group.
Their strong emphasis on female empowerment, reluctance to flaunt their legs and "un-uniformed" costumes make them stand out of the crowd and at the top.
Will continue to pose a threat to conventional girl groups like SNSD until they finally run out of ideas, something that is highly unlikely to happen.
Most of their songs will sound pleasant if you like the up-tempo, electro-pop genre.
And now, for the B graders. The following groups are good enough to make it to the shore and stay there for good but are also the first to be swept away if a huge wave pays a visit.
After School: B+
Has many members. As of now, there are eight after a few changes. Constant modifying of members will only make the band look messy and disorganized. Never really made it big with any of their songs. But the group name still rings a bell in many heads. "Shampoo" is their most decent piece of work so far.
Brown Eyed Girls: B
One of the oldest girl groups around. 3 out of its 4 members will be 30 this year. They have not release an album for more than two years and look likely to be overtaken by younger counterparts. Most successful single was "Abracadabra" and it looks like their only song.
f(x): B
Hails from the same label (SM Entertainment) as Super Junior and SNSD. Might not have risen to stardom so quickly had it not been "the younger sisters of Korea's two most successful bands". The youngest member, Krystal, happens to be SNSD's Jessica's sister so it is inevitable to think that f(x) relied on their label mates to gain popularity.
They also have a tomboy and a Chinese leader in their 5-woman team to make things a little unique. "Hot Summer" and "Danger" are highly addictive songs.
4minute: B
The first post-90 Korean girl group. None of the five members are older than 21. Their style is something in between 2NE1 and f(x) but with a 100% Korean ensemble.
Started off with a bang with hits like "Hot Issue" and "Muzik" and portraying a powerful image. Has seen subsided after a couple of years. Their musical style has become blurred somehow.
T-ara: B+
Do not mistake it as Kara or its label mate. Both ara-s are of different agencies. One of their members, Soyeon, used to be a SM Entertainment trainee and was poised to become part of SNSD but nothing materialized eventually.
Their most famous and only song of note, "Bo Peep Bo Peep", took the pop scene by storm since its launch. Ironically, their youngest member, Jiyeon, turns out to be the face and representative of the group. This 7-girl team is still quite a strong force till date.
Miss A: B
They could have gotten a B+ but B looks more suitable at the moment. Made up of two Koreans and two Chinese, Miss A is not exactly a K-pop band. Being label mates with Wonder Girls hardly affected them at all as they portray an independent image of the latter.
Their debut single "Bad Girl Good Girl" is still their only song of note to date. Miss A is still a long way from getting an A.
Secret: B?
I would like to include Secret here because they are like sort of stuck in the middle. Still stranded in the sea but very near to the shore, hands not long enough to reach the fringe.
Their extremely successful single, "Magic" propelled the four girls to instant stardom. After that, things started to return back to square. Maybe After School or T-ara can loan them a member?
Other groups like Sistar, Rainbow, Dal★Shabet, Jewelry, 5dolls and SeeYa still linger around the B- to C area. Anything below C- equals out in my opinion.
Anyway, in the long run, I foresee the K-pop girl group battle to be between the conservatives and liberals. Conservatives refer to SNSD while the liberals are 2NE1. Do you agree with me?
Which slogan will outlive the other? "Right now, it's Girls' Generation!" or "What's up, we 2NE1!"
Oh anybody still remember Baby V.O.X and Fin.K.L? What's with all those . . . in the names of these once-famous-now-defunct bands?
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
September 11 attacks 10th anniversary
Then and Now
A decade ago, New York suffered one of the most infamous terrorist attacks of the century as Al-Qaeda extremists crashed aeroplanes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon aka US Department of Defense headquarters.
Ten years on, the man who was responsible for the suicide attacks no longer exists on earth. It was not until four months ago that Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by special operations forces of the United States.
To all the victims of the September 11 attacks, rest in peace. Justice will always prevail.
Ten years on, the man who was responsible for the suicide attacks no longer exists on earth. It was not until four months ago that Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by special operations forces of the United States.
To all the victims of the September 11 attacks, rest in peace. Justice will always prevail.
Monday, September 05, 2011
finland education
Yesterday, I was reading an article in Lianhe Zaobao which is an interview with distinguished education sciences professor, Pasi Sahlberg. Professor Sahlberg is from Finland and the interview discusses about his country's education system.
Unlike the Singaporean model where competitiveness and results are the norm, the Finnish education system adopts an egalitarian approach. In the article, Prof. Sahlberg mentioned that it is against the law to give ratings or marks as an assessment for a student before he/she reaches primary six.
Since the last four decades, Finland has thoroughly revamped its school system by abolishing ratings and standardizations of examinations both in and out of schools. In short, the Finnish do not believe in examinations.
In the entire 12 years of basic (9) and tertiary (3) education, the sole examination which the Finnish student has to take is the one which he/she requires for admission to universities.
According to what I researched as it was not stated in the article, those entrance exams are usually not the typical loads of MCQs which is commonly used by Singapore schools. They comprise of longer and more complex questions that go beyond just testing a person's memorization skills.
In one paragraph, Prof. Sahlberg puts it rather bluntly but honestly by saying "our teachers do not teach because of exams, students do not learn because of exams."
The absence of assessment, streamings and competition, however, did not lower the quality of education in Finland. Prof. Sahlberg thinks that teamwork is more crucial than competition. Also, one should not learn how to compete via competition but through teamwork.
Although, the Finnish education system differs from the majority, it is still at the forefront in maths, science and reading ability at the triannual PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) for the past decade.
For years, the myth that Singapore's education system is "good" has been moulded into a fact by many. However, they might have to think twice when using its Finnish counterpart as a reference.
Like what Dr Chee Soon Juan wrote in his letter to Barack Obama in 2008 "If you squeeze an apple hard enough, you will extract some juice. Its the crushed pulp that we mourn over."
The joy of learning has certainly deteriorated or even ceased to exist in our school students nowadays because of the good old education system we trust in.
Unlike the Singaporean model where competitiveness and results are the norm, the Finnish education system adopts an egalitarian approach. In the article, Prof. Sahlberg mentioned that it is against the law to give ratings or marks as an assessment for a student before he/she reaches primary six.
Since the last four decades, Finland has thoroughly revamped its school system by abolishing ratings and standardizations of examinations both in and out of schools. In short, the Finnish do not believe in examinations.
In the entire 12 years of basic (9) and tertiary (3) education, the sole examination which the Finnish student has to take is the one which he/she requires for admission to universities.
According to what I researched as it was not stated in the article, those entrance exams are usually not the typical loads of MCQs which is commonly used by Singapore schools. They comprise of longer and more complex questions that go beyond just testing a person's memorization skills.
In one paragraph, Prof. Sahlberg puts it rather bluntly but honestly by saying "our teachers do not teach because of exams, students do not learn because of exams."
The absence of assessment, streamings and competition, however, did not lower the quality of education in Finland. Prof. Sahlberg thinks that teamwork is more crucial than competition. Also, one should not learn how to compete via competition but through teamwork.
Although, the Finnish education system differs from the majority, it is still at the forefront in maths, science and reading ability at the triannual PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) for the past decade.
For years, the myth that Singapore's education system is "good" has been moulded into a fact by many. However, they might have to think twice when using its Finnish counterpart as a reference.
Like what Dr Chee Soon Juan wrote in his letter to Barack Obama in 2008 "If you squeeze an apple hard enough, you will extract some juice. Its the crushed pulp that we mourn over."
The joy of learning has certainly deteriorated or even ceased to exist in our school students nowadays because of the good old education system we trust in.
Saturday, September 03, 2011
35% equals pass
This is quite hilarious. I wonder if school students will be influenced by our new head of state.
Friday, September 02, 2011
h&m
Taken from www.hm.com.sg
Fashionistas and the fashion-obsessed in Singapore will certainly know what 3rd September means for the local fashion scene. If you are one of them, you should have guessed it by now. Swedish retail-clothing company H&M is poised to open its first shop here tomorrow.
H&M or better known as Hennes & Mauritz is perhaps the largest high-street retail-clothing chain to open in Singapore since the arrival of Japan's Uniqlo. The shop in Orchard Road happens to be H&M's first opening in Southeast Asia.
The company is known for its collaborations with designers like Stella McCartney and Roberto Cavalli. It is also regarded as one who offers fast-fashion apparel. However, the main thing has got to be the word "high-street" which it is described as.
High-street, in my opinion, equates to quality products at prices affordable to the masses. That means you can own a piece of quality clothing that is comparable to branded ones at a more affordable figure.
In terms of "concept", Uniqlo and H&M are very much the same. Excluding the country which they hail from, the differing factor between the two are that Uniqlo goes for high-street casual while H&M opts for a high-street chic approach.
I foresee the addition of H&M to Singapore's fashion sphere to be a total success, if not, redefine the trends and choices of the industry here.
Well, you can call it a revolution or maybe a liberation to inject more democracy into the local fashion landscape.
If it caused a flurry in Japan, a place already full of fashion outlets, I don't see why it can't spark off a new wave of H&M-ism here when it starts operations tomorrow?
Thursday, September 01, 2011
ten facts
Please take a minute to read this
I know ten facts about you and I shall list them here
1. You are reading this now
2.You are realizing that is a stupid fact
4.you didn't notice I skipped three.
5 You're checking now
6. You're smiling
7.You are still reading my comment
9 You didn't realize I skipped eight
10. You're checking again and smiling about how you fell for it again.
11. You are enjoying this
12. You didnt realize there are only supposed to be ten facts.
I know ten facts about you and I shall list them here
1. You are reading this now
2.You are realizing that is a stupid fact
4.you didn't notice I skipped three.
5 You're checking now
6. You're smiling
7.You are still reading my comment
9 You didn't realize I skipped eight
10. You're checking again and smiling about how you fell for it again.
11. You are enjoying this
12. You didnt realize there are only supposed to be ten facts.
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