Tag Archive for 'Wonder Girls'

The late post: Aaron Kwok, Wonders Girls and more…

So Saturday night’s all right for gigging, with two super headliners, er, headlining the evening – Aaron Kwok and the Wonder Girls.

Aaron Kwok’s De Showy show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium – hey, I didn’t come up with that name – was, as expected of an Aaron Kwok show, a showy piece of work. If you don’t believe me, look at the shots that our photographer Boon Keong took at the concert by clicking here.

Meanwhile, over at Resorts World Sentosa, the K-pop phenom, Wonder Girls, were struttin’ their stuff.

I’ve always had a soft spot for them – well, in a “if I really had to pick a K-pop group I liked it might as well be Wonder Girls because there are just too many girls in Girls Generation to remember, and the girls in 2NE1 scare me a bit, although Kara, 4Minute and T-ara come a close tie for second” way – and if you’re a real fan, then you’re probably going to like these shots, as seen through the lens of Nabihah Hashim.

And here, is the video of WG’s press conference held earlier that day.

And even earlier on that very day, over at Downtown East, there was the Karnival Raya Warna Ria, where the crowd was treated to performances from the likes of Taufik Batisah, Hady Mirza, Didicazli, Sleeq and Erwin Shah Dawson, as well as other entertaining activities.


The early post: Sep 8

IF you’re just a glut for good music, then you’re spoilt for choice this weekend with no less than 6 shows to catch – all on SEP 8!
And if you’re as greedy as I am, you’re going to want to catch them all. And you can. If you’re willing to forgo a bit here to take in a bit there…

Start with the Karnival Raya Warna Ria, at Downtown East, which kicks off at noon, and features slots by Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza, as well as rap duo Sleeq.
Then, voom over to Orchard Hotel at 6pm for the TAB 2nd Anni x BDMP Fundraiser, a special concert celebrating TAB’s 2nd birthday, featuring the likes of Brandon Lee, Inch Chua, Kexin, The Sam Willows, Newton Circus and No. IV. This show is also a fund raiser in aid of the Bone Marrow Donor Programme.
Next, check out the Wonder World, as South Korea’s K-pop phenomenon, Wonder Girls, return. Of course, you’ll be at Sentosa but who says, you cannot engage in choral music at SOTA’s concert hall with Zen Renaissance, a gig by the Philharmonic Chamber Choir featuring shakuhachi (Japanese flute) master, Ueno Koshuzan, before shooming to the Sultan Jazz Club to catch Rani Singam, one of our favourite jazz singers – accompanied by three of the top musos in Singapore, Kerong Chok (keyboards), Christy Smith (bass) and Soh Wenming (drums).
Then, make your way to the Singapore Indoor Stadium for Aaron Kwok’s De Showy Masquerade World Tour. Sure, it started at 8pm, but this guy never stops, and you can be sure he’ll still be going strong by the time you get there.

(NOTE: The itinerary planned here works only if you have a time machine or a teleport device. Otherwise, you’ll probably have to skip a show or two. Sorry for the confusion. If any.)

Check out the gig guide for ticketing details, etc…


K-pop – not all that it’s made out to be?

SO there I was, trawling through the Internet, that marvellous repository of information – both useful and useless – looking for, well, information, when I chanced upon a blog wherein the blog writer talked about how she had quit being part of a K-pop group.

She’s Singaporean, by the way, and was part of an audition thingy that resulted in her and another girl being selected to be part of this girl group. To that end, she had to voom over to South Korea to take part in the rigorous training processes of being a member of a K-pop group.

Continue reading ‘K-pop – not all that it’s made out to be?’


Wonder what’s up with Wonder Girls?

MY colleagues and I were discussing the phenomenon that is K-Pop and we were all stumped by one of the questions posed: ”When will it end?”

I mean, in the past couple of years, we’ve been flooded with an what seems to be an unending retinue of Korean pop acts, whether it’s  Super Junior, Girls Generation (seen below, picking up an award at last year’s MAMA), Big Bang, Beast, Rain, 2PM, 2AM,  2NE1, 4Minute, T-ara, Kara, G Na, Hyun A, Hyun Joong, BAP, CNBlue, FT Island, Secret, Jay Park, Jung Hyun, and the list goes on… 

Continue reading ‘Wonder what’s up with Wonder Girls?’


Say hello to KMTV

AND THAT’S KMTV not KTV.

Yes, those of you who can’t get enough of Super Junior, Wonder Girls, Beast, 2PM, 4 Minute, 2AM, et al, you can now get them 24/7 on StarHub’s latest addition to their ranks, KMTV (Channel 846).

(2PM performing on M Countdown)

According to the folks at Starhub, this is a 24-hour K-pop channel focusing on music and entertainment programmes. Fans of Korean music can expect a non-stop exciting mix of K-Pop music videos, variety shows, idol dramas and gigs. It’ll be available in the original Korean language, with Chinese subtitles.

Some of the programmes include KM Olleh Chart Top 100, also called Dosirak Chart. The programme features theme songs, album reports and latest news (introduced via subtitled tickers with English voiceover).  

(A scene from KM Olleh Music Chart Top 100)

Then there’s M Countdown – the immensely popular weekly K-Pop music chart show, where songs are ranked based on Internet, SMS and views of audiences.

There’s also Muzit, a variety show of sorts, where invited guests share their unique stories and views about music. And let’s forget other shows like Live Power Music and Made In Wonder Girls, an in-depth feature on the Wonder Girls.

“We’ve always believed in giving local viewers a good depth and breadth of quality content,” said Ms Iris Wee, StarHub’s Vice President of Home Solutions, said in a statement. “KMTV is a terrific example, joining StarHub’s already strong offerings of Korean content while at the same time adding a new emphasis on Korean pop music.”

(Get a look at what it's like to be a Wonder Girl in Made In Wonder Girls)

To enable StarHub TV viewers to sample the quality content on KMTV, StarHub will offer them free access to both channels from Oct 1 to 14, 6am. Following this free viewing period, StarHub TV customers can subscribe to KMTV at S$6.42 (including GST) , and enjoy a three-month 50 per cent discount off these channels for subscriptions made before the end of 2011. More info can be found at www.starhub.com/kmtv