IU's REAL+ Mini Album

Taking off from where she left off from her previous album REAL, IU has released an extended version, a mini album titled REAL+ with three tracks. And as expected, she never fails to deliver a great piece of work.

The first track off the album, titled The Story Only I Didn't Know, is a slow number and has a melancholic feel towards it. It's subtle start sounds like a musical box and IU's soft voice sets the mood for the entire song.

The music video for the track had created a buzz over the net as there are conflicting opinions over the meaning behind the video. Nevertheless, she did a great job over the song as well as music video. Do check it out the music video for IU's The Story Only I Didn't Know.

Cruel Fairy Tale, the second track from the album, starts off like a song for a movie soundtrack, complete with an orchestra background. Come to think of it, the title is really befitting of the song. This song has a very dark feeling surrounding it, but the thumping beat in the background somehow blends in with IU's sweet voice.

I can't fathom the reason why there were electronic static sounds towards the second half of the song, and somehow I really love the part where she sings "Nothing lasts forever / Nothing really matters". This song gives me the feel of Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream somehow, and is my favourite song off the album.

The third track is The Story Only I Didn't Know featuring pianist Kim Gwang Min. As the song is accompanied by the sounds of the piano, her great voice shines more on this track.

There are parts where I couldn't help but listen in awe as she has a great control over her voice and yet she's only eighteen! I am looking forward to her next album already!

The author was fascinated to know that there were five hidden fairy tales in the lyrics of Cruel Fairy Tale. Rapunzel, Hansel & Gretel, Cinderella and Little Mermaid have been identified by fans. Can you figure out the fifth one?

As always, do follow me on Twitter for the latest updates!

Dream High: An Idol Feast For Your K-Drama Addiction

Usually I would prefer watching historical or family-based Korean dramas, but this time round I was anticipating the premiere of Dream High, a drama based on an art school for student who are groomed to be idols.

Since the hype surrounding the idol cast for the drama made it to the headlines of many K-pop related websites way before the drama was slated to air on Korea's KBS network, I like many other K-drama fans have been following the progress of the drama all the way through since filming started.

Dream High had proved that it was a drama not to be missed, albeit a slow start in the first episode. The main characters in this drama are portrayed by Miss A's Suzy, T-ara's Eunjung, 2PM's Taecyeon and Wooyung, and IU, with many other cameos by idols such as SS501's Hyunjoong, 2PM's Nichkhun and JYP's JOO. Well, that pretty much spelled idol-overload already. Not forgetting Bae Yong Joon and Park Jin Young acting as headmaster and English teacher respectively!

Hyemi, Suzy's character, is a rich man's daughter who is forced to give up her dreams of joining Juilliard when her family goes bankrupt. She instead finds herself having to audition to enroll in Kirin Art School to pay back her father's debts. She fails her audition but somehow her best friend, Baekhui (Eunjung's character) passes the audition. They left the place on a bad note by ending their friendship.

Hyemi was given a conditional offer to be a student in Kirin and she soon finds herself between two guys (Taecyeon and Kim Soohyun) vying for her heart, as well as being the target of the entire student body's wrath, no doubt initiated by her ex-bestie, now a rival and arch-enemy.

There is also another couple to look out for, IU and Wooyung's characters, Pilsuk and Jason. Their budding romance is a definite laugh inducer as Pilsuk is the chubbiest girl in school while Jason is an exchange student from the United States.

There are many scenes where the idol cast sing their heart out and I couldn't stop watching in awe at their good singing chops as well as their acting skills. They really could sing with all their heart!

The biggest question in Dream High is who will Hyemi choose in the end? And will Pilsuk and Jason end up together? Tune in to KBS World on ASTRO Channel 391 at 9pm every Monday and Tuesday to catch all the drama between the students!

The author would like to recommend the OST of Dream High as it features the idol cast of the drama. Suzy's Winter Child and IU's Someday are her two favourites off the soundtrack.

As always, do follow me on Twitter for the latest updates!

JYJ Music Essay: Their Rooms

After a Japanese and English album comes JYJ’s latest album in their native Korean. There are no barriers to their creativity here as they definitely capitalized on their fluency and comfortability with the language.

Hence, the 6 songs on JYJ Music Essay: Their Rooms is something that all fans have been waiting for as they wrote, composed and produced all the tracks on the album. Coming straight from their hearts, this album is definitely worth a listen to.

The first track is Mission, written and composed by Junsu, and it has a grand opening featuring a strings orchestra and sounds like a movie soundtrack. It has a great beat and catchy chorus, as well as Yoochun rapping. If you excuse the not-so-cool English skills of Junsu and the use of an expletive in the rap, then this is probably a track that proves that they still can retain and improve their sound from their Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) days.

A mellow track written and composed by Jaejoong, Nine was written using basic chords that he learned from Yoochun when he first learned to play the piano. According to Jaejoong, upon the addition of Yoochun, it’s been nine years that the five members of DBSK came together as a group. Therefore, the song also symbolises the five DBSK members in an indirect way.

Pierrot, the third track, starts off slow, picking up a catchy beat just before the first refrain. In this song, Jaejoong describes the experience of working under their previous company, and he doesn’t want to be used as a tool to entertain others in order to generate more money anymore. A pierrot is a pantomime character which is a sad clown, often seen as the fool and the butt of pranks, hence the unique title of the song.

Fallen Leaves is another slow number which showcases the powerful vocals of each member. Written and composed by Junsu, it is a beautiful song with a beautiful melody, as well as beautiful lyrics (although I am just reading the English translations). One thing for sure, this song is definitely one of my favourites off the album.

Next on the list is I.D.S. which stands for Ideal Scenario, yet another track written and composed by Jaejoong. The mid-tempo track has a techno feel towards it, as well as some elements of auto-tune to the voices of the three members. (In this track with Junsu singing in English you have to listen carefully or you might misunderstand the opening lyrics!)

The only song fully written and composed by Yoochun for this album is A Song Without A Name Part 1. The song has a simple yet great melody and features lots of piano sounds, traits that shows the identity of the composer. Most of the time Yoochun raps, while Junsu and Jaejoong joins in to sing at intervals. Of all the tracks, Yoochun’s piece is the most expressional one, as he poured out all his feelings into the lyrics of the song. It captures his ups and downs in the journey of being a member of a popular boy band. All in all, any listener would understand the struggles he had gone through by listening to the song.

A pretty great album indeed from JYJ and my recommendation is to buy JYJ’s Music Essay as it is a unique release. The album also comes together with a diary of the three members’ photos and essays about their daily lives and stories, which are a must-have for every fan!

PS: I have included links for the English translations of each song's lyrics, just click on the bolded song name to read. Credits go to the sites that I have linked to. Enjoy!

The author first listened to JYJ’s The Beginning and came to know of their struggles of performing in their own country due to their lawsuit with their ex-company. The members showcased determination in succeeding without any promotions and advertisement for their albums, and their hard work had paid back well as their album has already topped several charts so far.

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