JYJ Creates A Storm With New Album 'In Heaven'

Words cannot express the joy of Cassies around the world when JYJ released their latest album In Heaven, but numbers can. As soon as In Heaven was released for online downloads via music websites on September 15^th 2011, it rocketed to the top of most music charts. And to top that off, their album pre-orders hit 300,000 copies on the first day itself! This is an incredible feat for these artists who managed to sell so well despite not being able to appear on broadcasts and make public appearances due to their ongoing suit against their ex-company.

The album is very much the essence of JYJ as all the tracks are composed, arranged or written in some way by either one of the members. Breaking away from their previous company did many great things for JYJ, as they are able to unleash their creativity freely and set themselves apart from the other idol groups in the market by their having their own distinctive sound as well as impressive vocals.

The album starts off with the first single Get Out, an upbeat tune that gets you up and dancing. The magic in this track lies in the emotions conveyed by the members’ voices, you get the angst vibe straightaway just by listening to the chorus.

My favourite part of the song is ‘Modu da bye bye~ sarangdo / modu da bye bye~ ujeongdo’ which means ‘Bye bye to everything / Bye bye to love and everything else even friendship’, shows the depth of the relationship that the person is turning back against. I also love how the song starts off with piano notes, which is one of JYJ’s trademarks. Do check out the dance choreography as well as Jaejoong’s Porsche, Junsu’s Maserati and Yoochun’s Ferrari making a cameo in the music video for Get Out!

The second track is the title track In Heaven, which features a narration at the start by actress Kim Jong Eun. Hauntingly beautiful is how I would describe this amazing piece by Jaejoong. The repetitive piano sounds throughout the song and the members’ harmonization is marvellous and places it as the best Korean song I’ve ever heard for the whole of this year.

The chorus gets to you after a spin, ‘Gajima tteo najima / Nae gyeothe isseojul suneun eobtni /Geojitmal da geojitmal / Jeonhyeo deulijiga anha / Saranghae neol saranghae / Han madi boyeojul suneun eobtni / Saranghae neol saranghae / Tto dashi saranghae jugettni’ meaning ‘Don’t go, Don’t leave me / Can’t you stay by my side / Lies, all lies / Everything, I can’t hear / I love you, You, I love / Can’t you show me (just) one word / I love you, You, I love / Will you love me once more?’

Dedicated to Jaejoong’s friend Park Yong Ha who committed suicide, it deals with a person’s grief and disbelief of the death of a love one. In the music video, the song is portrayed as a love song since it features Junsu and Song Jihyo as a couple who are separated by death but is given a second chance at loving again. Do check out the music video for In Heaven!

The third track is Fallen Leaves, which was previously on Their Rooms: Music Essay album.

Boy’s Letter is next on the track list, and is another wonderful track that comes off as a very soothing and easy listening. The lyrics are very sincere and grateful, and dedicated towards the fans for the love that they have showed them. Junsu’s vocals shine brightly in the second part of this song, and it is a pleasure to hear the harmonization of the members’ voices on this one too. Here’s an audio clip of Boy’s Letter!

Mission, I.D.S. (Ideal Scenario) and Pierrot are next up, and are also previously released tracks.

Up next is You're, which is an uplifting tune typical of a song that gives you a mood of a day spent frolicking at the beach, or rolling down a hill full of grass. Easy listening is how I would describe this song. The best part of this track is the rap verse which seams effortlessly into the song, as well as giving a sort of ‘fresh’ feel to the piece. Do give a listen to the audio clip of You’re!

Nine and The Song Without A Name Part 1, both previously released tracks, rounds up the album. Overall, the album comes off as a wonderful work of art crafted personally by the members of JYJ themselves. It is honest and sincere, as well as showcasing their talents in 10 songs. The album is definitely a treasure that will forever preserve the talent of these three talented individuals!

Credits go to lovena33 and LooriWoori for the music video and audio clips.

PS: The English translations and romanization of the lyrics for each song can be found by clicking the song title in bold. Credits go to Pinkrazy.wordpress.com, JYJ3.net and Vee's Castle.

The author is anticipating to have the physical In Heaven album in her hands!

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The Princess' Man: Chosun Dynasty's Version of Romeo & Juliet

Currently on my K-drama must watch list is The Princess’ Man starring Park Shi Hoo and Moon Chae Won as the main leads. I was a bit sceptical at first, having watched a great historical drama last year, Sungkyunkwan Scandal which turned out to be a great hit.

In comparison, The Princess’ Man is set in the Chosun Dynasty and focuses more on the power struggle taking place between the King and his brother. Similar themes between the two dramas are the inequality of women compared to men, as they are thought of as the weaker sex. Girls are trained to be good wives, boys are groomed to be scholars in order to be great men.

What attracts me towards The Princess’ Man is the Romeo and Juliet story of Kim Seungyu (Park Shi Hoo) and Lee Seryeong (Moon Chae Won). Seryeong is the daughter of Prince Suyang, the King’s brother, while Seungyu is the youngest son of Kim Jongseo, the Third State Councillor, a trusted advisor to the King.

Prince Suyang proposes the marriage between his eldest daughter and Kim Jongseo’s youngest son, wanting to strengthen ties among the two families as well as taming his daughter. Known to sneak to the stables to ride horses, Seryeong is often the subject of worry for her parents. Meanwhile, the King is sick and wants to entrust his future son-in-law the task of taking care of his son who is to inherit the throne. Thus, he proposes that his daughter marry his advisor Kim Jongseo’s son. (What a mess!)

Undecided, Kim Jongseo decides not to accept the offers of both parties and leaves the decision to the royal court to decide. Seryeong visits the princess and hears that a new tutor would be coming, none other than Seungyu.

Having sent her previous tutors scurrying away, the princess is unperturbed by the idea of having a new tutor while Seryeong wants to meet the man her father had proposed to marry her off to. They switch places and Seryeong sits in for Seungyu’s class. Alas, he happens to see her face but Seryeong did not think of the circumstances that would bring to her for impersonating the princess.

On a day that Seryeong snuck out of the house to horse-ride, she met Seungyu who thought she was the princess. He taught her the basics of horse-riding since she was extremely keen to learn, and it was the start of their process of falling in love for each other.

The King decided on having Kim Seungyu as his son-in-law and Prince Suyang gets enraged at the idea. Meanwhile the princess reveals her identity to Seungyu, shocking him as he discovered that the girl he fell in love with isn’t the princess whom he thought he was about to marry. Prince Suyang finds fault with Seungyu, causing him to be imprisoned while marrying the princess to another candidate, Seungyu’s best friend, Jong.

The King soon passes away after falling ill, and Prince Suyang seeks to remove Kim Jongseo and his men from the royal court. He orders them to be killed, including Seungyu. Seryeong pleads to her father for Seungyu’s life, saying that if he dies, she dies too. Seungyu escapes from captivity and happens to watch Prince Suyang’s hunchmen kill his father in front of his very own eyes.

Biding his time and seeking revenge, Seungyu walks into a crowd of people welcoming Prince Suyang at his house. He grabs a sword, waiting to rush forward and stab the Prince, until he glimpses a frail-looking Seryeong bowing to her father, welcoming him home.

Will their love stand the test of the fact that their families are enemies? Find out by watching The Princess’ Man on KBS World on ASTRO Channel 391 every Monday and Tuesday at 9pm!

The author wants to share a great song from the OST of the drama, Again, Today I Love You, sung by Baek Ji Young. Do check it out below!


Credits go to kpopinsanity for the video clip.
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JYJ releases digital single 'Get Out'

JYJ recently released their digital single Get Out from their upcoming album In Heaven, due for release on 15 September 2011. Upon the single’s release, it rocketed to the top of most music charts, achieving an all-kill.

That’s not it all, as JYJ’s upcoming first Korean album received 300,000 pre-orders within the first day of opening the reservations through various music sites, stores and book shops. Certain music websites servers apparently crashed, including popular music site Synnara.

Get Out certainly sets the mood for their new album, since it was released earlier as a teaser for fans. A fast-paced track, the lyrics of the song goes on to tell the story of a person who was betrayed by his girlfriend who cheated on him with his best friend. Anger can be felt in the lyrics, telling both of them to get out of his life.

Here’s an audio clip of Get Out along with the romanized lyrics and English translations.

The author is patiently waiting for In Heaven to be released on 15 September. Are you counting the days to the album release too?

PS: Credits go to LoveKpopSubs6 for the audio clip.

Important update: The full music video for Get Out is finally out! Do check it out here!

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Pangkor Island: An Enchanting Beach Getaway

Last week, my family and I took chance of the long stretch of holidays during the Hari Raya festivities and Merdeka Day celebrations to go on a well-deserved beach getaway. We booked our stay online, and one thing to note that the place lived up to my expectations as it is exactly what it was described as per the website's write-up on the resort. Our stay was to be at Teluk Dalam Resort, Pulau Pangkor.

It was a new experience altogether, driving to Lumut town and parking the car at the multi-storey car park building, then heading over on foot to the Lumut Jetty. I must say the area surrounding the jetty was pretty modern in architecture, as there were covered walkways leading from the car park to the jetty. At the jetty, we were supposed to check-in at a special booth designated only for guests of Teluk Dalam Resort and Pangkor Island Beach Resort as these two resorts are located far away from Pangkor Town, where most hotels are located.
Boarding the ferry to the resort was a great experience, it was cool with the air-conditioning on at full blast, plus the viewing deck offers a wonderful view of the sea and the having the wind blowing the sea breeze on your face is another great thing. The jetty on the island connects directly to Pangkor Island Beach Resort, but since we're booked at Teluk Dalam Resort, a van was already waiting for us to drive us to the resort.
Teluk Dalam Resort promises a good and 'cozy kampung ambience' as per their tagline. The chalets in the resort are built to resemble kampung houses, but they are equipped with air-conditioners for a pleasant escape from the heat. Since the resort is located far away from the town, everything is available on site, as there is a clubhouse, cafe, minimart, restaurant, swimming pool, viewing tower and a private beach.
The bungalow which we stayed at was the Cempaka Bungalow, comprising of two bedrooms with attached bathrooms. The only complaint we had during our stay was that our bungalow was located far away from the main area where the clubhouse is, so meaning we had long walks to and fro to the beach, restaurant and etc.
The private beach was spectacular, the water clean and the marine life that we could observe with our own eyes included clams, crabs, corals, oysters, and also sea cucumbers! The sunset on the beach was a breathtaking scene right out of a postcard. The swimming pool was clean and huge to accommodate large numbers of swimmers. There were also stools in the pool for adults who didn't want to swim but just watch others. The kiddie pool was greatly designed with a waterfall and little stream, as well as with a slide into the pool.

Heading over to Pangkor Town is a 15 minutes ride from the resort. We made a call for a taxi through the front desk and waited for 5 minutes before our ride came to pick us up. It was a RM20 fare for 4 persons, with an additional charge of RM2 per extra person. After a zippy ride up and down winding roads with forest and sea views, we arrived at the town where most shops sell dried seafood and souvenirs.

We had a great trip to Pangkor Island and also a great stay at Teluk Dalam Resort. Do book your holidays at Pangkor Island to support our local tourism scene as well as saving more money on a holiday without going overseas.

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