Kpop: CN Blue (씨엔블루)

CN Blue is a korean rock band which recently released their latest album Re:Blue, and they have quite a extensive backlog of music videos to enjoy:

• CN Blue - I'm Sorry (아임 쏘리)
• CN Blue - Love Girl (러브 걸)
• CN Blue - I'm a loner (외톨이야)
• CN Blue - Hey You (헤이 유)
• CN Blue - Intuition (직감)
• CN Blue - Love (러브)
• CN Blue - Still in love (아직 사랑한다)

Kpop: Park Ji-Yoon (박지윤)

I first got to know Park Ji-Yoon in the TV-series Lie To Me, where she played her role as manager and friend with extreme grace and understated feelings. She is also a accomplished singer, as you can see. Her "Tree of Life" differs from many of her other videos since it doesn't have that special Gothic beginning. But oh, so beautiful.

• Park Ji-Yoon - Tree of Life (나무가 되는 꿈)
• Park Ji Yoon - Inner Sense (나의 뇌구조)
• Park Ji Yoon - Mr Lee
• Park Ji-Yoon - Coming of Age (성인식)
• Park Ji-Yoon - Illusion (환상, live version here)
• Park Ji-Yoon - Steal Away
• Park Ji-Yoon - Tears as Rain

Jpop: YOHIO (ヨヒオ)

Yohio's buddy Seike in Seremedy

You wouldn't be honest if you were to say that the Japanese style Visual kei is very established or even known in Sweden, but some 25 years ago in the 80s this would not have been that far away from what one could see here; just take some glam metal and add a little bit more androgynous looks and -viola- you have visual kei:

Glam rock

Glam rock

Visual kei

Visual kei

Following up on that logic, the last decade has seen several glam bands competing in the Swedish "Melodifestivalen", a music competition which ends in one winner who goes on to compete in the European Song Contest. This is actually one of the largest media events in Sweden, and just being one of the 32 contestants usually means a big step in your career. Yesterday the first qualifying competition saw Yohio from Sundsvall competing, and winning one of the two places in the final that was up for grabs. In a rather meager evening, his heavy metal song "Heartbreak Hotel", with his positively sparkling performance, made all the difference to make the whole event worthwhile. Could this mean visual kei will establish itself in Sweden, or glam metal have a new golden age? ;-)

• YOHIO - Heartbreak Hotel
• YOHIO - Sky Limit
• YOHIO - Our Story
• Seremedy - No Escape (band with yohio as front figure)

Kdrama: Spellbound(오싹한 연애)

Spellbound(2011) has a nice twist to the romantic comedy which you may not expect, in that its a romantic *horror* comedy. It actually works quite well, and it could actually be the optimal concept for a dating movie as it has both romantic elements (which is good) and scary parts (which means sitting closer together).

I hate reviews giving away to much of the story, but in short the story is about a magician Jo-Goo and one of his assistants, Yeo-Ri. The problem is that Yeo-Ri sees ghosts and therefore has isolated herself, because everyone who shares her life gets to see the ghosts too. Problem starts when her boss Jo-Goo insists on her joining a after-work dinner.

I really dont like scary stuff, but I must say that even though the effects are quite well done, you know when they come and can easily solve it by looking away for a sec or two. The romance on the other hand is quite nice and ends well, which by no means is guaranteed in Korean movies.Also the explaination behind her seing ghost is also quite sympathetically handled. Comes recommended.

Kpop: DMTN (디엠티엔)

In a effort to update and make Dalmatian more interesting, their record label has changed the name to DMTN and a new more mature image shown by new single "Safety Zone". Well, I like the name better since the old one made me think of a certain Disney movie. The video is quite nice and has really nice vand balanced visuals. Just look at that winter view from the bridge, fits right in with the sound.

• DMTN - Safety Zone

Kpop: My Name (마이네임)

My Name has released their latest single "Just that little thing", so I thought it is time to give them some loving.

• Me Name - We are the night
• My Name - Just that little thing (그까짓거)
• My Name - What's up
• My Name - Message (메시지)
• My Name - Hello & Goodbye