Khalil is the biggest loser on the planet and OMG just…this makes me so sad I’m not on the west coast.

It’s a beautiful day today and I’m just going to go out (filming an EMT with Ellie and crew today!) and listen to some good Khalil.

I like to post this clip on whatever platform I can just because it’s the Queen, y’all.

I’m always really in awe of the dancers in Kpop who have a wealth of stage experience and just have it in their bodies to be that good. And ironically–or not–they’re usually not the best singers. I’m talking about the idols in Kpop who are naturally gifted with movement, those who are dancers not because it’s been forced into them through training. (Hyoyeon and Hangeng come to mind.) But in the Kpop biz, things are so confined. Why does someone like Gahee who’s so good at dancing have to sing in order to “make it” into an idol group, aka have a shot of being nationally recognized? And then conversely, why do singers like Brian or Hwanhee have to add a dance number into their songs just so that they’re not a “traditional” ballad singer, who are pretty much economically irrelevant in the business?

It’s almost like there is no place for people who are just “dancers.” They don’t get to be “famous” in the way famous rolls in Korea, with the variety shows and the shiny CF offers. And while there is a bigger market for people who are just skilled singers, compared to the wealth that idol groups get to cash in for their companies, how much do people like Park Hyo Shin or post-G.O.D. Kim Tae Woo earn?? Take Baek Ji Young. I think she’s had a fairly decent ballad-singing career, but she got a huuuuge spike in popularity (and sales) over the summer because of her collaboration with Taecyeon — not only because he’s a bankable idol, but because the dance element made the song relevant to the mainstream.

My point is that it sucks to want to be a star in Kpop. You train to sing and dance and then you debut, and inevitably there are people who slam you for not having enough skill. But why do you have to possess that skill anyway? Why isn’t there a market to sell the thing that you are good at?

Questions, questions.

Dear two dudes who have the lofty and great profession of being YG’s only stylists,

Can we stop styling while tripping on acid? Is it just too hard to stop throwing all the shit you found at the bottom of your draw onto a piece of clothing? I get that it was really cool and refreshing when you first put dolls together into a circle formation and deemed it a “bracelet” and then let CL wear it on stage, but maybe we should stop at one toy-strung-bracelet.

I know that you guys (or one of you guys) went to Central Saint Martins for ~fashun~ and ~design~ but can we stop with this shit? Can we stop trying so hard?

My fave performance from the MBC Dance Battle:

I don’t know which aspect is more perfect — the fact that Bong Sun has a less annoying voice than Hyunah, Yoseob’s complete disinterest in the dance/simultaneous rigorous pelvis thrusting, Hyunseung’s sick body waves, Dongwoon’s amazing fascination with the whole thing, or Junhyung’s complete embarrassment.

I think I’m gonna run off to watch more of Beast’s documentary now…

(Other great performances at the dance battle [which is one of my favorite idol gatherings every year, heh]:

- Beast – Ice Box, Flashy and Fly
- After School – Lipgloss, Wall to Wall
- Rainbow + Jung Juri – Single Ladies
- SNSD – What it Is (I wish this song were more compelling. The choreo is great, but the song is so boring.))

Remember when I was super gung-ho about “Will it Snow for Christmas”? Yeah, that fizzled out and died a very cold, snowy death. I won’t go into depth about its sad demise, but it went into psycho, melo territory and that’s when I knew I had to cut myself loose.

Currently: Cute, adorable, squishy little kiddos.

“Wish Upon a Star” is so much fun! And thus starts my 2010 of K-dramas. I can’t say that this is the most well-written drama, but the storyline and the acting make for a very painless watch, with lots of laughs thrown into the mix.

AND THE KIDS. THE KIDS ARE SO PRECTION.

Read the rest of this entry »