ORIENTAL WHIRL: Rocker heaven

LEE Hong Ki, the lead singer of K-rock band F.T. Island, will be making his silver screen debut in the tentatively titled feature film Our Heaven, reports soompi.com.

It’s about Choong Eui (Lee), a celebrity who gets into trouble with the law. He is ordered to do community service in a hospice, where he finally learns the meaning of life.

A former child actor who had acted in various dramas, including the hit SBS series You’re Beautiful, Lee says that he been taking his time as he wants to choose the right role for his film debut, but when he read the script, he  “was very moved and decided to appear in the film”.

Shin’s lively solo
THE talented Shin Yong Jae of three-member R&B group, 4Men, recently released his debut mini album 24, reports allkpop.com.

He not only produced this album but also penned and composed two of the five songs here. This 11-track-album also include an intro track  All I Ever Think About Is You and the instrumental version of the five songs.

For this debut effort, his agency Happy Face Entertainment says the 22-year-old decided to ditch his 4Men’s brooding and pensive balladeer persona for a lively and charming image.

Check out the MVs for his double title tracks, Over And Over a.k.a. Keep Wanting To and The Reason I Became A Singer, at www.youtube.com/user/happyfaceent.

Nounen dives into lead role
ACTRESS Rena Nounen, who only made her acting debut in 2010, landed her first leading role in the new 156 episodes NHK morning drama Amachan, reports tokyohive.com.

It’s about Aki Amano (Nounen), a Tokyo high school student who returns to her mother’s hometown in Tohoku and learns to become an ama (shell diver, mostly women).

Said to be a 2,000-year-old Japanese tradition, the ama dives into the sea to collect abalone, shellfish, seaweed and pearls. Eventually, her feat becomes well-known and she manages  to revitalise the small town.

Nounen was picked from among the 1,953 hopefuls who had auditioned for the role. NHK producer Kei Kurube said: “She’s young, she’s fresh and just like Aki, she appears to be a bit clumsy, while hiding an unimaginable energy deep within.”

24 Hour Famine ambassador
LEE Junho, better known as Junho of K-Pop boy band 2PM, is now honorary ambassador of World Vision’s 24 Hour Famine campaign, reports soompi.com.

This annual initiative, conducted in over 20 countries including Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the US, is aimed at raising awareness of global hunger and malnutrition.

According to the World Vision Korea website www.worldvision.or.kr, “24 Hour Famine provides youth participants with an opportunity to experience difficulties of children who suffer from poverty, diseases and war around the world”.

Besides participating in and promoting this local initiative, Junho also plans to take part in similar campaigns held across Asia, if time permits.

Junho, who is also a child sponsor under the non-governmental organisation’s International Child Sponsorship Programme, said: “I want the children I’m helping now to grow up and  help others.”

Blessings from Beijing
SUPERSTAR Jackie Chan has again managed to rope in the who’s who  in Chinese showbiz for China’s Olympics song Beijing Blesses You project, reports cfensi.dramaddicts.com.

Composed by Chang Shilei with lyrics by Wang Pingjiu, this  catchy ballad is a follow-up track to Beijing Welcomes You, the theme song for the 2008 Summer Olympics Games in Beijing.

Featuring over 100 celebrities from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the song is to extend Beijing’s best wishes to London, the organiser of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Recorded in 21 days at 100 iconic landmarks around Beijing, the singers and movie stars involved included Andy Lau, Joey Yung, Nicholas Tse, Lin Chi Ling, Richie Ren, Harlem Yu, Li Bing Bing, Lang Lang, Crystal Liu Yifei, Yang Mi and Huang Xiaoming.

Check out the eight-minute long MV (dated 2012.07.28) at www.youtube.com/user/watchyifei.

Another boxing win
K-ACTRESS and model Lee Si Young who shot to fame for her role as Oh Min Ji in the 2009 KBS series Boys Over Flowers, has added another feather to her cap, reports soompi.com.

In the recent 33rd National Amateur Boxing Competition, the amateur boxer won in the 48kg category by defeating the defending champion Ji Yoo Jin with a score of 10 to 7.

Lee took up boxing in 2010 under former World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight and super bantamweight champion Hong Soo-hwan for a drama role that was later cancelled. But she grew to love the sport and had since become a serious boxer, winning numerous amateur championships including the 9th KBI National Lifestyle Athletics Boxing Championships in December 2010 (women’s 50kg category), 47th Seoul Amateur Boxing Match in February last year (48kg category) and a month later, the 7th National Amateur Boxing Championships (48kg category).

Lucite Tokki grows
K-INDIE pop female duo Lucite Tokki (also known as Lucite Rabbit), formed in 2005, recently released a third full length album Grow To Glow, reports koreaboo.com.

Kim Sun Young (guitarist) and Cho Ye Jin (vocalist) are noted for their easy-listening acoustic tracks with added electronic music.

They not only write the lyrics and compose the music but also handle the production of the album, including recording and mixing.

The 11-track album also includes an acoustic piano version of the song Time To Grow. Check out the audio of all 11 songs at www.youtube.com/user/3cinquesette. (Just type Lucite Tokki in the search panel).
 

 

Shin Yong Jae

Rena Nounen

Lee Junho

Lin Chi Ling

Lee Si Young

 

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