Oriental Whirl: Sones over the moon

SOSHI a.k.a. Girls’ Generation-deprived Sones (fans) were caught completely off guard with the sudden release of the group’s new Japanese single All My Love Is For You. But wow! What a great surprise!

It has been quite a long while since the group has released any new songs, its last being the Japanese single Paparazzi in June.

As Sones patiently await their comeback, the girls have continued with their individual activities, including fashion shoots and dramas. Some of the girls have also lent their voices in support of their agency’s new drama series To The Beautiful You, but nothing beats having all nine members singing together as one.

The original soundtrack for the SBS drama features duet between Jessica and her sister f(x)’s Krystal (Butterfly), Sunny and f(x)’s Luna (It’s Me), Tiffany and Super Junior’s Kyuhyun (To the Beautiful You) and Taeyeon (Closer). Meanwhile, this lovely ballad is the coupling track for its yet-to-be titled Japanese single that will be released on Sept 26. Check it out at www.youtube.com/user/GIRLSGENERATION.

On another note, local K-Pop fans have never had it so good. A slew of K-Pop groups are slated to perform in Kuala Lumpur, including B1A4 and APink (Sept 29), T-ara (Oct 3), Wonder Girls (Oct 13), Big Bang (Oct 27), ZE:A (Nov 10) and 2NE1 (some time in November). But how about bringing in Girls’ Generation? Or even the SMTown Live World Tour, which will be heading to Jakarta (Sept 22) and Bangkok (Nov 25).

T-ara comeback

K-POP girl group T-ara, which has been at the centre of an alleged bullying scandal involving former member Hwayoung, is finally back with its seventh mini album, Mirage, reports dkpopnews.net. Said to be a repackaged edition of its 6th mini album Day By Day, Mirage comprises two new songs and all the tracks from the 6th album.

The title track Sexy Love, a catchy electronic pop number, is once again produced by hitmaker Shinsadong Tiger, who was also responsible for their other hits such as Bo Peep Bo Peep, Roly Poly and Lovey Dovey.

Meanwhile, the other new song is the ballad Day And Night. It is performed by group member Areum, Gavy NJ’s Geonji and 14-year-old Shannon, who’s noted for her four-octave range and who’s a trainee with the group’s management agency CCM. The girls have released four versions of the MV for the title track — dance, robotic dance version, drama and the making of...

The 15-minute drama version MV is the sequel of the Day By Day MV, which was released in July and is set in a post-apocalyptic city in the year 2330.
Check out all the MVs at www.youtube.com/user/LOENENT. (Just type in T-ara in the search panel).

Rumble Fish

K-SOLO singer Choi Jinyi, better known by her stage name Rumble Fish, has recently released a new digital single called So You Don’t Dwell On Me, reports koreaboo.com.

Noted for her powerful vocals, the talented singer-songwriter was formerly the vocalist-guitarist of four-member popular rock band Rumble Fish, which debuted in 2004 with the 14-track album Swing Attack but disbanded in 2010. Choi then decided to continue with her solo career under the band’s name. Her last single release was I Love You, I Love You in 2011.

Check out the MV for this new single, which was shot in Macau, at www.youtube.com/user/LOENENT. (Just type in Rumble Fish in the search panel).

Marriage and single women

J-ACTRESS Miho Kanno will star alongside Yuki Amami in Fuji TV’s new drama series Kekkon Shinai (Not Getting Married), reports tokyohive.com.  

This series is about two single women, one in her 30s and the other, in her 40s, who either can’t or don’t want to get married.

Chiharu Tanaka (Kanno) is a 34-year-old contract worker who is still living with her parents. Although she hasn’t been in a romantic relationship for five years, she would love to get married. Unfortunately, she’s held back by this fear of relationship failure.

Meanwhile, Haruko Kirishima (Amami) is a successful landscape planner in her 40s. Since she’s in a long-term extramarital affair with her boss, she has given up all hopes of marriage. They meet by chance and despite their personality differences, immediately hit it off and Chiharu moved in with her.

Enter bachelor Junpei Kudo (Hiroshi Tamaki), a part-time florist who does not have the financial means to get married.

Atonement

J-ACTOR Shosuke Tanihara, who has been acting for 20 years, will finally be taking on his first lead role in NHK’s  three-episode BS premium drama Tsugunai (Atonement), reports doramaworld.blogspot.com.

Adapted from a bestseller by Atsuko Yaguchi, this series revolves around hotshot neurosurgeon Hidaka (Tanihara) who ends up losing everything, including his family (his son to illness and wife, suicide) because of work.

Driven by guilt, he ends up a vagrant who roams the street. One day, he meets a young man, whom he had rescued from sexual abuse years ago. Hidaka’s chance for redemption comes as he goes all out to help prove the young man’s innocence after the latter is accused of being a serial killer.

Evening glow

K-INDIE modern rock duo Evening Glow recently released its debut five-track mini album Another Way, reports koreaboo.com.

Comprising vocalist Chae Yunseo and guitarist Kim Sungchul, the debut effort contains music from various genres, including R&B, blues, soul, nujazz and dance.

You can listen to the audio of all the five tracks at www.youtube.com/user/3cinquesette. (Just type in Evening Glow in the search panel).

You can communicate with the duo at www.facebook.com//EveninGlow and at the same time check out the official MV teaser for the title track On & On. This teaser can also be viewed at www.youtube.com/user/KPENTERTAINMENTKOR. Unfortunately, the MV for the title track, which has also been released, is not available at either sites, possibly due to a technical glitch.

 

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