Ah, the final SPECIAL FEATURE of the series has arrived.

Clearly, I have been influenced heavily by The Boss in the music that I choose to enjoy, but another man has earned the rights to the title of ALL TIME FAVORITE (at least for now). A musical genius, this man churns out literally hundreds of songs each year, and has released as many as 3 full length albums in a single year (though, 29 sucked). Ryan Adams (not to be confused with Bryan Adams) has released 11 albums over the last 8 years, and I own every single one of them. He provides me with nothing but auditory pleasure.

Aside from the stockpile of hundreds of songs he has recorded, saved for a rainy day (god, I’m going to be in musical heaven when the guy dies), Ryan is impressive because every single album he releases manages to sound distinctly like Ryan Adams while creating an entirely new sound for himself. Basically, I think the most straight forward way to put it, is that Ryan Adams is exact opposite of Nickelback in every single way. And we all know that’s a good thing. (Does anybody think Nickelback is aware of how much they suck? Frankly, I’m concerned if they aren’t).

Ryan Adams is the closest thing to a true rock and roll asshole that exists anymore (though, if you ask him, he doesn’t think he’s an asshole), and he puts on a damn good show. He voluntarily kicked his heroine and cocaine habit, and married Mandy Moore, which takes a great deal of the edge of off him. I mean, Mandy Moore. Lame. Parker Posey seemed more appropriate. And the drugs weren’t bad for the image, either. But, that aside, he has continued to produce some seriously good tunes, and for that I thank him.

I can absolutely assure you that you have heard the musical stylings of Mr. Adams before, but I am also fairly certain that you have not cracked the surface of what the man has to offer.

Originally a member of Whiskeytown, and currently backed by The Cardinals; Ryan Adams is pure genius, solo or with a band, and I’m not sure what else there is to say about him. I’ve heard him considered over-rated, and maybe he is by some of his fans, but the fact that he is not a worshipped household name means that he is under-rated. Maybe people have forgotten that nobody writes their own music anymore, and that there probably isn’t a more talented and productive songwriter on the planet right now.

Check out this documentary from the Heartbreaker release.

And, because his sound is so continually different, check out two songs:

For wowing me at least once a year over the last ten years, for a decade of excellent music, for trusting himself, and for keeping me company most nights; I welcome Ryan Adams to Twenty-Three.

Mnet’s new year-end award ceremony MAMA was no doubt a success. Although the show’s rating clocked in at only just over 3%, today, the entertainment section of every media outlet in Korea was plastered with pictures and stories from this controversy-filled ceremony.

While most of us have learned to focus more on special performances by artists rather than the awards themselves, the awards are still the meat and potato of the ceremony. Star-studded nominee lists, the nervous faces, drum roll getting louder, your heart beating faster, and of course, the winners holding their trophies so dearly while they thank their parents with teary smiles.

So has MAMA’s distribution of major awards been understandable, or using a word that is so highly debatable, fair? Although many of the results produced hot reactions, let’s objectively examine the daesang (main award) winners of MAMA 2009.

Best Song of the Year: I Don’t Care

The honor of the best song of the year went to 2NE1’s I Don’t Care. 2NE1 is a group which can be labeled as super rookies and deserved to win the best new female artist award more than any other groups who were present. However, did I Don’t Care really deserve to win the song of the year?

Going back to the 2007 MKMF, we came across a similar situation as this year’s MAMA – this year, we had 2NE1 as the super rookies, and in 2007, we had world famous Wonder Girls. They had taken the nation by storm with their massive hit single Tell Me, resulting in thousands of Koreans dancing to the song and posting the video online. There was no doubt that Tell Me had become something close to a national syndrome, but the award for the best song of the year went to Big Bang’s Lies and the girls ended up with the Best New Female Artist Award. Why? It has been unheard of to give one of the daesang awards to a rookie group. Even legends like H.O.T. have not achieved such a feat. The only artist who has ever won a main award as a rookie is Seo Taiji. For those who are not so familiar with him, he simply started Kpop.

Now, back to 2NE1. I Don’t Care was no doubt a popular song, but it is hard to say that it was as popular as Tell Me, yet the song somehow managed to push 2NE1 to a level that nobody has managed to reach since the creator of Kpop did. The only explanation that appears to make sense is that I Don’t Care was given the honor only because SNSD’s massive hit Gee was not there to claim the title.

Album of the Year: Heartbreaker

More controversial than any other recipients of the awards, G-Dragon’s Heartbreaker was given the honour of being titled the best album of the year. For reasons that most of our readers are already aware of, Heartbreaker has been under criticism of not only the public and figures in music industry, but also from government officials. It was also found to be inappropriate for younger audiences and was rated R.

It appears that the reason why Heartbreaker received the award was the number of sales; the album sold over 120,000 copies as of late last month, making it one of the best selling albums of the year along with Super Junior’s Sorry Sorry and Seo Taiji’s two albums. If the album of the year award was based solely on the number of sales, then Heartbreaker deserves it. However, one must also take other factors into consideration. Heartbreaker has been received negatively by the public and the critics for plagiarism issues, and giving such an album the honour of being named the best of the year appears to be a little out of line. The problem is that Super Junior and Seo Taiji both did not make an appearance at MAMA, making it impossible to award the title to an album that is both high in sales record and free of negative criticism. Again, SM Entertainment’s boycott plays into the award.

Artist of the Year: 2PM

The Artist of the Year, while not as fiercely contested in public opinion as the other two main awards due to the sympathetic view Koreans hold regarding Jaebeom, is being debated over as well. There is no doubt that 2PM rose to immense fame – or notoriety – this year, but in order to qualify for the artist of the year award, it is implied that the artist must have made some musical achievement during the year. Has 2PM made enough musical progress to be named the artist of the year over many other talented nominees? Or, have they been given the award solely based on either the sympathy the nation feels for their loss or the drama value of them crying for Jaebeom?

Intentionally headline-grabbing award results?

If you have forgotten, MAMA had been claiming that they will have Jaebeom appear at the ceremony. Controversy is what they have been aiming for. While we’re on the topic of drama value, the appearance of three TVXQ members and their acceptance speech for the award of Best Representative of Asia best represents what MAMA aims to do with this ceremony. The three members appeared to accept a seemingly meaningless award, then gave “heartfelt” lines that no news reporter would pass up if they were in their right minds. The appearance of TVXQ members had nothing to do with giving an award to artists that have contributed to the Korean music industry; it was to create more controversy and attract more attention.

As discussed above, the reason behind the credibility of MAMA being under criticism is possibly due to the fact that its uncomfortable relationship with SME stopped SME’s artists from appearing at the ceremony, combined with the ceremony’s focus on more controversial, attention-grabbing content rather than fair and credible distribution of awards.

So what can Mnet do in order to improve MAMA? In my opinion, MAMA should minimize or get rid of the award ceremony format and stick to what it does the best: featuring special performances. Artists have put in lots of time and effort into preparing once-in-a-lifetime stages for the fans and it is unfortunate to see them being buried by controversy and drama surrounding awards. With their credibility down to the ground, perhaps Mnet should just focus on a concert-esque celebration rather than controversial awards that result in debates and boycotts. That way, we might get to see SME artists and trot singers perform in next year’s MAMA.

cr: allkpop

No popular programa de variedades WAHSBBT, vários artistas do CPop World dançaram hits do universo KPop. Alguns dos artistas lá presentes escolheram músicas americanas ou JPop, mas a maioria escolheu músicas originalmente interpretadas por coreanos. Confira:

~Wei Yu dançando Heartbreaker de G-Dragon~

~Tan Guo dançando Eat You Up e Look Who’s Talking de BoA~

~Ye Shou dançando Noona is So Pretty (Replay) e Ring Ding Dong do SHINee~

~Yu Tu dançando Genie do SNSD~

~Xiao Mo dançando I’m Coming e Rainism do Rain~

~Hong Shi dançando Gara Gara Go do Big Bang~

Muitos disseram ter se desapontado com a performance de Yu Tu e alguns disseram que Tan Guo dançou bem, porém ninguém devia ao menos tentar imitar BoA, uma vez que ela é a melhor cantora-dançarina da Ásia.

Baseado no artigo de GhostWriter@allkpop | Traduzido e alterado por NazakawaSadako@WordPress | Vídeos concedidos por CpopAcsess

NÃO RETIRAR SEM OS DEVIDOS CRÉDITOS!

vid cred: BigBangShineeFanz @ YT

yeahz i knoe its like 4-5 day l8…but 4 a GD fan…noting is late…a great performance^^ …. uhmm if ur eyes r good…u’ll notice sumting towards da end of da perf/vid. Tell me what u see… & we’ll C if we see da same ting!!! hahahaahaha

if u hevnt seen it…here’s a hint: SUMTING RIPPED!!!! well maybe…but it looks like it… hahahaha guess!!!! *evil evil laff*  da outfits is olmost purely white….but towards da end…ders tis small “black hole” sumwer.  but den agen..it mite jaz be da buckle of his belt –dat looked like a “hole” or may be i dunno… hahahadem too much of a gimme… such a spoiler i am eh!!!^^ or i guess im jaz “misled” to it!

can any1kindly pls givoe me a link ,if der is a pix of tis???!!!! puahahahaha  muchos gracias!^^

man…i wished i saw tis live! hahahaha *for da reason above* LMAO *perve mode*

okie…lemme jaz clarify tis….u may b wondering wat a GD vid doin’ in my WP…well in BB…ders tis 2 boys i perve… i mean i like…TOP & GDragon…u can verify tis..ask my umma^^ *winkz*

& 2ndly let’s jaz say tis is an OFFICIAL DECLARATION: LaLa is WAGING A GD WAR wif LOU UNNIE!!!! hahahahaaha *notty mode*

so choose ur side!!! my track record? — pretty good!!! hahahaha ask umma how i pestered her, while im on “MINNIE NAP MODE“! hahaha

P.S lou unnie…u knoe dat tis is ol 4 love… as i say always 2 umma…da MORE i TEASE, da BIGGER da Love! hahaha —   my version of JaeMin’s “ONE TOUCH LOVE!”

ENJOY!

That warms hearts and looks like someone else’s. Hehe. So it was that a few days ago my dear friend Laila, Notebook Darling, sent me a picture of SHINee’s MinHo. Telling me that he smiles just like me, or that I smile just like him. Either way, she said that the smiles look like eachother.Yaaaa…

MinHo & Mariska, ya our smiles DO look a like

I tried looking for a better picture but was too lazy to look further after I found this one from my birthday. Also, Laila told me it looks like MinHo’s smile so I guess it was a good picture afterall. So me and Laila are going to Korea (I wish) and we’re going to look for SHINee. To get cutie MinHo to go on a date with Laila. Not only that, I’ll be telling JongHyun that I totally adore his new haircut! Love my Hello Kitty Hat.

Wow, as if this post isn’t going to be about enough looks. I bleached my hair again, this time going from my black roots and orange-ish color to a more white, blonde look. I guess I’m hopping from Korean celebrity to celebrity. Starting at “my twin” Lee HongKi and moved on to a more.. G-Dragon color. When it comes to the hair that is. Though my hair is a bit more yellow and a little less white. But you know, GD’s hair, I really disliked it at first. The cover of ‘Heartbreaker’, ya… no.

Sorry for the ‘oh so’ stupid picture, just that I didn’t have any picture of my new hair yet (yes! I know, shocking) so I had to take one quickly. Plus the light in my room sucks. But hey, I like my hair. So let me like it ok? Oh, and then there’s my wigs that I finally got in too! Yesterday to be exactly, the day I went to get my hair done, got a text message from my dad that the wigs came in. I was excited! And of course I have a picture too, you know, camwhore mode. Well, besides this I have nothing else to tell, actually. I think I might do some math homework then. And continue to watch Fantastic Four.

Power of the wig~

The Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) came to an end Saturday, but unfortunately, there were some shortcomings despite it being called Asia’s best music award event.

The much-anticipated event was held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium, with young fans lined up near the entrances in hopes of catching a glimpse of some of their favorite K-pop singers.

Mnet Media scrapped its 10-year Mnet KM Music Festival (MKMF) in October, announcing that it was bringing an upgraded music event for not only fans in Korea, but throughout Asia as well. While the overall show was entertaining, it failed to truly captivate fans with its results and concept.

The red carpet entrance was a good way to kick off the six-hour event, with female singers donning stylish outfits, mostly in black, some in fur and others in leather.

MAMA offered eight main stages, or “waves,” each with special concepts and performances.

The first wave, “Asian Fever,” featured Drunken Tiger, who later won the Best Male Solo Artist. The award for the Best Female Solo Artist went to Baek Ji-young. The Best New Male Artist went to the Supreme Team, while 2NE1 won the Best New Female Artist, and two other awards eventually, including the Best Music Video and, one of the grand prizes, the Best Song of the Year for “I Don’t Care.”

The second wave, “Girls x Girls,” featured top girl groups the Brown Eyed Girls, which won the Best Female Group and Best House & Electronic awards, and KARA, which won Best Dance.

Seo In-gook, the winner of the Mnet’s popular reality program, “Superstar K,” also performed in the third wave, “Super Stardom,” while the fourth wave, “21st Street,” featured the girl group 2NE1 performing in a short musical skit. The stage was decorated like a small village with shops and a two-story house, which was where Park Bom sang her solo number “You And I.” The musical was lively with the members singing “I Don’t Care,” with a chorus line twist, but the signboards were embarrassing, misspelling a couple of words, including “coffee.”

After former g.o.d. member Kim Tae-woo received the Best Ballad/R&B award, the stage made way for the Best Asian Star, TVXQ. The first official appearance of the three members Xiah, Micky and Hero since the dispute with their agency started surprised fans for two reasons: one was because the group’s agency SM Entertainment boycotted the event citing flaws in the judging system and the second was because they appeared without the other two members. The three members are currently engaged in a legal dispute with SM regarding their contracts and cosmetic business.

“We are very happy as the award was given by our Asian fans. For our fans, and also our two friends who may be watching this somewhere, we would like to say that we love you,” Hero said.

The fifth wave “Free to the Women” brought an exciting lineup of female rappers, while the sixth wave “World of Temptation” captivated fans and singers with a vampire-inspired stage featuring sexy singer Ivy and 2PM’s Nichkhun.

Park Jin-young, the creator of the Wonder Girls, also made a special appearance to receive the Best Asian Composer award.

Big Bang members Tae-yang and G-Dragon rocked the seventh wave, “Korean Dream,” dressed in black and white with impressive dance moves. The last wave was a tribute to veteran singer Sim Soo-bong, who was the first singer to make it to the MAMA Hall of Fame. Singers Kim Tae-woo, Epik High and Seo In-young sang some of Sim’s best songs, while all the singers came on stage to congratulate the singer.

Along with 2NE1’s win for Song of the Year, the other two grand prizes went to G-Dragon for Album of the Year and 2PM for Artist of the Year.

“Thank you, Jae-beom. I know you’re watching. We love you,” Chan-sung said in tears, referring to the group’s leader who left the group after being criticized for his comments he made of Korea when he was a trainee. Fans also expressed their excitement and sorrow by screaming out Jae-beom and the group’s name.

The event ended with Tiger JK from Drunken Tiger promising a bigger event next year and, indeed, MAMA needs improvements to live up to expectations.

The event did surprise fans with congratulatory messages from famous singers, including Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas and even Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls.

However, despite the title, there was nothing Asian about MAMA. No Asian singers other than ones from Korea were nominated in even one of the main 19 categories, nor were there any foreign artists performing on the local stage, except for two short performances by Asian Recommended winners Bang Bang Tang from China, which was carried out in Chinese with no subtitles, and Japanese group AKB 48 in Japan.

Along with frequent camera mistakes, the event did not include some of the most popular groups, including Girls’ Generation and Super Junior, while famous trot singers such as Jang Yoon-jeong and Park Hyun-bin also boycotted the event, questioning the fairness in selecting candidates for the newly established Best Trot award.

The launch of the new event this year seemed like a teaser trailer, full of catchy acts and sequences, minus some key players and reasonable ratings. According to Mnet Media, MAMA will be held in different regions in Asia next year. Perhaps this will help the event live up to expectations as Asia’s best music awards, but for now, it has a long way to go.

Source/Credit: KoreanTimes

I think 2pm deserved the Artist of the Year award, 2NE1’s Song of the Year-I Don’t Care(I personally loved that song), and G-Dragon’s Album of the Year award-Heartbreaker. I am proud to say that I watched MAMA from the beginning to the end.

I loved everybody’s performances especially 2NE1’s G-Dragon’s and 2PM’s and most of the “waves”. I am initially happy for the Brown Eyed Girls’ Abracadabra won the best dance of the year award!

After the MAMA, netizens who also watched the awards night live commented, criticized, and questioned –why is it called Mnet Asian Music Awards if they made most of the talking people in front are Koreans?(well, yeah some may be Japanese or Chinese..etc)

I am personally happy because I have watched MAMA live. Yes, maybe the netizens that are questioning about the MAMA are right, maybe then, they are wrong.

My reply is: this is the first time they did it. It will hopefully be improved next year, or the other year, or the other year. But I am happy that Lollipop(Bang Bang Tang) performed, even though without Wang Zi and Xiao Jie. This is the first time that I have watched AKB48 live and I think they are kinda cute too.

I hope that MAMA 2010 will improve and I recommend them to get hosts who knows how to speak English(because they are showing it live, and how can people who doesn’t understand their language understand what they are saying) -my opinion:)

oh yeah, I almost forgot about TVXQ/DBSK–so happy for them. They really are gaining popularity here on Asia!

I woke up a little late, but it is Monday and here is my little wrap-up of last weekend.  I know MAMA is done and over with, and last night was the AMA’s, but here it is, just so no one thinks I missed out on anything (not that there was much to miss out on, anyway).  It will be quick and easy because I was unenthused for the most part.

***

I’ll start with Korea’s MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards)

First, I’m just going to get this outta the way – who witnessed THIS unfortunate incident??

I thought it was kinda funny that G-Dragon rocked so damn hard that he bust his seems, and in the most  inconvenient area.  I wonder if he noticed, or worse, felt it the second it happened… xP

…anyway, the list of winners are as follows:

• Best Rock BooHal
• Best House & Electronic Brown Eyed Girls Abracadabra
• Best Ballad R&B Kim Tae Woo ‘Love Rain’
• Best Male Solo Artist Tiger JK
• Best New Male Artist Supreme Team
• Best New Female Artist – 2NE1
• Best Trot Hong Jin Young
• Best Dance KARA Honey
• Best Mixed Gender Group 8eight
• Best Hip Hop LeeSSANG
• Best Music Video – FIRE – 2NE1
• Best Female Solo Artist Baek Ji Young
• Best Asian Composer JYP
• 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards Recommended AKB48
• Best Female Group Brown Eyed Girls
• Best Male Group 2PM
• 2009 Album Of The Year G-Dragon with “Heartbreaker”
• 2009 Song Of The Year 2NE1 – I Don’t care
• 2009 Artist Of The Year 2PM
• Mnet Music Portal Award – 2NE1
• CGV Popularity Award: Super Junior (Did not attend..)
• Overseas Viewer Award: Super Junior
• Mobile Popularity Award: Super Junior
• Director of Music Video Award: Hong Won K

I’m indifferent about the performances on Saturday night’s award show.  1.) I didn’t like the stage 2.) I detested the camera work and 3.) the performers lacked a bit of something…what is it…um, stage presence?  I like a lot of the songs that were performed at MAMA, but I was left a little underwhelmed by most of the acts.

***

And speaking of ‘acts‘, act 1, 2, and 3 of 2NE1’s 21st Street Musical was the most uncomfortable I’ve seen those ladies, ever.  The whole thing was scary.  See, the idea was great, but when I saw it for the first time on Saturday, I had no clue why they decided to stick with it.

If it was awkward for me to watch from my computer, who knows what the audience was thinking.

Act 1: KISS by Sandara – was all over the place.  The dancing was strange.  I noticed that Dara’s section of the stage said Club KISS, so I didn’t quite understand why the dancers were whirling around doing pirouettes.  Whirling in a club??  Don’t think so, and the cameraman hardly focused on Dara, and not to mention the terrible lighting at times… -_-

Act 2: You and I by Bom -  She looked adorable in her little house set, but on the contrary to Dara’s lack of focus from the cameraman, with Bom, all we had was her standing there while you’d get a glimpse of people scurrying around in the background.  She sounded good, though, but this is where I was thinking to myself ; “what does this have to do with act 1?“

Act 3: Please Don’t Go by CL and Minji – And this is where I realized that the entire concept of a musical was thrown out of the window. CL and Minji’s outfits are a little questionable, but this performance taken out of the whole musical was probably the best one.

As for the ending number, I thought it was dreadful.  I hope YG doesn’t put 2NE1 through something like this again, cuz it was not that great.

21st Street:

I still love 2NE1, though. 

***

Brown Eyed Girls performed Sign, which wasn’t half bad, actually.  The beginning in particular was really nice.  They looked stun-ning!  They also performed a little number with KARA, dancing to a mix of Mister and Abracadabra, which was pretty hot, too.

Miryo took part in a little rap get-together with rappers from other female groups and, oddly enough, rapped to Lil’ Mama’s Lip Gloss.  To be honest, I don’t take any of these ladies as serious rappers.  Especially that girl with the black fur coat – she annoyed me with her sudden squeals.

***

G-Dragon and Taeyang performed their solo songs, along with a duet of Korean Dream.  Korean Dream was one of the better performances, I think.  G-Dragon’s DJ section was nice.

As for their solo songs, I saw no purpose for having all those men standing there on stage for Heartbreaker, doing absolutely nothing.  And I hurt a little when Taeyang did that flip and crotch landing on the floor.

Heartbreaker:

Wedding Dress and Where U At:

***

2PM performed Heartbeat, which was actually really good.  They looked good and their hairstyle still makes me laugh.  JYP comes up somewhere in the middle and ‘pretends’ to conduct an orchestra.  But he redeems himself for poor orchestra knowledge with all the cool effects that later followed.  I think he took those flashy glasses from Miryo.  xD  Near the end, 2PM performs Again & Again.

***

Then there was this number.  Netizens aren’t too happy about this, mainly fangirls who are oozing with jealousy.  I, personally, thought this was a good performance.  Nichkhun was obviously part of the whole thing, but there are people out there that believe Ivy drew him up and made him uncomfortable by force.  No, no, no, uncomfortable is far from what he felt.  And the cleavage shouldn’t be an issue, I mean, if you’re listening to the song, Ivy is making it pretty clear that she wants to be touched.  A lot.

when a performance gets super heated like this, no one should take it seriously.  She was putting on a show, that’s what performers do, and she did a great job, no?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

on to the AMA’s (American Music Awards) which was broadcast on Sunday night.

o_o

I have one word to describe it:

Boring

Here is a complete list of winners:

• Artist of the Year: Taylor Swift

• Pop-Rock:

Male artist: Michael Jackson

Female artist: Taylor Swift

Band, duo or group: Black Eyed Peas

Album: Michael Jackson, “Number Ones”

• Soul-R&B:

Male artist: Michael Jackson

Female artist: Beyonce

Band, duo or group: Black Eyed Peas

Album: Michael Jackson, “Number Ones”

• Rap-Hip-Hop:

Artist: Jay-Z

Album: Jay-Z, “Blueprint 3″

• Country:

Male artist: Keith Urban

Female artist: Taylor Swift

Band, duo or group: Rascal Flatts

Album: Taylor Swift, “Fearless”

• Adult Contemporary: Taylor Swift

• Alternative Rock: Green Day

• Latin: Aventura

• Contemporary Inspirational: Mary Mary

• Soundtrack Album: “Twilight Soundtrack”

• T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist Award: Gloriana

• International Award of Excellence: Whitney Houston

A pile of artists performed.  Janet Jackson opened the night with a decent melody of songs.  She was clearly lip-syncing, but that’s not a big shocker, since she always does that.  There were some boring performances in between.  One that I did enjoy was Shakira.  I thought she was amazing.  I thought it was funny when many women started dancing sexually in front of all the celebrities; you could tell they were awkwarded out.  I didn’t know the song Rihanna performed, so I didn’t like it.  Lady Gaga kept it pretty safe with the most outrageous part being a flaming piano.  And I think that’s where I stopped watching the award show because it was so goddamn boring.  I read that Jennifer Lopez fell on her butt, which was probably hilarious, since she’s struggling to break out on the music scene again…

Click here for the official AMA website.

***

]]> http://mariahcareymusic.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/musical-career-of-mariah-carey/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:40:13 +0000 mariahcareymusic http://mariahcareymusic.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/musical-career-of-mariah-carey/

Mariah Carey’s eponymous debut album was released in 1990. She co-wrote the tracks on the album and has continued to do so since. Mariah Carey reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Four number one singles were released from the album and Carey won two Grammys – Best New Artist and Best Female Vocal Pop Performance (for ‘Vision of Love.’)

The second album, Emotions was a tribute to Motown. Released in 1991, Emotions did not sell as well as her debut, nor did it fare as well with the music press. However, when the title track was released as a single,Mariah Carey became the only act in history to have their first five singles go to number one in the US.

Eager to quash rumours that her voice was heavily effected in the studio, Carey overcame the stage fright that prevented her from touring and featured on MTV Unplugged in 1992.

In 1993, her third album, Music Box was released and spawned her first UK number one single, a cover of Badfinger’s ‘Without You’. ‘Dreamlover’ and ”Hero’ were both US number ones.

The next year, Carey duetted with Luther Vandross on a cover of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross’ ‘Endless Love’. The track was a hit and Carey followed it up with a festive album, Merry Christmas. The original track, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ was a huge worldwide hit (her first in Japan).The album became the most successful Christmas album of all time.

1995 saw the release of Mariah Carey’s fifth album, Daydream. ‘Fantasy’, the single featuring rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard, debuted at number one and the album became her biggest selling release in the US, as well as gaining her six Grammy award nominations.

Butterfly was released in 1997 and although it was a success, failed to achieve the sales of her previous releases. In 1998, Mariah Carey recorded a duet with Whitney Houston. ‘When You Believe’ was recorded for the Prince of Egypt soundtrack and won an Academy Award.

Rainbow was Carey’s seventh album, released in 1999. ‘Heartbreaker’, featuring Jay-Z, was a number one single and made Carey the only artist to have had a number one in each year of the 1990s.

Leaving Columbia records at the turn of the century, Carey signed a contract with EMI. The deal was reported to be worth $80 million.

When Carey eventually released Glitter, (the semi-autobiographical film and accompanying soundtrack that she had been working on for some time), it was largely derided by the press and proved to be Mariah’s worst selling release.

Shortly after the release of Glitter, Columbia released a Greatest Hits album. However, this also failed to sell well. In 2002, Virgin bought out Carey’s contract for $28 million. With a new contract under her belt, Carey released Charmbracelet.The album preformed badly in the album charts and her vocal abilities were criticised in the media. In 2004, however, she was awarded the Chopard Diamond award for selling more than 100 million albums worldwide.

The Emancipation of Mimi was Carey’s 10th album, released in 2005. The album became the best-selling album of the year in the US. Two years later, she received a ‘recording star’ on the Hollywood Wall of Fame. She was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame the same year.

E=MC2, Carey’s 11th album, as released in 2008. The lead single, ‘Touch My Body’ became her 18th number one in the Billboard Hot 100, making her second only to The Beatles, who have had 21 number one singles. E=MC2 was her sixth number one album.

Any of you the readers who were not following our previous incarnation, mystromusic.com, wouldn’t know yet the obsession we have for K-Pop or Korean Pop Music.

For those of you who do know, this is the post you have been waiting for! A countdown of the Top 10 K-Pop Songs from the last year.

This list is constructed from accumulating sales data from the internet and physical charts, hype, awards Won, international popularity, the artist’s profile, among other things, but is mainly sales focused.

Without further adue, let’s start counting down.

First a few honorable mention for artists who just missed the cut.

KARA- Honey, Mister and Wanna were all massive hits and gained this girl group a big profile.

4MINUTE- Were almost the biggest rookie group of the year, with the hits, Muzik and Hot Issue.

BIG BANG&2NE1- Lollipop was only a promo single, but it introduced the biggest rookie group of the year, 2NE1.

#10- SHInee – Ring Ding Dong

3 weeks at No.1, their highest selling album to date plus having the entire teenage girl population week at the knees, makes SHInee #10.

NL2T Rating: Song: 2.5/5

Video: 3/5

#9- Son Dambi – Saturday Night

2 weeks at No.1, an 80’s inspired sound and millions of endorsement deals launched Son Dambi in to the spotlight as the country’s biggest Diva, making her #9.

NL2T Rating: Song: 3.5/5

Video: 3/5

#8- 2NE1 – Fire

Fire was the first single for this new urban girl group, 2NE1, winning countless awards and hitting the top of most Asian charts makes Fire #8

NL2T Rating: Song: 4/5

Video: 3.5/5

#7- Girls Generation – Tell me Your Wish

Tell Me Your Wish or Genie caused a massive mix of commotion and hype with sexy choreography and navy uniforms, Girls Generation had most of the korean men paying attention and also had their highest selling album to date. #7

NL2T Rating: Song: 4.5/5

Video: 3/5

#6- 2PM – Again & Again

Again & Agin was the big breakthrough for the 7-member boy band, spending 2 weeks at No.1, the fandom that 2PM caused with the Again & Again was only something a record company could dream of, the biggest boy band at the moment makes 2PM. #6

NL2T Rating: Song: 3/5

Video: 3/5

#5- Brown Eyed Girls – Abracadabra

Abracadabra was a do or die single for Brown Eyed Girls, with a sexy concept they captivated the whole nation with their saucy moves. Spending months in the charts and creating the biggest dance craze of the year is what make BEG #5

NL2T Rating: Song: 4.5/5

Video: 4/5

#4- 2NE1 – I Don’t Care

This is the second entry in the countdown for 2NE1. With I Don’t Care they brought back girl power with a mid tempo sing-a-long song that told the boys to sit down and shut up. 5 weeks at No.1, huge record sales this was the song that launched 2NE1 into superstardom. #4

NL2T Rating: Song: 3/5

Video: 3/5

#3- G-Dragon – Heartbreaker

Possibly the most anticipated record of the year was G-Dragon’s first solo album Heartbreaker. The title song spent 5 weeks at No.1 and launched this young rapper as an Icon of the music industry. GD is #3

NL2T Rating: Song: 3/5

Video: 3.5/5

#2- Super Junior – Sorry Sorry

The biggest boy band in the world(13 members) created a wave of fandom that went global, Sorry Sorry spent 5 weeks at No.1 in Korea and went to No.1 in almost every Asian country. Super Junior is #2

NL2T Rating: Song: 3.5/5

Video: 3/5

The Biggest K-Pop song of the year is ?

#1- Girls Generation – Gee

This song broke more records than Micheal Phelps could ever dream of! 9 Weeks at No.1 which is a record. An infectious love song, Gee was the most parodied song of the year, won the most awards, had the catchiest choreography and had the whole nation singing every lyric. The highest charting song in korean history make Gee #1

NL2T Rating: Song: 4.5/5

Video: 4/5

Yay for K-Pop!

Wczoraj odbyło się Mnet Asian Music Awards czyli MAMA. Nie było newsa o tym wczoraj bo oczywiście jak dzieje się coś mega ważnego nie ma mnie w domu -.-

Nasz GD wygrał nagrodę za najlepszy album roku! No najważniejsza nagroda jaką można było wygrać więc jestem z niego dumna:D Mimo, że BB nic nie wygrali YG Ent. nas nie zawiodło!

Best Song of the Year – 2NE1
Best New Female Artist of the Year – 2NE1
Best Music Video of the Year – 2NE1
Music Portal Mnet Award – 2NE1
Best Album Of the Year – G-Dragon

2NE1 wygrały aż cztery nagrody! Gratulacje! Trzeba też pogratulować 2PM którzy wygrali w kategoriach: najlepszy artysta roku i najlepszy boysband roku! No ale to strona o BB więc skończę już tą dygresję.

Oto nasz wspaniały G-Dragon i jego spasiony psiak na czerwonym dywanie. Chociaż nie taki spasiony, chyba go tatuś odchudził specjalnie na tą uroczystość ;P

Kocham jego nowy wygląd. I ten kolczyk! Dobrze, że obczaiłam gdzie można kupić taki sam xD

Tu jest jego występ:

Tu TaeYang z Where U At i Wedding Dress:

Youngbae co sie stało na początku? No cóż… potem na szczęście było już lepiej. A tu Korean Dream:

No i ponieważ wspomniałam wcześniej o 2NE1 a były genialne to zobaczcie co pokazały dziewczyny:

Jutro dostaniecie jeszcze foty bo mam ich za dużo żeby wrzucać dzisiaj, a musze się jeszcze trochę pojarać moim nowym heartbreakerem xD

What’s an award show without some bad ass performances?

Last year’s MKMF not only celebrated music artists but they also went all out to celebrate their 10th year anniversary as a show.  So how much pressure was the newly developed MAMA awards under?

Two words. A LOT.

Hot Red Carpet Performances

Pre-show performances always get the fans bumpin’ and hypes up not only the crowd, but also the artidyd themsleves, and there wer some good quality performances this year.

Carpet performances featured MBLAQ, BEAST, Taegoon, ChungLim and Supreme Team. MBLAQ made a Rain Tribute by performing Rain’s smash hit, Bad Guy, that included a dance solo from no one other then, Sandara’s brother, Thunder. BEAST rocked the stage with Big Bang’s Lies and emulated them so much, it was darn near freaky. Taegoon recalled his Shinhwa battle stage by doing a really rockin’ routine of Shinhwa’s Perfect Man. AJ’s long lost brother, Chung Lim, also did a dance breakdown while singinghis single, Passion. And finally, Supreme Team was the definitely the underdog of them all since most people didn’t know they existed until now! The duo were the opening event of the red carpet treatment and The red hot carpet performances got everyone even more stoked that they were either there or tuning in.

MBLAQ – Bad Guy

Taegoon – Perfect Man Dance

BEAST – Lies

Supreme Team

ChungLim – Passion

Girl Power
Everyone knew that this year was the year of the girl bands and the songs they sang literally rocked throughout every where. From Brown Eyed Girls’ Abracadabra, to KARA’s Mister, all the way to Girl’s Generation’s “Gee,” there wasn’t a guy in sight NOT trying to the dance.

This year’s awards show showed not only some fierce rap divas but also musicals and hip sway action that had never been done. Check them all below!

T(Tasha) + Miryo +Hyun Ah + JiYoon + Baby J – Lip Gloss + Pay Day

BEG + KARA

2NE1- The Musical on 21st Street

4minute – Muzik

Baek Ji Young + Seo InGuk – 잊지 말아요

IVY + 2PM’s Nickhun Touch Me

Last but not least: The Boy Bands

From 2PM, to the return of GDYB, to Drunken Tiger’s monster opening, who could forget the boy bands? The collabs were awesome and the stage was rockin!!

Seo In Young + Kim Tae Woo + Epik High

Drunken Tiger – Opening + Monster

2PM – Heartbeat + Again & Again

Taeyang – Where U At + Wedding Dress

G-Dragon – Heartbreaker

GDYB – Korean Dream

Though the “Korean Dream” performance disappointed me, I did enjoy the rest of the show that GD put on and I still of course adore him. I’m so glad that he won the Album of the Year award. Heartbreaker is definitely my favorite album of 2009, so I think it is much deserved. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for G-Dragon. Here are some delicious pics from the MAMAs! Please enjoy!

I think GD looks super cute here^. Not sure why he brought Gaho with him though…

Performing^ “Heartbreaker”.

Sooooo cute! I wish those lips^ were kissing me!

Gorgeous! I’m going to miss the blonde hair though. It was soooo cute!

Please enjoy these photos. Credit as marked.

See you during Inkigayo!

Packed with excellent performances for the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) 2009! Too bad SM artists (except JaeChunSu from DBSK) weren’t there. And no SS501. I thought KARA wasn’t going but I guess they did after all. ANYWAY without further ado…MAMA 2009 Performances!

Ivy ft. Nichkhun (2PM) with ‘World of Temptation’ + ‘Touch Me’
~~Ivy is LOVE! and i can imagine the jealous fangirls LOL I can hear them too

Performances under the cut!!!
-2NE1 with musical ’21st Street’
~~with Dara’s ‘Kiss’ + Bom’s ‘You and I’ + CL & Minzy Duet ‘Please Don’t Go’ + ‘I Don’t Care’
-BEAST with ‘Lies’ by Big Bang
~~again Doojoon’s not there, as he wasn’t on MuCore…is he sick? either way, good perf! this song gives me soo many memories…
-Taeyang (Big Bang) with ‘Where U At’ + ‘Wedding Dress’
~~he did the splits! o.o he lost his sunglasses XD when he did the flip
-G-Dragon & Taeyang (Big Bang) with ‘Korean Dream’
-G-Dragon (Big Bang) with ‘Heartbreaker’
-Brown Eyed Girls & KARA with ‘Abracadabra’ + ‘Mister’ remix
~~aweeeeesome! what a smexy perf! saucy hip swing AND the butt dance in one!
-Brown Eyed Girls with ‘Sign (orchestra remix)’
~~sorta weird with the orchestra IMO
-Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls) + Ha Joo Yun (Jewelry) + HyunA (4Minute) + JiYoon (4Minute) Free to the Woman Perf with ‘Lip Gloss’ + ‘Mayday’
-Seo In Kook & Baek Ji Young with ‘Don’t Forget’
-2PM ft JYP with ‘My Heart’ + ‘Heartbeat’ + ‘Again & Again’
~~great perf
-Seo In Young with ‘That Person of that Time’
-Seo In Young + Kim Tae Woo + Epik High + Shim Soo Bong with ‘I Love You All I Know’
-Seo In Young + Kim Tae Woo + Epik High with ‘1 Million Roses’
-MBLAQ with ‘Bad Guy’ by Rain/Bi
~~pretty good perf
-AKB48 with ‘River’
~~eh…not fond of this group…i don’t like huge Japanese girlgroups…and i always found this group’s name sounded like a gun XDDD
-KARA ft. Dr. Core 911 with ‘Honey’
-Seo In Kook & My Son with ‘Boom Boom Pow’
-Seo In Kook & MFM Church Choir with ‘Calling You’
-4Minute with ‘Muzik’

2NE1 with musical ’21st Street’

BEAST with ‘Lies’ by Big Bang

Taeyang with ‘Where U At’ + ‘Wedding Dress’

G-Dragon & Taeyang with ‘Korean Dream’

G-Dragon with ‘Heartbreaker’

Brown Eyed Girls & KARA with ‘Abracadabra’ + ‘Mister’ remix

Brown Eyed Girls with ‘Sign (orchestra remix)’

Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls) + Ha Joo Yun (Jewelry) + HyunA (4Minute) + JiYoon (4Minute) Free to the Woman Perf with ‘Lip Gloss’ + ‘Mayday’

Seo In Kook & Baek Ji Young with ‘Don’t Forget’

2PM ft JYP with ‘My Heart’ + ‘Heartbeat’ + ‘Again & Again’

Seo In Young with ‘That Person of that Time’

Seo In Young + Kim Tae Woo + Epik High + Sim Soo Bong with ‘I Love You All I Know’

Seo In Young + Kim Tae Woo + Epik High with ‘1 Million Roses’

MBLAQ with ‘Bad Guy’ by Rain/Bi

AKB48 with ‘River’

KARA ft. Dr. Core 911 with ‘Honey’

Seo In Kook & My Son with ‘Boom Boom Pow’

Seo In Kook & MFM Church Choir with ‘Calling You’

4Minute with ‘Muzik’

Haha K.will.. depuis qu’il a collaboré avec Outsider, il kiffe le rap hein. hehe. Mais le truc qui gache tout c’est le bonnet (à moins que le bonnet était attaché avec la perruque). Hihi à “I still still be there” -> Mode Abracadabra et Again & Again. Petit comique x). Bref c’était une bonne performance

He did a splendid job!
He added his own flavor to it, and he did so good at rapping when he is not even a rapper. His dancing was really good also. He pulled it off really well in my opinion. Did you guys like it?

Before we get to the performace, here is GD and Gaho on the red carpet! hee… Gaho look so much bigger now.

2NE1 performed first~~~

And here is some 2NE1 action! GO CL, GO MINZY, GO BOM, GO DARA!

Act 1: Sandara’s “KISS”
Act 2: Bom’s “YOU AND I”
Act 3: CL+Minzy “PLEASE DONT GO”
Broadway version of 2NE1’s “I dont care”

I totally enjoyed the performance overall. The musical theme was awesome! Dara might be lacking a little in her vocals when she was performing “Kiss”, but her expression and interaction with Lee Yong Woo made it alllll up!

Bom unni looked so sweet in her dress while singing “You and I”. Everything worked for me here. From the setting of the stage (Bom in the attic), to her dress and the way she sang.

But my FAVOURITE part was CL and MINZY’s COLLABORATION! OK. This is a MUST WATCH! I wanna get Minzy’s pants. It looks so good. And did u guys notice Kim Tae Woo oppa and GD’s expression. Tae Woo oppa was totally enjoying himself and showing the girls lots of support! GD looks glad. haha, smiling to himself, noding to the beat.  Back to the girls, they were filled with energy, their vocals were stable despite the dancing  and they really looked like they were enjoying themselves. Well, YG babies really know how to enjoy themselves while performing dont they? 

Next, we have GD+YB!!!!!!
KOREAN DREAM (7 WAVE)

GD performed “Heartbreaker” and once again, Jiyong is all out to proof that he’s different! Yay, Love his attitude. With all the kpop boy idols copying GD’s signature “Heartbreaker” blonde hair, GD has change it back to his original colour. Thats my man! haha… He did a different rendition of his hit solo, this time round with a rock edgy feel to it. Ok, the way he decended was kinda feaky, but other than that, he did GREAT! Many might find his coat odd, but VIPs never doubt Jiyong’s unique sense of fashion ya?
(Have u guys thought of why there are so many blondes just standing there in the “heartbreaker” masks? ahem, I think I figured out what they mean…) 

Next up was YB with “Where U at” and “Wedding Dress”

I went wild when I saw him appearing with his shades, standing alone with no dancers. I guess YB alone was able to pull it off and he DID. We can all see how much he gave with the overflowing amount of energy that was potrayed in the dance. WOW, I still prefer the effect with the dancers though. The impact was wayyy off the roof when the dancers came in. Although YB was tired from dancing, he still managed the vocals well. Not perfect, but not bad either. Looks like its a give and take kinda stuff. YB, theres still room for improvement. FIGHTING!!! You can do better!

The HIGHLIGHT!!! “KOREAN DREAM”

YB-Black, GD-White. I LOVE THE CONTRAST when the 2 groups stood beside each other. What else can I say? haha.. GD was awesome at working the crowd. With his random screams and and badass attitude, no wonder the crowd went wild. Gosh, I wanna go watch SHINE A LIGHT so badly now… Besides that, GD’s short remix + YB’s dance= PERFECTION.

And not forgeting YG’s SCOREBOARD:
Best Song of the yr: 2NE1
Best New Female Artist of the yr: 2NE1
Best MV of the yr: 2NE1
Music Portal Mnet award: 2NE1
BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR: G-DRAGON!!!!

Well, Big bang might have lost Best Group to 2PM, but I’m sure the VIPS arnt complaining since our leader got a really prestigous one! Plus, BB didnt have much activities or rumors (Phew) to constantly put them in the headlines. Next year, they will be back, READY TO DOMINATE!!!

Credits: juicebox21, ibigbang, alwaystaeyang

Thats all I have, Im tired. haha… too much excitement in one night. Till later, Im out!

K. Will is known for his strong vocals and powerful voice, but no one would recognize him for his dancing. He is not a dancer, so to see him move this good to G-Dragon’s hard choreography is impressive. Now I’m even more excited to see his performance on ‘KJE’s Chocolate’. I like the fact that he sang the song in his own style, it brings out his originality, and wow he has a really powerful voice!

Singer K. Will surprised everyone when he transformed into G-Dragon.

K. Will attended the recording of SBS “Kim Jung Eun’s Chocolate’ which will be broadcasted on November 21st, and he surprised the crowd when he came out with unconventional and styling clothing similar to that of G-Dragon’s “Heartbreaker” image. K. Will even had the blonde hair, it was a nice surprise for the audience with a hot stage by K. Will.

Wow how long has it been since G-Dragon performed this song? Yet celebrities and fans can’t stop talking about it, G-Dragon is a hot issue indeed! K. Will is a great singer, too bad he is so underrated.

According to Shibuya Tower Records, G-Dragon’s “Heartbreaker” is the #1 most sold Album in all of Asia for two months straight!

Not only that but 2NE1 is right behind their big brother G-Dragon, at number 2! YG Family has been extremely successful this year.

credits+thanx : ibigbang+wendy

**wow 2ne1 been no.2 like for about 2 months**

G-Dragon: Ta-da, jak myślicie, co to!?ㅎㅎ Jestem teraz w Korei południowej. Muszę ciężko pracować nad przygotowaniem mnóstwa rzeczyㅜ Dziękuję za całe wsparcie i za przybycie! To będzie szalone^^

Tak, to wiadomość od samego G-Dragona xD. W końcu już piątego i szóstego jego pierwszy solowy koncert! Powodzenia oppa!

Niestety co za tym idzie G-Dragon nie będzie już występował ani pojawiał się w show. Yang HyunSeok powiedział: “Aby przygotować się do nadchodzącego koncertu który odbędzie się 5 i 6 grudnia na Stadionie Olimpijskim w Seulu G-Dragon, nie będzie występował publicznie”

Dodał też: “G-Dragon przygotowuje też specjalne wydarzenie, które będzie miało miejsce w grudniu. To będzie coś czego fani się nie spodziewają”

Co to może być? Ah, G-Dragon nas rozpieszcza, nie sądzicie?

According to Shibuya Tower Records, G-Dragon’s “Heartbreaker” is the #1 most sold Album in all of Asia for two months straight!

Not only that but 2NE1 is right behind their big brother G-Dragon, at number 2! YG Family has been extremely successful this year.

August 18, 2009, G-Dragon’s 21st birthday and the same day when his 1st solo album, HEARTBREAKER, was released in the market. It’s been 3 months since then but the VIPs are still giving him so much love  and support for his songs. Amidst of the controversies thrown upon him, GD still top the music charts and won several awards.  G-Dragon proved that he is one of the Best Korean Male Artist existing in the music industry.

After months of promotions for his solo début and for his songs, G-Dragon is now down preparing for his very 1st solo concert, Shine a Light. To be held at Seoul Olympic Stadium on the 5th and 6th of December.

Before we all go and get excited for his upcoming concert, let’s all first rekindle and take a peek again on his past performances. From his 1st solo perfomance down to his last performance on Inkigayo. Enjoy the cuteness and hotness once more.^^

Oh well, that’s all VIPs.^^

I hope that his concert will be a successful one and since he said that he’ll make us all go crazy I wonder what he is going to do.

Aigooo >.<

GDluck to everyone who’s going to watch and GDcongrats to all of you.

Hope you guys enjoy and cherish that moment with G-Dragon.^^

Credits: BBVIPS

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~Spread the BBlove~

Big Bang member G-Dragon will end his broadcasting activities.

This was announce by YG Entertainment Yang HyunSeok representative himself on 12th November, “To prepare for his upcoming concert to be held on 5th and 6th December in the Seoul Olympic Stadium, G-Dragon will stop broadcasting activities.”

He added, “G-Dragon is also preparing for a special even which will take place in December. It will be something that fans don’t expect and we will only drop ambiguous hints along the way when the event is near.”

What is that special surprise for December?!!?! ah I’m very curious and anxious now! At least we’ll get hints, I’m really good at those. YG is always surprising us, we VIPs are so spoiled, right? :]

Thanks to Kbites