LIKE EDSA AGAIN. Lea Salonga’s ‘Bayan Ko’ rendition transported people back to 1986 when the song became the anthem of a peaceful revolt for democracy. GMANews video grabLea Salonga performed a soaring rendition of “Bayan Ko” at the requiem Mass for the soul of former President Corazon Aquino with mourners raising the “L” or “Laban” (fight) sign reminiscent of the rallies and demonstrations during the dying years of the Marcos regime.

A patriotic song written during the American occupation of the Philippines, “Bayan Ko” (My Country) gained prominence during the funeral of assassinated former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino in 1983 and in subsequent protest rallies that culminated in the People Power Revolution of 1986.

Crowds gathered outside the Manila Cathedral also applauded as the last verse of “Bayan Ko” was sung. Yellow confetti poured down from a nearby building.

In 1990, Mrs. Aquino gave Salonga a Presidential Award of Merit for bringing pride to the country with her success in Broadway theater in the US and UK.

Dressed in white, the world-renowned performer was requested by the Aquino family to perform at the requiem Mass before the late President is laid to rest Wednesday afternoon at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque.

“Parang EDSA ulit. Naluluha ako (It’s like EDSA all over again. I’m tearing up),” said one of the mourners who braved the rains outside the Manila Cathedral.

Mrs. Aquino, who was propelled to power by the “People Power Revolution” of February 1986, restored democracy in the country after more than 13 years of Marcos’ dictatorial rule.

She peacefully died on Aug. 1 after over a year battling stage-4 colon cancer.

Her remains will be placed beside those of her husband, Ninoy, at the family’s mausoleum.

Type rest of the post here

"mainland F4" Meteor Shower sidestory much applauded

The much-anticipated drama "Meteor Showers" will on August 8th on Hunan TV. Many trailers and teasers have been released on Hunan TV and various websites, one trailer, that of Xiao Han and Wei Chen's plotline, was much applauded by viewers, and their relationship is one of the many things to looks forward to in this drama.

In "Meteor Shower," Xiao Han plays Murong Yunduo, the older sister of the male lead, while Wei Chen plays Ye Shuo, one of the four male leads in the drama. The two have a difficult older female-younger male relationship. As the airing of this drama comes closers, the audience is no doubt wondering about whether these two will end up together in the end.Type your summary here

Type rest of the post here

Itazura na Kiss

Itazura na Kiss (It started with a Kiss) comes to Korea

Group Eight, the producers who butchered adapted Hana Yori Dango into the hot mess that was Boys Before Flowers, is adapting another popular Japanese manga for Korean television: Itazura na Kiss, or Playful Kiss, which was turned into an anime series as well as the Taiwanese drama It Started With a Kiss. The Taiwan Drama starred Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng.

Normally, I’d be all for a kdrama adaptation of what sounds like a cute romantic trendy drama, but Group Eight has pretty much lost its credibility with me after Boys Before Flowers. Not that I didn’t enjoy watching it, but it was nowhere near what it could, and should, have been. Group Eight is often mentioned as producing Goong, but that’s not strictly true (there was that production company split with Group Eight and Eight Peaks). The titles that Group Eight can claim as exclusively theirs are Fantasy Couple (okay) and Goong S (highly disappointing). On the other hand, they’re also doing Tamna the Island, which looks promising.

According to Group Eight president Song Byung-joon, the adaptation of Itazua na Kiss is next on their slate after Tamna, and they are currently in the planning stages. The licensing has been finalized and they are currently in the process of finding a scriptwriter. They are aiming to broadcast the series (I’ll use the Korean title, 장난스런 키스 or Playful Kiss) next summer.

Song did add that because the original manga never had an official ending (the writer passed away before finishing the series), the Korean version of Playful Kiss may choose to make its own, “entirely different, Korean-style ending.” Just as long as nobody dies of sudden cancer harboring a hidden birth secret, we hope.

Type rest of the post here

2NE1

Group 2NE1’s first debut album is just a few steps away from reaching the 100K album sales mark.

The title song ‘I Don’t Care’ off their 1st minialbum is also #1 on various music charts. Their achievements as a newcomer singer group is almost unbelievable, and threatening the stronghold of the existing strong singers.

YG Entertainment said, “Even though it is about 1 month since the album is released, it is still selling about 1000 copies a day. We are continuously adding to the production of 2NE1’s minialbum, and up till now we have produced 80K copies, and we have just recently produced anohter 20K. With that the production for 2NE1’s minialbum has crossed the 100K mark.”

All these while, for a new singer to do well on album chart is not easy. For existing singers, it has to depend on a certain degree of fandom to achieve it and the effect can only be seen at the start of their album release.

YG Entertainment added, “2NE1, who has just released their 1st album, is a group with more to show. Do anticipate more from them as they will be showing more new sides of them.”

Meanwhile, 2NE1 is #1 for 3 weeks through on KBS Music Bank, and #1 2 weeks through on SBS Inkiagyo, doing very well on music shows.

Type rest of the post here

Kim HyunJoong “Kim Bum is the Best Pretty Boy in F4” Why?

‘Pretty Boy’ Kim HyunJoong said “Kim Bum is the best pretty boy in F4”.

In MBC ‘Good Day’ broadcasted on 27-Jul, Kim HyunJoong’s photo shoot was revealed.

When being asked who is the best pretty boy in F4, Kim HyunJoong replied “Kim Bum”. Kim HyunJoong explained “’Pretty boy’ refers to one who has feminine side more than masculine side.” Kim HyunJoong revealed “I can’t say that I am one.” He said wittily “I am a pretty boy when I put on make-up.”

Kim HyunJoong analyzed the factor for his popularity “In ‘Boys Over Flowers’, Yoon JiHoo is a caring and meticulous person, so he captured many nuna’s (older sisters) heart.” Kim HyunJoong confessed “Actually, I am not really a meticulous person. I am not a bad guy. I won’t say it out even if I want to take care of another person.”

Meanwhile Kim HyunJoong revealed their future activities “We will get into activity through our Asia Tour which consists of 10 countries and also through variety programs. I will continue to be an actor for a while more too.”

Type rest of the post here

SS501

Since I like Kim Hyun Joong, I also love his boy group SS501 hehehehe.. In fairness to them they're really acgood dancer and they sing well.. Here are the latest articles about them.

SS501’s Asia Tour in Seoul PERSONA will be held in 1 weeks time.

Coming 1st and 2nd August, the concert which is held for 2 days, marks the start of their Asia Concert, their first since their debut 4 years ago.

They have been practicing hard every day and night in one practice room located in GangNam, SS501 will also have their pre-concert rehearsal during this week prior to the concert. In order to have a perfect performance for this concert, SS501 will be having their pre-concert rehearsal for 4 days from 27th to 30th at Jangchung Gymnasium Stadium.

Local singers do not prefer to have their pre-concert rehearsals in another venue, however SS501 did special preparations in order to deliver a perfect performance.

Contents for this concert includes their past 4 years stage activities and a special performance which they’ve prepared during this period, they are confident that this is an opportunity for all the members’ attractiveness to be shown.

In addition, Seoul concert will start off their Asia Tour, and they will visit Japan, Thailand, HongKong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and other Asia countries for promotional activities for their concert. Huge anticipations were clearly shown throughout Asia region about their concert tours.

Type rest of the post here

Ella Transformed into a Bullied Chibi-Maruko-chan

Remember Joey of Hana Kimi? She has a new drama,Joey or Ella,will play a role of the down-and-out rich girl Yang Guo.

THE ARTICLE:

Ella, who had not been in any drama for three years, was so enticed by the role of the down-and-out rich girl Yang Guo that she gave in to her acting bug. Since filming started, not only did she often bemoan the fact that while she really liked the role of Yang Guo and that she could act to her heart\'s content, she also had to sacrifice greatly – not only had to suffer being burnt to a crisp under the 40 degree high temperature, she also had to sacrifice a great deal of sleep, even her image had to be sacrificed. Yesterday afternoon, the production team revealed to the media the amusing story of how Ella was transformed into a bullied Chibi-Maruko-chan in the drama.

The Scene of "Ella-Maruko-chan" Had Everyone Laughing

A yellow hat, a white blouse with round collar, a royal blue pleated skirt, white socks and black shoes…when Ella arrived to the set after the change of costume, she immediately had everyone on the set burst out laughing. Everyone unanimously agreed that Ella looked just like Chibi-Maruko-chan. Upon hearing everyone's surprised responses, "Ella-Maruko-chan" shyly bowed to everyone: [Thank you! Thank you!]

This scene was depicting Yang Guo imagining herself as a pitiful Chibi-Maruko-chan when she was being scolded by Auntie Qi (Zhong's mother). Because it was supposed to be an imaginary scene, therefore, the performance must necessarily be more exaggerated and comical. The actress portraying the mother pointed a finger at Yang Guo and scolded harshly: [Look at you…this waist…aiyo, so thick that I don't even know what to say…and this face…" Ella would put on various expressions such as pouting with her head bent low or squeezing all her facial features together or biting on a finger or looking scared. Her exaggerated cartoon-like expressions had everyone on the set painfully controlling their urge to laugh. As soon as the director yelled [Cut], everybody immediately burst into laughing uproariously, even Ella herself was bent with laughter. When she looked at the replay, the Chibi-Maruko-chan clad Ella asked the director with trepidation: [Director, is this OK?] Director Ke pondered briefly and replied: [I think there was too much detail, too scattered. Why don't we do this one more time? This time, slightly more concentrated.] "Ella-Maruko-chan" wailed: [One more time! There really goes my image now!

There's more so Read more....

Off-screen Ella was the "Empress" that Could Read Palms

Just before the start of shooting the night scenes, the crew suddenly heard someone singing [Eyebrows as high as the sky, lush cheeks full of light]. It was Ella in a T-shirt, jeans and flip-flops, singing the theme song to an old Taiwanese drama [Empress Wu] and walking in with a slow and deliberate swagger. No matter how they looked at her, Ella's "girl-next-door" get-up was simply incongruous with that of the almighty "empress", and the crew started laughing uncontrollably. However, despite the laughter, Ella immediately enjoyed "Empress"-like treatment as Jerry Yan, who was sitting on a sofa memorizing his lines, obligingly took up a piece of wet Kleenex and started to wipe her feet.

In the drama, Yang Guo's father was a famous feng-shui master. Perhaps it was due to such influence that between takes, Ella became an amateur fortune-teller. She grabbed Taiwan actor Michael Zhang's hand and suddenly exclaimed loudly: [Aiya, you have broken-lines on your palm. I heard that it is very painful when hit by people with broken-line palms.] As she continued to look, suddenly Ella grabbed Michael Zhang's arm and started to gnaw on it. She even looked around in satisfaction while murmuring to herself: [Although you have a broken-line palm, your flesh is still quite tasty….


Type rest of the post here