Shinee & F(x) performs Where is The Love on Chocolate

wow, amber and key did great on rap part.

even singers fluent in english language have difficulty singing the part.

i really enjoyed the this number.

Another prime time show for Arashi

NTV has confirmed that popular group Arashi will have a new prime time show starting this spring. Tentatively titled “Arashi ni Shiyagare,” the show will occupy the Saturday 10:00pm time slot left open by “Enta no Kamisama,” which is ending in March.

The program is described as an improvised entertainment variety show. Each episode will feature a guest celebrity, but the members of Arashi will not be told in advance who the guest is nor what the guest will be doing on the show.

It appears that the main segment of the show will have a different guest each week to teach the Arashi members an entertainment skill in various fields, including comedy, rakugo, and kabuki. Called “The Set,” this segment will take place on various “sets,” such as a theater or kabuki stage.

“Arashi ni Shiyagare” premieres in April. Arashi already hosts two other shows during prime time.

Tokyograph

Sunye’s earlier return was to meet Haelim

The American-based WONDERGIRLS have secretly returned to South Korea. The short homecoming is facilitate China promotions during early February. But because of the related problem of SunMi’s departure, whether the fans can meet with WONDERGIRLS has become a focus of attention.

WONDERGIRLS’s return is receiving media interest because this China activity is the beginning of newest member HaeLim taking over from SunMi. To this end, group leader SunYe was the first to return home this January 25, in order to meet with HaeLim. 3 other members YeEun, Yoobin & Sohee followed her back on January 27. Excluded from the China activity is SunMi, who remained behind in New York for the purpose of WONDERGIRLS’s [additional] American activities through end-February.

Originally, JYP Entertainment allowed SunMi to remain an active member of WONDERGIRLS for February, before letting HaeLim take over in March. With regards to the speedier personnel change, JYP explained, “Because this China visit is for expeditiously shooting a CF, the CF will be broadcast [only] after SunMi has stopped her activities. As far as WONDERFULS’s overseas pacts, such activities were signed for as a 5-member combination. Hence, the earlier switch to HaeLim.”

They disclosed that SunYe returning 2 days earlier than the other group members was also to meet with HaeLim. Purportedly after meeting her, SunYe painstakingly instructed HaeLim on the complete WONDERGIRLS activities.

Whether WONDERGIRLS & their fans can meet during their domestic stay is also a focus of attention. The “Keep SunMi” activists among the fan clubs proposed to JYP to “let us see the WONDERGIRLS.” Their stated wish is to hear the truth of SunMi’s withdrawal from the team members’ mouths instead of via a formal company announcement.

In reply, a high-level JYP cohort plainly stated, “The issue of meeting the fans will be entirely settled by staff members.”

The WONDERGIRLS fan clubs have jointly submitted to JYP a public chargesheet concerning the mutual arrangements of SunMi’s withdrawal & HaeLim’s inclusion. They also hope a heart-to-heart meeting can be convened. In reply, JYP communicated in written form to the fan clubs on January 28 the reasons for SunMi’s withdrawal & why WONDERGIRLS should validly remain a 5-member group.

Source: JoongAng Ilbo Chinese Web
Trans: qoxie @ WGSpectacle

GDragon confesses, “For 1 year all I did was clean…”

GDragon reveals the hard times during his younger years to get to the top.

In order to get closer to the American hiphop group the Wu-Tang Clan, GDragon had to learn. He decided to find a class for freestyle rapping and ended up getting closer to People Crew, who were also using the same space as a practice room.

“Since this young kid came in to learn rap, the Hyungs (older guys) were interested and loved me too. I even fooled around on the cable program that they filmed. I even got a really great chance to take part in the ‘2001 Korean HipHop Flex’ album.” The biggest news on the street was the fact that a 13 year old kid participated in this album that was supposed to be the album only the rappers got together to make.

“For the HipHop Flex album, I made up my own lyrics and recorded it, and the Hyungs said ‘It was okay’. But, since I never lived in the United States, my English was bad and the story behind the lyrics was the same old thing. Something like, ‘I’m young, but I’m the best’ (laughs).” The young GDragon participated in the title song, and even made a solo song… This album was a chance to let the world know of GDragon. And of course, Yang HyunSuk, the president of YG Entertainment, didn’t let this little kid go.

“Sean was the one to first look at me and tell me to Yang HyunSuk. Even the main producer was interested at me and told him that he would try producing with me. When I was first going to meet him I thought, ‘I’m finally going to meet Yang HyunSuk,’ and was really nervous. I even liked him the best in SeoTaeJi and the kids. His fashion of wearing gloves on a short sleeve t-shirt, and he was a great dancer too. But, when I first saw him, it was all a shock. I heard the sound of slippers dragging across the floor and he said “You here?” in a weird tone. He didn’t seem like the Yang HyunSuk from SeoTaeJi and the kids, but he just seemed like a uncle I knew around the town.” When GDragon’s mother left the room, he even threatened the little kid to make a fuss that he wants to come into YG Entertainment.

“When I got home I cried and made a fuss at my mom and I got contracted into YG. When I was 13, in YG, there was JinuSean, One Time, and Lexy. When I first came into the office, I think Seven hyung was dressed nicely in hip hop clothes and was playing around with the ladies in the office. From all the people I met, he was the most beautiful person I have met.” Then GDragon stated with the cleaning in the practice rooms. Moping the floor, cleaning the mirrors with newspaper, he even had to do everything the sunbaes asked him.

“I would watch the Sunbaes practicing and get the water, and when the food came I would set up the food and when they were done I would clean up. For about an year, all I did was clean.When I came into the company I was clean first for 1 hour, practice for about 2 hours, and lastly clean for 1 hour, and repeat again.”

The 13 year old featured in songs that got him on the cable music programs, and he even got to perform on the concert stages. Then, he ends up meeting the fellow Big Bang member TaeYang for the first time.

Nulsaranghae: GDragon seriously earned himself that spot he has now

Source: Asia Kyung Jae

Ella Chen Exclusive Interview – Shi Bao Magazine (Vol 1667)

Source: Shi Bao Magazine (Vol 1667)
Credit of Scans: irenechenElla of Baidu ELLA
Translation by: shyun_y @ asianfanatics.net
*PLEASE TAKE OUT WITH FULL CREDITS*

Exclusive Interview: Accused of Disagreement with Director and Being Difficult. Ella speaks up: I’m Maligned by Producer

At the scene of the studio photo shoot.

It seemed a little down to be just talking about the truth behind the scenes; actually it also involved the nitty-gritty when we were doing our cover shoot…

Ella in: Marc Jacobs sleeveless top, Loewe’s leather shorts, TOD’s high heels, Georg Jensen Infinity bracelet and Vivianna stainless steel watch.

From afar you would have heard a series of hearty laughter, even before you catch sight of her – this is the signature of Ella’s uniqueness. Her mood is always kept in the good tip-top condition. From make-up to commencement of the cover shoot, Ella is like an Energizer-bunny, bustling around the whole studio, seemingly with no intention to even catch any breather. In addition, as she is very familiar with the chief photographer, their chemistry and tacit understanding made the whole photography session very smooth-sailing. Even before our scheduled time, they have already completed photo shoots for the 4 different sets of outfits. On the other hand as I was suffering from drug allergy that day, other than the simple exchange of greetings at the start of the session, I decided to take a backseat to do other backroom duties. Meanwhile Ella seemed to worry that she might have neglected some one in the studio; hence, she even took time to walk over and chat with me before she leaves. Her gesture really made me feel the thoughtfulness and warmth from this superstar. I wish to say to Ella, your ability to always maintain an optimistic and cheerful disposition, this is the reason why everyone loves you dearly. But once in a while, please also let yourself take a breather to recharge~

(Points 1-3 are descriptions of the accessories, their designers and prices..)

Look 01
Ella in: Hermes Tennis-style dress with a plaited-long skirt and a Georg Jensen Splash necklace.

***
Ella’s Profile

Real Name: Chen Jia Hua
Age: 29 years old (18 June 1981)
Horoscope: Gemini
Height / Weight: 163 cm, 48 kg
Place of Birth: Pingtung County
Drama Serials: [Magical Love], [The Rose], [Reaching for The Stars], [Hana Kimi], [Down with Love].

***

[Exclusive Interview]

The “Little-Miss-Good-Personality” has Disagreement with Director and is “Difficult”.
Ella Speaks Up: I’m Maligned by the Producer

Ella spent nearly half a year filming the idol drama – [Down With Love] with the often misunderstood to be “most difficult” Jerry Yan. From the beginning where they were almost strangers to becoming good friends now, Ella’s optimism and humourous nature has influenced the slow-to-warm-up Jerry.

However while everyone seemed to not know how to handle the situation when Jerry is supposedly very selective in the publicity activities he attends; on the other hand, Ella, who is usually obliging to most publicity activities, was bombarded with allegations of “being difficult” to work with this time round!

Producer Ke Yi Qin has supposedly revealed that while filming in Hangzhou, Ella lost control of her temper and had a disagreement with the director. This allegation caused Ella to be upset and she cried. She shared, disappointedly, “It felt like a betrayal and I can’t trust the human’s heart.”

“Little-Miss-Good-Personality” Ella has always been very easy-going, approachable and cheerful from the day she entered the entertainment industry. Thus, “being difficult” has never been the phrase one would associate with her. However since filming in CTV and GTV’s idol drama – [Down With Love], and with the serial about to be aired, incidents of negative news about Ella has since spread from the production crew. The first allegation was that she has purposely quoted high fees for make-up and costume expenses to decline certain publicity activities. Then the recent allegation claimed that Ella lost her temper while filming in Hangzhou and had disagreement with the director. When Ella received our exclusive interview, she said, disappointedly, “It felt like a betrayal and I can’t trust the human’s heart.”

Broke Down Because of False Allegations

On 20 January 2010, during the premiere of [Down With Love], the producer, Ke Yi Qin claimed that while filming on a prop ship which has broken down under the hot weather in Hangzhou, all members of the team were left stranded on the ship for almost 3 hours. The scorching sun and stuffy weather has supposedly caused Ella to lose her temper and quarreled with the director on the ship.

When Ella learnt of the false allegations against her coming from the production team, she immediately burst into tears. Thus, she has to call off the initially scheduled recording for the variety programme – [Here Comes KangXi]. Being hurt and affected by the false allegations, HIM made a statement, “Being in the industry for many years, Ella has been very professional and respects her job. There is no such incident as claimed, regarding the disagreement with the director. We do not wish for the production team to spin negative news about our artiste just to create publicity for the drama.”

Earlier on, many of the media companies have tried to arrange for Ella to do studio shots to publicize this drama. However these arrangements were unsuccessful as the fees quoted for her assistants, in terms of make-up and styling, were too high. Thus, this gave rise to the first allegation of Ella’s decline to attend publicity activities by quoting high fees.

In response to this, Ella clarified, “I am really not trying to be difficult. When I first read about these news, I was really shocked. Such incidences will only make me even more stringent and cautious, in selecting the production teams I would work with in future, for my acting projects.”

This week, we heard from sources that, as Ella felt very hurt due to the false allegations, she might not be filming anymore in future. In addition, she would also not be participating in further publicity activities for [Down With Love]. To this, HIM expressed, “Ella still loves acting, and will continue to take on acting projects. We will assess the suitability of the projects based on the scripts and roles offered.” As for the publicity activities of [Down With Love], HIM added, “In our initial contract agreement, the serial’s publicity activities will only be until 20 Jan 2010.”

Look 02
Ella in: Blugirl tube top with a floral lace-up skirt. She is also wearing a Georg Jensen Fusion black-rimmed 3-loop ring and the 2010 limited edition design of the [ 360 ° ] heart-shaped pendant.

(Caption on the left)
In my past love relationships, I was indulged in the feeling of romance. And when this feeling has faded gradually, I ended up breaking off, thus, hurting the other parties in my younger days.

Be it “Man” Disguises, Hardships or Ugly Duckling, She Does it in a Breeze

She has filmed for many years and her seriousness and professional work ethics is well-known and won many praises. Be it having to put on “manly” disguises, braved the rain for kissing scenes, or carry a prop fridge of over ten kilograms along a bustling street, she has done it all. [The Rose] and [Hana Kimi] also gained high viewership during their telecast. Ella is the most successful amongst S.H.E members to have developed her career beyond singing, into the acting arena.

She smiled and shared that over the past 9 years, she has earned a title from many to be known as “Oshin”, as her physique is good, and she is resilient with high endurance for hard work, and does not mind less than pretty disguises. Relative to Selina or Hebe, Ella is better able to adapt to exposure of harsh weather conditions while filming outdoors.

Sacrifices Commercial Performances for Acting

Although acting projects can be very draining, Ella is most willing to forsake opportunities to earn more money for the sake of acting in a good project. She said in a sigh, as she has accepted this idol drama project, S.H.E has indirectly given up earning tens of thousands of dollars in terms of commercial performances. She is very grateful to Selina and Hebe as the trio has a common understanding that “when one benefit, all three will benefit too”. Hence they would be supportive of each other and this has allowed Ella to continue to pursue her interest in acting projects.

Ella’s optimistic disposition is the reason for her to have very good interpersonal relationships with everyone around her. Even said to be supposedly the “very hard to approach” and slow-to-warm-up Jerry Yan in the industry; Ella and him have become close friends since filming together for [Down With Love]. Both of them even made a pact that should they ever meet again in future, they would give each other a present.

Ella shared that Jerry is a very thoughtful person. He even text-messaged her when he was working in Japan earlier. She shared, “During May last year when we were filming [DWL], Jerry had to take leave to attend some activities in Japan. After his activity, he was with a group of people at a stall by the roadside, enjoying some drinks. He sent me a message saying that he thought of me suddenly and wish to share this warm feeling with me then.” When Jerry subsequently returned to Taiwan, he also brought a gift for Ella from Japan.

(Collage of Ella’s Past Acting Projects & Her Male Leads)

Having Kissed The Popular Male Idols of Each Time

2001 – [Magical Love] – Blue Lan Zhen Long
Ella’s first on-screen kiss was nerve-racking as she was a greenhorn then.

2001 – [The Rose] – Jerry Huang Zhi Wei
Many kissing scenes within the serial and the kisses felt dreamy and unreal.

2006 – [Hana Kimi] – Wu Chun
A kiss while she was in a boy’s disguise, the on-screen kiss is a funny one.

2010 – [Down With Love] – Jerry Yan Cheng Xu
The kiss between a lawyer and a babysitter that reveals their real feelings for each other.

Look 03
Ella in: Moschino mock-2-piece-jacket-&-dress outfit and a Georg Jensen Fusion black-rimmed 3-loop ring.

Takes Initiative to Joke to Build Trust

Nonetheless, such a close trusting relationship does not exist at the start of the filming. “This is only because he is really someone who needs time to warm up to others!” She shared, initially given all the talks of Jerry being “hard to get close with” and “difficult”, she was also affected and worried about not knowing how to interact with him. But when she thought it through that they have to work together for a long time, it is a must for them to be familiar with each other so as to make filming a smooth process for all. “Thus I took the initiative to greet him, chat with him and even started to tease and play pranks on him.”

Her enthusiasm and initiative lowered his self-defending mechanisms and very soon, their roles had a switch-over. Now Jerry would take the initiative to exchange greeting with her and to chat with her. Sometimes he would even playfully poke at her to express his happiness and joys. Both of them ended up bickering and playing with each other throughout the times they spent filming. From the time they were almost strangers to becoming close is akin to their relationship in [Down With Love]. Thus, the storyline is almost like a reflection of their real lives.

Most “Feel” in Kissing Scene with Jerry Yan

What Ella was most proud of was not about her “melting” the “cold” Jerry. Rather, it was their on-screen kiss. She joked, “I’ve really benefited a lot, fancy kissing a big handsome idol!” In her past serials, Ella has on-screen kisses with other male idols such as Blue Lan, Jerry Huang, Wu Chun etc. However her on-screen kiss with Jerry (Yan) has got to be the one with the most “feel” (emotions) and most realistic ever since she acted in drama serials; for this particular kiss was natural and also made her feel at ease.

She recalled, “The kiss with Wu Chun in [Hana Kimi] was one for funny effects. The kiss with Jerry (Huang) in [The Rose] felt dreamy and unreal. My first on-screen kiss was in [Magical Love] with Blue Lan. During then, I was a pack of nerves.”

Love Beyond Looks

Having filmed in a few drama serials and been through a few love relationships respectively, Ella has derived her very own “Love Evolution Theory”. She said, “In my past love relationships, I was indulged in the feeling of romance. And when this feeling has faded gradually, I ended up breaking off, thus, hurting the other parties in my younger days. Now, I’ve learnt for a love relationship to foster, both parties have to understand each other well. If you feel that the person is the right one for you after being together for some time, then you need not set requirements upon him such as occupation, appearances etc. What is most important is for both parties to really love each other.”

Ella has earned herself a stage in the singing and acting arenas and she is at the peak of her career. She fully understands that there will be a limit to what can be attained in the entertainment scene. For the future, she has a dream. She said, “I want to open a B&B (bed-and-breakfast) accommodation in the Pingtung, the place where I am born and raised. I want to house my parents and grandparents all under one roof and my whole family can come together. I will retire and enjoy my golden years in the serene and comfortable B&B that I built.”