Someone's got what he wanted...

Woollim Entertainment has finally debuted their much anticipated girlband Lovelyz today. The group consists of eight girls aged 16 to 22 (international), three of whom (Jiae, Baby Soul (real name Lee Soojung) and Jin (real name Park Myungeun)) have previously debuted as soloists. In 2012, Yoo Jiae and Baby Soul released "She's A Flirt" featuring Infinite's Jang Dongwoo.



And this is Lovelyz's first single, "Goodbye Like Yesterday."


They're good but in all honesty I don't really like it that Jiae, Jin and Baby Soul, who have already shined as soloists, have to share spotlight with five other girls. Also you should have a look at their teaser images, in which the girls are dressed in what looks like school uniforms. I mean, Jiae and Baby Soul are 21 and 22 respectively! I wonder how those girls feel...

EDIT: It was awesome that they debuted with a ballad instead of a dance number. At least in the past two years most girlbands (if not all of them) debuted with a dance song. "Good Night Like Yesterday" draws people's attention to the girls' voices and it gives a good first impression that they really are singers...instead of dancers who sing to accompany their dance moves.

And the model that graces the video is, of course, none other than Infinite's leader Kim Sunggyu! If you're a long-time Sunggyu fan like me, you sure remember what happened on M-Net's "Jjang" when he was interviewed in light of his solo album "Another Me"...


Sunggyu complains that Kim Myungsoo, Infinite's visual member, got to star in his first solo single "60 Seconds." He's hoping that one day he'll star in his music video, and if you fast forward to 6:50 you'll see him hoping he'll get to showcase his acting ability one day. Sunggyu has since branched out to acting, playing the title role in a musical play called "Vampire", which was based by a play written by Czech composer Karel Svoboda. The play was performed in Tokyo on August 21-27 2014.

Last but not least, what's up with his red hair? Is it to celebrate the second anniversary of "Another Me", which was released on November 19 2012?

Raving on Infinite - part 1

Hi everyone!

A lot has happened since I last blogged. I've added another hat in addition to teaching, that of the President University International Collaborations Office staff member. Right now we're working on a student exchange program MOU with Webster University, USA. Hopefully this goes swimmingly.

It's so hard to squeeze in time to blog lately!

I'm sooo in love with Korean boyband Infinite at the moment. Yes, I'm a new Inspirit, converted about a month ago. My favourites are the leader, Kim Sunggyu, and the maknae Lee Sungjong, but basically I like all seven members. I'm also in love with Kim Sunggyu's mini solo album "Another Me", which is deemed by many as a failure because it's only sold roughly 100,000 copies since its release in late 2012.

The fact that Sunggyu is a fellow Taurean wins him a soft spot in my heart. He's nicknamed Grandpa Gyu because he nags his dongsaengs a lot, disciplines them military style, gets sick easily (his skin is allergic to metal and he travels with a bagful of vitamins and medicine) and wears cardigans a lot. People make fun of this, the size of his eyes and the low sale of his solo album. Sunggyu always defends "Another Me" as a classic, since he poured his heart into it and worked with his long-time inspiration, Korean rock band Nell, for the album. And indeed it's a classic since all the songs show a more mature side of Gyu, with a bit of a rock touch which sees the 24-year-old going back to his rock roots (Gyu fronted to a rock band called "Beat" back in high school, and yes there's actually a video of the band performing, shot in 2008!)

I don't think Gyu cares about people making fun of him and the things he does, which is very typically Taurean. He might not be the best looking in Infinite (Kim Myungsoo, nicknamed "L", is the group's visual), the best dancer (Lee Howon, nicknamed "Hoya", holds that title), but his voice is without a doubt the best (Gyu fanatics don't call him "honey-voiced leader" for nothing.) It's that honey voice and his awesome piano skills (showcased in the solo album's opening track) that are the main selling points. Taureans rely on their talent and don't need other people's approval to keep going.

By the way, this is just the first part of my Infinite-spazzing...I'm awkward about the term "spazzing" - is it the word kids use nowadays to describe raving about their idols? Whatever it is, there will be more Infinite entries coming soon - a treat to fellow Inspirits!