Hello from Gdansk!

Just a quick log to say hi to all my ardent readers from Gdansk, Poland! Have been in this beautiful country since Tuesday (September 15) and am flying back to Indonesia today at 02:35 PM local time. As you probably have guessed, I'm here for a conference which was held by the University of Gdansk on September 17-18 2015, namely "The Fourth International Inter-Disciplinary Memory Conference." I presented a paper called "Indonesian Music Industry: The Road Back to The Golden Age and The Future." Other than Gdansk, I have also visited Warsaw to interview His Excellency Ambassador of Indonesia for Poland Mr Peter Gontha for my paper and Poznan. The latter takes the cake for being an addition to my list of favourite cities in the world.

Anyhoo, on to what I really wanna talk about. Woollim stans must be overjoyed about the comeback of Lovelyz with the single "Shooting Star". Lovelyz, who debuted in November 2014, is said by many to be set to dethrone A-Pink as the new queens of K-pop girl group basic. And apart from the sweet and innocent concept (which, of course, includes the ever-compulsory school concept) that they've hung on to since their debut, there's something else that cements their signature level of basic-ness (if there's such a word.) Take a look.









Ever noticed that all four videos were shot indoors? And that the last three videos might have been shot in the exact same location? That gives the impression that the girls are domesticated...and it's not a good thing on many levels.

Wonder Girls and a trip back to my childhood

I've just downloaded the full album of Wonder Girls' "Reboot" on iTunes because I fell in love with its overall 1980s vibe. Basically I like all the songs, but my absolute favourite track is the 10th one (yes it's a full-length album) called "Faded Love."


This sounds like an evening ride in 1988 on our cobalt blue Mitsubishi Lancer, worry-free because school was off the next day, enjoying the roadside view of big-haired girls in high heels. Imagining myself as an adult, rocking it out on the stage thanks to a lot of watching Paula Abdul videos.

As a young child, I always wanted to be a performer and as was the norm in many Asian families my parents made me learn to play piano. Unable to cope with constant comparison to my piano prodigy cousin, I made a switch to violin at age 14. Eight years and many performances later, I gave up my violin lessons for university in New Zealand. Today, I still entertain dreams of becoming a musician by trade, constantly planning to have violin lessons again. I don't know when I'll ever get around to that plan.

Reflections...

While answering a question on the best year (or in my case, years) on Ask.fm, I felt compelled to include 2013. Ever since I hit rock bottom disguised as a severe quarter life crisis upon returning from NZ, I felt that adulthood was nothing but bitterness - to the point that I stopped caring whether said bitterness would ever end. However, 2013 - the year I hit big 3-0 - did more than show that adulthood wasn't something that's automatically granted to anyone finishing university. Adulthood is indeed earned. To recap, in 2013...
- After a lot of job-hopping and a postgraduate degree which I partially funded myself, I embarked on a short vacation to Singapore. It was the first time I went out of the country in 4.5 years since leaving NZ. Nothing feels better than a much deserved holiday.

- I turned 30, as already said...with no fear. Congratulations and good luck to all those who hit that milestone this year and beyond! You can kiss those turbulent 20s goodbye as 30s are much more stable...unless you make no effort whatsoever to grow up.

- I got a wonderful belated 30th birthday present in terms of career, but I wish not to discuss that in detail.

- My long comatose boyband phase was revived - yes I'm talking about Infinite - which led to my first ever K-pop concert which was held on August 31 2013.

- I had my first taste of speaking at a conference, and this first conference of mine was held at Andalas University in Padang. Later after the conference I got to admire the beauty of my maternal ancestral home of Bukittinggi, also for the first time.

- I started making friends with Starbucks baristas again since coming home from NZ. Back in Auckland, I had a knack for befriending Starbucks baristas to the point of knowing at least one barista at each of the five Starbucks stores in Auckland CBD. I'm in touch with the majority of them.

The year 2013 actually had a slightly bitter end, but it didn't affect my 30s so far. Here's to better times ahead!

The best scenario...

This is the best self-penned songs by Ryu Sera so far.

Long story short, Sera left Nine Muses in June 2014 and actually since before her departure became known she's been releasing cover songs and self-penned ones on her YouTube channel, Ryutube. However, if Wikipedia is to be trusted (I have yet to find more credible sites that back this up), Sera hasn't left Star Empire, Nine Muses' recording label.

Nine Muses, as any K-pop enthusiast is aware, is known for their sexy image from day one. As you can see in the video, Sera seems to be channelling her inner Morticia Addams - wearing a black mini dress and a choker, hair down and minimal make-up. She's almost a far cry of her Nine Muses self - skin-revealing clothes, full make-up and hairstyle always changing with each comeback. And needless to say she's also free to experiment with her song writing and mixing skills.

The best scenario for her career would be staying with Star Empire (the day this is confirmed would be one of the best in my life), which allows her free time until she finds her own signature sound. Once she's ready, she's set to come back as a solo artist, with a mini album full of six songs that she composes herself. Or better still, she can mix her signature sound with that of Sweet Tune or one of those Swedish songwriters...Star Empire really needs a solo artist on its roster, and one already with a fanbase is perfect to fill that void.

The future of K-pop...

This kid was born in 2001. Her name is Ennik Douma (but she goes by her Korean name Jeon Somi), half Canadian and half Korean and part of JYP's "Sixteen", a TV show where 16 girls are put together and eliminated one by one (those who stay will be JYP's next girlband - in other words, the next Miss A.)

We're in the fifth generation of K-pop idols, and to me the sixth generation, those born in 2010 and beyond, is already visible. Rumours have it that JYP has already been eyeing Yerin and Yeseo Park (born in 2010 and 2013 respectively.) There's also another pair of kid uljjang sisters Aleyna and Ilayda Yilmaz, who are half Turkish and half Korean. Then there's Breanna Youn, half Korean and half Filipina, who's arguably the biggest kid uljjang right now. Last but not least, we have Bailey Ann Boehr, who's also half Canadian and half Korean and likely to go by her Korean name Park Gabi. Little Bailey has already walked in the footsteps of f(x)'s Krystal Jung, who starred in Shinhwa's "Wedding March" video in 2000 when she was six years old. Bailey starred in Xia Junsu's music video for "Flower", which was out in March, as seen below.


I guess I don't have to point out at what second exactly Bailey appears...

And those are just a few the of possible future idols. Don't get me started on those celebrity kids on "Superman is Back"...

Also, I see a trend in the near future of K-pop. This year, four mixed blood idols debuted: Samuel Kim of 1Punch (half Korean and half American), Vernon Choi of Seventeen (half American and half Korean), Shannon Williams (half Korean and half British) and Jeon Somi (even though being in a reality show doesn't mean she's officially debuted.) The last time we saw mixed-blood idols debuting was back in 2011 when three half American girls (Juliane Alfieri, Melanie Aurora Lee and Tia Cuevas) debuted in Chocolat. Given the fact that most of the kid uljjangs mentioned earlier are mixed blood, it's very likely that for the first time in its history K-pop will have more mixed-blood idols than ever.

This will be good not only for South Korea's image but also the mentality of Koreans...If you've been living in another planet so far, Koreans are known for not liking mixed-blood people - or any foreigner for that matter. Just ask Yoon Mirae or Lee Michelle...or wonder why Kris Wu, Luhan and Tao (real name Huang Zhitao) of EXO left the group!