Tinnitus.

That is the one word that best describes my FT Island Manila Showcase experience. In the words of Magic 89.9 DJ Grace Lee who hosted the show (and, I should add, did a wonderful job with it), “I’ve been to many big concerts of international artists, but this crowd here has got to be the loudest!” My ears are still ringing until this very minute. I don’t know if I’ve just officially declared myself “old”, or it’s just that I’m not an FT Island fan, hence I did not scream as much, hence my ears became the unfortunate casualty.

In all fairness, we had fun last night. Even the Golden Girls Tita Ruby and Mommy Chie, who watched the showcase with us because they wanted to see ‘Jeremy’, thoroughly enjoyed the show even they only know one song: Still from the You’re Beautiful OST. In the case of Lou and myself, we armed ourselves by listening to FTI’s latest album Cross and Change a week before the showcase so that we would know at least one or two of their songs. Charity listens to anything K-pop and watches a lot of Korean music shows, so their songs were at least familiar to her ears. It’s also fortunate that FTI’s MV for I Hope (바래) has been on constant rotation at MYX and they naturally had to play that at the showcase. It was the second most applauded song there; first place, of course, goes to Still. The PICC was transformed into a huge noraebang when that song was played.

I don’t have to go into details since I’m sure there will be a lot those littering around the internet - that, or I have no idea about their setlist and I can’t even recite all of the members’ names so I’d really rather not go into details to save myself from further embarassment - so I’ll just give a few comments.
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I’ve been following the goings-on over there at JYPE camp, notably the one about Park Jaebeom and 2PM. That issue has given me so many ideas to write about that I ended up writing… nothing. Opinions overload, I guess.

I’ll just drop a few of my views regarding this (the ones I can still remember, anyway):

1. Rabid Jaebeom fans have warned everyone that in case Jay decides to talk about the issue, do not believe him because JYPE told him to lie. Seriously? I don’t get that. Jay’s contract with JYPE has been terminated; to put it simply, JYPE has absolutely no hold over him anymore. So if JYPE told him to lie, why should he still do it? In fact, if what they’re saying is correct and Jay was just a pawn that JYPE used to make the remainder of 2PM look good, then Jay should just kick JYPE’s butt and spill the beans on them. The company has basically ruined his career and his life, anyway, so why not bring everyone else down with him, right? Eye for an eye and all that.

2. It was a low point in fandom history when the butt-hurt Hottests decided to reveal incriminating - or so they think - evidences of the “dirty lives” of the other members of 2PM. I really don’t know what’s the point in that. In the first place, what have they uncovered, anyway? That some of them got girlfriends even if they said they were single, that some loves clubbing, that they drink and/or smoke, flirt/have a good time with girls who throw their selves at them… aren’t they just like every other boy in the world? The fans said some of the 2PM guys say nasty things about their fans behind their backs; some throw away fans’ gifts. Girls, I’ve got news for you: practically every idol in the universe have done that at some point in their lives as celebrities. I’m not saying they are right with their actions, in fact I would bop them in the head if they act like that in front of me. I’m just saying, don’t be too butt-hurt because that should be expected. Genuinely nice celebrities, especially top stars, are more like exceptions rather than the rule.

The thing I hate most about the Idol System in East Asia is the fact that they bank on the gullibility of fangirls and boys to assure their continued support and loyalty. They make each idol look like little angels, innocent and clean, and the fans buy it hook, line and sinker. Here’s some news for you, people: EVERYBODY HAS A SECRET. These idols are humans, too. They eat, drink, fart, take a crap, have sex, etc just like everyone else. They have problems, they make mistakes, they fall in and out of love, they have their own dreams and aspirations. Just like everyone of us.

3. I don’t know Jaebeom personally, in fact I was never familiar with him until his MySpace scandal happened. But to say that he’s ‘clean’ unlike his ‘trash’ co-members? Err… I’m not judging him or anything, but I ain’t gonna proclaim him as ‘clean’ just because nobody has, so far, managed to unearth a trashy thing about him. In fact, this is the thing that’s been bugging me about this issue: what exactly is that serious personal issue that he committed? How serious was it that it led to the termination of his contract? I don’t know about you, guys, but I know a thing or two about contracts, and I know that contracts cannot be terminated just like that without due cause. There must’ve been some breach of contract involved, a clause of which specifically states that there will be automatic contract termination if such terms are violated. Otherwise, Jay should sue JYPE’s asses off for termination without just cause.

4. Reading the transcript of the conference has given me serious migraine attacks. There’s this one part which I find really laughable because the question had to come from, of all people, a mother of sons who are of the same age as 2PM. I mean, she, of all people, should understand this. She repeatedly asked the 2PM members how could they say that Jay cannot be the leader and a part of 2PM anymore and at the same time say that he’s still their friend?

There is a line that separates business and personal matters. That line is very thin, but it separates the two, nonetheless. I can relate to this very well because this was the exact same experience I had with the band I used to stalk. When they kicked out a couple of their members, the issue of ‘betrayal of friendship’ came in. Their constant response is, “we still consider him as a friend and we have no personal issues with him; we simply cannot work with him anymore.” I have a lot of friends whom I really love, but if you ask me to work with them, I will find a way for that to NOT happen, especially if I still want to remain friends with them.

Most 2PM fans are probably too young to have experienced being around a work environment, hence they cannot fathom how the two could be treated as separate entities. But for the mother fan to not understand that? Then again, maybe she’s a stay-at-home-mom and has not experienced being in a work environment herself.

5. I think it has been a documented fact on this blog that I’m not exactly a fan of JYPE. But on this issue, I think I’m kinda siding with them more, for the simple reason that most of the angry Hottests have become too unreasonable.

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On to American Idol…

This early, I think I may have found my Blake Lewis/Jason Castro/Kris Allen this season. It’s none other than… Alex Lambert. Yup, surprise, surprise! I dunno, I just find him so endearing even if he looks like he’s going to faint every time he’s on stage. The singing is quite good, too, and you gotta admit: he’s adorable. I’m really looking forward to that day when he would finally get over his nerves and start kicking some major butt.

Casey James is still eye-candy and whoa! at the guitar playing, but I agree with Simon: he lacks the grit that a true rock singer should have. He’s too much of a pretty boy when he sings. It worked with Heaven because he was basically serenading Kara on that one, but it’s not gonna work with I Don’t Wanna Be because it’s supposed to be an angry song.

Lee Dewyze is ok, but he reminds me too much of my high school best friend who also reminds me of Danny Gokey, but he resembles Lee more, including the voice and the stage manner. All that’s missing is the eyeglasses. This fact puts Lee into my “I like him, but not quite enough” category.

For now, that’s my top 3: Alex, Casey and Lee. None of these three would win, but so what? None of my bets ever win, anyway, with the exception of Kris Allen and his win was a total shocker.

As for my bets to get booted off: Could they please, please, PLEASE vote off that Jermaine guy already?

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Edited to add my comments on the Top 10 Girls:

I think I’m gonna go Team Quirky this year. Siobhan Magnus - her name alone carries a gazillion wattage - has caught my attention and she’s now my top girl for this season. She’s pretty, has an interesting personality, and can actually sing. I like it that she hits high notes without sounding shrill. And the best thing about her is her unpredictability. I am one of those who have and will look forward for whatever she will do every week. Crystal is a given because she’s really good, but the over-pimping from the judges might work against her. See: Danny Gokey. See: Adam Lambert. But watch out for Siobhan, she’s really going to be the dark horse this year. Hopefully, she already knows the meaning of ‘dark horse’ by this time.

I really don’t get all the Didi Benami love, especially after tonight. Yes, she’s not your usual AI diva contestant, although come to think of it, it seems this year’s divas are not even female (Toddrick and Jermaine). Didi is more of the singer-songwriter, folksy kind of category, but she’s not even the best in that genre. Crystal and especially Lilly trumps her on that. I also don’t like her Imma-cry-to-get-me-some-sympathy-votes attitude. If she can’t handle criticism very well, then she is SO in the wrong business. In the real world, Simon Cowell is practically an angel. Even Brooke White, who practically had a nervous breakdown onstage two seasons ago, wasn’t as bad as her. At least Brooke broke down halfway through the finals.

My top 3 ladies this season, for now, would be Siobhan, Crystal and Lilly. And since the AI people want a female winner this year, I think The Chosen One this year is Crystal. Methinks someone will just come out from nowhere and do a Kris Allen, though, and I’m counting on Siobhan or Alex to do that. Go, Team Quirky!

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The everything else in between:

It all started when Shinee graced the Arirang event for the Fil-Korean festival in November last year. 4Minute was here in Manila last month. FT Island is arriving in Manila tomorrow. I already have my ticket for the showcase and guess what: I turned down the chance to attend their fanmeeting TWICE. Yup, feel free to me anytime.

Next up is Super Junior on April 10. No, wait. Next up is, surprise, surprise: U-KISS. They are coming to Manila for a mall tour on March 26-28, en route to a major concert in June. According to the press release from the people behind this event, they are currently in negotiations to bring Big Bang, Wonder Girls and 2NE1 here, too.

If everything works well, the promoters of FT Island in Manila might bring in C.N. Blue next (and as early as now, I’m already reserving front seats AND fanmeeting invites for that one hehe).

Then, I go to the forums and read that there is a rumor that Rain, yes, our dear “Prince” Rain, is having a Legend of Rainism concert in… Egypt.

No offense to Egyptian fans, I’m happy for you if it’s true, but… how depressing is that for our country, huh? Rain is performing in the most improbable place he could perform a concert in, and our country is passed on AGAIN. For the Nth time.

If anyone still intends to drop me a, “who knows? It might still happen” comment, I would like to let you know in advance that I will delete that comment because I’m annoyed by that. Face it, pigs might fly, Hye Kyo might really end up with Hyun Bin, but a Legend of Rainism concert in Manila? Not.gonna.happen.

I’ve been out the whole day and night so I haven’t had the chance to visit the forums until now. I saw this post at Soompi that gave me a shock. I thought it’s one of those unconfirmed reports, but it does have a legitimate source; I know because I visited the source website and it’s really there.

I’ve always had this hunch that Ninja Assassin did well in the Philippines because of its extended run. This theory has been debunked by others before because they were claiming that the reason why NA stayed in cinemas for more than two weeks is that there were no other blockbusters that opened prior to the Metro Manila Film Festival. What I totally did not expect - and I bet this will come as a total shock to those who debunked my theory - is that the movie grossed more than 1 Million USD here. USD1,102,178, to be exact.

Why is this a shocker? Our country is one of those places where piracy is so rampant that people hardly ever go to the movies anymore. In fact, when Ninja Assassin was currently showing here, I have had this conversation more than once with people who knew that I am a Rain fan:

Them: Hey, have you seen Ninja Assassin?
Me: Of course, more than once!
Them: May I borrow the DVD?
Me: Excuse me. I saw it in theaters. And you should, too.

If a movie grossed more than php20M here, that’s already considered a mild hit.  NA’s gross when converted amounts to around php50M.  That’s not bad at all. Moreover, the Philippines is one of only four countries in Asia, so far, where NA grossed more than USD1M (the other three being South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia). We’re not in bad company at all.

Although it should also be a cause for concern that the “usual suspects”, that is, countries where Rain is supposed to have a surefire market, did not yield good boxoffice results. I guess that part is also a shocker.

NOTE: NA is yet to be shown in Japan and (I think?) China.

===

Update on the Cloud Philippines 2010 Party:

We have decided on the final date and venue of the party. It’s going to be on March 13, 2010, Saturday, at Chie’s residence in Muntinlupa City. For obvious reasons, we cannot post the exact location and directions going to the venue on the internet. If you are confirmed to attend, please drop us a line by texting either Rizza or me, or sending us a PM at the forums, or emailing us at events@cloudphilippines.com and we shall give you the directions. We shall also be posting more details at the CloudPH forum by tomorrow evening.

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Uhm I know I say this year after year but… do we really have to put Rain into that Time 100 nonsense again?

Right this moment, the Annual Screamfest, that is, our barangay’s annual amateur singing contest is ongoing right next door. We’re on the 12th contestant, and right now my head is screaming murder, I just want to bang it on the nearest wall before my brain liquefies and starts oozing down my nostrils.

I haven’t listened to local radio nor stuck it out watching local Sunday noontime music shows for the longest time and this is the reason why. I am sick and tired of all the screaming that passes for “awesome singing” in this country. Not a single one of these 12 contestants - now 13, the next one just went onstage - sung a low-key song that does not require (1) prolonging the end of each line unnecessarily, maybe to show that they can hold a note for 10 hours?; (2) doing runs on each line more than a roller coaster does; (3) doing a key switch an octave or two higher on the last repeat of the chorus; and (4) hitting a suuuuuper-high note in the end that only dogs, cats and mice in the vicinity can hear, and if the arrangement calls for it, they’ll hit not one, not two, but maybe three or more until the big vein in their throats burst and blood starts spurting everywhere.

Seriously, who the heck came up with these super-over-the-top, pang-contest re-arrangements of classic OPM ballads? I want to lock him in a room all by himself and make him listen to this crap that he came up with just to see how long he can take it before starts screaming for mercy. Some songs like the Joey Albert original Ikaw Lang Ang Mamahalin are best heard in their low-key originals because they’re supposed to crush our hearts, not our eardrums. Martin Nievera’s Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin is a challenging song as it is because of its wide range (that “bukas na walang hanggan” line is tough to sing if you don’t have a solid low register), but the new version is re-arranged in such a way that every single note is sung on the high register, as if the only gauge of a singer’s competence is if he could sing high notes. Na-ah. The gauge to a singer’s competence is if he could sing ON-KEY. This is something that 90% of our present generation of singers don’t have. Most of them just belt and do runs. Very, very few singers can actually sing in tune.

This is why I am now hooked with K-pop (and J-pop, for that matter). K-pop is so straightforward. The melody is so simple, and the singers stick with it when they sing. K-pop and J-pop may be baduy (cheesy) to some, but it’s this inherent baduy-ness in them that makes them work. You don’t even have to understand the lyrics to be able to hum along with them. Yes, most Korean and Japanese artists can be trumped by any Filipino singer when it comes to voice quality, but at least Koreans and Japanese singers know exactly what kind of artists they are. They have no delusions that they have to break the sound barrier just to be called a good singer. And most of all, at least they sing original compositions.

That’s another wonderful thing about K-pop and J-pop. They still haven’t run out of ideas for original songs. Unlike in this country where I don’t even remember the last time I heard a hit OPM song that’s not (a) a remake/revival; (b) an adaptation of a foreign hit song (and most of the time, they don’t even bother to change the version up to make it fresh to the ears); and (c) a novelty song which is a rehash of an already familiar melody or theme. I think - and I can’t believe I’m saying this - this is why the Manny Villar campaign jingle (“nakatulog ka na ba sa dagat ng basura…”) became a hit. It’s an original song, it’s very simple and very straightforward. It’s refreshing to the ears.

I think we should stop calling songs recorded by Filipino artists as OPM. OPM stands for Original Pilipino Music. There’s hardly anything ‘original’ in popular music in the Philippines these days.

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On to some good music…

I had wanted to blog about this a couple of days ago but I was sidetracked by my Full House - Pinoy version rant.

This is the YouTube version of We Are The World, and I am deeply impressed with this for two reasons. (1) All the singers who participated in this are really good; and (2) I cannot imagine the logistics involved in making this video possible. These singers literally come from all over the world and they probably just sent their parts in for the editors to stitch the audio and video together. The magic of technology in its most awesome form.

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Is it weird that the only time I started having goosebumps while watching the We Are The World 25 video was when the rap parts came in? I dunno, I think it’s because I am a child of the 80’s and the original We Are The World is one of the theme songs of my generation. I was more touched by the original than by this one. That is, until the rap parts started coming in.

I will begin this entry with a rant.

Dear GMA-7,

What the heck have you done to our Full House??

(Agent P’s Side Note: For the benefit of non-Filipino readers of this blog, here’s a quick rundown of characters in the Filipino version and their Korean counterparts: Justin = Lee Young Jae; Jessie = Han Ji Eun; Luigi = Yoo Min Hyuk; Elaine = Kang Hye Won)

I was initially ok with the liberties they took with the characters and storyline since I understood that they had to adapt it to Filipino culture and tastes. What made me give up watching it is Richard Gutierrez’ bad characterization of the Justin character. The guy simply can’t act, period. He’s not even endearing. I get glimpses of a few episodes whenever it’s on because the rest of my family watches the show - why, I have no idea - but I feel like banging my head to the nearest wall every time I see it, so I gave up watching altogether. However, the series is ending tomorrow and I have this habit of checking out the first and last episodes of most dramas on local TV. Then I saw the teaser for tonight’s episode and I felt I really have to watch it. Not because it’s interesting or anything like that. It’s just that work has been too stressful lately that I felt that some good ol’ bad TV could make me forget about it.

When you read comments from people who are actually fans of this version of Full House and most of them say that they are frustrated with how things went with this show, you just know that the creators behind it did a pretty BAD job. The only ones who seem satisfied with it are blind fanatics of the lead actors.

You know what happened at the second-to-the-last episode of Full House, Filipino version?

1. Justin openly declared his love for Jessie while accepting an acting award. This was while Jessie was at the audience with her fiancee (!) Luigi because as we all know, Luigi is a movie producer so he should be there. Why Donald and Lisette (Dong Wook and Hee Jin in the original) had to be there, too, I had no idea. I haven’t seen enough of this show to find out what business do these two have to earn the right to have prime seats at an awards show. Side notes: On this version of the drama, Justin and Jessie somewhat became a couple, but Justin had no choice but to be engaged to Elaine because Elaine blackmailed him by using her illness (!) as the weapon. Meaning, Elaine actually forgot about Luigi and got obsessed with Justin. Meanwhile, Jessie ended up being engaged to Luigi. There’s even a part there where Justin, Elaine and Justin’s entire family had to migrate to the US to forget Jessie or for whatever reason I didn’t bother to find out because I feel like this is now an entirely different drama using Full House as a title.

2. After that open declaration from Justin, he disappeared (of course). Meanwhile, Luigi talked to Jessie and said he’s giving her up (eh?). After that, Elaine rushed towards Jessie looking for Justin (when the hell did Kang Hye Won became a psycho?!?!) and when Jessie was not able to produce him, Elaine grabbed a gun from a nearby security guy and… she shot Jessie! But Jessie was spared because… ta-dah! Super Justin to the rescue! He took the bullet for Jessie! Omigad! What the heck did they do to our beloved drama?!?!

3. Of course, they brought Justin to the hospital where Jessie was denied entry to the operating room (of course); Elaine was hiding from the police but Luigi found her (of course); for some reason Elaine was suddenly at the hospital and Jessie found her, there was a confrontation and… SLAP! Jessie slapped Elaine! OF COURSE. Then after Jessie left, Luigi came in and told Elaine that they have to leave because the police is all over the place and - of course - Elaine said she was the one who called the police.

4. Next scene: Jessie went inside Justin’s room and found his staff and family looking solemn. She was told that she should talk to Justin before it’s too late and when she got to his bed, Justin’s dad - who, as we all know, is a doctor - was covering his son with the white sheets. Meaning, he’s dead. And there I was saying, “ugh, he’s not dead, they’re just pretending he’s dead so that Jessie will panic and declare her true feelings for Justin.” Which was exactly what happened next. It was so damn predictable, even my adolescent niece was screaming, “ano ba, luma na yan, napanood ko na yan!!!” Although that shot of what seems to be an accidental boob slippage from Heart Evangelista (playing Jessie) was quite amusing.

5. Then they showed scenes from tomorrow’s finale and they promoted it as “kilig-filled”, but we were all so ‘MEH!’ about it. Geez, they already showed everything on the teasers, why should we still watch tomorrow’s episode? For Mamita (Halmoni) singing Fallin’ at the wedding? Uh, no thanks.

Suffice to say, the only saving grace of this show is Chiqui, the snooping gossip reporter played by John Lapuz.

In between commercial gaps, some clips of “random people on the streets” were shown with everyone saying they will miss Papa Justin and Mama Jessie. I bet my ass that this is really the Papa Justin and Mama Jessie that they miss:

I know I miss them.

Also, they have clips of students singing the Three Bears Song. I’m sorry, but are they sure that these kids learned that from watching this version and not from the original, Tagalog-dubbed one? Because based on my Kpop Con experience, even really young people know the Three Bears Song in Tagalog, and at that time Full House Pinoy version was just starting. Don’t try to kid us that this version is a success because sorry to say, it’s not. The competition is even killing it on the ratings game.

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On to another disappointment, that is, American Idol Season 9.

They promote this season as having the most talented bunch, and it’s probably true, but if we base it on star potential? I think it’s even more lacking than Seasons 5 and 6. At least Season 5 had Daughtry and Season 6 had Jordin Sparks. We’re already at the semis and I haven’t found anyone to root for yet. Usually, I would find someone by the Hollywood rounds, then it might change after one or two performances. It happened to me the past three seasons. Season 6, I was initially rooting for Melinda after she sang My Funny Valentine at the semis but later on changed to Blake Lewis because of his artistry. For Season 7, I liked Brooke at first but switched to Cookie, then Castro. Last year, I liked Anoop after watching his Clefhangers performances at YouTube, but later on I ended up rooting for Kris Allen.

This year, I kinda liked Andrew Garcia at his first audition and Crystal Bowersox during the Hollywood Rounds, but I’m not excited about them at all. The only one that made a mark with me, so far, is Casey James. He’s an eye candy, he knows it and he’s using it to the hilt. However, he’s just a guy who can sing although he’s a killer blues guitarist. Then again, this is a singing competition, not a guitar competition. And he’s definitely not going to win this one, not when the AI producers seem to be gunning for a female winner this year since the past two seasons have seen an all-male finale.

We’ll see next week if things would improve. But right now, I’m not rooting for anybody. Yet.

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I’m just thankful that my other two favorite reality shows, Survivor and The Amazing Race, seem to be delivering the goods, so far. My favorite Survivor contestant, Rob Mariano, is back at Survivor: Heroes vs Villains and he’s still good ol’ Boston Rob. He was simply amazing at last week’s episode. It’s just too bad that early spoilers say that he will get booted before the merge. As for TAR, lots of dumb contestants this season and it makes for good TV. I’m enjoying it, so far.

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This is what I’m really looking forward to: the second half of Season 1 of Glee.