I was thinking how I’ve been watching lots of first episodes of dramas these days, but haven’t found anything to dive into since the end of Who Are You? It’s starting to feel like going on a string of disappointing first dates — measuring up expectations versus performance, anticipation versus letdown, etc.

You know, there’s that date you’re really looking forward to, so you get dressed up and put on your heels and makeup and count down the hours, and he turns out to be a total dud. Or the date you agreed to because it was easier to give the guy your number than to try to invent an excuse not to because those excuses always come out embarrassingly half-assed — like you say you don’t have a phone and then it rings, or something — but then you end up having a good time.

I didn’t exactly intend to go off on an extended metaphor, but when I thought about all the recent dramas I’ve caught, they all seemed to fit (more or less).

SONG OF THE DAY

G.O.D. - “Falling” [ Download ]

First dates, by which I mean… >>

Tags: Bulhandang/Robbers, Coffee Prince, Hong Gil Dong, I Love You, Iljimae, La Dolce Vita, On Air, ranty/ravey, Rivals, Spotlight, The Last Scandal of My Life, Tokyo Showers, Who Are You?, Why Did You Come To Our House, Yi San

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by javabeans - 101 Comments →

SBS’s current ratings hit On Air is winding down, and although its initial three-episode extension was then curtailed to merely one, it will end its run likely on a high note next week. And in typical On Air fashion, they’re doing it with yet more high-profile cameos.

Hines Ward — NFL football player and Super Bowl MVP — was on location with Ricky Kim (or Ricky Lee Neely) in Seoul’s Apgujung neighborhood on May 7 shooting the drama’s final episode. In the show, Ward plays Aiden’s (Ricky Kim) longtime buddy, meeting again after both have achieved success.

(Seriously, who is this Ricky Kim dude and why does he get so much press? According to his bio, he was in the universally panned movie D-War, had a small part in a short drama Miracle, and a Best Theater episode. Not saying the guy’s untalented (yet), but he gets a disproportionate amount of attention for his thin resumé: Let’s just say being good-looking and half-white has been the ticket for many a budding model-turned-actor.)

On Air ends with its 21st episode on May 15; Lee Junki’s action sageuk Iljimae takes over afterward.

SONG OF THE DAY

On Air - “사랑을 해요” (To love) (Bossa Nova version) [ Download ]

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Tags: On Air

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The second OST for On Air is out, and so is the track Kim Haneul sings.

The song is cute. Her voice is weak. (It sounds like something indie band Misty Blue could have performed — I would’ve loved to hear it recorded by someone with stronger vocal control.) She can carry a tune, but those high notes are wincingly off-key (what happened to audio correction software?).

Listen for yourselves.

SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Haneul - “Sky Love” [ Download ] [ Re-upped higher quality ]

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Tags: Kim Haneul, On Air, soundtracks

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Well, her On Air co-stars Park Yong Ha and Song Yoon Ah both have songs on the series soundtrack (see below), so now it’s Kim Haneul’s turn. She’s showcasing her heretofore hidden singing abilities and recording a track to be released on the drama’s second OST.

She explained, “I’ve received so much love because of On Air, I wanted to repay that. This is my first time recording so I’m a little nervous.”

Is she any good, though? The music director thinks so, but we’ll get to form our own opinions when the disc, which contains ten tracks in all — Kim Haneul’s is entitled “Sky Love” — goes on sale tomorrow, April 29.

Via Segye.com

SONG OF THE DAY

On Air OST - “그림자” (Shadow) by actress Song Yoon Ah. [ Download ]

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Tags: Kim Haneul, On Air, Song Yoon-ah, soundtracks

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Phew, lots to talk about today:

• Get ready to welcome Go Soo back from the military! He completes his mandatory service this week; he’ll be released on the 25th and plans to have a fanmeeting that very day in Seoul. He gets back to work immediately in a play (read here) which premieres in May.
• On Air, which is doing very well in the ratings, has its next batch of all-star cameos lined up. They’ve already featured Lee Hyori and Jeon Do Yeon, among others; now they’ll feature Shin Dong Wook, Lee Dong Kyu, and comedian Kim Jae Dong. The series has been extended three episodes for a total of 23.
• As for other extensions, On Air’s timeslot competitor Who Are You? has been rumored to be extended by one episode to 17 total, and while I think this may be likely, I’m not ready to get excited until I see it confirmed somewhere outside the fan message board. (No offense to fans — they often have the earliest info, but I’d rather play it safe with an official statement.)
• Chae Rim suffered an injury over the weekend while filming for her new series Rivals. In a scene where her character argues with Lee Jin Wook’s bratty presidential-son character in a ramen restaurant, Chae Rim slipped on some fallen ramen on the ground and hit her hip on a sharp corner (of, I assume, a table). She was taken to the hospital, but no bones were broken and the injury appears to be manageable.

• Choi Jin-yi, the lead singer of rock band Rumble Fish, is set to go solo with her first single “Brilliant Days” (she’d already recorded a song with the group MC The Max earlier this year). Wait, Rumble Fish is still together, right??
• Singer-actor Lee Ji Hoon (Hello Miss, New Heart) takes his next role starring with Girls Generation pop star Yoon Ah in the upcoming KBS daily drama You’re My Destiny. He’s also set to release his sixth album (his first in four years) on May 13.
• At the wrap party for their film I Feel Good on the 18th, stars Eugene (Three Dads, One Mom) and Lee Seon Kyun (Coffee Prince, White Tower) engaged in an impromptu mini song battle. While singing karaoke, the two were prodded on by continuous encores, so they complied and sang four or five songs. In the film, she plays an pop-singer idol; it also stars Lee Soo Kyung (Soulmate, Golden Age of Daughters-in-Law) and Lee Minki (Mixed-up Investigative Agency, Dal Ja’s Spring), who were also in attendance, along with approximately 100 staff members.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Rumble Fish - “으라차차” (eu-ra-cha-cha) [ Download ]

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Tags: Chae Rim, Eugene, Go Soo, Lee Ji-hoon, Lee Seon-kyun, On Air, Rivals, Who Are You?

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 15 Comments →

• KBS’s new action drama Rivals, aka Kang-jeok-deul or Adversaries, premieres tomorrow. In striving for realism, Chae Rim visited a special attack squad and handled real firearms; Lee Jong Hyuk and stunt actors worked under a special-effects director and shot blanks from real guns. Now let’s see if the story’s any good.
• Kim Dong Wan, currently hospitalized after collapsing in the studio on the 11th, anticipates being released on the 15th, according to management. Reasons for his condition are attributed to stress from overwork; his solo album release will now be postponed until he is completely recovered, probably to early May.
• MBC’s upcoming Monday-Tuesday drama starring Kim Sun Ah and Lee Dong Gun, When Night Comes, is in the final stages of preparation and will soon start filming. The drama follows Yi San and is scheduled to premiere June 16. He plays an antiques-expert playboy with a thing for the virginal type; she plays a fervently patriotic spinster. The two share in romantic-comedy exploits as they search for national/cultural treasures. Kind of an oddly random assortment of details, though I suppose that’s not necessarily a bad thing.



• Lee Hana of the film Le Grand Chef and most recently in musician Jung Jae Hyung’s latest music video (see Song of the Day, below), follows her role in last year’s mania drama Merry vs. Daegu Battle in the upcoming KBS drama Woman in the Sun, also written by Merry scriptwriter Kim In Young. She’ll be acting alongside Kim Ji Soo (who makes her TV comeback after four years); the drama will follow currently airing Three Dads, One Mom.
• Last year, new pop group 8eight seemed poised for instant success, but faded fairly quickly out of the public eye after lots of hype. The trio says they’ve learned from the failure of their first album, born of an overly hectic schedule where they’d attempted too much, too fast: “We’d rushed through recording and our television debut, so the weak points were plain to see.” They’re now looking optimistically to their second album “Infinity.”
• Kim Haneul likes the comparison to her abrasive On Air character Seung Ah, and embraces her new nickname combining her real name with her character’s: “Kim Oh Seung Ah.” How is her character like herself? They’re both addicted to working out and have a love of sunglasses. For the past three years, she’s exercised three hours daily — sounds like someone’s got a bad case of exercise bulimia. (And no, I’m not being flip. That degree of fanaticism is very likely unhealthy.)

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Jung Jae Hyung - “Running,” whose video features Lee Hana. [ Download ]

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Tags: Kim Dong-wan, Kim Haneul, Kim Sun-ah, kpop, Lee Dong-gun, Lee Hana, music videos, On Air, overworking, Rivals, When Night Comes

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