Meh.

The “female Rain” pop dance-singer Sohn Dambi is making her Hollywood acting debut.

One thing she’s got going for her is that her debut comes in a dance-themed movie, Hype Nation, and even if her vocals are mediocre, she’s a decent (though overhyped) dancer (see MV below). The flick is backed by Universal and, according to the article, was in search of a female lead “with East Asian appeal.” Hence Sohn Dambi taking the role.

She’ll star alongside hip-hoppers B2K, who face off in the movie against top Korean b-boy group Gambler. Because she’ll speak entirely in English, she plans to start studying with an English tutor.

Apparently she also hopes of breaking through to the U.S. music scene, but is starting with film. (I say: A pan-Asian superstar like Boa has the odds stacked against her, so it’ll only be that much harder for a B-list singer like Sohn Dambi to break through…) Also, she’s pretty, but she’s never acted before, and the fact that she was cast despite non-fluency in English plus an absence of demonstrated acting ability doesn’t make me approach this movie with high hopes.

Check out her “Cry Eye” video (which makes me laugh, for all the wrong reasons):

Via My Daily

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(At least figuratively?)

U-Know Yunho and Micky Yoochun light up the stage (top pic) with the rest of their DBSK groupmates at the 2008 Asia Song Festival.

October 4, Seoul World Cup Stadium.

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Actor Lee Minki (Mixed-up Investigative Agency and Dal Ja’s Spring) is lending his hitherto-unknown vocal talents to a track with Korean electronica/pop singer Sheean in a collaboration with Japanese electronica/Shibuya-kei artist FreeTEMPO. The song, titled “Power of Love,” was released as a digital single today.

Lee Minki managed to squeeze in recording time with Sheean in between his busy film schedule; he is currently working on the film Haeundae [해운대], which also stars Ha Ji-won and Seol Kyung-gu. FreeTEMPO (aka Takeshi Hanzawa) flew to Korea in August to work on the project.

Lee said, “I’ve always liked FreeTEMPO and electronic music, which is why I agreed to this project. It felt really awesome to work with artists I already liked.”

Lee also is to appear in the music video (catch a preview below). Meanwhile, FreeTEMPO and Sheean are set to perform “Power of Love” live at the Pusan International Film Festival on October 3.

Via Herald Biz and poweroflove.kr

SONG OF THE DAY

FreeTEMPO X Sheean - “Power of Love” feat. Lee Minki. Written, arranged, and programmed by FreeTEMPO, lyrics by Sheean. I’ve featured both FreeTEMPO and Sheean before; check out Sheean’s other songs here and here. [ Download ]

You’ll probably recognize FreeTEMPO from the two tracks featured in Coffee Prince, which you can download here (and listen below).

FreeTEMPO - “Immaterial White”

FreeTEMPO - “Sky High”

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Kim Hye-soo may have merely portrayed a singer in the period film Modern Boy, but now she’s releasing a digital single, as did her co-star Jo Seung-woo.

The music is modeled after the 1930s style, given the movie’s setting in that era. Four songs make up the single, including an American hit (1936’s “Why Don’t You Do Right”), a ‘30s-dancehall-inspired song by Japanese musician Ego-Wrappin’ (“Blues of Colors” — listen below), and another taking its lyrics from a poem published in 1930 by poet Kim So-wol. The single therefore showcases songs in three languages (Korean, Japanese, English).

The single goes on sale September 11, preceding the movie’s October 2 release.

Via EDaily.com

SONG OF THE DAY

Ego-Wrappin’ - “色彩のブル-ス” (Blues of Colors). This is the original song that Kim Hye-soo will be covering in the movie. [ Download ]

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• Kicking off promotion for Modern Boy

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I love Horan. Not only is she a great singer for electronica group Clazziquai as well as indie band Ibadi (not the strongest vocals, but lovely all the same), she’s smart and literate (she put out a collection of essays, served as book columnist for a magazine, and hosted an educational book program on television).

Now the singer-author-MC-radio DJ takes her first stab at a new type of stage: musical theater. Next month, she’ll debut in SHOUT! — “the mod musical” about women’s liberation that takes place in England’s swingin’ ’60s — which has enjoyed successful runs in England, the States, Australia, and Japan. Characters are named after colors (Yellow, Green, Blue), and Horan steps into the role of “Red.”

SHOUT! runs from October 24 through January 18 in Seoul’s Cecil Theater.

Via Sports Khan

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