It's been one year since the start of DBSKnights and I would like to wish them a Happy Birthday! The start of my fandom coincides with a few months after the start of their blog- I remember when the bg was of Mirotic promo pics and the pages were full of update after update of pictures and pictures of the boys coming in and out of the airport. I owe so much of my fandom to DBSKnights.
I'd like to quote Portia's words: In the same way, the sun never sets on Cassiopeia. We the fans of DBSK have created a nation that reaches across oceans, across languages, and brings the world together for one love. I never cease to be impressed by the creativity, the artistry, the passion and ethos of this fandom.
I think herein lies the power of a humble blog like DBSKnights that has grown in one year from a dedicated solo fanblog to an international 31-member team, solely for the purpose of sharing their love of Dong Bang Shin Ki. And I wish I could quote their whole anniversary video, but you'll just have to click the link and see for yourself. Here are my words to DBSKnights on their first birthday:
my fandom started just one year ago as well ^^ and thanks to your blog which was updated like every second, i had a lot of DBSK sleepless nights too :P your sharing helped make me a really big DBSK fan :)
Thank you so much! Happy birthday and I hope there will be many more!
I was really sad to hear that one of my Flickr favorites and bon vivant 'superlocal' had passed away (too young). Now I find that he was also an heartwarming artist and a dear man. A small tribute in thanks for superlocal's inspiration in my life:
It should be illegal to distribute pictures of Eiji Wentz because, you know, someone might have a heart attack from his amazing sexy/natural appeal. I nearly did. My friend P is a big fan of Teppei Koike which is how I learned about WaT, but I don't keep up with WaT because their appeal is too sweet and comical- I love them, but it would feel wrong to fan too seriously over them >_<
PS. He's awesome as 'Franz-u' in the Nodame Cantabile Shinshun Special in Europe too!
Aheeyah.com must be one of the best English-language Kpop fan sites- focused, free and extensive, it's not hard to imagine how much its translations of Korean pop songs must have contributed (and continues to contribute) to spreading Kpop fandom around the world.
Upon reading this { small excerpt } from one of the old updates on the front page, I feel like the webmaster frostedsnow shares a really important message about fandom:
I used to work on Aheeyah because I loved Kpop so much and I needed a place to release all that love. I couldn't get enough of it and wanted to spend timeless... er, time on it. I could spend 6 hours with no break doing lyrics, and I'd be all happy at the end of it. It was all simply out of love and passion. Now, I work on Aheeyah because I have a duty as a fan. I have a duty to help make their music accessible to others, to spread knowledge about Kpop, and encourage fans to support their music albums. Lots of people call themselves fans, but they don't really do anything for the artists. There's so many things you can do! Start up a forum, or just participate in one, force your friends to listen to your Kpop-ified mp3 player, send some Kpop videos (clubbox? youtube? whatever!) to your friends on MSN, put some pictures of your fav artists on your blog, make a Kpop t-Shirt and wear it, sing Kpop aloud in class so all your classmates can hear and give you weird looks and the teacher point you out and ask you what the worldly kabungos you're singing and you tell em loud and proud, write the word 'Kpop' on your forehead and let ppl stare at you strangely and the brave ones ask you what it is, WHATEVER! Just do SOMETHING! Don't just sit on your big butt cheeks all day downloading their albums from the internet and leeching videos in forums and calling yourself a fan. AT LEAST BUY THEIR CDS DAMNIT! Why can ppl afford high speed internet and laptops and iPods, but be saying you can't afford to buy albums? Don't call yourself a fan if that's what you do.
Of course Soulmate are dominating all the fan blogs right now with their duo promotions (right up there with Heading to the Ground activities). It's amazing how strong their twosome image has already become, with the many magazine features and music show appearances they are racking up.
I've said it before but I'll say it again: the 'twin' look is a genius move! JJ & YC sharing the same haircut in blond + black makes for an immediate visual hook and makes YC look more Japanese than ever.
I love this Vivi shoot. The layout of their 'questions' page is pretty great too! (It's hilarous how non-commital YC's answers are, but his intention is good: 'Looks better when a girl has her own style.' Damn straight.)
Meanwhile I have this idea that Soulmate are working extra hard to keep Dong Bang Shin Ki's profile up. After all, their public face is the way idols communicate with their fans. I really admire the way JJ & YC are reciprocating their fan's love by wearing these personalized fangoods: JJ's 'We ♥ JJ' t-shirt and YC's 'Y' bedazzled headphones.
I've been listening to YC's Cyworld playlist too, which also feels like a kind of 'communication', lol!
A better pic of the headphones (I really like them) (and recently YC wore a fan's handpainted Always keep the faith t-shirt too! ♥ ♥ ♥):
I saw this video on holiday and only remembered that it went, 'Sakura, Sakura' but luckily it's pretty easy to find that way ;) Naotarou Moriyama's Sakura is beautiful and his rendition is so bare.
It reminds me of one of my favorite songs that I learned last year, SMAP's Sekai Ni Hitotsu Dake No Hana. Both have a nostalgic but hopeful tone, and I guess that's why they are evergreen songs for graduations and Japanese beginner language classes!
Recently my hair is at an in-between stage and I've been thinking about wearing it like Heechul with long hair, or more recently, Kim Kibum or Siwon. Yeah, I think I'm too into Kpop...
In fact my cousing was at the Super Show II in Hong Kong and I'm a little bit jealous! It looked like fun :D Hankyung's performance was really great- he has such a classic Chinese pop voice. And their animal hats at the end are way cute!
Meanwhile I've been enjoying a lot of Eunhyuk and Leeteuk's Sukira video antics, like this one of Don't Don. And wondering why Eunhyuk is so stylish when his bff Junsu the total anthesis!? I love Eunhyuk's dress sense.
What's that? It's hard to find a good photo of Bobo? Nonsense! Why just recently these fun summery photos have turned up! I love the laid-back vibe and general Bobo-ness in them.
I am enjoying Super Junior M's comeback solely on the basis of their new perms (so jealous! I want one) and Hangeng's insanely good performance of 'the geek' in their new mv. The song itself, not so much. But who cares when the video is so much fun?
Hangeng ♥♥♥
But my point is actually to say I love this part of fandom where persons/acts I was once disliked (in this case for instance, Donghae and Ryeowook) become totally adorable. Wow, paradigm shift! Probably because I saw that Ariel Lin mv like a hundred times this summer. Anyways, now I can spazz about all Suju members!
Have I been living under a rock?!!! I didn't even know this Picture of You mv had been released, because I was on holiday...
This might be one of their best videos in recent times- it's EPIC. I really love the cheesiness and the power of this mv because it is the ultimate in sheer Dong Bang Shin Ki boyband force. Does that make any sense?! Besides this I just love the song (and now I really really regret not buying that AADBSK3 book I saw while I was abroad).
I really miss Yoosu... Especially Junsu who has been out of the picture lately. Fighting!
I'm sorry, soompi forum member/Eunhyuk fan, I had to steal your photo of Eunhyuk in the Paris metro because it is just too uber cute. Eunhyuk is on holiday by himself in the City of Lights! Fans are helping him find his way on the metro! They bought him a coke! His skin is so good! He is dressed in awesome! Dangit, I shoud have trusted my gut feeling that this was a good month to holiday in Paris XD.
Yes, it's still about the same song, but I'm still so impressed with Micky Yoochun and Hero Jaejoong's lovely new single COLORS~ Melody & Harmony. The video, the lyrics, everything just lines up perfectly with the 'feeling' not only of the Hello Kitty campaign but of the position the boys are in now. There are so many angles to this, I don't even know where to begin!
The song is simple and easy to interpret any way you want- I like to think it's a message to themselves and to the fans to 'Always keep the faith'. After all, it's what Yoochun says in the rap. It's kind of like a mission statement of where they stand right now. I love the way this song leading the Hello Kitty campaign gives it a life of its own other than as a Tohoshinki song, and takes their meaning to new audiences.
Besides this, Soulmate went ahead and got matching 'Always keep the faith' tattoos over their heart. Even when their situation in Korea is difficult, their strong message makes the news and reaches the public. (Can I also mention the aesthetic aspect? Yoochun's tattoo is angled parallel to his infamous collarbone. GENIUS. And his matching haircut with Jaejoong is pretty awesome too.)
COLORS~ Melody & Harmony Right now, somewhere, someone is in pain, all alone Passing through a sleepless night Until the light shines on your heart Let's nestle close together, so that we could sleep Like a melody and harmony in love
For someone’s sake we are here Although we can only achieve small things Even just for 1 second We still want to stop all the tears in this world And turn them all into smiles
Keep loving, and keep walking, We've been believing that we will be able to convey these overflowing feelings Even before we were born, we knew that we would meet And that we would be searching for our dreams together
[RAP]
You know you’re just like them other ten, A faded fight between you and I I’d rather hope than make you sad and cry What I just wanna say is Keep the faith but fate never is moving us It can’t take us, it doesn’t make different cases So turn the light out, interact with a piece of dream Sound brighter, we all want the same sound Keep the tears, I told you how I’m your freedom, like a bird going through the sky What are we, just a Christmas tree in the night? [/]
The moment when we are able to compose the sparkling sound We will be able to forget all the sorrow Melody and harmony You are always by our side Giving us courage and hope
Thanks to you Thank you forever These glittering feelings are your gifts to me You've taught me how to support each other, to watch over each other And that I’m not lonely
The love that was piled up is riding on the melody I want to convey it to you Forever and ever
My music is my life For you, for you, smile Because our hearts will link together My life is wonderful Forever, forever
Starting from here
Keep loving, and keep walking We have been believing that we will be able to convey these overflowing feelings
Thanks to you Thank you forever These glittering feelings are your gifts to me
The love that was piled up is riding on the melody I want to convey it to you Forever and ever
lalala…
Right now, somewhere, someone is in pain, all alone Passing through a sleepless night Until the light shines on your heart Let's nestle close together, so that we could sleep Like a melody and harmony in love
Wowowowow. I LOVE ♥ the cover art for Hero Jaejoong & Micky Yoochun's collaboration COLORS~ Melody & Harmony. It reflects the song so well and the lo-fi aesthetic is really different from most of DBSK's airbrushed artworks.
I was on holiday so I totally missed their performance on the Boy Pop Factory festival (what a great name) but I'm glad I noticed it now~ they're not perfect, but the reward is in seeing them appreciated as musicians instead of idols.
Aaaaah I wasn't so interested in U-know Yunho's Heading to the Ground show until I saw in the promo pics that Lee Yoonji is in it! Yoonji is the most dear girl EVER- reserved, polite and sensitive but also very funny and absolutely nice. I just love her ever since watching her in WGM where she is married to the total cad Kangin (although he's very amusing) and she behaves like a complete saint throughout the experience.
This MBC interview was so cute- look how adorable the presenter is! and the cast looks wonderful. The show seems to be a comedy, not just a drama, and now I'm looking forward to watching it once it's out & subbed. Yunho fighting!
It's been one year since the start of DBSKnights and I would like to wish them a Happy Birthday! The start of my fandom coincides with a few months after the start of their blog- I remember when the bg was of Mirotic promo pics and the pages were full of update after update of pictures and pictures of the boys coming in and out of the airport. I owe so much of my fandom to DBSKnights.
I'd like to quote Portia's words: In the same way, the sun never sets on Cassiopeia. We the fans of DBSK have created a nation that reaches across oceans, across languages, and brings the world together for one love. I never cease to be impressed by the creativity, the artistry, the passion and ethos of this fandom.
I think herein lies the power of a humble blog like DBSKnights that has grown in one year from a dedicated solo fanblog to an international 31-member team, solely for the purpose of sharing their love of Dong Bang Shin Ki. And I wish I could quote their whole anniversary video, but you'll just have to click the link and see for yourself. Here are my words to DBSKnights on their first birthday:
my fandom started just one year ago as well ^^ and thanks to your blog which was updated like every second, i had a lot of DBSK sleepless nights too :P your sharing helped make me a really big DBSK fan :)
Thank you so much! Happy birthday and I hope there will be many more!
I was really sad to hear that one of my Flickr favorites and bon vivant 'superlocal' had passed away (too young). Now I find that he was also an heartwarming artist and a dear man. A small tribute in thanks for superlocal's inspiration in my life:
It should be illegal to distribute pictures of Eiji Wentz because, you know, someone might have a heart attack from his amazing sexy/natural appeal. I nearly did. My friend P is a big fan of Teppei Koike which is how I learned about WaT, but I don't keep up with WaT because their appeal is too sweet and comical- I love them, but it would feel wrong to fan too seriously over them >_<
PS. He's awesome as 'Franz-u' in the Nodame Cantabile Shinshun Special in Europe too!
Aheeyah.com must be one of the best English-language Kpop fan sites- focused, free and extensive, it's not hard to imagine how much its translations of Korean pop songs must have contributed (and continues to contribute) to spreading Kpop fandom around the world.
Upon reading this { small excerpt } from one of the old updates on the front page, I feel like the webmaster frostedsnow shares a really important message about fandom:
I used to work on Aheeyah because I loved Kpop so much and I needed a place to release all that love. I couldn't get enough of it and wanted to spend timeless... er, time on it. I could spend 6 hours with no break doing lyrics, and I'd be all happy at the end of it. It was all simply out of love and passion. Now, I work on Aheeyah because I have a duty as a fan. I have a duty to help make their music accessible to others, to spread knowledge about Kpop, and encourage fans to support their music albums. Lots of people call themselves fans, but they don't really do anything for the artists. There's so many things you can do! Start up a forum, or just participate in one, force your friends to listen to your Kpop-ified mp3 player, send some Kpop videos (clubbox? youtube? whatever!) to your friends on MSN, put some pictures of your fav artists on your blog, make a Kpop t-Shirt and wear it, sing Kpop aloud in class so all your classmates can hear and give you weird looks and the teacher point you out and ask you what the worldly kabungos you're singing and you tell em loud and proud, write the word 'Kpop' on your forehead and let ppl stare at you strangely and the brave ones ask you what it is, WHATEVER! Just do SOMETHING! Don't just sit on your big butt cheeks all day downloading their albums from the internet and leeching videos in forums and calling yourself a fan. AT LEAST BUY THEIR CDS DAMNIT! Why can ppl afford high speed internet and laptops and iPods, but be saying you can't afford to buy albums? Don't call yourself a fan if that's what you do.
Of course Soulmate are dominating all the fan blogs right now with their duo promotions (right up there with Heading to the Ground activities). It's amazing how strong their twosome image has already become, with the many magazine features and music show appearances they are racking up.
I've said it before but I'll say it again: the 'twin' look is a genius move! JJ & YC sharing the same haircut in blond + black makes for an immediate visual hook and makes YC look more Japanese than ever.
I love this Vivi shoot. The layout of their 'questions' page is pretty great too! (It's hilarous how non-commital YC's answers are, but his intention is good: 'Looks better when a girl has her own style.' Damn straight.)
Meanwhile I have this idea that Soulmate are working extra hard to keep Dong Bang Shin Ki's profile up. After all, their public face is the way idols communicate with their fans. I really admire the way JJ & YC are reciprocating their fan's love by wearing these personalized fangoods: JJ's 'We ♥ JJ' t-shirt and YC's 'Y' bedazzled headphones.
I've been listening to YC's Cyworld playlist too, which also feels like a kind of 'communication', lol!
A better pic of the headphones (I really like them) (and recently YC wore a fan's handpainted Always keep the faith t-shirt too! ♥ ♥ ♥):
I saw this video on holiday and only remembered that it went, 'Sakura, Sakura' but luckily it's pretty easy to find that way ;) Naotarou Moriyama's Sakura is beautiful and his rendition is so bare.
It reminds me of one of my favorite songs that I learned last year, SMAP's Sekai Ni Hitotsu Dake No Hana. Both have a nostalgic but hopeful tone, and I guess that's why they are evergreen songs for graduations and Japanese beginner language classes!
Recently my hair is at an in-between stage and I've been thinking about wearing it like Heechul with long hair, or more recently, Kim Kibum or Siwon. Yeah, I think I'm too into Kpop...
In fact my cousing was at the Super Show II in Hong Kong and I'm a little bit jealous! It looked like fun :D Hankyung's performance was really great- he has such a classic Chinese pop voice. And their animal hats at the end are way cute!
Meanwhile I've been enjoying a lot of Eunhyuk and Leeteuk's Sukira video antics, like this one of Don't Don. And wondering why Eunhyuk is so stylish when his bff Junsu the total anthesis!? I love Eunhyuk's dress sense.
What's that? It's hard to find a good photo of Bobo? Nonsense! Why just recently these fun summery photos have turned up! I love the laid-back vibe and general Bobo-ness in them.
I am enjoying Super Junior M's comeback solely on the basis of their new perms (so jealous! I want one) and Hangeng's insanely good performance of 'the geek' in their new mv. The song itself, not so much. But who cares when the video is so much fun?
Hangeng ♥♥♥
But my point is actually to say I love this part of fandom where persons/acts I was once disliked (in this case for instance, Donghae and Ryeowook) become totally adorable. Wow, paradigm shift! Probably because I saw that Ariel Lin mv like a hundred times this summer. Anyways, now I can spazz about all Suju members!
Have I been living under a rock?!!! I didn't even know this Picture of You mv had been released, because I was on holiday...
This might be one of their best videos in recent times- it's EPIC. I really love the cheesiness and the power of this mv because it is the ultimate in sheer Dong Bang Shin Ki boyband force. Does that make any sense?! Besides this I just love the song (and now I really really regret not buying that AADBSK3 book I saw while I was abroad).
I really miss Yoosu... Especially Junsu who has been out of the picture lately. Fighting!
I'm sorry, soompi forum member/Eunhyuk fan, I had to steal your photo of Eunhyuk in the Paris metro because it is just too uber cute. Eunhyuk is on holiday by himself in the City of Lights! Fans are helping him find his way on the metro! They bought him a coke! His skin is so good! He is dressed in awesome! Dangit, I shoud have trusted my gut feeling that this was a good month to holiday in Paris XD.
Yes, it's still about the same song, but I'm still so impressed with Micky Yoochun and Hero Jaejoong's lovely new single COLORS~ Melody & Harmony. The video, the lyrics, everything just lines up perfectly with the 'feeling' not only of the Hello Kitty campaign but of the position the boys are in now. There are so many angles to this, I don't even know where to begin!
The song is simple and easy to interpret any way you want- I like to think it's a message to themselves and to the fans to 'Always keep the faith'. After all, it's what Yoochun says in the rap. It's kind of like a mission statement of where they stand right now. I love the way this song leading the Hello Kitty campaign gives it a life of its own other than as a Tohoshinki song, and takes their meaning to new audiences.
Besides this, Soulmate went ahead and got matching 'Always keep the faith' tattoos over their heart. Even when their situation in Korea is difficult, their strong message makes the news and reaches the public. (Can I also mention the aesthetic aspect? Yoochun's tattoo is angled parallel to his infamous collarbone. GENIUS. And his matching haircut with Jaejoong is pretty awesome too.)
COLORS~ Melody & Harmony Right now, somewhere, someone is in pain, all alone Passing through a sleepless night Until the light shines on your heart Let's nestle close together, so that we could sleep Like a melody and harmony in love
For someone’s sake we are here Although we can only achieve small things Even just for 1 second We still want to stop all the tears in this world And turn them all into smiles
Keep loving, and keep walking, We've been believing that we will be able to convey these overflowing feelings Even before we were born, we knew that we would meet And that we would be searching for our dreams together
[RAP]
You know you’re just like them other ten, A faded fight between you and I I’d rather hope than make you sad and cry What I just wanna say is Keep the faith but fate never is moving us It can’t take us, it doesn’t make different cases So turn the light out, interact with a piece of dream Sound brighter, we all want the same sound Keep the tears, I told you how I’m your freedom, like a bird going through the sky What are we, just a Christmas tree in the night? [/]
The moment when we are able to compose the sparkling sound We will be able to forget all the sorrow Melody and harmony You are always by our side Giving us courage and hope
Thanks to you Thank you forever These glittering feelings are your gifts to me You've taught me how to support each other, to watch over each other And that I’m not lonely
The love that was piled up is riding on the melody I want to convey it to you Forever and ever
My music is my life For you, for you, smile Because our hearts will link together My life is wonderful Forever, forever
Starting from here
Keep loving, and keep walking We have been believing that we will be able to convey these overflowing feelings
Thanks to you Thank you forever These glittering feelings are your gifts to me
The love that was piled up is riding on the melody I want to convey it to you Forever and ever
lalala…
Right now, somewhere, someone is in pain, all alone Passing through a sleepless night Until the light shines on your heart Let's nestle close together, so that we could sleep Like a melody and harmony in love
Wowowowow. I LOVE ♥ the cover art for Hero Jaejoong & Micky Yoochun's collaboration COLORS~ Melody & Harmony. It reflects the song so well and the lo-fi aesthetic is really different from most of DBSK's airbrushed artworks.
I was on holiday so I totally missed their performance on the Boy Pop Factory festival (what a great name) but I'm glad I noticed it now~ they're not perfect, but the reward is in seeing them appreciated as musicians instead of idols.
Aaaaah I wasn't so interested in U-know Yunho's Heading to the Ground show until I saw in the promo pics that Lee Yoonji is in it! Yoonji is the most dear girl EVER- reserved, polite and sensitive but also very funny and absolutely nice. I just love her ever since watching her in WGM where she is married to the total cad Kangin (although he's very amusing) and she behaves like a complete saint throughout the experience.
This MBC interview was so cute- look how adorable the presenter is! and the cast looks wonderful. The show seems to be a comedy, not just a drama, and now I'm looking forward to watching it once it's out & subbed. Yunho fighting!
Cross Road 