Currently listening to

Hello again,folks! How's it been for you guys?
I've been having a couple of less well-known albums that I really like on rotation lately so I thought that it would be a good idea to share them with y'all.  I am well aware that my personal musical preference may not be the same as yours so my advice is that you should take it with a grain of salt. 
Albums that withstood the test of time (meaning that I actually replay these albums on a daily basis without feeling sick of them,at all in no particular order) are as follows:

1. Park Ji Yoon's Tree of Life-also known as Dream of Becoming A Tree (2012)

• I can't seem to put my finger on it but somehow there's just something about Park Ji Yoon's airy vocals that just gets to me. The star of this album has to be Tree of Life. Seriously,this track is all kinds of awesome and it totally grew on me after the first listen.In order to make things easier for you,check out the first song playing in playlist below and you'll see what I mean. I don't love every single song on this album,but I still like the songs enough to replay them multiple times.

 2. Joo Young's From Me to You EP (2012)

• One of the reviewers from American Kpop Fans said that she was "blindsided by the awesomeness that is Joo Young" and well, I couldn't agree more with her. Damn,I can't believe that this gem of a voice suddenly popped out of nowhere,astounding us with his sleek,velvety vocals. You want some soul/R&B? You've got yourself one,and a singer-songriter at that. How did a person of such calibre (caliber in American English) went unnoticed? I loved every single song on this album,surely this must mean something,no? I seem to have a thing for title tracks because my favourite track from this album is From Me to You. The other tracks on the album are equally good too quality-wise. You can check out From Me to You (third track on the playlist below) and It Was Farewell(sixth track) just to get a taste of his music. His voice somehow reminds me of Khalil Fong the Hong Kong soul Mandopop singer-songwriter. If you like Khalil 's voice,chances are that you'll probably like Joo Young's sound as well. 

 3. Soul Star's Rebirth (2011)

• I do think that this 3-person male vocal group is sorely underrated. For what it's worth,I truly feel that they are one of the best voices around in the industry. If you want some rich melodies of the soul/R&B genre then this would be your best bet. Why YG would ever let them go is beyond me. It happened with Big Mama,it happened with Su Pearls,all that I can say is,MEH. Perhaps it was best for them,since this means that they now have more artistic control,which is always good in my book. I was so tempted to go on a rant on how fired up I am over the disbandment of Su Pearl but I think that's a story better left for another day. Anyway,back to our boys,I actually quite like this album as a whole since the sound is pretty much consistent throughout. I don't have a favourite song though.

 4. d.ear's Love Graphy (2013)

•  d.ear (Lee Hyung-seok) is only of the early rookies of the year.,dropping a full length album with all tracks written, composed, and produced by d.ear himself. He comes from RealCollabo, the same company that houses Joo Young (mentioned above). Love Graphy is a solid debut from d.ear. I love that the instrumentals are kept clean and simple as a means to showcase his vocal abilities. My personal favourite from this album has to be Time Goes By. It has a jazz/R&B-ish vibe to it that I really like. One thing worth mentioning is that the flow of all of the tracks are really good in a very cohesive way. I love how the entire album stays consistent and true to its main theme until the very end. There wasn't a single track that felt out of place in terms of its musicality which I have to say is a quality that I can rarely find in albums nowadays. I am all about cohesiveness and consistency when it comes to albums so when it's properly done,that makes me a happy listener. I have to admit that there's a fine line between being consistent and boring,so I'm pleasantly surprised to see such a good piece of work from a rookie like d.ear. 

As you can probably infer from my current choice of music,it seems that I'm rather inclined towards the soul/R&B genre as of late,which is actually something pretty new for me. These artists cannot be categorised in the K-indie genre but I suppose that they are quite independent in the sense that they actually can and have the ability to exercise more creative control and take reign in deciding what music do they want to portray to others,and that,I think,was what mattered to me the most. 
I'm currently testing out two albums namely Jung Yup's Part I,Me (2011) and Lucia's Decalcomanie (2012),so I am actually quite excited and curious to see if they too will endure the test of time. If you do happen to have any good album recommendations,please feel free to blast away in the comments section down below. 

This may seem quite abrupt and rather irrelevant but on a side note I am having quite some Flower Boy Next Door withdrawal symptoms. Never mind,here's a collection of GIFs from my favourite scene ever. HEH warm fuzzies.

-finito-

Inspirational : A message to all the single ladies.

I stumbled upon this excerpt on a Tumblr inspirational advice blog where a 16-year-old was so worried about not falling in love and thought that there must be something wrong with her for her to be single at her age. I really love the response given by the blogger herself. I really do. Most of her thoughts struck a chord and particularly rung true for me,so I thought that hey,it would be a waste not to share such positive outlook in life with each and everyone of you,regardless of your current relationship status.

" If through some stroke of fate, nobody comes to love you romantically throughout your whole life, then you know what you do have? Platonic love. Familial love. And most importantly: you have self love.
Romantic love isn’t necessary to lead a fulfilled life. There are so, so many other kinds of love out there that are just as fulfilling. The love of your friends, of your family, of people who look up to you, of strangers.
And above all that is the love you can give yourself. There is great beauty in loving yourself, in loving your own company, in appreciating being alone rather than being lonely. In being happy just in observing the world, in interactions with your own loved once and with strangers, in appreciating your own life, and in learning more about yourself than you ever would have otherwise.
That is the kind of life you could have if nobody ever falls in love with you. And, hell, that’s the kind of life you could have if somebody does, as well. There is nothing at all that is stopping you from doing and experiencing those things in that way, even if you have somebody with you to love.
If you love yourself, nobody and nothing can ever bring you down. It’s not an easy thing to achieve, but once you do, oh how worth it it is.
So when you think about it, really.. suddenly a life without being anybody’s girlfriend or wife doesn’t seem quite so terrifying. Am I right? :] "

So,do you agree with the author's train of thoughts? Singlehood should not be viewed as a curse or an indication that there is “something wrong” with you. Personally,I find it very insightful (considering that the author's only 22). Since I am also single I find myself nodding furiously in agreement as I read this. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this,so do free feel to blast away.

Let's talk about music: Underrated Gems #1

I love discovering talented singers that are way under the radar and damn it feels super satisfying when I get to introduce them to my friends. I suppose that this Underrated Gems corner will be a habitual thing,since I've been dying to compile all my limited knowledge of Korean singers that are in dire need of recognition. Although I do admit that I've grown to be more inclined towards Korean music in recent years,I still don't really consider myself a huge fan of typical Korean pop music. Of course there are still quite a few gems here and there in K-pop,but more than often to be honest I find the music to be quite repetitive,which irks me a lot. Also,most of the typical K-pop material puts me off with catchy lyrics that makes no sense to me,at all. Besides,most typical K-pop musical acts usually already have a solid backing from various entertainment companies which relies on promoting their tracks heavily so I doubt that they'll need any more of my support. I am not bashing mainstream K-pop,I'm just saying that instead of being repetitive by introducing you guys to voices that you might already know about,I'd rather just introduce you to the less well known voices in the Korean music industry. So I guess this means that you can anticipate more of my thoughts and ramblings on relatively unknown singers,duos,groups,bands and whatnot in the future. You'd probably gather from the title of my blog the fact that I happen to be immensely obsessed when it comes to discovering awesome Korean indie bands so you'll also have these to look forward too. Friendly reminder: Don't forget to pause the player at the bottom of this blog before you move on.

Without further ado, I give you The One! No,I'm serious,this singer is really known as The One. I bet you thought I was trying to make a funny pun about him being The One,eh? HEH. I've tried to gather more information about him but sadly I could barely find anything on the net. Fear not,for I have put my stalker skills to good use. I managed to compile some videos of him performing which you will see below later on. I discovered this gem of a voice through his OST releases. All that I know is that he has participated in the second season of I Am a Singer(Naneun Gaseuda). I Am a Singer differs from other televised music competitions in that the participants are all veteran musicians who have established music careers varying from mega stardom to relative obscurity. Due to this fact, and because none of the accomplished singers desire to be voted last amongst their peers and eliminated, the level of performance is usually high and acclaimed by critics and viewers alike. (source:Wikipedia)

About the man : For those who don't know him -- he's a famous vocal trainer and artist who has taught over 400 artists including TVXQ, Super Junior, Sugar, Taeyeon,Fly to The Sky, and Shinhwa just to name a few.

The One's rendition of the ever so famous That Man from the Secret Garden OST. Trust me,your bestie Hyun Bin will be so proud of you,The One! HAHAHAH I'm still laughing out loud at the absurdity of this sentence as we speak. Sorry,I couldn't find any info on this singer's actual birth name so we'll just have to go with The One for now. Koreans and their ridiculous glamour names in the music industry. *shrug*

Next up he also did a rendition of Kim Bum Soo's It Will Pass. Kim Bum Soo is one of my favourite voices in the Korean music industry. I could probably go on and on about why I love his voice if I wanted to but meh,it will be better for me save it for another post since he's not the main character today. Enjoy!

Want to Fly was my personal favourite among all of his live renditions. I don't know who the original singer is but damn,the lyrics and every line that he sang simply gives me the feels and judging from the audience's reaction,I think it's pretty safe for me to infer that they agree with me too. 

He also did Jo Sung Mo's Do You Know. I'm having goosebumps again just thinking of the song. Damn impressive vocals.

Someday. No explanation needed.

That Person was his last and winning piece on the final round of I Am a Singer 2.

His most recent release is A Winter Story featured in the OST current airing drama That Winter,the Wind Blows starring Song Hye Gyo,Jo In Sung,Kim Bum and Jung Eun Ji. Gosh,the feels. I was so tempted to preach about the awesomeness of this drama or even nudge you guys to go and watch this drama but I finally decided against it. Why,you ask? The main reason being that I don't think that a gem like this drama will go unnoticed for too long since the blogosphere is already buzzing with excitement. This drama has even brought  out people who've sworn off melodramas for good. HA. I guess having Jo In Sung and Song Hye Kyo starring in a drama after years of hiatus from the TV screen does help in some way. Plus,there's also Noh Hee Kyung who is one of the most highly regarded writers today in the Korean drama industry. Anyway,check out the song below! :)

I do hope that this has been helpful  and I look forward to see you again in my next Underrated Gems segment. See ya! ♡

19 Before 20: My birthday goal list!

This post was inspired by Miss Indie's blog post HERE. I figured that since I have so much time on my hands I might as well take on this challenge. So here's my take of my very own 19 before 20 list. I've had a hard time figuring out what I want for my life this year, but I feel that as long as I try achieving as much goals as possible it will be good enough for me and hopefully I will grow and mature better as an individual as a result. Here's to hoping!
1. Get lasik eye surgery. This was on my Before I Die bucket list last year and I still haven't gotten around to persuading my parents to allow me to get one.
2. Get my braces done. I happen to have a very serious phobia of dentists but my parents have been nagging me to get one for ages so this has to happen,pronto.
3. Read at least 10 books.
4. Figure out what I want in life and finalize my university selection.
5. Watch at least 3 decent 2013 Korean dramas. And by decent I mean dramas that are brilliantly written,witty,sleek,humorous,heartwarming with proper execution. Breathtaking visuals and cinematography also helps. School 2013 is already on this list. Flower Boy Next Door is proving itself to be a strong contender although at this point of time we still have 3 more episodes left but if it keeps staying awesome,I'll have another one under my belt. I've recently started on my first melodrama venture which is That Winter,the Wind Blows. It actually came across to me as a surprise since I am in fact strongly averse to melodramas and overused drama tropes like fauxcest,car accidents,switched identities,rich heiress falls in love with conman yada yada yada you know what I mean. I’m a little alarmed by how much I love TWtWB, actually. I know that dramas can always turn on you and suck at the end but as of now damnnn,the first three episodes worked for me. Jo In Sung shone brilliantly in this role. I swear I feel like calling him oppa chi-geum-tang-jang right now! (the chi-geum-tang-jang right now part is a pun on the most uttered phrase by  the panda-eyed editor in FBND. HEH.) GO.WATCH.THIS.DRAMA.RIGHT.NOW. I am also having my fingers crossed for upcoming dramas like Nine and The Gu Family Book.
6. Read my long abandoned textbooks before I head to university. 
7. Score well in IELTS.
8. Get another charm for my charm bracelet.
9. Lose 5kg.
10. Have a birthday celebration with my girlfriends.
11. Find my very own individual sense of style through experimenting while making my outfit choices. (Read : Expand my wardrobe collection)
12. Learn how to contour my face. (I have no idea on how to use a bronzer or a blush,so hopefully I'll slowly get the hang of it soon?)
13. Participate in some charity work of any sort.
14. Make some new friends.
15. Start video blogging.
16. Try to balance out my English and Chinese proficiency. I don't know why but somehow whenever I'm getting really good at either one of it,the other language will definitely deteriorate rapidly for sure. Can't I be just be equally good for both?
17. Get myself a decent,long lasting and timeless accessory.
18. Expand my skincare and makeup collection. I'd love to improvise my skincare routine and hone my makeup skills.
19. Take up a Korean language course.

Do you have any goals to achieve before your next birthday?

So...

I guess this is it! This will be my first attempt on blogging publicly so be niceee,people. I've been blogging for almost 4 years in my tiny little private space but I've always wondered what it'd be like if the public actually read the things that I wrote,be it random musings or vain picture and what not so here I am. I am an avid fan of all things Korean despite my inability to actually speak the language or read Hangul. Hopefully this place can be an interactive medium for you and me because I happen to love spazzing over awesome K-dramas,Korean indie bands,Big Bang,fashion and a whole load more of topics in general. Even if you do not fancy anything Korean related at all (which I don't mind at all,really.) it'll be nice for me to gain some insight from you people.

My first language is English but I'd say that my Chinese (Mandarin) is equally good as my English if not better. No worries guys,I'll be mainly using English. If I happen to come across any insightful Chinese quotes or phrases I'll try to keep my translation as close as possible to the original intended meaning. To be honest,I don’t really know a lot about English grammar. I think I know how to use it well enough, but if you were to ask me to describe the exact accurate usage of certain terms and phrases,I don't think I can explain it to you. So yes,I may not have a perfect command of English BUT I'll definitely try to stay as grammatically accurate as possible,deh?

I stole my blog's title from my Tumblr blog simply because my brain has refused to cooperate in giving me a super kickass awesome name and somehow this came out so I guess I owe it to my former 17 year old self for the name. lololol

You can ask me anything on Formspring here.
Find me on Tumblr right here.

Welcome aboard!