Archives For performance

Needle heels should be banned from choreographed music videos.
on Meisa Kuroki dancing with heels.

I’ll eat my words by the end of this post, don’t worry.

As you all know, I’m a late K-pop bloomer. Since everyone around me seems to be into Kpop, I don’t keep an eye on it because I don’t feel like I need to… I just wait for my friends to tell me what to watch. LOL

It is in my search for Glee + Kpop posts (because I want to see how much audience would be into it… not many), I ended up on the video posted on a celebrity gossip website, that shall remain nameless, of After School’s Let’s Step Up MV.

They described it as Glee Korean style — which is not. As you know I love Celtic music, hence I also have a fascination with Riverdance, and tap dance. Let’s Step Up blew my mind. LOL Are you kidding me? Glossy pop music mixed with tap, mixed with Riverdance? I love it.

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I was watching CCTV a couple of few days ago, when I saw the most awesome performance of the song Legend (传奇), which is sung by Faye Wong (I’m pretty sure she’s the original singer) in a beautiful way as well [1][2].

But this performance by Henan Opera singer Xiao Xiangyu (小香玉) literally brought tears to my eyes. I wasn’t able to get her name the first time I watched the show, but they repeated it last night and I wrote it down.

I managed to find a video with English subtitles. [CCTV looks better but it goes wrong after minute 15 or something – stuck on the freeze frame even when the audio continues]

[iframe src=”https://open.iqiyi.com/developer/player_js/coopPlayerIndex.html?vid=17928efefd8ba611dc8cac707ba8e835&tvId=2062401009&accessToken=2.f22860a2479ad60d8da7697274de9346&appKey=3955c3425820435e86d0f4cdfe56f5e7&appId=1368&height=100%&width=100%” width=”100%” height=”480″]

There’s even a bit of a funny part when they mention Jay Chou’s singing style. LOL They talk about the importance of Mulan in their national history, and discuss how Disney’s Mulan fell in love and there was a happy ending.

If you really want to skip all the show [Legend is about 20min. into the show], you can watch Xiao Xiangyu’s performance of Legend, but it doesn’t have subs and the quality is not the best.

The performance starts at nearly 1.20m.

Look, I really REALLY love her song Love Warrior, and I have surprisingly warmed up a lot to Nightmare, but this performance left me a bit empty. It sounded so much like the album version that, you know – it’s no good.

I don’t know many of her fans, but I would like people to tell me this is not her usual stuff and that it was TGC’s fault.

The first edition of the Global Chinese Golden Chart was held recently in Taipei, Taiwan.

Besides Leehom performing All the Things You Never Knew, Bibi was also there performing a medley of her i.Fish.Light.Mirror singles, including a bit of Canned Fish (like… the intro LOL), Single Mirror, and finally closing with I Miss U Missing Me.

I’m happy that BiBi performs her best when there’s important people. LOL Like… she sounds pitch perfect when musician, producers, and actors are in the room. She doesn’t even need fireworks, outrageous clothing or flashy stuff, just her singing.

I don’t recognize you.

I swear that if I ran into this video without knowing what your name is in characters, I wouldn’t know it’s you. I also have stated that when you released Time, and many people complained that it was boring, I said that it was a well-produced album expanding your vocal range.

I like your two last albums, but your performance of the songs is not up to par with what you’ve previously performed, and it’s because you’re letting the production overpower your talent. And I don’t mean it so you stick to R&B – I actually really REALLY love your duet with Priscilla Chan. One of the most quality presentations vocally you’ve ever done.

FYI, I’m aware this is a fan-shot video.

But even if production and video quality are better than the other between the examples, you have to admit that the big dress and big hair is overpowering her presence on that stage, and the song is too mellow to be presented like that.

I’ve said her album Time would be better suited for an acoustic.

I’m not even a fan, but woman knows how to work that stage. She certainly knows how to close a show! On a very VERY long new year night… imagine having to download 11Gb to watch a roughly 6hr show, Jpop duo DREAMS COME TRUE was the most memorable number of the night — which includes a giant tsuru (crane), and a rock n’ roller tongue-wiggling ojiisan,

[iframe src=”https://you.video.sina.com.cn/api/sinawebApi/outplayrefer.php/vid=44605592_1463781897_Z0LkG3M5B2LK+l1lHz2stqkP7KQNt6nkjWy3vFqlLQdeQ0/XM5GdZtsH5SzfAtkEqDhAQJw5dfsj3h8/s.swf” width=”480″ height=”370″]

Are you kidding me? A marching band (the Kouhaku Marching band) with a lead singer jumping in a kimono? That’s an automatic win. xD Plus, Ikite yuku no desu (生きてゆくのです) is super catchy, the performance just brings it to the level of memorable.

This is the best I can do for the moment, the only clip I’ve been able to find. If/when I find something better, will re-post. Now, if NHK was smart, they’d be posting the Kouhaku performances on their own site for embedding, instead of taking down the performances that make it online…

I’ve never seen this video of Bibi during her Super Girl days. And I never knew she sang Gone by NSYNC! She even has a more likable – hint: not nasal – voice than Justin Timberlake. Someone tweet this to him ASAP! xD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uypEKsCcvZU

I wish she had changed the line about “being a man and be strong” xD but to what?

Then? Then she pulls of the ABC song in blues? Please, WTH.

I’m also making a YouTube playlist titled “Why Zhou Bichang is Awesome” LOL And you see the 2nd clip on that list? The duo with Priscilla Chan – that’s the same song she sang on this clip up here in the contest.

Makes me feel so proud.

I know a bunch of people were watching the American Music Awards on Sunday – does anyone care about the AMA once we grow older? I actually complained there was no broadcast, when there actually was… I just didn’t know there was, because I guess I didn’t care.

Also I rarely have the TV on in anything other than CNN, NHK, or CCTV LOL

Anyway, the New Kids on the Block and the BackStreet Boys performed together – which they’ve done before, only the video leaked that time was just a bunch of women screaming. So this one is an actual broadcast performance bringing oh so many memories.

They sang a mash-up (Glee fan-mode on) of Hanging Tough with Everybody, which then turned into I Want it that Way, which turned into Step by Step with The Right Stuff, and they finished off with Larger than Life.

Please, I was a teenage girl once – I know every single track name from any pop song of any pop idol prior to 2002. I know the choreography to those music videos. LOL

But now? Now I work on YAM, and I’m all about WORLDWIDE stuff.

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Not really the best of captures, but we’ll take what we can with YouTube removing stuff. Once again, YouTube users~~~ contact me in order to figure out how to keep the videos online. Your upload credits will be kept.

Thanks hirokisakurajima for the upload~

OMG, Yu-chan plays the piano!!!

I had read about that, but never actually believed it… you know, it is the internet.

I think it might be time for a Wikipedia update, right?

By the way, her last Ongaku appearance… which was uploaded by rocking user aoinohoho is gone because YouTube deleted the account – understandable. Aoinohoho, if you still visit the site would love to get hold of those videos.

Which leads me to a rant. Seriously Japan broadcasters, REALLY? As if you’re going to release interviews for sale. Even the likes of Letterman, and all those night shows have clips online. What’s up with that!?

Fuji TV, you fail at worldwide distribution.

Considering I didn’t think the Latin Grammy was anything special, I thought I’d give the search for my favorite performance of the Video Music Awards.

The initial shot works perfect, despite some problems with the camera zooming out. Moreover, the cuts when everyone shows up dancing work to show the whole stage, and closer shots for all the jumping.

The song is catchy, and the performance is different enough from the rest of the performances of the night to be memorable, and perfect to stand out. I hope Vimeo doesn’t delete it because it’s the only good version I’ve found.

[iframe width=”580″ height=”334″ src=”https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xet2b8″]