The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
- Rain starts military service
- Joe Brooks making waves
- Michael Jackson's legacy survives odd trial revelations
| Posted: 11 Oct 2011 07:36 AM PDT SEOUL: Hundreds of weeping and cheering fans gathered at a military base outside the South Korean capital of Seoul on Tuesday to bid farewell to Korean pop-star Rain as he signed up for military service. Jung Ji-hoon, known by his stage name Rain, is part of the "Korean Wave" of drama and popular music that has taken Asia by storm over the past decade and his third album, "It's Raining," sold a million copies in Asia after its release in 2004. "It is so sad that Mr Rain will be gone for two years," said Sachiko, a weeping Japanese fan who came to Korea for Rain's last concert and to witness his enlistment. "I am sure all his fans back in Japan would have wanted to be here today. So we want to make sure we see him off properly." As well as music, Rain has built a career in film and began his Hollywood career as a minor character in Wachowski Brother's "Speed Racer." He was cast as the lead actor for his second Hollywood film, "Ninja Assassin," which won him the "Biggest Badass" award from MTV. The three-times winner of TIME magazine's annual 'TIME 100 Poll' in 2006, 2007 and 2011 will undertake 21 months of compulsory military service in the South Korean armed forces. "Thank you for loving me so much for the past 10 years. Goodbye and I'll be back," Rain told his fans. Korean drama heart-throb Hyun Bin, best known for his role in the drama "Secret Garden," attracted thousands of fans when he signed up for military service this year. The 28-year-old won a sharpshooter badge and was posted to an island on the tense border with North Korea, which remains technically at war with the South after the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 11 Oct 2011 02:56 AM PDT British singer-songwriter Joe Brooks is having a splash with his latest EP, A Reason To Swim. British singer-songwriter Joe Brooks is an independent artiste in every sense of the word. From teaching himself how to play the guitar to building a solid online reputation as a thriving force of music, the budding 24-year-old has wrought every step on his path towards fame. His venture into music began after he heard Australian singer Derrin Nauendorf perform at his hometown (Southampton) in 2003. It left such an impression on him that he went home, determined to master the guitar. Before long, the aspiring young musician was making waves on Myspace with his tender self-composed numbers. True to his mellow but optimistic nature, much of Brooks' music reverberates with deep, hopeful longing. His pensive single, Superman, on which he reveals his boyish fantasies of wanting to be the hero to win the girl of his dreams proves to be one of his most popular hits to date. Superman was so popular on Myspace it generated one million plays in just eight days of its release last year. The young musician, who has since played sold-out venues across Britain and the United States, has been called the next John Mayer. Indeed, with his soothing, buttery vocals and laidback charisma, it isn't hard to see why. He hasn't let the attention get to his head, though. In contrast with Mayer's flirty, ostentatious nature, Brooks sounded positively calm and congenial throughout a recent phone interview from Los Angeles, his new home. "Even at 16, I knew it was going to be difficult but I didn't quite anticipate just how hard I would have to work. And I worked my socks off," the singer recounts his musical journey. That said, he has got to be one of the tersest people I have spoken to. Though charming, Brooks is careful and direly concise, offering only staccato replies that end as suddenly as they begin. Clearly, he reserves his poetic license solely for his music. He keeps it to-the-point even as he shares his crazy experiences while on tour. "I travelled across 35 states in America in a tiny sedan with three grown men and a drum-kit. It was so packed, we literally could not fit another CD in the car while we're in it and I was sitting right at the back!" he recalls his two-month trip with a laugh. "But I also had some of the most incredible nights of my life when I performed and I would do it all over again in two seconds." He hints he could be making an imminent visit to our shores. He has had a taste of the Asian festival crowd with a show at the Incheon Pentaport Rock 2011 Festival in South Korea in August. "I could be performing in Malaysia at the end of the year. Chances are looking really good, so far…," he reveals. For now, he is having a splash with his latest EP, A Reason To Swim. He describes the six-songs record as a mish-mash of different elements. "It has lots of different sounds – from ballads to light-hearted acoustic numbers to crazy, psychedelic beats," he says. "I like the variety because I don't want to be pinned down to any one genre." He finds his muses in legendary musicians Cat Stevens and Ray Charles. But he says his biggest influence is none other than his dad. "He is a huge inspiration. He's also my best friend," Brooks proclaims. A chance meeting with a stranger also yielded a serendipitous moment for the wide-eyed singer. "I met a homeless guy at the back of a restaurant one night and he was telling me his life's story. It struck me there and then that, 'Hey man, everybody has a reason to swim.' That's how the title of my EP came about." Holes Inside, the first single off the album is already on a steady rotation on local airwaves. "It sends a message about staying strong, even as your dreams and faith collide," the singer says. Joe Brook's A Reason to Swim is distributed by Sony Music Malaysia. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Michael Jackson's legacy survives odd trial revelations Posted: 10 Oct 2011 06:14 AM PDT LOS ANGELES: In the final weeks of his life, Michael Jackson slept with a toy doll on his bed, was so heavily drugged that he sometimes slurred his speech and his big comeback tour was plagued with problems. That was the picture that has emerged of the King of Pop's private life during the first two weeks of the manslaughter trial of Jackson's in-house physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. As bizarre as some of the revelations might be, they may add to Jackson's legacy as a genius whose stature has risen since his death in June 2009 at age 50, pop culture experts said. Jackson's odd, sometimes pathetic demeanor - largely forgotten in the worldwide grief over his death but on display again during Murray's televised trial - may make him even more beloved by his fans. ''Lets face it, we're interested in this case because it is about Michael Jackson,'' said Bob Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University. ''But the fact that he is gone also considerably changes how people perceive and emotionally engage in this kind of thing. The dead are the ultimate underdogs,'' Thompson said. The most dramatic development in the trial so far has been a recording played for jurors in which Jackson speaks almost incoherently and slurs his words. Prosecutors say Murray made the recording after giving Jackson a drug treatment as a sleep aid. Medical examiners found the singer's death resulted from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol combined with sedatives. ''I think that has introduced an element of pathos to Michael Jackson,'' Thompson said. ''That slurred speech, he was saying, 'I was deprived of my childhood. I want my money to go to a children's hospital.' How do you argue with something like that?'' When prosecutors showed the jury a photo of a doll on the bed where Jackson's lifeless body was found hooked up to an IV, it made headlines. Photos of Jackson's bedroom show he had several pictures and a poster of babies. The singer, who often said he was drawn to children because he never had a childhood himself, was tried and acquitted in 2005 of molesting a young boy. Stacy Brown, co-author of a book called ''Michael Jackson: The Man Behind the Mask,'' said the singer had collected dolls for years and had many at his Neverland Ranch in central California, where he also had theme park rides and a zoo. ''In the grand scheme of things, especially as it relates to him, I don't find it to be odd to have that doll there,'' Brown said. ''If anything, I would expect there to be more.'' But for Jackson's fans, a more disturbing revelation may be that the perfectionist ''Thriller'' singer appeared to be struggling during the strenuous preparations for his sold-out, 50-date London comeback tour - his first for 12 years. Jackson missed rehearsals in Los Angeles and those close to him had concerns about his health a week before he died. Tour director Kenny Ortega testified that on June 19, Jackson was too weak to rehearse and that he needed psychological help. Brown said the picture of Jackson painted at trial ''has only added to what's been going on since his death. ''And that is his image has been rehabilitated - something that he might not have been able to do had he been alive.'' Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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