Monthly Archives: July 2009
Critic’s Corner: Calista Wu – The Prologue
I’ve only heard of Calista Wu recently and as a result I’m not too familiar with her story or any past material. The Prologue marks Calista’s first CD release and upon hearing some samples I was intrigued to listen more. Her website has described her style as ”a unique urban blend of soul and spirit, and her songs capture the conflicting realities of the internal and external”. Categorically, Calista strays from the typical contemporary R&B sound instead toning it back and relying on a more classic approach. Hailing from the LA area, she has the support of other talented Asian American artists such as Tatum Jones & the Far East Movement but is it well deserved? Let’s find out after the jump!
WTF: Paul Dateh – Paul Dateh
Hey everyone, welcome to another Weekly Thursday Freebie. This past monday brought a close to Paul Dateh’s one-track-a-week give away of his album (which we recently reviewed). In case you haven’t been keeping up to date, Paul has also offered a quick explanation of each track and the story behind them as they were released each week. The last track of the album is a song called ‘Without You Here (Song for Jessie & Jacob)’, and with it Paul shares the emotional story behind the music. It’s a beautiful tribute to two of his closest friends lost in an unfortunate circumstance.
Hearing the story behind the music has given me a greater appreciation for his album, and so I encourage you to check out all the stories at his website as you listen to his tracks.
Link after the jump.
News Quickies 07-30-09 Youtube Edition
- Check out Jay Legaspi‘s new track ‘Picture Perfect’. I liked this one a lot.
- David Choi‘s got a new song too! ‘Uneasy’
- Check out dumbfoundead‘s tour of Koreatown LA
- Rin on the Rox has got a new cover: Jordin Spark’s ‘Battlefield’. It’s not bad but they’ve done better.
News Quickies 7-29-09 Twitter Edition
- Acoustic artist Big Phony has announced a new performance video for his song ‘I Love Lucy’.
- Dan aka Dan, frontman of Afterschool Special tweeted that ASS has been nominated for Best Hip-Hop Act/CD for the 2009 San Diego Music Awards.
- Paul Dateh tweets about his cameo in the new music video for Grouch & Eligh’s song ‘!BOOM!’ ft. Slug of Atmosphere. He appears briefly after the 3 minute mark.
- Susie Suh announced that her song, ’All I Want’ will be featured in tonight’s episode of SYTYCD.
- David Choi talks about how his song ‘Something to Believe’ was used on the Korean TV Show “He Who Can’t Marry” (ep13) without his consent.
- R&B singer Ailee just joined twitter and wants you to follow her.
Kina Grannis featured on EW
Youtube star Kina Grannis recently had a feature on EW.com regarding her indie status and why she hasn’t been signed yet given her massive youtube following. The article poses some interesting questions and at the very least continues to shine some favorable exposure on the talented Kina.
Here’s a quote of what EW had to say about her:
The 23-year-old Southern Californian already has over 93,000 subscribers on her official YouTube channel, and millions of combined page views for dozens of covers and originals — not to mention songwriting ability, chops, and a lucid, gritty voice.
BoA interviews w/ CosmoGirl
I dunno if I could call this an interview since it’s literally 5 questions but regardless here it is:
1) What’s it like to being a pop star/famous in Korea?
“Well, I definitely feel a difference when I’m here in the States and when I’m back home. It’s a difficult lifestyle and a lot more guarded. That’s why it’s cool to be in L.A. and walk around wherever I want.”
2) How do you like the United States so far?
“Well so far I still haven’t been all over America but I’ve gone to several cities since I moved here for radio promos. I live in L.A. and I kind of enjoy it. But I have to say that I really, really love New York City. Because it feels like my home.”
3) What American artists or musician do you aspire to be like or look up to?
“There’s so many great artists out there like Kanye, T-Pain, Lady Gaga. So I used to really, really love Michael Jackson so my dance moves came from his moves. But these days I’m more focused on pop. To learn more about the American music industry.”
4) What is the best relationship advice you’ve ever gotten?
“Be honest. Honesty is the most important part in a relationship because it builds trust, which is just as essential.”
5) Who is your celebrity crush?
“The actor from The Hangover. Also in He’s Just Not That into You. Bradley Cooper! I just Googled it!”
Source: AmpedAsia
YENN debuts in the US
Vietnamese Pop sensation Da Nhat Yen, now known as YENN, has just released her debut US single ‘So Good To Be Wrong’. The track is now available on iTunes. It’s a fairly catchy pop single. Can’t say I love it but I think it could grow on me.
Admittedly, I don’t know much about her but she’s supposedly a big deal overseas in Vietnam so it will be interesting to see how she fares along with all the other international stars attempting to cross over this year.
Here’s a clip of her recording the single:
Let’s hope the yellow people music movement continues!
Source: AmpedAsia
Johnnyphlo releases ‘Just a Friend’ MV & Interview
Jersey based hip-hop artist Johnnyphlo has been keeping himself real busy as he’s just released his latest MV for ‘Just a Friend’ through AllKPop, and a behind the scenes interview with Seoulbeats.
The production values are pretty sick here, props to Visionlab as they keep outdoing themselves. Parts of the video remind me of the m-flo/Bonnie Pink collaboration ‘Love Song’. The record is a very light, fun track, perfectly fit for the summer time. It’s a welcome contrast to Johnnyphlo’s previous release ‘One of the Best‘, as it shows his versatility as an artist.
The behind the scenes interview w/ Seoulbeats is just about as entertaining as the music video, so you should definitely check it out too.
PS: The eagle eyed viewer may spot Decipher and Ailee making cameos.
dumbfoundead interviews w/ Ktown213
dumbfoundead seems to be really making the rounds lately, and here’s another interview for you courtesy of Ktown213, LA’s premiere K-Town portal.
It’s a real short interview so I’ll just paste the whole thing here for your convenience.
Just ‘Cause: Patty Yu – Bao Eat You Up (BoA Parody)
Parodies can be a very hit or miss effort but Patty Yu’s ‘Bao Eat You Up’ song straddles the line between both. There are some moments of sheer genius here. All I can say is I just may like this more than the original.
Look out BoA!
Source: ChannelAPA
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giftedthought
music4ursoul
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