HIGHLIGHT LIVE 2024 [LIGHTS GO ON AGAIN] IN SINGAPORE

09 September 2024

HIGHLIGHT LIVE 2024 [LIGHTS GO ON AGAIN] IN SINGAPORE
8 September 2024 (Sun)
Singapore Expo Hall 7

[On a rainy day, I had a Shock when a Shadow takes a deep Breath at Midnight. perhaps it is a Mystery or just a Fiction, but I indeed heard that Beautiful Bad Girl Calling You "YeY". maybe it is just Good Luck that it stop raining at 12:30, so that It's Still a Beautiful Night and not too late for the BODY to feel Loved and Daydream Alone. Plz Don't Be Sad, even though the Ribbon Butterfly is No More Beautiful, but tomorrow Can Be Better. Take Care, as it is Not The End.]

from B2ST (pre-debut) to BEAST to Highlight (they were forced to change their name after leaving their management in 2016); from being sarcastically labelled by K-media as a 'recycled group' before debut to 1 of the most decorated 2G group that is still active today (despite the name change & losing their producer/rapper Junhyung due to the Burning Sun scandal)... Doojoon, Yoseob, Kikwang & Dongwoon has definitely come a very long way! fortunately, fans remained & evolved from B2UTY to LIGHT.

Wasnt expecting BEAST (tbh i'm still not accustomed to the new name) to perform in Singapore again, so I am pleasantly surprised knowing that they have a stop here, which happens to be the last stop of this tour. glad, we managed to get tix for this sold out concert. Expo was extremely crowded 2h before the door opens, with lots of fans Q-ing for merchandise. I’m surprised with the huge number of fanboys (easily 30% of the audience). Somehow this concert has the old school (i.e. early 2010s) K-concert vibes in Singapore, as fans are very orderly and will help each other take photos & even chit chat while Q-ing. Happy to see such good habits being revived.

HIGHLIGHT performed 24 songs in total. They opened the concert with hits released as HIGHLIGHT, but it is the older BEAST classics that ignite the stage & set the audience crazy. The ambient is totally different immediately when the intro of "Bad Girl" was dropped. Most importantly, they performed most of the songs I like (eg "on rainy days", "Breath", "Shadow", "Fiction" & "Good Luck"). It will be perfect if they had sang "Beautiful Night" too.

Acoustic at Expo Hall 7 is surprisingly good (Hall 1 was pretty bad when I watched MISIA in 2008). Doojoon, Yoseob, Kikwang & Dongwoon are superb performers with great charisma. Yoseob vocal (especially his signature high notes) is amazing. Doojoon really improved leaps and bounds (think he totally replaced Kikwang as my new bias). Interestingly, Junhyung’s rap were either omitted (thru re-arrangement, so some songs sounded quite abrupt) or replaced by instrumental. perhaps they did it for practical reason (as none of the remaining members are strong rappers) & as a form of respect (to show that Junhyung is irreplaceable). Overall a really enjoyable show. 🩶

#B2ST #BEAST #Highlight #Doojoon #Yoseob #Kikwang #Dongwoon #2GKpop

[setlist]
1 Switch On
2 PRIVACY
3 PAPER CUT
4 Feel Your Love (48.6Hertz)
5 CALLING YOU
6 Give You My All
7 Plz Don't Be Sad
8 BODY
9 Bad Girl
10 Shock
11 Special
12 Shadow
13 Good Luck
14 Breath
15 On Rainy Days
16 Ribbon
17 Fiction
18 NOT THE END
19 In My Head
20 Don't Leave
21 Beautiful
22 V.I.U. (Very Important You)
23 How To Love
24 Oasis

[side note: we will be attending another 1 more concert (BoA) before 2024 ends... so many K-concerts this year. hope there will be more 2G Kpop acts, especially those who are still active or made a comeback (eg. 2NE1, KARA, T-ARA, 2PM) will perform here next year. Jpop are welcomed too, as it has been 7years since the last J-pop concert here (i.e. Do As Infinity in September 2017).]

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HIGHLIGHT LIVE 2024 [LIGHTS GO ON AGAIN] IN SINGAPORE   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.

Super Junior Asia Tour 2024 SUPER SHOW SPIN-OFF: Halftime Singapore

19 July 2024

Super Junior Asia Tour 2024 SUPER SHOW SPIN-OFF: Halftime Singapore
14 July 2024 at Indoor Stadium

19years of fandom & proud to say that i have never missed a single Super Show in Singapore (SS3 Jan2011, SS4 Feb2012, SS5 Jul2013, SS6 May2015, SS7 Jan2018, SS9 Sep2022; i attended both dates for SS3 & SS4). 💙

personally i think "Super Show Spin-off: Halftime" is better than SS9; perhaps bcoz they sang much more older hits (in their original arrangement & choreography) today.

the concert opens with their latest single "Show Time", followed by their 2006 pre-breakthrough singles "Wonder Boy" & "Dancing Out", setting the right energy level for the entire live.

as "Spin-off: Halftime" is not a standard Super Show (i.e. it is conceptualized as a 'deviation', like the halftime of a football match), so the repertoire includes a list of songs that aint staple in recent Super Shows. the most interesting segment would be the mashup sub-units that feature 'random' members (some being really unexpected) to perform signature tune of the original sub-units. for instance, Leeteuk was added to form SJ-L.E.D. with Eunhyuk & Donghae (the dance duo of SJ-D&E) to perform "Suit Up" (originally by SJ-LSS, which Leeteuk is an original member); Shindong, Kyuhyun & Yesung grouped as SJ-S.K.Y. to sing "Let's Not" (a ballad by SJ-KRY; Shindong who isnt known for his singing capability did impressed with his vocal!); SJ-R.S. (Ryeowook & Siwon; both not great dancers) challenged SJ-D&E with their rendition of "Danger". Solos (an important segment during normal Super Shows for each member to showcase their individual strengths & works outside the group) were also banned, so the numerous solo ballads were jointly sang by all the members.

The performance of "SPY" & "Opera" (both were non-lead singles off their 5th & 6th albums respectively) were very well-received by fans, and "Lovely Day" becomes a huge karaoke session. the energy picks up again with classics "Devil" & "Black Suits", before "A Man in Love" seemingly transport us back in time, as if we are watching the opening number of "Super Show 2" in 2009. finally, a Super Junior concert is incomplete without a performance of their magnum opus "Sorry, Sorry" (rearranged as a rock version).

the boys are still strong performers in terms of dance & vocal capabilities, still as jovial (e.g. their long love for crab/crap, singlish), and some members even demonstrated drastic improvement in languages. Siwon even preached & prayed, and he explained "he cant help it, coz it is Sunday".

Lastly, Leader Leeteuk announced that Super Junior will perform at Singapore in September 2025 as part of their 20th Anniversary celebration, Heechul will be performing & ELFs will get to select their favourite songs to be performed (likely thru voting). Like what Eunhyuk said, the Super Junior members are growing old, so are ELFs (growing old together with them), so i'm really looking forward to the events, releases & tours commemorating their 20th Anniversary next year.

Hope they enjoyed their chilli crab, pepper crab, super crap, Botanic Garden walk & the warmness from Singapore ELFs during their stay here.

setlist:
Opening VCR
Show Time
Wonder Boy
Dancing Out
MENT
Don't Wait
Runaway
VCR
Suit Up (SJ-LSS song; cover by SJ-LED)
Let's Not (SJ-KRY song; cover by SJ-SKY)
Danger (SJ-D&E; cover by SJ-RS)
It has To Be You (Yesung solo; SJ ver)
At Gwanghwamun (Kyuhyun solo; SJ ver)
The Little Prince (Ryeowook solo; SJ ver)
The One I Love (SJ-KRY song; SJ ver)
VCR
Get a Guitar (Riize; cover by SJ)
Hype Boy (NewJeans; cover by SJ)
VCR
SPY
Opera
MENT
Lovely Day
From U
Devil
Black Suit
A Man in Love
Sorry, Sorry
MENT
Believe

[side note: 1.5years since i attended a concert & July calendar is suddenly filled with 2 lives & NDP. love the live atmosphere.]

#SuperJunior #SuperShow #SuperShowSpinoffHalftime #Leeteuk #Yesung #Shindong #Eunhyuk #Donghae #Siwon #Ryeowook #Kyuhyun #ELF #SapphireBlue #SingaporeIndoorStadium #IndoorStadium #Stadium #Kallang #Singapore

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Super Junior Asia Tour 2024 SUPER SHOW SPIN-OFF: Halftime Singapore   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.

Purchase Review

16 June 2022

About Purchase Review
"Music is my LIFE: Purchase Review" is a collection of music review published on the 11th of each month. Each review will critique a CD/DVD that I bought recently.

Format of Purchase Review
Each review is presented in the following format:

- artist name
- title
- cover art
- release date (in dd.mm.yy format)
- release information (e.g. debut single, 1st album, 1st video)
- catalogue number

- tracklisting

- purchase date (in dd.mm.yy format; date I bought this release)

- review (my detailed review of this release)

- recommending (3 outstanding tracks that I recommended for this release)
- rating (my rating score for this release; please refer to my rating scoring system below)

Rating scoring system for Purchase Review
0/10 horrible (not recommended)
1/10 terrible
2/10 very bad
3/10 bad
4/10 poor
5/10 ok
6/10 average
7/10 above average
8/10 good
9/10 very good
10/10 excellent


Purchase Review index

J-pop

安室奈美恵 Amuro Namie
Baby Don't Cry (9/10 very good)
BEST TOUR "LIVE STYLE 2006" (10/10 excellent)
FUNKY TOWN (6/10 average)
PLAY (4/10 poor)

Do As Infinity
Do The B-side (7/10 above average)

Dream
~あなたの夢を応援します~

globe
preview (1/10 terrible)

浜崎あゆみ Hamasaki Ayumi
BLUE BIRD (3/10 bad)
Secret (8/10 good)

仁絵 HITOE (新垣仁絵 Arakaki Hitoe)
I Got You (7/10 above average)

MAX
LIVE CONTACT 2001 Bitter 4 Sweet (8/10 good)

中島美嘉 Nakashima Mika
LEGEND (9/10 very good)
THE END (5/10 ok)
YES (3/10 bad)

大塚愛 Otsuka Ai
金魚花火 (8/10 good)
大好きだよ。 (8/10 good)
愛 am BEST (10/10 excellent)

椎名林檎 Shiina Ringo
平成風俗 (10/10 excellent)

宇多田ヒカル Utada Hikaru
SINGLE CLIP COLLECTION VOL.4 (6/10 average)
Flavor Of Life (8/10 good)

矢井田瞳 Yaida Hitomi
モノクロレター (9/10 very good)


K-pop

BoA
MADE IN TWENTY (20) (9/10 very good)

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Purchase Review   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.

K-pop

16 June 2020

K-pop Live @ Singapore
Super Show 3 Singapore
(29 January 2011 & 30 January 2011 @ Singapore Indoor Stadium)

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K-pop   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.

Super Show 3 Singapore

30 January 2011

Super Junior 3rd concert tour
Super Show 3



29.01.2011 (Saturday) Singapore Indoor Stadium
30.01.2011 (Sunday) Singapore Indoor Stadium

Singapore Setlist
[Opening – Singapore]
1 SORRY, SORRY_Super Show 3 Remix
2 SUPER GIRL_Super Show 3 Remix / SUPER JUNIOR
3 돈 돈! (Don't Don!)_Super Show 3 Remix
[Video Interlude 1 – Balloons]
4 너 같은 사람 또 없어 (No Other)
[Members Introduction]
5 告白 (Confession) / SUPER JUNIOR
6 좋은 사람 (Good Person)
7 로꾸거!!! (ROKUKO)
[Video Interlude 2 – Ryeowook's childhood]
8 봄날 (One Fine Spring Day) / Ryeowook featuring Sungmin (Guitar)
9 新不了情 / Kyuhyun
10 Sungmin Dance Solo
11 Looking for the day / Siwon
12 I wanna love you / Eunhyuk + Donghae
13 Baby Baby / Henry
[Video Interlude 3 – Birth of SUPER JUNIOR-T]
14 Tok Tok Tok / SUPER JUNIOR-T
15 둘이 (YOU&I) / SUPER JUNIOR
16 아주 먼 옛날 (Song for you)
17 蕭灑小姐 / Zhou Mi
18 [Dance Parody] Poker Face ~ Single Ladies ~ Crazy in love
[Video Interlude 4 – Fighting]
19 Shake It Up! (Remix Version)
20 TWINS (Knock Out)_Super Show 3 Remix
[Video Interlude 5 – Eun Ju's Birthday]
21 미워 (Hate U, Love U)
22 잠들고 싶어 (In My Dream) / Yesung + Sungmin + Donghae + Ryeowook + Kyuhyun
[Video Interlude 6 – Kangin]
[Video Interlude 7 – Basketball]
23 진심 (All My Heart)
24 너 아니면 안돼 (It Has To Be You) / Yesung
[Video Interlude 8 – 미인아 (BONAMANA) House Remix]
25 미인아 (BONAMANA)_Super Show 3 Remix
26 갈증 (A Man in Love)_Super Show 3 Remix
27 U_Super Show 3 Remix
28 Dancing Out_Super Show 3 Remix
Encore
[Video Interlude 9 – 요리왕 (COOKING? COOKING!) Vegetables]
29 요리왕 (COOKING? COOKING!) / SUPER JUNIOR
30 차근차근 (Way for love)
[MC]
31 Wonder Boy
[Ending]

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Super Show 3 Singapore   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.

MADE IN TWENTY (20) / BoA

11 March 2007

BoA
MADE IN TWENTY (20)

17.1.07
5th album
AVCD-23153/B

tracklisting
CD
1 Lady Galaxy
2 七色の明日~brand new beat~
3 Winter Love
4 STILL.
5 SO REAL
6 KEY OF HEART
7 OUR LOVE ~to my parents~
8 no more make me sick
9 Revolution-CODE 1986-1105 Feat.RAH-D
10 Your Color
11 Prayers
12 Candle Lights
13 Gracious Days
Bonus Track
14 LAST CHRISTMAS
DVD
video clip
1 七色の明日~brand new beat~
2 KEY OF HEART
3 Winter Love
THE LIVE
4 LISTEN TO MY HEART
5 VALENTI
6 soundscape
7 Ain't no sunshine
8 make a secret
9 Moon & Sunrise
10 Winter Love
11 メリクリ
12 七色の明日~brand new beat~
13 Everlasting

purchase date 16.2.07

review
Approximately a year after her ultra successful 4th album "OUTGROW", BoA returns with her 5th original Japanese album "MADE IN TWENTY (20)". I only really start to like BoA after she did an excellent collaboration with m-flo in "the Love Bug" and her greatest single of all time "DO THE MOTION". These works shows great vocal improvement by BoA, who was infamous for her hit-or-miss pitching, uncontrolled yelling, unstable coarse vocal and random switching between register in some of her earlier works (e.g. "VALENTI", "Rock With You").

In contrast to the strong singles and c/w included in "OUTGROW", the 3 singles released prior to this album are considerably weaker. "MADE IN TWENTY (20)" begins with a new song "Lady Galaxy" that reminds me of Gwen Stefani and Fergie. Several other songs in this album like "Revolution-CODE 1986-1105" and "Prayers" share the same problem. It's not that this style is not good, just that it is not original.

Despite changing into a new mature image and music style since "DO THE MOTION", BoA somewhat revert to her old happy-go-lucky style with "七色の明日~brand new beat~", in which the music style is similar to "Shine We Are!". But interestingly, her new visual image and fashion sense were retained in the pv and cover art of the single. "Winter Love" was BoA's winter single released after the mega hit "メリクリ". It is a decent ballad, but not as great as "メリクリ". This song somehow reminds me of Mika's 2003 winter classic "雪の華". Especially for the video of "Winter Love", which shares the same theme and colour scheme as "雪の華".

"STILL.", "SO REAL" and "no more make me sick" are BoA's typical R&B common in her earlier album particularly "VALENTI", but obviously with better vocal. BoA's vocal is substantially better than her earlier days and she did a decent job for these songs. In fact, these tracks are the 3 best songs in this album.

"KEY OF HEART" is in my opinion, BoA's worst single release of 2006; it might even be her worst single to date. Like the previous single "七色の明日~brand new beat~", "KEY OF HEART" again features music style of her earlier career. However, this kind of music and whacky dance moves just does not suits her new image and vocal style anymore.

"OUR LOVE ~to my parents~" is a R&B ballad similar in style to "キミのとなりで". The Japanese lyrics were penned by BoA herself, which serves as a tribute to her parents. "Your Color" and "Candle Lights" are medium R&B ballad common in her recent works. BoA's vocal performance has tremendously improved over the years to handle these emotional ballads easily. She performed relatively well for both songs by delivering stable high notes of the correct pitch. "Gracious Days" is a joyful R&B ballad very suitable as an ending for an album and is my favourite track in this album. The bonus track is an English cover of x'mas classic "LAST CHRISTMAS".

Like other avex album, "MADE IN TWENTY (20)" comes with a CD+DVD edition containing video clips of the 3 singles and live footage from her latest tour "BoA THE LIVE". Unlike other live performance, BoA did not dance to her tune, focusing only on her vocal. The arrangement of the songs are also dramatically changed to suits the performance, giving these songs a new jazz sound. However, the live footage only features part of the tour and the complete performance is only available on a separate live video release "BoA THE LIVE 裏ボア...聴かせ系"; another good marketing strategy from avex.

Overall, this album is of very good quality. I like all the new songs recorded for this album. In fact, the worse tracks are the included singles, which "KEY OF HEART" is the worst song in this album. "MADE IN TWENTY (20)" is slightly better than "OUTGROW" and definitely better than any of her earlier albums. However, there is still some room for improvement for BoA's vocal.

recommending #13 Gracious Days, #8 no more make me sick, #5 SO REAL
rating 9/10 very good

Buy it here:
Made In Twenty (20) [CD+DVD] / BoA

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MADE IN TWENTY (20) / BoA   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.