Passion For Kwon: June 2010

Friday, June 25, 2010

10.06.25 Music Bank - Male Idols Special Stage - Rain's "Love Song

I had a really HUGE anticipation for this special stage for a few specific reasons.One,the idols are doing a tribute of Rain's hit song for the year 2010(and Rain is my first KPop artist big love).Two,Kwonnie is being pitted against(or more accurately "grouped with") other male idols who are full-time Dance Gasoos (unlike JoKwon who's actually a full time Ballad Gasoo and only dances during his "free time") such as 2PM's Khun and Chansung and SuJu's EunHyuk and ShinDong.Three,it is ALWAYS a treat for any Kwon lovers to be able to watch him dancing to manly,sexy moves which we all know he excels at but rarely gets the chance to do so.And four,to be doing this number specifically - Kwon would be required to do some abs-flashing as the original choreography would have him do exactly just that(ahem).

The only drawbacks I had about Kwon being part of this stage was the fact that he would have to carry the same look Bi had while he was promoting the song - the very bold fake eyelashes.And that look is just ridiculous;personally I thought that even Bi himself had a hard time pulling it off,and Bi is The Man.And for such a pretty boy kind of guy that our Kwonnie is,I didn't even wanna imagine it.

So there I was,watching the Half-Year Special episode of Music Bank and waiting patiently when the performance finally came up:

And boy was I dissapointed with the camera works of the performance,and the whole concept of it!I honestly couldn't understand the approach that the PD went with for the stage - what was the use of having 4 gorgeous idols all dancing sexily and living up to the style and concept that Bi had for the song,only to have ShinDong ending the performance with a funny twist?I mean,the ending had me going -Seriously??!!And the camera angles,it was all messy.If this was some Dance Battle show or even a slot on Star King,it would've been perfectly acceptable as it would've been fun.But it wasn't,and as a fan of Bi I was actually kinda insulted.And for the four guys who danced their butts off trying to do justice to the choreography and overall performance,immersing themselves wholeheartedly trying to be all sexy and charismatic;I thought their effects weren't quite worth the results when everyone else just ended up laughing by the end of it.

As for Kwon himself,I was completely impressed and satisfied with his performance.Or maybe I shouldn't have been too impressed because basically he did give me what I expected to see of him.I'm not sure if many people noticed it but they've actually recorded parts of the song for the performance and the five guys only lip-synched to it as they performed.But Kwon actually sang the first few lines live before lip-syncing to the rest of his parts,and the cutest and funniest thing was Kwon sucks so badly at lip-synching(I'm positive I AMs would know how our AM boys prefers to sing LIVE all the time,right?) we can actually hear his breaths as he sort of mouthed the lyrics while his mic was STILL switched on for the later parts!

As for his dancing,Kwon was perfect and on-point for everything.We can actually compare Kwon's movements with the actual moves that Bi and his dancers did for the song that was show at the back on the LED screen,and it's safe to say that Kwon would've done Bi proud if Bi himself saw the performance.Again,this shouldn't be too surprising as I'm sure Kwon had his practice sessions with the JYPE dance master himself(Bi's good friend and former backup dancer Park NamYoung) so you would expect him to deliver the goods.And the abs flashing that Kwon did?Done with such ease and confidence you wish the camera just stay focused on him the whole entire time.

How he made me forget that he was a ballad singer in the first place was really a proof on how good Kwon was for the special stage,he completely belonged there with the rest of the Dance Gasoo idols.Although at the beginning I can't help but felt that him singing Bi's song in that beautiful voice of his somehow made the song sounded even sadder then it really is,so I guess the ballad-singer quality in him did showed up a little bit but in a very good way!

The only complaints I had would be the fact that the fake eyelashes were part of the performance and I wished Kwon had his hair styled a little bit differently then the style he had on.Other than that,I have a feeling that with this special stage JoKwon proved to me and a lot of his other fans,time and again that he is the real deal - a talented idol with so many different aspects to him that only makes you love him more as you discover more of him.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

10.06.24 2AM JoKwon @ World Cup Support Event - The Saddest Rehearsal

I hate to post up the photos,but I still have to.As much as I am a big fan of Kwon and everything that he is,today is the day where I wished that he's not a celebrity,not 2AM leader,and especially not that very popular KkapKwon - I wished for today that he is just the regular person JoKwon so he wouldn't have to go through such a heart-wrenching situation like the one he had to go through today.

Yesterday,one of Kwon's closest and oldest friend Wonder Girl's SunYe lost her father and JoKwon was one of the first people to arrive at the hospital and was by SunYe's side during the service.This rehearsal today was Kwon's first public appearance after the sad incident and it was said that he actually arrived at the rehearsal place coming directly from the service.Fanaccounts stated that the whole entire time during the rehearsal Kwon was avoiding any sort of eye contact with fans who were present and was seen choking and holding back tears at various points during the session.

I myself have watched a Kwon-focused fancam of the rehearsal,and by God - it was simply heartbreaking to watch.He wasn't just holding back tears;I believe there was a point where he actually cried but being the ultimate professional that he is he took a breath and resumed singing as if there was nothing wrong with him,although there were still other moments where he looked like he was this close to break down and lose control of it all.I can't help but teared as I watched the fancam because there was just this pained aura that was emanating off him and it was so unlike his usual self and there was no denying how hurt he was to be singing on stage like nothing's wrong when inside he's probably feeling completely crushed.

But my wish remains just as a wish - and for JoKwon the Entertainer,the job must be done as is required of him.Tonight he wore the Red Devil t-shirt and put on the smiling singer mask and performed as joyfully as he can be, with great fireworks exploding merrily and beautiful cheerleaders surrounding him.But the saddest rehearsal tells us fan another story and it will be something that I will remember for a long time to come.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

10.06.20 2AM JoKwon @ Actor Lee MinHo Fanmeet Photos

As we all know SeulOng was part of the cast for the Lee MinHo-Son YeJin drama "Personal Taste" and 2AM also sang one of the main songs for the drama's OST "Like A Fool",so it wasn't a surprise for me when I found out that 2AM were present at actor Lee MinHo's fanmeet event today to perform two congratulatory songs.No Changminnie today unfortunately but the boys did well and more importantly I'm just glad to hear that Lee MinHo's fans were apparently very impressed with their performance.Hopefully the boys gained some new fans today.

Oh and Kwon looks delicious in black.^^