tabi's tempo

Reason for M-I-A

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:42:00 -0400

I’ve posted this on my scenario blog, of—all—days and felt that it is time to post on toptempo.

So for quite a few months, I’ve just been queuing up posts and not really looking after this toptempo blog. For that—I apologize! Some things have come up in real life. Unfortunately, one of them is work (which I hate so much. Someone find me decent people to work with! haha) but also *drum roll*

my boyfriend proposed to me

and I said—okaaaaaay~

Which has led me to think that I really should treat the poor man better haha. He’s gone with me through my crazy fan girl moments and put up with my love for TOP. I kind of feel that maybe I owe it to him to step away from TOP (as much as I love TOP, as much as I adore writing about Seunghyun and fantasizing this other life that I want) I should put more attention into le fiance~ *goodness this is embarrassing. fiance. what a weird word.*

I was debating on closing down my tumblrs but I love my scenario blog and wanted to keep that open and since toptempo is my main blog, if I were to close down my main blog—all of my sub blogs would be kapoot too. So, I’ve put up this ‘poof for now’ page. I may come back. I may not. I will always lurk because my love for BIGBANG will probably be with me for a lifetime. *tumblr is my newsfeed for concerts ya know! haha I don’t know but what I do know is that right now—I should really put attention onto le fiance because after all— he wants to marry this unmarry-able girl and for that he deserves some attention hahaha!!!

Again, I apologize for my disappearance. Real life just happens out of nowhere!

To my 1200+ WONDERFUL, LOVEABLE FOLLOWERS, I WUB YOU ALL and for showing me what wonderful and beautiful kind souls you are. I DO NOT MIND if you decide to click that unfollow button. Just know that I appreciate you even hitting that FOLLOW button in the first place. :)

*SENDS HEARTS* WOOSH WOOSH!!!

-julie

TOP in I’m sorry - request by anon

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 08:00:33 -0400

TOP in I’m sorry - request by anon

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Wed, 20 Mar 2013 08:00:30 -0400

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Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:00:34 -0400

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Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:00:34 -0400

TOP x Glasses

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 08:00:24 -0400

TOP x Glasses

AU Meme | Jiyong is a fashion design student in Paris and...

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:00:41 -0400

AU Meme | Jiyong is a fashion design student in Paris and Seunghyun a rich law student, who would rather cut off his hand than spend his precious time with Jiyong.

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Fri, 15 Mar 2013 08:00:37 -0400

casisawb: 20-21/50 TOP

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:00:42 -0400

casisawb:

20-21/50 TOP

“be good to your girlfriend, you never know when you will be...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:02:04 -0400

“be good to your girlfriend, you never know when you will be launched into space.”

bingu-choom-top: He says NO COMMENT but I think that smile gave...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 08:00:19 -0400

bingu-choom-top:

He says NO COMMENT but I think that smile gave everything away.

BIGBANG’s concept in the M/V Fantastic Baby

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 08:00:45 -0400

BIGBANG’s concept in the M/V Fantastic Baby

"If I were to praise the best fandom, it would be VIPs. They have their flaws, but Big Bang can’t be..."

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:00:22 -0400

“If I were to praise the best fandom, it would be VIPs. They have their flaws, but Big Bang can’t be seen much on variety shows. Instead VIP connect with Big Bang primarily through their music and live performances, where Big Bang’s true talents and personality gets into the light. Emotional connection between Big Bang and VIPs seems the most sincere, since it comes from both sides equally: in every performance Big Bang gives 120% to making a memorable show, which their fans really appreciate, not feeling cheated for supporting them. VIPs also stood up for Big Bang when they were going though a crisis, and Big Bang were grateful for that. VIP were probably one of the main reasons why Big Bang didn’t disband because of the scandals they faced.”

- some comment from Seoulbeats (via lovelyowleyes)

flyhayi: [REVIEW] Lee Hi’s First Full Album, a Daring One That...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:07:55 -0400

flyhayi:

[REVIEW] Lee Hi’s First Full Album, a Daring One That Will Secure the Next 10 Years of Her Singing Career

Before I go into my main argument, there’s something to think about. That is, the fact that we expect so much from Lee Hi, particularly in terms of her music. After all, she’s only an 18-year-old rookie singer, an ex-contestant on an ordinary audition program like ‘KPOP STAR’ who finished as not even the winner, but the runner-up, the second best.

A unique voice that is unlikely to have a similar one? The soulful vocals with great depth despite her young age? Or is it because of her distinctive charisma that makes it hard to believe it’s coming from an 18-year-old girl? Perhaps the extraordinary musical styling of YG who took her in is a part of the reason. However, the ultimate reason why such great things are expected of her is because we have already witnessed Lee Hi’s infinite potential as an artist several times.

Lee Hi released her first full album yesterday. Her album will be released in two parts, which is peculiar. Of those two, the first part ‘First Love’ was released yesterday. This part includes 5 tracks, including the title track ‘It’s Over’.

The reviews indicate that the album is mainly of the genres traditional rhythm and blues and jazz. They also explain that the album sufficiently brought out her strengths. The fact that producer Yang Hyun Suk took the lead himself and all of YG’s team of composers also worked on the album stirred up much curiosity. Of course, it seems appropriate that such effort was put into this process for the artist whose album is the first to be released from YG this year.

Nonetheless, my thoughts about the album have changed after listening to it and reading the reviews again. The first thing that came to mind was that this is not an album that can be defined by such shabby reviews. Her music holds a lot of meaning that are quite profound. It would be pretty accurate to describe this first full album of hers as starting off on the right foot.

There wasn’t actually that much of the traditional rhythm and blues or jazz in the entire album. It was far from traditional, and merely brushed past the thrill of jazz. In general, these were 5 numbers comprised of the genres urban soul, pop R&B, and fusion jazz. Surprisingly though, her music is significantly different from that of other singers who have already been working with these genres. This is precisely the reason to pay closer attention to her music.

Not insisting on the original traditions could be interpreted as staying conscious of maintaining popular appeal. In that case, it seems appropriate for Lee Hi’s music to shift its direction toward increasing the popular appeal. Nevertheless, all of the tracks including the title track ‘It’s Over’ and others like ‘Special’, ‘짝사랑 (One-Sided Love)’, and ‘Dream’ left the impression that her album did not aim for popularity and has actually steered clear of the traditional, but at the same time has borrowed from the less risky genres.

As expected, Lee Hi freely expresses her sensible talent in all of her 5 tracks. It is as if she becomes a free bird flying into the sky, as she does not need to adhere to what’s popular. She sings calmly at times, sometimes with groove, and plays with high notes without difficulty at others. Took me back to the unique world of her music that reminded me of seeing her for the first time on ‘KPOP STAR’.

Her album has a special meaning because she attempted to move non-mainstream genres to the mainstream. Popularity is probably the focus of both the ex-contestant of ‘KPOP STAR’ and the agency that took her in as they worked on her album for days and nights. Often the first step toward success is to figure out what the public wants and adhere to their expectations.

However, Lee Hi and YG are determined to not think of it this way and chose to express music in the way they truly see it and in the style they truly want. They started with the mindset that they want to draw people toward their music, not go with what’s popular. They did so even though that meant perhaps they would have a longer list of things to do in order to accomplish what they want.

This was a bold choice, an exemplary one. Their decisions are contrary to the belief in the current K-Pop market that one should begin by making popular music and reach a stable position in the industry before attempting to express the kind of music they truly want. Even more so because this industry’s idols only last for about 2 years before their popularity declines significantly.

Lee Hi and YG took in the opposite view of this widespread belief. They realized that additional and heavy sounds can only last 2-3 months at most, planned ahead to produce the kind of music that will help her become a long-lasting artist, with songs that will receive constant slow but constant love. And their slow but careful work has payed off greatly, sweeping every online charts there are.

Lee Hi’s first full album gave her a distinct identity from the start and paved the way for her future career. It became a certificate for her to be able to keep singing for at least 10 years instead of the usual 2 years. Even after 10 years, we will still be saying “It’s still really good!” when we listen to ‘It’s Over’. We finally get to see the first 18-year-old female singer who will not have to start an acting career later and unwillingly appear on variety shows to hold onto her dwindling popularity.

Source: MediaUS
Translated by: tokkimeow@flyhayi

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Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:00:36 -0400

little-tiny-castle: gtop in sync

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 08:00:16 -0500

little-tiny-castle:

gtop in sync

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Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:00:21 -0500

Lee Hi - Special (feat. Jennie Kim)

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:35:00 -0500

Lee Hi - Special (feat. Jennie Kim)

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Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:00:21 -0500

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Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:00:18 -0500