Kpop Star 3: Sam Kim

[Latest update: Sam Kim signed under Antenna Music]

Wow! I am impressed with Sam Kim. Initially I was not interested to know much about him because I think his singing was unstable. The only good point was his guitar skills are amazing, except the fact that his beat was a bit off. He even admitted himself that he plays the guitar faster as he gets nervous. However, ever since he is a part of EQ, I can see that he improved a lot. I even came to like his voice during all the EQ and Bns (= Bernard and Sam) performances.

I don't know much about him except that he is 16 years old and lived in Seattle, Washington. He started playing guitar 2 years ago when one of his friends brought her guitar to school.

He sang 'Sweet Pea' by Amos Lee and 'Stronger Than' by Gabe Bondoc for his audition. 

(You can see his performances with EQ if you click on 'EQ' label below.)

For Battle Audition, he performed 'I'm in Love' Originally by Ra.D. Wah ~ I was amazed by his performance. His beat has improved! It really pays off for him to practice with a metronome 30 minutes a day. This time, he has to compete against The Shorties and Yao Wei Tao. He said he wanted to avenge EQ for their previous lost and he did win! Well done Sam!

I'm in Love - Sam Kim

For TOP10 performance, all the contestants are divided into 2 groups and everyone in the group will be rank first to fifth. Fourth and fifth place will become the candidates for elimination. Unfortunately for Sam Kim, he was the first to perform and he was grouped along with Almeng, Bernard, Shorties and Kwon Jin Ah. It was so nerve-wrecking for him so his performance was a bit lacking, I would say. Then, he was placed on the bottom of the ranking together with Bernard Park for Group A. Despite that, quite a number of judging panels voted for him to win so he got into TOP8.

That XX - Sam Kim

Kpop Star 3: Excuse Me Sir by Something

Something has to compete against All Chae and Jung Hanna during battle audition. The melody of the song is nice but the lyrics are boring. According to JYP, "you could have tell the story in 20 minutes but you guys are taking the whole hour". In the end, nobody wins or loses. All three of them have to go through re-match.

Excuse Me Sir - Something

Excuse me sir
Where am I right now?
I fell asleep because it was warm
  and it's already the last stop

Excuse me sir
Where should I go?
I know that you're busy but
   can I ask for directions?
People are passing by
Color of an unfamiliar city
I'm placed in the middle
   standing absently

Please repeat it to me again
I'm not good with directions
Could you tell me slowly?
You speak a little too fast
Slowly slow-slowly (2X)

Excuse me boy
Where am I right now?
I'm in love for the first time
I need some directions

Excuse me girl
Where should I go?
I know that you're busy but
   can I ask for directions?
Oh.. wait a minute please
I think I'm lost
Since that day, I've been lingering
   around you

Please repeat it again
i don't know much about love
Could you tell me kindly?
It's hard to understand you
Slowly slow-slowly (2X)

Excuse me sir

Then for rematch, they performed 'Come Back Home' originally by Seo Taiji and the Boys. The song is somewhat gloomy but the melody is very addictive.

Kpop Star 3: (Jjari Mong Ttang) Shorties & Peter Han

A lot of people are rooting for these girls. Seriously, they have amazing harmonies. They have been praised in every Round! Shorties consist of Yeo In Hye (Miss A's Suzy look alike), Park Jin Na (leader) and Ryu Tae Kyung (the shy one).

The Shorties - I Have Nothing

For the third round, this girls have recruited Peter Han ("Not Because he is good-looking", said Jin Na) to add some bass to their harmony. I think they did a great job.

Shorties & Peter Han - Man In the Mirror

They did it again during Team audition! They took everyone by surprised. This performance was claimed as the best ever performance in Kpop Star history, according to JYP.

Shorties & Peter Han - Don't Go

They didn't do well during battle audition because of the sudden change of song and lack of practice. (All thanks to YG ..) They were so nervous that they can't even pay attention to what the judges were saying since they were busy memorizing the lyrics. They end up being second place and have to do a rematch.

Faith - The Shorties

Tae Kyung was so stressed out by all the pressure and ended up crying. Her other teammates tried to cheer her up. (Aww~ I wish your friendship goes a long way..) But they did really well during the re-match performance despite the last part when Tae Kyung starts giggling. All the judges were in awe.

Stand Up for Love - The Shorties

(p/s: You can download the song by clicking on the hyperlink)

Kpop Star 3: Brody B.

# She auditioned for season 5. There is a different post for that. Link here

"Aww~ Isn't she lovely?" was the thought that came into my mind as I saw her.

She was only 10 years old. I don't know her last name since it was never mentioned in the show. She is half Korean (Mom) and half European (Dad). She has a little brother. She can't speak Korean well but she already learn how to read Hangul.

On her first audition round, she sang a soundtrack from The Little Mermaid, 'Part of Your World' by Jodi Benson. Her voice is so lovely but it was not her voice that got the judges, it's her unique charm. You should see how she dance to 2NE1 'I'm The Best'. Hahaha.. Sorry for laughing.. I guess since all three judges are married while YG and Yoo Hee Yeol had their own daughter, they have some kind of fatherly affection towards her. All of them want to see her again but since she was too young, they were concern whether the competition will be a bit too harsh on her. But in the end, Yoo Hee Yeol and JYP (in place of YG) give her a 'pass'.

Then, during the second audition round, she was in the 'bad' group. She surprised all the judges by her tremendous improvement as she sang 'Titanium' by David Guetta. You can download it here. She sang the high notes really well.

She proceeded to Team Mission and was grouped with Abigail Kim and Ryu Ji Soo. During the showcase, they sang Alicia Key's 'Girl On Fire'. Since the three of them have different age and styles, they named their group '3 different girls'.

I have to say I'm not impressed by their performance. I have to acknowledge though how those two other unnie were being very considerate of Brody. YHY also realized it but asked them to keep leading her well. So in Team Battle, they are still in the same group. This time they sang 'I Dream' by 15&. JYP recommended this song for them.

However, the song choice was not helping them at all. There's too many high notes. As for Brody, YG said she can hit the notes but not control her volume yet. Their team lose so Brody was eliminated. JYP asked her to come back again after 2 years just like what Lee Chae Yeon did. (Which she actually did!)

Later, the judges asked the producers to give them a couple of wildcards. Brody was revived by YG's wild card, and she was then teamed up with Almeng. I really like their performance. Brody and Almeng were later casted by JYP (but not as a team).

For Battle audition, she performed 'Sunny' by Boney M. Unfortunately, she didn't make the cut.

Bye bye Brody baby.. Don't give up! I hope to see you again in the future..

Kpop Star 3: Battle Round

After casting audition, it was battle audition where all three agencies train and groom their representatives for battle. They did a stimulation of how the battle round going to be like at YG headquarters and each agencies asked their ace to perform. The result was Bernard Park (JYP) first, Shorties (YG) second and Hung Jung Hee (Antenna Music) third. They reminded all the contestants that this round is a big deal. First place moves on to TOP 10 while second place has to perform again and third place will be automatically be eliminated.

So far, the result was:

               1st                                  2nd                                      3rd            
Kwon Jin Ah (Antenna)         Nam Young Joo (JYP)          2Minutes (YG)
Almeng (JYP)                          Bae Min Ah (YG)          Hung Jung Hee (Antenna)
Sam Kim (Antenna)                  Shorties (YG)                     Yao Weitao (JYP)
           *Something(Antenna)&Jang Hanna (YG)&Complete Chae (JYP)
Han Heejun (YG)                   Peter Han (Antenna)               Brody (JYP)
Bernard Park (JYP)               Lee Chae Young (YG)        Heo Eunyul (Antenna)

*No one wins during this round. So all of them have to do a re-match.

Re-match result:
- The Shorties
- Jung Hanna
- Bae Min Ah
- Nam Young Joo
- The Something

So, total 10 contestants have been chosen. I do pity Lee Chae Young seeing how she had developed over those 2 years but she's still young and have a lot of opportunity ahead of her. The Chae sisters also have a long way ahead of them. You guys are not losers.. It's just there are other people who need this stage more than you do. So please don't get discourage! As for Peter Han oppa, you are a great singer. I hope I'll see you in the future as a singer. Just go straight to entertainment companies and audition there. Hahaha..

This message goes to all the eliminated contestants as well. You guys did great and had tried you best. *Applause*

This is just my honest opinion.. I hope no one takes it too personally.. I am not really a fan of Jung Hanna or Bae Min Ah.. But I still think they did great.. Somehow I was hoping to see Peter Han on TOP10 rather than these two. I agree with the other TOP10 line-ups.. I'm looking forward for live broadcast!

Break The Habit: Day 6

It was a crazy week for me..
I was so pumped up with doing my assignment till i didn't even have time to sneakily watch Korean drama.
Well.. That may not be the whole truth =P
On Thursday and Friday I have some spare time in between
I did watch Kpop Star on Friday while reading journals
I just watch the performances but not the critics part
Then, I did check out Dramabeans to see what happen on 'My Love from Another Star'
So on Friday night, I did watch the first part of MLAS..
Then, just now while doing some chores, I did watch MLAS on TV
But somehow, I think I did great
It's not like I go crazy without K-drama
And.. I didn't check out for AllKpop at all!
I think that's a great achievement

p/s: I think I need to change my diet habit too. Probably that will be my next mission. Something like a losing weight diary.

Kpop Star 3: Confused by Something

Another performance from Kim Ah Hyun and Jung Sae Woon. This is during the casting audition. They wrote this song after being overwhelmed by emotions from the previous round. It's about being unsure whether someone really likes you or not.

I'm confused
I'm confused
I'm confused
I got a text last night when I was sleeping
As if attracted, our eyes met
Is this fate?
I'm confused at the heart on your status message
As if attracted, I dial your number

Should I approach or not?
Suddenly seems far
I'm hesitant again today
Do you know I'm special to you?
Do you think the same as me?
Maybe I am deluding myself

Chorus:
I'm confused at your smile
I'm confused at my heart that races when I see you
Should I muster up the courage to confess
What should I do?
What's this feeling growing inside?
I'm confused
I'm confused

Rap:
You are all tangled up like the subway routes
Both are confusing
Tell me which way to go
Seems like I understand you but sometimes I don't
It seems like I'm taking an exam every day
I don't know if you like me or if that's how we are
...
*Ah Hyun forgot the lyrics here*

Chorus:
(same as above)

Download mp3 here.

Break the Habit

I have a few habit that I would like to break free this year. I am fed up of myself for not having any self-discipline. I have been fighting with myself.. It's true that we have liberty but lack of freedom. Because we are so driven by impulse sometimes. We let our body decide but not our mind.

I am going to start a journal about how I will stop watching Korean dramas. It's not a sin to watch it but I have to put my priority first, regardless. So, this next 30 days, I vow to myself that I will not watch Korean dramas and I'll prove that I can still survive without it! Kpop Star and Runningman only airs once a week so I think that's acceptable as long as I had done all my work first. And I can only watch it on weekends.

Currently I am following 'He Who Came From the Star'. So I have to stop following that one. Also, I am following 'Emergency Couple' but I am not so fond of the story. I was planning to start watching Reply 1994 and I Need Romance 3' but I'll have to throw my intention now. For now, I will just focus on getting rid of my addiction.

Tomorrow will be my Day 1. So I will write down as I progress.

p/s: I will start by blocking AllKpop website.

Pegawai Sains Kimia

Another interview but different position. Last time I wrote about Pegawai Sains Kimia Hayat but this time I was called for Pegawai Kimia.

Seriously, I had trouble gathering information for this position. A lot that I found is for Kimia Hayat. I thought writing about it could guide some of you, who are as clueless as I was, to prepare themselves for the interview session.

This is merely my advice to you guys. You don't have to follow everything and that's it. You can always improvise what I did and do much better than me. 

The key points are:

1) Learn a lot about Jabatan Kimia Malaysia. 

2) Brush up your knowledge about some of the analytical instruments that you did learn. e.g. NMR, HPLC, GCMS etc

3) Always update yourself on what's going on the news. Any current or ongoing issues in Malaysia and around the world.

4) I know I told you before but you need to be prepare if they ask about 'dasar-dasar kerajaan'. 

I think I had give out a lot of pointers for you guys. The rest depends on how well you speak. You have to show your maturity of thinking. I think that's how they will judge you. They might question your answer but be confident and watch your tone (provocation element). 

For first timer, in the interview room there will one representative from Jabatan Kimia and another from SPA. SPA would ask basic questions such as 'tell me about yourself', 'why you are interest to work with government' etc. Then, Jabatan Kimia would take over and ask about more technical stuff such as how to use this equipments, etc.

All the best!