You Left Me For That

Paul Kim is a singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, and comedian.  Paul recently released the music video to "You Left Me For That" on his YouTube channel.  The music video features David So and Timothy DeLaGhetto.  Paul has a soulful and soothing voice in this song, which is accompanied by a catchy beat of guitar and drums.  "You Left Me For That" can be purchased on iTunes, here.  Check out the song and music video to "You Left Me For That" below!

Seoul Fever

Dumbfoundead (DFD) and David Choi happened to be in South Korea at the same time (or maybe it was planned), and collaborated on "Seoul Fever". DFD and David partnered with Seoul City in creating a music video for "Seoul Fever". Seoul City is known for creating music videos with artists, while at the same time promoting the treasures of Seoul. It's basically their tourist marketing strategy, and it works because every time I watch one of their videos I want to go to Seoul, South Korea. Seoul City usually uses kpop artists to help with promoting the city, so I was surprised and happy when I saw DFD and David featured in one. What is special about this music video is that they wrote and composed "Seoul Fever", and the song actually illustrates the many treasures of Seoul. I'm glad Seoul City allowed DFD and David to be true to their styles, and be free to sing and rap about whatever, just as long as it was promoting Seoul in some way.  "Seoul Fever" has a beautiful melody sung by David, which is paired well with DFD's lyrical flow.  Seoul City has also set up a link to allow people to download "Seoul Fever" for FREE, here.  Warning: after watching and listening to "Seoul Fever" you may want to go to Seoul, South Korea.  But don't let that stop you from checking out the song and music video to "Seoul Fever"!

Mermaid

Lena Park, Lee Young Hyun, and So Hyang have amazing powerful voices. Lena Park is a Korean American R&B singer, who is active in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.  In 2010, Lena graduated from Columbia University, and was asked to sing the U.S. National Anthem during her graduation (Lucky them!).  Lee Young Hyun is one of the powerful vocals behind the group Big Mama.  Unlike most groups in the Korean music industry, Big Mama is not known for their appearances but rather recognized for their voices.  So Hyang is a Korean Christian Contemporary singer and is known for singing gospel.  There are some who consider So Hyang as the Mariah Carey of South Korea.  These three talented woman came together to create the "Diva Project".  The Diva Project is to be released with many versions of the song, "Mermaid".  "Mermaid" was produced and composed by Kim Johan, Jo Kwonwoo and Joseph Kim.  The song was orchestrated specifically to be sung by Lena Park, Lee Young Hyun, and So Hyang.  Inspired by the story of "The Little Married", the song talks about the different emotions in a fairy tale love story.  Check out the song and music video to "Mermaid"!

Where'd You Go?

I have been listening to Model Minority's digital album, The Tiger Sons Tape, which is available for FREE download on bandcamp.  One particular song that stood out to me is "Invisible People".  In this song, Model Minority adapts the instrumentals and chorus of Fort Minor's "Where'd You Go?", and incorporates powerful, deep lyrics behind it.  This song gives a voice to those who are unheard, and is "dedicated to the memories of those who struggled before us."  Like I said in a previous post, Model Minority has a lyrical gift and flow that captures your ears.  Their music tells a story, and in this song it tells a story about the "Invisible People" and their unheard voice.  The song is not only encouraging Asian Americans to stand up and voice their opinions, but to all who feel "invisible".  Check out the music video to "Invisible People"!

          For our parents - for our history - we ask: "Where did you go?"

Living the Good Life

Chester See is a half Filipino actor, musician, singer, and songwriter.  The first time I saw Chester was in one of David Choi's vlogs, and from a glimpse, I swear I thought he was Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy (aslo, maybe because David said he was with Pete Wentz).  Chester has a beautiful, distinctive voice, and has is immensely talented. Chester and David got together to produce and write "Living the Good Life".  Both Chester and David released the song's music video on their YouTube channel.  "Living the Good Life" has a "pick me up" type of feeling and is one of those songs you want to listen to when you are having a bad day.  You can check out the song, along with other David and Chester collaborations, on iTunes.  Check out the music video to "Living the Good Life", and it will for sure bring a smile to your face!

Slip of the Tongue

In 2005, then 16 years old, Karen Lum was inspired to create a short video by putting together a poetry recording and images. Karen adapted the poem "Slip of the Tongue", written and performed by Adriel Luis.  Karen's short film won the 2007 Northern California Emmy (youth category), and was screened in over forty film festivals across the United States.  On Karen's website, she describes the short video as "a narrative short film on the celebration of beauty and ethnicity, while confronting the unnatural beauty standards women face."  Check out the short film, "Slip of the Tongue"!

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

Harold and Kumar don't need any introductions, but for the sake of blogging I'll write a little more.  John Cho and Kal Penn are back for "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas"!  In the third Harold and Kumar film, seven years have passed since their Guantanamo Bay experience.  During this time, both Harold and Kumar lived their own separate lives with their new family.  Harold is with Maria, and Kumar is with Vanessa.  But Kumar shows up on Harold's front door with a strange package, and negligently burns Maria's father's cherished Christmas tree.  So Harold and Kumar team up for another adventure, but this time to find the perfect Christmas tree to replace the charred evergreen.  Once again, the movie sees no boundaries.  The trailers shows many things wrong on so many different levels, but it wouldn't be a Harold and Kumar film otherwise.  Oh, and Neil Patrick Harris is back!  Also, we'll get to see what Harold and Kumar look like in claymation.  "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" is set to be released on November 4, 2011.  The release date seems so far away, so in the meantime this trailer should be able give fans a dabble of the next adventure of Harold and Kumar.  Check out the trailer for "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas"!

I Remember

Bang Yong Guk first debuted as a rapper in "Going Crazy" with Song Ji Eun.  Yong Guk released his first single, "I Remember", which features Yoseob of BEAST.  "I Remember" was co-produced by Chance of One Way.  Yong Guk's deep, lyrical rapping pairs well with Yoseob's vocals, and the guitar, bass, and drums provide amazing instrumental beats for the song.  The music video illustrates an intense story that ends in tragedy.  The music video was produced in a way which continuously captures the viewers attention from start to the finish.  Check out the song and music video to "I Remember"!

The Camel Song

On August 8th, Clara Chung released the music video to her song "The Camel Song" on her YouTube channel.  "The Camel Song" is off Clara's album, The Art in My Heart.  Check out Clara's album on iTunes for more of her songs.  The music video was directed by Ross Ching, and produced by Don Le.  The music video paints a picture of a couple's love journey, and features Ryan Higa as Clara's love interest.  For those of you who don't know, Ryan has over 4 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.  Once again, Clara delivers another amazing and creative music video with her sweet vocals.  Check out the music video to "The Camel Song"!

Cold

On May 17th, Aziatix released their EP, Aziatix, on iTunes. A day before the release of their EP, Aziatix revealed the music video for "Cold", one of the tracks from their EP.  Aziatix released the music video on their YouTube channel.  This song displays a balance of harmonizing, rhythms and rhymes from Eddie, Nicky, and Flowsik.  Check out the song and music video to "Cold", below!

Tonight

Big Bang is a South Korean boy band, under the label of YG Entertainment. The group consists of G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P., Daesung, and Seungri. Big Bang has been active for over five years all around Asia.   In late February of 2011, Big Bang released a mini album titled, Tonight.  The mini album features six songs, and can be found on iTunes.  During the same time, Big Bang released their music video for "Tonight" on their YouTube channel.  "Tonight" was written and composed by G-Dragon, with rap lyrics written by T.O.P.  The music video has over 12 million views, with viewers from every continent except Antarctica.  The song "Tonight" talks about a guy reminiscing over a girl, but is alone "tonight" because he can't commit to a relationship (at least this is what I think the song is conveying, but don't quote me on this).  The chorus of a song is catchy and makes you want to sing-a-long (at least to the English words).  The music video was filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada with lots of video footage of the Vegas Strip and desert.  And I think there are some video footage taken in California, because there are some amazing beach and ocean view scenes in between the music video.  Chloe Wang is featured in the music video, and plays Daesung's love interest.  Watching the music video makes me want to go Vegas.  Check out the song and music video to "Tonight"!      

Kollaboration San Francisco 2

Kollaboration SF Bay Area will be hosting their second annual Kollaboration SF Talent Show at the University of California in Berkeley, on Saturday, September 10th 2011.  Kollaboration is an annual event that was started by Paul Kim back in 2000.  Kollaboration is about "Empowerment through Entertainment" and to promote Asian and Pacific Island presence in the entertainment and media.  

There are seven contestants who will compete for the title of the Kollaboration SF 2 Winner, receive a grand prize of $1000, and get the opportunity to shine on stage at Kollaboration 11 in Los Angeles, California.    The contestants are Alex Carbonel, ANAK, Ji-hern Baek, Johnny Hi-Fi, Love Revolution, Shawn Megofna, and Sol 2:7.  Kollaboration San Francisco 2 will be hosted by Roy Choi and Nicki Sun.  There will be guest appearances by AJ Rafael & Band, David So, Jane Lui, Kabeezy, and Fallen Kings.  Anyone in the Bay Area interested in going to this amazing event, can purchase tickets, here.  The ticket price is: $15 until August 15th, $20 until September 9th, and $25 at the door, so if you are interested get your tickets early!  For more information about Kollaboration San Francisco 2, you can check out the 2011 Show website or the Facebook event page.  Kollaboration San Francisco 2 will for sure be a night full of amazing performances by talented artists.

If You Stay

Joseph Vincent Encarnacion is a Filipino American singer and songwriter.  He might look familiar because he was featured in Clara Chung's Heartstrings music video.  Like most of the artists I talk about, Joseph gained exposure by posting videos of himself singing on his YouTube channel.  He even caught the attention of Ellen Degeneres and was featured in her segment, "Ellen's Wonderful Web of Wonderment", in April of 2010.  During this segment he performed an acoustic cover of Iyaz's "Replay".  A few weeks later, Joseph was invited back on to The Ellen Degeneres Show and he performed "Cooler Than Me" by  Mike Posner.  In the beginning of 2011, Joseph released his original song, "If You Stay" on iTunes and Amazon.  He also released a music video to his song on his YouTube channel, and it has garnered over 2.5 million views.  The music video is about about a boy who notices a girl in the library.  He distances himself from the girl, and starts playing the guitar and pouring out his heart in song, down an aisle of books.  At the end of the music video, the boy has the courage to start walking towards the girl, leading viewers to think he will confess his heart directly to her.  I like the use of the lighting in between the aisle of books, giving the illusion that the boy will walk into the sunset with the girl.  But that doesn't exactly happen. Check out Joseph's music video to "If You Stay" and to find out what happens in the end!    

Pieces

Korean American artists and producers, Sam Ock and Kero One got together to write the song "Pieces".  The song was created to bring awareness and to tackle the issues of human sex trafficking and gang violence. Yesterday, both Sam and Kero released the music video to "Pieces" on their YouTube channel.  The music video has clips of Sam and Kero singing and rapping, and video clips from the International Justice Mission's film, "At the End of Slavery". The digital track can be purchased for immediate download for $0.25 at Plug Label's bandcamp.  All proceeds will go to International Justice Mission to help put a stop to human sex trafficking.  "Pieces" is a beautiful song filled with soulful beats and rhymes, with a positive message.  Check out the music video to "Pieces"!