Hype’s Exclusive: Gentle Bones, The Musical Genius & Thief Of Hearts

He may have been handpicked by Forbes to be one of Asia’s “30 Under 30” alongside BIGBANG’s G-Dragon, Super Junior’s Choi Siwon, “My Love From The Star” actor Kim Soo Hyun, and Malaysian darling Yuna, just to name a few.

But for Gentle Bones, there’s still much to do and discover.

The 22-year-old singer-songwriter is Singapore’s rising regional star and the country’s first homegrown artiste to cinch a deal with Universal Music Singapore.

Gentle Bones, real name Joel Tan, first shot to stardom when his debut single, “Until We Die”, rose up the ranks and claimed the #1 spot on Singapore’s iTunes charts a day after its release.

“Darling we will sing until we die, we’ll never waste these tears on fears and cries. And now the world is ours to take, and every single move is ours to make.”

The success surprised even Joel himself, who worked on “Until We Die” for about a year before it was released in December 2014. He quickly amassed a huge following of fans, earning praises and stealing hearts along the way.

In 2014, Joel released his first self-titled EP, “Gentle Bones”, an introduction to a sound that he would later depart from with the release of “Geniuses & Thieves” in April 2016.

But between “Until We Die” and his 2-night sold-out concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore last weekend (10th and 11th June), lots have happened to the young musical genius, pushing him forward in his journey of self discovery.

We caught up with him right before the 2nd night of his sold out concert and here’s what he told us:

So many people came out to your show last night! How does that make you feel?

I don’t know yet! (laughs) It’s crazy. People from Thailand and everything all came to the show.

Congratulations on the release of “Geniuses & Thieves”. What does “Geniuses & Thieves” mean?

Thank you so much. “Geniuses & Thieves” is a song about..so I always write love songs, you know, my previous EP had a lot of love songs and songs about infatuation. For the first song of this new EP I wanted to write like a love song. Not a love song to an actual person but a love song to temptations and vices in my life. It’s really about how much I love it but yet..I realise the sins of it. “Geniuses & Thieves” from the lyrics kind of stuck with me and then I figured out that I wanted it to be a concurrent theme for the entire EP because when I was dabbling with the music..it was quite hard for us. Like, picking the sample as well..to just draw the line of what is actually good music, especially with the whole idea of sampling and using the sample for “Geniuses & Thieves”..yeah, I just wanted to put it out there. You can look at it in different ways and do whatever you want but I just need you to enjoy the music.

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What do you think is biggest difference between your first EP and “Geniuses & Th..” so hard to pronounce that word, “Geniuses & Thieves”..

Yeah, I had to practise pronouncing it for a while too (laughs) I guess, when I first started out there were a lot of limitations. It was a small team – just me and the producer – we sat down and worked. I was very new, I just wanted to write songs, so I picked the best possible producer I knew and then we worked on those songs. But then as it grew bigger and I found out more about the industry, and with this whole new approach, we managed to pull in a lot of different other people. So when it comes to super specific stuff like how a kick drum might sound in the whole EP, we would actually get just one person to help us get that sound. It’s a lot more specific than it was before. Just getting a bigger team, essentially. Now we have a lot more freedom especially with Universal Music Singapore’s help so whatever we need, they kinda sort it out. Because budget is always an issue.

That’s true. And you got to work with Yves Rothman, who produced for Post Malone and Charli XCX. What was it like to work with him?

It was insane. It was over the span of 6 days, we flew there, and then we started pre-production so everything was done from scratch – from the demo all the way to the final product. It was all done in 6 days.

How long did you take to work on the “Geniuses & Thieves” EP?

So we did 2 songs with Yves Rothman. 3 of the other songs, “Geniuses & Thieves”, “Liar”, and “This Hurts” were all done locally. Production for the entire EP..I would say about 3/4 months. The songs were written across 2 years.

I’m not sure if you’re allowed to talk about this but..in what ways have your experience in Indonesia changed you?

It definitely was harrowing and disappointing to know that like, someone..because we were the opening acts so it wasn’t in our place to demand for visas or permits because you’d assume that if the promoter was going to tour someone as big as Kina Grannis, everything would be sorted out. When we got there, the hotel was super nice so we were like, “Oh, this is going to be good!” but then we got held up after the show. After we performed, people in plainclothes were outside asking for our passports. If random people overseas asked you for your passport, you probably wouldn’t give them your passport, right? So they took us to detention and we waited 100 days before we got our passports back. We just spent a lot of time travelling in Jakarta alone trying to find stuff to do. It gave me a lot of time to sit down and think about the new EP also because we knew that we wanted to approach it that way. I guess Jakarta forced me to think about it harder so it was a blessing in disguise. But obviously I wouldn’t want to go through it again!

I think this is the first time a lot of us will see you perform with a full band. It looks amazing!

Just out of curiosity, have you been working with this band for a long time?

With this band? The main guy that I work with a lot is Josh. He’s the guy who plays the violin, my musical director, and he helps with the production as well for the songs. He’s the one who helped me put together the whole band. I’ve been working with the band since..the end of 2014. Quite a while already, yeah yeah.

Do you guys have nicknames for each other yet?

Not really. We’re just into, like, insulting each other. (laughs)

Is there anything that you wish you could do better at in terms of music?

Uh. I guess my theoretical and musicality side isn’t that strong. I’ve always been obsessed with music as entire product, so not just the songs themselves but how the artistes portray themselves, how the marketing happens, and all the side collaterals that support the acts at the same time. I’ve been a huge fan of a lot of artistes for a long time, since I was a kid all the way until now. A lot of bands, especially like 1975, you know, they really paved the way for..just..a holistic vision that fans can really delve themselves into and be a part of their world. I wanted to approach that as well for “Geniuses & Thieves”, and just build a whole world around it. But I guess I would want to keep improving on my musicality because I think that when I improve on that, I’ll slowly be able to find my own sound. There’s still a lot of work to be done and I realise the need for commercial songs, so I want to focus on that first – come out with the best songs that I possibly can. And if it does well then I’ll get a bit more..indulgent.

Are you looking at doing any collaborations with any international artistes or do you have any dream collaborations?

Yeah! There are a lot of people that I would want to work with. Actually, anybody. I always enjoy working with people..even the local acts in Singapore, I always ask them if I could feature in one of their songs.

It’s quite casual lah! We’re all friends so usually I try to hint a bit. I enjoy songwriting as a whole and not necessarily all the songs that I feel like I can pull off are the songs that I can write. You know what I mean? I always like to experiment with different sounds that I may not be able to pull off as Gentle Bones. Writing songs for other people as well is one of my big enjoyments.

Yeah you helped Narelle Kheng (of The Sam Willows) write her debut single, “Some They Lie”, right? So awesome!

One of our readers want to know when are you coming to Kuala Lumpur for a full concert.

I really want to come. Anytime! I just need to be invited to come. Seriously, I want to be able to play there because I feel like there are a lot of Malaysian fans who are really into the music. I see their comments on social media.

Can you list out 3 things that rhyme with Gentle Bones? I’ll give you a head start – triangle cones.

Triangle cones! That’s good. Nice. Uh.. (silence) ..plastic phones? Uh.. (silence) ..raspy tones. Crunchy scones? I did my best!

You did quite well! Thanks for the chat, Joel :)

And special thanks to our awesome friends from Universal Music Singapore as well as Universal Music Malaysia for the opportunity! We’ll leave you now with the Gentle Bones’ latest music video, “Run Tell Daddy”:

For more information on Gentle Bones, visit his website or Facebook page. He’s also on Twitter and Instagram!

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#DigiRewards: Free McDonald’s Sundae Cone For Digi Users Till 21st August!

If you are an ice-cream lover, then we’ve got the best Friday news for you :D

Digi announced that they are rewarding their users with a free Vanilla Sundae Cone from McDonald’s. Yes, you’ve heard us right, it’s free!

Back by popular demand, the promotion starts today (Friday, 19th August) and will last ’til Sunday (21st August). Wondering how to redeem your free cone of soft vanilla ice-cream? All you need to do is SMS “MCD” to 20000 and flash the reply SMS at any McDonald’s outlet during the promotion period.

The offer is available at all McDonald’s outlets and 1 user is only entitled to redeem 1 Sundae Cone. All Digi subscribers are eligible to participate in the promotion except for Digi Prepaid/Postpaid Broadband users.

This Digi Rewards “Free McDonald’s Sundae Cone Promotion” is organised by Digi Telecommunications and Golden Arches Restaurant.

For more information, visit Digi’s website and Facebook page.


9 Highly Successful Internet Sensations We Have Love-Hate Relationships With

Ah, Internet sensations. Remember a time when everyone on mIRC was sharing that one particular irritating-yet-funny prank call about somebody kicking a dog? What about that time just about anyone you knew was using the line, “Is this real life, is this going to be forever”? Let’s not forget the “Harlem Shake” phase and that point in time when all your friends were flooding your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram news feeds with Grumpy Cat memes.

Which..is..still happening now for some people, we think.

Here are some of the most highly successful Internet sensations of our time, the ones that became so popular that they were hard to ignore and so popular that we hate (too much spam) yet love (but so funny) them all at the same time:

“You Kicked My Dog” is a prank call that was released in 1995. The call has previously been erroneously credited to the likes of The Jerky Boys, Adam Sandler, Tom Green, and Rickey Smiley, when in actuality it was a teenager named Travis Hopkins from Mississauga Ontario Canada that made it in the fall of 1993.

In this call, a character known as Kerpal uses an Indian English accent to call a man in Malton Ontario Canada and verbally abuse him and his family. The man in the prank call claims to be of “Pakistani” descent (highlighted by the last dialogue spoken by him in the call, “Just because I’m Paki does not mean I stink!”). A man known as Abtar answers the telephone. Kerpal then alleges that Abtar’s older daughter kicked his dog. Abtar asks his daughter in Punjabi, “Dog noo kick kita see?” (Did you kick the dog?). After minutes of confusion, it is revealed that the daughter knows nothing about kicking Kerpal’s dog, let alone who Kerpal is.

The call eventually degrades into a shouting match with Kerpal shouting obscenities:

At least 3 different Flash animations have been created to visualise this call. The simplest one, thought to be the original, was created by Adam Letalik and published on FlatPlanet in late 1999.

This phone call is still played by radio stations, notably KQRS-FM in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The line, “You know damn right!” is a catchphrase of KQRS personality Tom Barnard.

“Charlie Bit My Finger – Again!”, more simply known as “Charlie Bit My Finger” or “Charlie Bit Me” (referring to a quotation in the video), is a May 2007 Internet viral video famous for formerly being the most viewed YouTube video. As of November 2014, the video ranks as the third most viewed video on YouTube with nearly 800 million views.

The 55-second-long video features 2 English brothers, Harry Davies-Carr (aged 3) and Charlie Davies-Carr (aged 1). The 2 are seen sitting in a chair when Harry puts his finger into Charlie’s mouth and gets bitten. “Charlie bit me!”, he observes and puts his finger back into Charlie’s mouth, which gets it bitten harder. Harry, who is hurt, says “Ouch” repeatedly and his brother begins to giggle. Afterwards, Harry smiles and repeats, “Charlie bit me!”

It was reported that in 2011 the family made over £100,000 off advertising revenue from the video, and the profit from the video was enough for the family to purchase a new house.The pasta sauce company Ragú also produced a commercial based on the video with the boys.

At one point in time, their father Howard Davies-Car stressed that he didn’t want to commercialise the boy’s success but realised that unlicensed merchandise was being sold based on their video. In response to requests from viewers online the family created “Charlie Bit My Finger” T-shirts, mugs and limited edition calendars.

As of 2012, the profits from the video were over £300,000 – their success has been compared to winning a lottery. The family plans on using the money being made to go towards the boys’ future education.

“Double Rainbow” is a viral video filmed by one-time MMA fighter Paul “Bear” Vasquez. The clip, filmed in his front yard just outside Yosemite National Park, iUS, state of California, shows his ecstatic reaction to a double rainbow. We say “ecstatic reaction” but we really been overly amazed and obviously overwhelmed response which included philosophical questions about the rainbows, such as, “What do they mean?”.

Comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel linked to the video in a post on Twitter, saying that he and a friend had declared it the “funniest video in the world”. As such, the video quickly gained over one million views. Subsequently, the video went viral, and an auto-tuned remix named the “Double Rainbow Song” using the video’s audio track was later released by the Gregory Brothers, receiving more than 30 million views and becoming another meme.

As of August 2014, the video has accumulated more than 40.2 million views on YouTube.

Then 25-year-old Zeddie Little, 25, was running a 10k race when a photographer randomly took his picture and put it on Flickr. The amateur photographer, Will King, took a picture of him with his beaming smile and flowing hair, and tagged it on his Flickr account as “Ridiculously Photogenic Guy“. Zeddie’s ridiculous picture instantly an Internet meme with others adding cheeky captions to the picture such as, “Goes For Run: Inadvertently Teaches World How To Spell ‘Ridiculously'”, and “Goes for a jog… whole town follows him”.

However, while women from all around the world swooned over ridiculous Zeddie, his father, 58-year-old Jack Little confirmed to MailOnline that the Internet sensation is in a serious relationship. At that time, he was said to be Zeddie Little very committed to his girlfriend of 5 years.

As of November 2014, “Ridiculously Photogenic Guy” has had over 3.9 million views. He even has his very own dedicated Facebook page that has oh, only about over 81,000 fans.

He even went on to appear in ABC’s Good Morning America in New York, alongside the photographer who was responsible for making him famous. Yup.

In 2010, Antoine Dodson was interviewed by a local TV crew after an intruder attempted to rape his sister, Kelly Dodson. The video of the interview caught attention because of the passionate and flamboyant style of his delivery, speaking directly to the camera, in which he directly addressed his neighbourhood’s residents as well as the attempted rapist, and his use of street vernacular. It became an Internet sensation and even got its own auto-tuned song by The Gregory Brothers which sold thousands of copies on iTunes.

Titled “Bed Intruder Song” or more fondly known as “Hide Yo Kids”, the song created by Auto-Tune the News and features processed vocals of the interview with Antoine Dodson. The vocals were mixed and manipulated to make him appear to sing, coupled with a self-created backing track, and then used in a video which incorporated clips from the news broadcast. The song peaked at number 89 in the Billboard Hot 100, the only song that week to enter the chart on iTunes downloads only.

The original music video for “Bed Intruder Song” (as seen above) went viral, becoming YouTube’s most popular video of 2010. As of November 2014, the “Bed Intruder Song” garnered over 123,672,000 views on YouTube.

Ah, Jeremy Meeks, the hot convict. This dude became “The Hot Mug Shot Guy” after he was arrested on gun and gang-related charges and his mugshot was posted on the Stockton, California police department’s website. After his mugshot was posted along with others on the Facebook page of the Stockton police department in northern California it quickly received 50,000 “likes” and comments from 15,000 women discussing his blue eyes and chiseled cheekbones.

In case you missed it (though we cannot fathom why you would’ve):

Not only did convicted felon and jailbird Jeremy Meeks have hundreds of thousands of women swooning at his mugshot, offering to pay his bail, and declaring he can hide out at their house, he was also offered modelling contracts worth $30,000 upon his release from jail.

In May 2008, 7-year old David DeVore Jr. was taken to the dentist to have an extra tooth removed, due to a hereditary condition called hyperdontia. Because this was David’s first surgery and his mother could not be there, his father decided to video tape the experience to share with her and their family.

After the surgery, David was feeling confused from the anaesthesia he was given. While in the car, he was asking his father questions like “Is this real life?” and “Is this going to be forever?” and also telling him that he had 2 fingers. At one point he even attempted to push himself up from his seat (while still buckled in) and began screaming before sinking back in exhaustion.

7 months later, David’s father uploaded the video on Facebook. Being overwhelmed with people wanting to see the video, he decided to upload it to YouTube, but did not notice there was a private option. Just 3 days after the upload, it was seen over 3 million times:

David’s video became such a phenomenon that the DeVore family went on to appear on “The Today Show”, “Tyra Banks Show”, and “The O’Reilly Factor”o discuss the video. They were later made YouTube Partners. This gives YouTube the right to run ads over the videos they post, and in exchange, are given a share of the revenue. They also sell “David After Dentist” t-shirts and donate a portion of the revenue they earn to dental charities.

Tardar Sauce (born 4th April 2012), better known by her Internet moniker “Grumpy Cat”, is a cat and Internet celebrity known for her grumpy facial expression. Her owner, Tabatha Bundesen, says that her permanently grumpy-looking face is due to feline dwarfism. She and her brother Pokey were born to normal parents with “a flat face, bubble eyes, and a short tail”. Tardar Sauce is undersized and has hind legs that “are a bit different”.

Grumpy Cat’s popularity originated from a picture posted to the social news website Reddit by Bundesen’s brother Bryan on 22nd Sept 2012. It was made into an image macro with grumpy captions. Ironically, although she has a grumpy expression on her face and called “Grumpy Cat”, Tardar Sauce is calm and “actually really nice,” whereas Pokey has a grumpy personality.

As of November 2014, “The Official Grumpy Cat” on Facebook garnered over 6.9 million likes. Grumpy Cat was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal on 30th May 2013 and on the cover of New York magazine on 7th Oct 2013. The feline will even have a movie of her own.

The “Harlem Shake” is an Internet meme in the form of a video in which a group of people perform a comedy sketch accompanied by a short excerpt from the song “Harlem Shake“. The videos usually last about 30 seconds, which made it easy for it to be turned into a meme.

Usually, a video begins with one person (often helmeted or masked) dancing to the song alone for 15 seconds, surrounded by other people not paying attention or seemingly unaware of the dancing individual. When the bass drops, the video cuts to the entire crowd doing a crazy convulsive dance for the rest of the video. The dancing style should not be confused with the original “Harlem Shake” dance. Additionally, in the second half of the video, people often wear either a minimum of clothes or crazy outfits or costumes while wielding strange props. Typically, but not always, the video will end by converting to slow motion on the feline growl.

Needless to say, the “Harlem Shake” was replicated by many people, using the same concept, and this rapidly led to it becoming viral in early February 2013, with thousands of “Harlem Shake” videos being made and uploaded to YouTube every day at the height of its popularity.

Harlem Shake hit the 1 billion view mark on 24th March 24 2013, just 40 days after its first upload. From the day when the first video was uploaded until it hit 1 billion views, the videos were accumulating an average of more than 20 million views a day.

And with that, we end this with, if you would really, really like to annoy the living daylights out of your friends, simply yell “Colo Terrorita!” aloud. Don’t tell them we told you to do it, though!

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#RoyalSelangor: Pewter Maker To Launch Epic #StarWars Collection Come August 2015

Star Wars fans, here’s a Royal Selangor momento you’d want to have – and keep!

By “keep”, we mean guard with your life.

Royal Selangor has announced a collaboration with The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia to develop a collection to commemorate “Star Wars“, one of the most successful movie franchises of all time and a worldwide popular culture phenomenon.

“Star Wars has made a huge cultural impact on at least two generations of moviegoers. It is an honour to be working with Disney South East Asia to immortalise the characters from this incredible franchise,” says Yong Yoon Li, Executive Director of Royal Selangor International.

This collaboration will see Royal Selangor introducing Star Wars-themed pewter merchandise and accessories over the next 3 years, with the first line-up to be launched in August 2015. The launch in August will include limited edition figurines as well as collectibles such as cufflinks, flash drives, tumblers, and tankards.

Royal Selangor has also received the rights to distribute the “Star Wars” collection in several countries, including Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, and the UK.

“We are focused on creating compelling, creative and quality products and experiences that provide Star Wars fans another avenue to engage with and immerse in their favourite stories and characters. We work with best-in-class brands like Royal Selangor to fulfil and exceed fan’s expectations every time,” said Gan Lay Koon, Director of Retail and Licensing of The Walt Disney Company, Malaysia and Singapore.

Think you can’t have cool pewter things? Think again ;)

For more information, visit Royal Selangor’s Facebook page.

Don’t forget! “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is slated for cinematic release on 18th December 2015.


Students Leave WhatsApp Group After Teacher Asked About Their Homework

The implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) has led to several major changes in our country. This includes the closure of education facilities.

To cope up with that, most educators have used the online learning system to connect with their students. Unfortunately, it is sad to know that there are some who refused to give their full cooperation when it comes to completing their assignments.

Tedah bah dgn mak. Mak gago jak anta tugasan di ws dgn student dlm group. Tapi student rilek ajak left dari group. Jaik ati biak polah mak aku kdk ya. Gak sorang jak dlm group ya 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/9jqmhwYf4J

The case was apparent for Twitter user Anne (@Ms4nne_)’s mother, who works as a teacher. Recently, Anne took to social media to vent our her frustration towards her mom’s students. “My mum sent homework to the WhatsApp group with her students in it. But, they just casually left the chatroom,” Anne wrote.

In the photos shared by Anne in the tweet, the teacher was seen explaining an assignment that the students had to complete. Without even bothering to respond, a number of students exited the WhatsApp chatroom. A few moments later, the teacher then asked the remaining students for the progress on their tasks.

After her mother informed the students that they’ll need to hand in the task once schools re-opened, even the last student in the WhatsApp group left the chat – much to her dismay. Seemingly disappointed, Anne added in another thread, “I really wanted to cry when my mother asked me why her students were not giving any responses. When I checked, they had all left!”

The tweet has managed to catch the attention of local netizens, with most of them leaving uplifting remarks in an attempt to cheer her mother up. Not only that, the students were also slammed for their ill-mannered attitude towards their teacher.

New update: my mom sorang jak tinggal dlm group

*and yes they make my mom upset again. pic.twitter.com/XKvfc9ANVq

What would be your reaction if you were at Anne or in her mum’s place?

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#SingaporeAirlines: Penang-Born Stewardess Found Dead In San Francisco Hotel

38-year-old Vanessa Yeap, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight attendant, was found dead in her hotel room in San Francisco on Tuesday night (31st January).

According to media reports, the Penang-born senior stewardess has been working with SIA for 16 years. She departed Singapore last Saturday (28th January) to San Francisco with a stopover in Hong Kong on SIA flight SQ2.

A stewardess, who was not on the same flight as Yeap, told The Straits Times that Yeap was not feeling well when she arrived in San Francisco last Saturday.

On Tuesday night, just hours before Yeap was scheduled to return to Singapore, her colleagues went to her room to check on her as she did not appear in the lobby. They broke into her room, where they found her lifeless.

“We can confirm with regret that one of our female cabin crew was found deceased in her hotel room in San Francisco on 1st February (Singapore time). Our immediate priority is to provide the necessary assistance to the family of the crew member. As the case is under the investigation of the local authorities, we are unable to share any further details.

“The crew member operated to SFO (San Francisco) on flight SQ2 on 28th January and was due to have operated out from SFO on SQ1 on 1st February.”

Her elder brother, Eric Yeap, arrived in San Francisco at around 11pm (Singapore time) last night (Thursday, 2nd February) to claim her remains. In a Facebook post, he wrote, “Ko Ko (elder brother) love you always.”

Rest in peace, Vanessa Yeap. Our thoughts go out to her family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time.

Sources: NST, The Straits Times, Yahoo! News.


Netflix’s “The Mother” Review: Hell Hath No Fury Like Jennifer Lopez Punching Air

If we had a gold coin for every film trying to cash in on the assassin-coming-out-of-retirement craze 2014’s “John Wick” started, we’d have enough to buy the Continental by this point! Really by now, it’s more about the flavour and execution of the worked-to-death narrative than the actual story.

We’ve seen a comedic take on it with Bob Odenkirk’s “Nobody”, the mid-life crisis power fantasy of Denzel Washington’s “The Equalizer” films and this year we saw what can only be described as a decade-defining killathon of some of the best action choreography a generation can offer. All delivered by a man of many deeds, if not limited vocabulary, in “John Wick: Chapter 4”. It’s done, it’s over. To try to follow up after that act with something similar would be absolute suicide. It’s bound to draw comparisons to Reeves’ film…anywho, here’s Jennifer Lopez playing a highly-skilled assassin coming out to retirement!

Directed by Niki Caro, who was also responsible for 2020’s “Mulan”, Netflix’s “The Mother” sees JLo moving away from her romantic roots in films like “Marry Me” to try her hand at a more conventional action thriller premise. Will she hit the blood-soaked high notes? Or will it fall flat? Let’s find out!

After Jennifer Lopez’s character, simply referred to as the Mother fails to cut a deal with the FBI and leaves several agents killed by arms dealers Adrian Lovell and Hector Alvarez, she’s forced to make the most difficult choice of her life. She must abandon her daughter and go into exile, never to contact her again lest she puts her in danger. Years have passed and Lovell and Alvarez seek to settle the score by going after her 12-year-old daughter Zoe, forcing the former assassin out of retirement. After spending a lifetime taking lives, now she’ll stop at anything to save just one.

If you’ve been acquainted with the “Taken” films and the parent-revenge-fantasy lot, then “The Mother” feel right at home for you. At the mid-point of the film, it switches gears from a poor man’s attempt at a gritty action thriller and slows down to make room for the mother-daughter drama. While both acts of the film are undeniably uninspired, the second one at least allows for some moments of campy levity and melodramatic sappiness. Which is enjoyable in an ironic manner. If it’s a question of hearing long, stoic monologues of Jennifer Lopez threatening to kill people or hearing her snapping at her daughter for calling her the B-word, we pick the latter.

We’ll cut straight to it, the dialogue in this film is not good and the bar is set pretty low here. Characters have this weird habit of overexplaining out-of-place minor details in the film that could be mistaken as notes in the script. The moment we heard an FBI agent explain to the Mother the meaning of Zoe’s name, we were rolling our eyes to the back of our skulls. When the characters in this film aren’t in exposition mode, everyone here does their theatre class best to throw out as many action star one-liners as they can muster. Jennifer Lopez, of course, has the honour of filling the majority of the film’s quota.

As for the actual meat of the film, the action sequences are a mixed bag. Credit where credit is due, there are some mildly entertaining moments of improvisation from Lopez’s Mother. Some of them are bound to test the audiences’ credulity but it’s big and flashy enough to get us into the mood. Where it all falls apart very quickly though is when it comes up to the scenes requiring far more physicality from Lopez’s character, the melees and brawls. Lopez looks absolutely stunning for her age but it’s hard for her to not look winded when she’s forced to do the obligatory martial arts scene. Also, there’s an excruciating awful interrogation scene where we’re 95% sure that Jennifer Lopez was punching the air.

The best compliment we can pay Lopez here is that her performance in “The Mother” is not the worst of her career. Very few things in this world compare to the objective atrociousness of “The Boy Next Door” where she plays a high-school teacher caught in a messy relationship with a student being held back. Gross. Lopez simply doesn’t have the edge or the ferocity to sell us on the image of a hardened warrior returning to finish the job. Though, we could definitely see her playing a frustrated mother very easily.

Joseph Fiennes and Gael Garcia Bernal as the arms dealers are about as complex and interesting as a plank of wood. As for Lucy Paez as Zoe, the chemistry between the both of them feels forced and at no point do we as the audience resonate with her character. If HBO’s “The Last of Us” has taught us anything is that you can’t just throw a kid on-screen and claim that they’re the entire emotional core of your film. You. Have. To. Earn. It. The kid has to have personality and there are moments in the film we’re just begging for Zoe to be kidnapped again so the ball could get rolling.

Niki Caro’s “The Mother” attempts to bank on the sudden groundswell within the parent-child escort mission action subgenre but finds itself creatively bankrupt with little to say. Jennifer Lopez’s tenacity as an actor is commendable and that is the only virtue of note in this entire film. For any curious souls tempted to see what JLo would be like in a straight-laced action thriller, then “The Mother” may contain enough novelty to warrant a watch. For everyone else, stay clear.

You can now catch “The Mother” on Netflix today!

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Niki Caro's "The Mother" attempts to bank on the sudden groundswell within the parent-child escort mission action subgenre but finds itself creatively bankrupt with little to say. Jennifer Lopez's tenacity as an actor is commendable and that is the only virtue of note in this entire film. For any curious souls tempted to see what JLo would be like in a straight-laced action thriller, then "The Mother" may contain enough novelty to warrant a watch. For everyone else, stay clear.


#DraculaUntold: Movie Hits A Sensitive Nerve Amongst Muslims

Umno Youth exco member Dr Fathul Bari Mat Jahya is urging the government to review its approval of “Dracula Untold“, which is now showing in cinemas nationwide. He said the film had elements of Dracula Untold insulting Islam.

He first spoke up regarding the issue via his Twitter account, saying that the movie needs to be withdrawn from the silver screens and reevaluated because it has elements that insult Islam:

Filem “Dracula Untold” perlu dinilai semula penyiarannya. Ada unsur2 menghina Islam. @shaberyc @Khairykj @PPUMOnline pic.twitter.com/V1eDx1FsGd

— Fathul Bari (@ustazfathulbari) October 6, 2014

The film “Dracula Untold” needs to be reevaluated. It has elements that insult Islam.

His above message was also directed to Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin as they were tagged in the tweet.

At that time, Dr Fathul Bari Mat Jahya was responding to a Twitter user who claimed the film is sensitive because it has scenes that show an agreement being made between a Turkish Sultan and the Prince of Transylvania, written in the name of Allah. “There were scenes of a blood on paper agreement, written in the name of Allah. Certainly sensitive to the Muslims,” he said.

He said that his concern is not only for “Dracula Untold”, a film he deems is insulting Islam but he will also loudly criticise if the same issue befalls on any other religion. “We also do not agree to any film or drama which involves insults to any religion other than Islam. We advocate respect for religious differences,” he said.

“Dracula Untold” is a fictitious film of the horror genre, adapted from the popular Bram Stoker novel. The film tells the story of a prince (played by Luke Evans) who ruled Transylvania and had to make an unspeakable deal in order to save his family from the clutches of the government and the Turkish army.

The film is also being criticised for not only the display of the blood agreement scene in which includes the written word of Allah but also the portrayal of “Dracula Untold” antagonist Sultan of Turkey Sultan Mahmet II as a brutal man who takes children and enlists them into his army.

As such, Dr Fathul Bari Mat Jahya also urged FINAS for their attention on the issue, citing that if they continued to allow the screening of film, it will eventually have a negative effect.


Malaysian Rapper Namewee Breaks 3 Malaysia Book Of Records

Malaysian singer-songwriter Namewee has been inducted into The Malaysia Book of Records as he has set not 1, not 2, but 3 accomplishments.

The 35-year-old Johorian shared on his social media on the achievements which include Most Views For Chinese Single Music Video on YouTube for “Stranger in the North with over 135 million views, Highest Music Video Views on YouTube with an average views of 20 million per month, and Most Chinese Music Videos on YouTube.

“Wow! Thanks to The Malaysia Book of Records! That’s three awards! I’ll be receiving the awards on 30th September at Sunway Velocity. Thanks to everyone who’ve supported my music throughout the journey,” Namewee write on his social media.

Namewee is also the first to break 3 Malaysia Book of Records at one shot. Congratulations!

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WINNERS: Win Exclusive Tix To Juice’s 10th Anniversary!

Alright! The time has come to announce the FIVE lucky winners of our exclusive JUICE 10th Anniversary party ft. Major Lazer tickets giveaway. Some of your submissions were really interesting – from needing a break from the monotonous college life to needing to lose weight (?). Haha!

But first, let us entice you once again with what awesomeness you might’ve just signed up for on 13th December 2012 (Thursday):

[youtube id=”ZY999VxPNJc” width=”600″ height=”350″]

So without further ado, here are the lucky five:

Congratulations, peeps! You’ll be partying with the JUICE crew at the party of their decade TOMORROW at Stage KL. To claim your tickets, all you need to do is bring yourself (of course) and your IC to the registration at the venue. Don’t forget to state that you’re a winner from Hype Malaysia.


Sports Toto Apologises For Releasing Wrong Results For Toto Draw

Luck can be a fickle thing. Your bad fortune could easily turn into good fortune and vice versa. With Sports Toto Malaysia’s recent mistake, it must have certainly seemed that way to some people.

Early this morning (12th April), Sports Toto Malaysia apologised for mixing up the winning numbers. Apparently the mix up was due to a typist who had mistakenly entered the wrong numbers.

In the 5269/21 draw yesterday (11th April), the typist input the winning number for the Toto 4D’s first prize as 8755. However, the correct number was supposedly 8515. They made the change after discovering the error, but the results had already been published and seen. As such, the company made a statement on Facebook, clarifying the change and apologised for it.

“Sports Toto is committed to ensure that the draw is conducted in a fair and transparent manner,” the company wrote. “Our Toto draw is conducted in full view of the public.” According to the statement, 3 members of the public are chosen as judges. They will witness and verify the winning numbers drawn for the respective games. The company also invited the public to view the draw process on draw days at Berjaya Times Square.

The statement also mentioned that the typist wanted to personally make her own apology. Today, a woman named Wong Ai Li, claiming to be the typist at fault, posted her apology on their public Facebook page. She apologised for her error and promised to be more careful in the future.

While the apology from the company and typist seemed sincere, netizens were still doubtful. Many of them questioned how the mistake could happen. Several of them suspect the draw was manipulated as the company could not afford to pay the winner. Some even claimed that “Ai Li” is a scapegoat the company made up!

Will people continue to trust Sports Toto? Or will their customers be moving to a different betting company? Only time will tell.


#AlvinAndTheChipmunks: Fox 2000 Unveils First Poster For Live Action Movie

Remember the 3 musically talented chipmunks with the high-pitched voices? The adorable ones in green, blue, and red? It’s okay if you don’t, because they will be coming back to the big screens to give you a more memorable adventure!

That’s right, the merry band of squeaky rodents will be coming back to the big screen via “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip”! The movie, which is the 4th instalment of the series, has just released its 1st poster, giving audience a 1st look of what the movie will offer.

Fox 2000 has also updated the plot description of the movie:

This time around, after a series of misunderstandings, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore come to believe that Dave is going to propose to his new girlfriend in New York City… and dump them. They have three days to get to him and stop the proposal, saving themselves from losing Dave.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks” is a live action and CGI hybrid movie, focusing on the escapades of the chipmunks Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The 1st instalment of the series was adapted from a novelty music group of the same name that was created in 1958. The movie was so popular with the public that it spawned a sequel and merchandise line.

The 4th instalment will see Jason Lee reprising his role as Dave Seville, with Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jesse McCartney returning to voice Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. Bella Thorne and Kimberly Williams-Paisley are also set to star in the movie, with Tony Hale attached to play the movie’s central antagonist.

Walt Becker will be directing the movie while Ross Bagdasarian Jr. (son of the original creator of the chipmunks) and Janice Karman will produce it. It will be based on a script written by Randi Mayem Singer.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip” is currently slated for cinematic release on 23rd December 2015.

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Hype’s Must Watch: Morgan

“Morgan, do you consider yourself a person?”

Directed by son of English film director and producer Sir Ridley Scott, Luke Scott, “Morgan” is an upcoming American science fiction thriller film that centres on a bioengineered child (read: artificial human) named Morgan who starts to become dangerous.

In speaking about the movie prior to the trailer’s release, Luke Scott (who is making his directing debut with “Morgan”) told EW, “What Morgan really alludes to is human beings becoming, in a sense, the creator. Not in a traditional religious sense, but an idea that we have the capabilities to become our own creator. And what I suspect could happen – we’ve seen it in all these movies, whether it’s Frankenstein or Metropolis – it’s the creation of a being that is greater than the creator.”

“That is fascinating to me, and it definitely feels like a next stage of evolution in the real world,” he added.

“Morgan (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) is not like other girls. Created and raised in a laboratory environment by a group of scientists, she defies nature with her super-human qualities. Walking and talking within one month and self-sufficient after just six, her rapid progression is remarkable, exceeding the expectations of her creators. After Morgan has a ‘tantrum’ in which she almost kills some of the scientists, Lee Weathers (played by Kate Mara), a corporate consultant, is called in to make the ultimate choice of ‘terminating’ Morgan or letting her live before she causes anymore havoc and escapes into the outside world.”

Written by Seth Owen, “Morgan” also features a large ensemble cast consisting of Toby Jones, Rose Leslie, Boyd Holbrook, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Paul Giamatti.

The movie is slated to be released in cinemas nationwide on 1st September 2016.

For more information, visit the movie’s website or Facebook page.


Hype’s Now Playing: BIGBANG – Loser

The first of the 2 BIGBANG comeback singles that you’ve been waiting in high anticipation for have finally been released at midnight (Friday, 1st May).

Yes, we’re talking about BIGBANG’s MADE SERIES “M”.

Starting with “M” on 1st May, the “M”, “A”, “D”, and “E” projects will be released monthly until the complete “MADE” album is out in September. Each project contains more than one track, and MADE SERIES “M” will be out in 2 different versions; M ver. and m ver.

“Loser” doesn’t sound outrightly K-Pop-ish but we’re not entirely surprised as BIGBANG (or at least YG Entertainment) has always been known to push boundaries with their experimentation of sounds, styles, and music genres.

The concept centres on individual stories of what makes the BIGBANG members, um, “losers” in their own right. For example, Daesung gets beaten up by thugs while Seungri appears to be a jilted lover. G-Dragon, of course, coolly wanders around the streets looking a little lost/stranded in both the physical and emotional sense, while Taeyang just looks like he’s looking for answers.

Oh, and let’s not forget TOP, who is seen making out with a mysterious hottie in the music video.

Love it or not so much? Let us know what you think.

Don’t forget! BIGBANG is slated to perform at Bukit Jalil Putra Indoor Stadium on 25th July as part of their “MADE” world tour. All the details we have here.

For more information, visit BIGBANG’s official Facebook page.

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Hype’s Now Playing: Lorde – Yellow Flicker Beat (#THG Mockingjay Part 1)

Lorde will set your heart on fire as the much anticipated soundtrack for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” has been released!

Titled “Yellow Flicker Beat”, the song is Lorde’s lead single from the soundtrack album that she curated for the upcoming YA sci-fi thriller film “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1”. It is the second song that Lorde has performed for the film as the previous film “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” featured her cover version of the classic song “Everybody Wants to Rule The World”.

The 17-year-old singer previously teased the lead single on Instagram by scribbling the second line of the lyrics on the back of her hand:

After the song was released, the Grammy award-winning singer expressed her gratitude by posting a thank-you note on Tumblr.

In the thank-you note, the singer described that she set up in her “little bed office” and has worked “from midnight until late on the soundtrack”. With the amount of love and support she received from the fans, the singer felt obliged to post the thank-you note, a place where she feels the most happy and safe online.

Lorde then ended the note by saying that the song is the first offering from what she hopes will be a soundtrack the fans will love:

it’s my attempt at getting inside her head, katniss’. i hope you like it.

Prior to the release of the film, Lorde has gone one step ahead by revealing the music video for the song, “Yellow Flicker Beat” on her 18th birthday!

That’s right, everyone! Lorde gave herself a birthday surprise today by revealing the first music video for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1”. Unfortunately, the video does not contain any sneak peak of the film that will be released on November 21st.

“Yellow Flicker Beat” is one of the songs that has been included in the soundtrack album she curated for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” but the album will only be released via Republic Records on 17tth November.

However, you can still purchase the song via the iTunes store or listen to it on Spotify and Youtube.


Charlie Sheen Is A Giver

But if you’re thinking that he’s giving more money to Miss Lohan, the answer is a BIG no. After all, Lindsay didn’t even thank the good man. This time, Charlie Sheen is helping someone who really deserves it.

According to TMZ, the once troubled “Two and a Half Men” actor was having chatting with a police officer in Los Angeles. While they were talking, the cop unintentionally mentioned his colleague’s 10-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with cancer. It is believed to be “Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma”, a muscle cancer that requires a year of expensive treatment.

Charlie was immediately touched by the story and wrote a cheque for $US75,000 for the police association’s fund for the girl’s therapy. He then said, “No parent should have to watch their kid go through that.”

He also donated an additional $US25,000 for the girl’s medical expenses.

Wow! That’s a total of $US100,000 altogether. We have never been so proud of Charlie before, kudos to you. You could be a changed man after all.

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No Time To Die: 5 Facts About The New Female 007, Lashana Lynch

A series of character posters of the new “James Bond” film “No Time To Die” have just been release. One of those posters include franchise newcomer, Lashana Lynch, who will play the new female 007, Nomi.

Although she may not be James Bond, rumour has it that she is indeed the new 007 with the number being an agent’s code name for the British spy agency. Hopefully this will make it more accepting to long time fans, who often associate the number to the quintessential British male spy.

So with that out of the way, let’s find out more about our new 007, as we think many would agree that beside her role in “Captain Marvel” much of the British actress information is still very much unknown. That being said, here are 5 facts that we think people should know about the “James Bond” newcomer.

The 32-year-old started her film career in 2012 in the film “Fast Girls”, which was about a group of girls that team up for a British track team and race for glory in the World Championship. Lynch starred as one of the girls named Belle Newman. The film received relatively good reviews from critics, but never really took off anywhere outside the UK.

A post shared by Lashana Lynch (@lashanalynch)

The actress was born in Hammersmith, London on 1987 and is of Jamaican descent. Seeing as some of the scenes in the upcoming “Bond” film was shot in Jamaica, we think this will be a perfect opportunity for the Brit to catch up on some of her Jamaican roots.

The London native breakout role internationally was of course 2019’s “Captain Marvel”. While her role in the film didn’t receive a lot of screen time, it was enough to showcase her talent. According to film director Ryan Fleck, he revealed to Empire that during her audition, the actress managed to bring him to tears.

In addition, the actress had also auditioned for a role in another Marvel film, “Black Panther”. While she didn’t get the role, she still got herself into the Marvel Cinematic Universe eventually.

For those that don’t know, Maya Angelou was an American poet and singer who sadly passed away in 2014. The “Fast Girls” actress has said that she learned many lessons, from the poet, that will stick with her for the rest of her days.

James Bond or not, just by taking over the code name of 007 has earned her considerable backlash from long time fans, who didn’t want to see changes done to their favourite character. When asked about it during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the “No Time To Die” actress simply answered that she doesn’t let the backlash bother her but instead she sympathised with the fans.

“It doesn’t dishearten me,” states Lynch. “It makes me feel quite sad for some people because their opinions, they’re not even from a mean place — they’re actually from a sad place. It’s not about me. People are reacting to an idea, which has nothing to do with my life.”

Oh and if you’re wondering about those character posters, fear not as we got you covered below:

The new James Bond film “No Time To Die” is set for the cinemas on 9th April 2020, and we can’t wait to see how they will send off Daniel Craig’s character from the franchise.


#TheMalaysianInsider: Is The News Portal Reopening?

Wait a minute, is The Malaysian Insider making a comeback?

Social media has been abuzz with the news portal’s resurgence after a teaser page with TMI’s nameplate was published with the tagline “Returning With The Truth”.

Besides sporting a new URL (malaysia-insider.asia as compared to the original themalaysianoutsider.com), several netizens have also noticed the slight difference between the alleged revival and TMI, namely Malaysia Insider versus Malaysian Insider.

The web page also sports a countdown ticker together with an invitation box to leave your e-mail so you’d be informed once the site goes live.

Although this news was widely shared after Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua posted Malaysia Insider’s link on his Facebook page, the former editor of TMI, Jahabar Sadiq, has caution everyone against falling for something that could be a scam. According to him, there hasn’t been any plans to revive the popular news portal.

So everyone's tweeting or facebooking this but this has nothing to do with me. The Malaysian Insider died 15.3.2016 pic.twitter.com/2x7bc0BpbT

— Jahabar Sadiq (@jsadiq) August 16, 2016

Several Facebook users have also pointed out that the web page is simply “fishing for e-mail addresses”. “They are fishing for email addresses. Is this a scam?” asked Nicholas Chan, while Dharm Navaratnam shared, “My antivirus picked up a Malicious Redirection attempt when I accessed the link… be careful Peeps.”

The Malaysian Insider was forced to close down on 15th March earlier this year, shortly after it’s 8th anniversary, following a ban by MCMC.

Source: Jahabar Sadiq’s Facebook/ Featured Image: Malaysia Insider Asia.

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#Malaysia: Man Murders Colleague Over Tasteless Food; Netizens React

We’ve seen a couple of bizarre cases over the past few years but this one might take the cake.

An estate worker named Mohamad Rosli Naqur Gani in Temerloh, Pahang recently went overboard when he murdered his colleague (R. Devadas) because his meal was “tasteless” and “unhygienic”.

The incident took place at Bellenggu Halt, Mentakab on 17th April. According to Sinar Harian, Mohamad Rosli, 35, “punched, kicked, and whacked” Devadas with a piece of wood and a parang after discovering that his food was bland and ill prepared.

Mohamad Rosli has since been charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for committing murder. If found guilty, he could face a death penalty. The Star reported that Deputy Public Prosecutor Nik Rabiatul Adawiyah Nik Soupy did not offer bail and the defendant had no lawyer to represent him.

Many netizens are in shock over how a trivial matter could result in murder. “I could only wonder how terrible the food must have tasted to incite a person to murder?” asked a Facebook user. Another netizen commented, “Let’s see if he is going to find prison food tastier“.

What do y’all think of this incident? Share them with us in the comments below.

Sources: Sinar Harian, Lowyat.net, The Star.


Snap Away At The 9 Desserts Rooms At Malaysia’s First Selfie Museum

Calling all selfie addicts, there’s a new attraction in town catered just for you! It’s the first ever desserts themed Selfie Museum in Malaysia.

Set to debut on 31st August 2018, the Selfie Museum – Dessert Series is located at Fahrenheit 88 (near Pavilion Kuala Lumpur). The 7,000 square feet features a total of 9 eye-popping desserts rooms that are absolutely Instagram-worthy.

“We’re excited to launch the first-ever Selfie Museum at the very heart of Kuala Lumpur with our esteemed partners. The museum showcases 9 rooms filled with larger than life dessert themed sculptures for a fun-filled Instagram photo-taking day out. Visitors will be receiving a total of 5 free desserts; Sirap cupcakes, Baskin Robbins ice cream, Pisang tarts, TeaLive bubble tea amongst others,” said Sean Tan, Director of the Selfie Museum.

He added, “It’s something new in Malaysia and the inspiration behind this is to allow Malaysians to experience a multi-sensorial journey from sight, touch to taste. We hope to bring Malaysians from all walks of life together to create special moments and memories.”

The 9 desserts rooms at Selfie Museum as stated in the press release are:

A post shared by elanakhong ® (@elanakhong)

This room displays a variety of colourful giant cake sculptures. Visitors will also get to choose a complimentary cupcake with a local flavour twist; Sirap or Gula Melaka.

2. “Everything’s Sweet” Room by Benefit Cosmetics

A post shared by Kelly Sashimi© (@kellysashimi)

Filled with eye-catching candies and dessert sculptures, this room adds a pop of colour in photos.

A post shared by Johnlmc | Visual Creator (@johnlmc_)

Visitors will also get to enjoy soft and fluffy corn or lychee marshmallows as they walk through the beautiful “Fluffy Path” to the next room.

4. “Ice-Cream World” Room by Baskin Robbins

The room presents a delicious life-size Baskin Robbins ice-cream cone and to top it off, visitors will receive a free scoop of Baskin Robbins Cold Brew Crunch or Cotton Candy.

A post shared by Jessica Lee (@jessicalee.my)

An insta-perfect café setting with a life-size ikat tepi Teh Ais. This room is ideal for everyone to take wefie photos together.

A post shared by Jessica Chaw (@jessicachaw)

A magical life-size unicorn is the star of this super colourful rainbow room. Take a selfie with the adorable unicorn after its meal of yet another Insta-worthy life-size durian sculpture!

7. “Super Happiness” Room by Samsung Galaxy

Here is where visitors can go ba-na-nas and jump onto a life-size banana to take photos. The room also has 3 zones featuring different interactive experiences with the latest Samsung Galaxy S9+.

8. “Splash Lab” Room by TeaLive & llaollao

A perfect combination of bubble-tea and yogurt inspired room. This room showcases a life-size sculpture of your favourite Malaysian bubble tea drink with giant pearls too! Visitors will receive a refreshing complimentary cup of Roasted Milk Tea with Grass Jelly to quench their thirst.

Get a sugar rush photo moment amongst life-size donuts in this room. Visitors will also receive a free local flavoured tart; a choice of coconut or banana – so delicious, it’s sure to make you do-nut-stop savouring each bite.

The details to Selfie Museum are as follows:

Selfie Museum is currently early bird discounts (RM5) online from now till Sunday (2nd September). For more information, visit their official website here.

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#BTS: K-Pop Idol Boy Group To Make Comeback In September

ARMYs, rejoice! BTS (방탄소년단) is coming back very, very soon :)

The boys’ label Big Hit Entertainment has confirmed that the group will be making their comeback in September. In a statement, the company added, “Whether it be a mini-album or full album, nothing’s decided yet.”

This would also mark their first release since their 2nd full-length album, titled “You Never Walk Alone”.

Debuted on 13th June 2013, the 7-member boy group is made up of leader Rap Monster, lead rapper Suga, vocalist V, lead rapper J-Hope, main dancer Jimin, vocalist Jin, and Jungkook. Their debut single, titled “No More Dream”, was very well-received and the hip-hop group proceeded to snag several rookie awards, including those offered by MelOn Music Awards, Golden Disk Awards, Seoul Music Awards, Gaon Chart K-pop Awards, as well as YinYueTai V-Chart.

The widely-popular group, who just concluded their “Wings” tour, recently took home the Top Social Artiste award at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), making them the first K-Pop group to do so. Besides that, it was recently reported that BTS will include “Beyond The Scene” as their new brand identity.

What kind music do you think the boys will produce? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

For more info, hit up BTS’ official website and Facebook page.

Sources: Koreaboo, Soompi / Featured image: BTS’ Facebook page.


“Innocence of Muslims” Filmmaker Sentenced To Death

A 14-minute YouTube film that“debuted” in September this year, sparking riots and attacks on U.S. embassies in Muslim countries in the Middle East. Named, “Innocence of Muslims”, the controversial film portrays the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud and womanizer.

In short, it is an insult to the Muslims.

The low-budget, anti-Islam “Innocence of Muslims” was made by Californian man Mark Basseley Youssef. Although it clearly triggered violence in the Middle East soon after its release, Youssef maintains that he had no regrets in directing the film:

I thought, before I wrote this script, that I should burn myself in a public square to let the American people and the people of the world know this message that I believe in.

And just today, Youssef was sentenced to death in absentia in an Egyptian court. But because he lives in the United States, he’s unlikely to ever serve the sentence.

Also, under court law in Egypt, receiving a sentence of death in absentia entails an automatic opportunity to request an appeal once the defendant re-enters Egypt.


Concert Review: Dua Lipa Got Us To Raise Our Middle Fingers During IDGAF

Warning: You are about to experience some explicit language and behaviour. This is a song for all the f**kboys who have done you wrong. If you would like to participate in the next activity, please put your middle finger up.

That text appeared on the large screen just before Dua Lipa launched into one of her encore songs for “IDGAF” (an abbreviation for “I don’t give a f**k”). It wasn’t long before middle fingers were raised to the sky.

If you’ve been following the “One Kiss” singer on her social media accounts, you’ll probably know that a lucky Malaysian named Hazim Hilmi requested to take a snapshot with her. It just so happened that they were on the same flight from Hong Kong to KLIA via Malaysian Airlines.

The 22-year-old pop starlet and her friends took time off to explore some touristy things while they were in Kuala Lumpur. They enjoyed some local dishes at Jalan Alor, Bukit Bintang. That same night, they also went up to Thean Hou Temple. Batu Caves was also included in their sightseeing while Dua Lipa and her crew were in the city.

Fans couldn’t help but rejoice together with the songstress when she discovered her own unique mural. Located at Dato Keramat LRT, Dua Lipa even met up with the visual artist Katun Zhack himself.

When Dua Lipa’s solo tour at KL Live went on sale, it sold out within a day. Since then, fans have been anticipating her concert (organised by IME Malaysia and InTour Live). Some fans even showed up at the venue to queue as early as 1pm, in addition to those who flew in from Jakarta. Talk about dedication…

Local DJ duo BATE entertained the crowd during their 30-minute, but concert-goers had only one person in mind – Dua Lipa. The Brit was welcomed on stage with deafening screams. Kicking the show off with “Blow Your Mind”, the energy in KL Live was a solid 10/10. Audiences ate up the futuristic disco number as Lipa was seen bouncing and reeling round the stage.

Unfortunately for those of us standing at the upper tier close to the speakers, the pop star’s voice was drowned out by the thumping drum beats and heavy background music. It was only during her intimate sessions in “Garden” and “Homesick” that her vocals truly soared seamlessly. Lipa’s smoky yet sultry tone during those stripped-down moments were spine-tingling.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was witnessing the English-born singer’s stamina in sustaining her jazzercise-style dance routines throughout the concert duration without missing a beat. To quote Brian O’Flynn, “she is a machine, but never robotic“. The concert was a joyride regardless whether you’re a hardcore fan or not.

Following “IDGAF”, Lipa ended the night with the tropical house/ electro-pop single “New Rules”. Looking at her devoted legion of fans, we can deduce this much – Dua Lipa is definitely here to stay.

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#NagaPutihHoax: White Dragon “Found” In Malaysia, Apparently

They say that you shouldn’t trust everything that you see/read/hear via the interwebs. Time and time again, the saying has proven to be true. Recently, images of a mythical creature “found” in Perak before it was “found” in Johor Bahru went viral, mostly because it was rampantly shared via Facebook.

According to this Facebook user, the “story” originated from a Malaysiakini report – the source of which we haven’t found. It said that a “Naga putih” aka white dragon has been shot dead. Yes, as in a real dragon.

Translation of the accompanying text in the above post:

A dragon was shot dead at a house near a durian orchard when its owner realised that he has been losing a few of his pet rabbits as of late. The durian orchard owner, Boon Chin Yo, was sleeping in the 2-storey house when he was suddenly awoken by a rabbit’s screams and a weird noise, much like a tiger. He peeped from the stairs only to find a strange animal with horns and long whiskers attacking a rabbit. Out of panic, he quickly made a grab for his auto rifle and shot at it 8 times, causing the strange animal fall onto the floor. After ensuring that it was really dead, he was shocked to find that it was a white dragon with fur like a rabbit. When met with reporters, he said, “I wouldn’t have guessed that it’d turn out to be a white dragon. It shocked me.” The Chinese believe that when a dragon enters your home, it’s supposed to bring luck and its horns can fetch thousands of ringgit. Meanwhile, Boon Chin Yo confirmed that he has no plans to sell the white dragon because it’s likely that it’d end up preserved for public viewing.

We know this because the same pictures were used in a Weibo post, claiming that the “dragon” was “found” in Thailand.

In fact, this Tumblr shared the said pictures accompanied with an entirely differently story:

The Chinese weibo and weixin are circulating the images of the “dragon”, it is yet unknown if the dragon is real, or if it’s not whatever animal this is. The man that found it, says that he heard weird bird noises in his yard when it was raining, he thought a bird might be hurt, but the man was surprised, when he saw ” a dragon” when he arrived at the scene. It is not known whether the animal is a real dragon or a strangely mutated animal, but the fact remains that the animal was hurt, it is still alive, and a man that posted his pictures on his social media is asking people if they think it is indeed a dragon, and even if it’s not how to treat him, we all hope that that “animal” will recover soon.

After which, the below pictures surfaced and were shared via Twitter and Facebook, proving that it was indeed just a prank! What people thought was a legit white dragon was actually just a sculpture of some sort.

“A” for effort though, it definitely got a lot of people curious.


This Is Why Coco Lee’s Husband Bruce Rockowitz & Step-Daughters Won’t Get Anything From Her Inheritance

The world is still reeling from the death of much loved Hong Kong singer Coco Lee (李玟). However, some are wondering why her husband and children have yet to speak up. As it turns out, Coco’s marriage may not have been the perfect marriage many hope for.

Coco Lee tied the knot with Canadian businessman Bruce Rockowitz in 2011. Although he had no kids by her, Coco had two adult step-daughters from Bruce’s previous marriage. But, rumours claim Coco’s marriage fell apart as Bruce chased other women while her step-daughters harboured animosity from their broken family.

The unexpected marriage had made headlines back in the day, especially as Bruce had apparently still been married when he met Coco. Chinese media claim they had been dating for eight years, before Bruce proposed to Coco. However, she had supposedly declined as he was still with his first wife. As such, he allegedly decided to end his first marriage, thereby securing Coco’s assent.

Both Coco and Bruce had seemed happy together, with Coco even sharing in 2018 that she and her husband were trying for kids. However, in 2020, there were rumours that the couple had split. Neither ever confirmed the rumours, nor did Coco address the speculation. But, there were several oddities which stood out.

Some claimed that Bruce had been cheating on her with other women. Several also noted a distinct silence from her step-daughters, leaving many to believe they had not offered Coco support and comfort during the difficult time. Coco later allegedly left her home with Bruce to stay with her family. Reports added that she had looked bad then, dropping down to a worrying 42.3kg.

Bruce’s blatant lack of presence in Coco’s life in their later years was another big flag, especially when she was healing from a pelvic injury. Coco’s sisters too had notably neglected to mention him in their post regarding Coco’s passing. As for her step-daughters, they have never been publicly spotted with her, either in-person or on camera since.

The bad blood between Coco and her family has led many to believe that Coco Lee’s inheritance may be given to her sisters and mother. Currently, her worth reportedly exceeds NT$4 billion (~RM595 million). However, there have been reports that Coco and her husband had invested in real estate and property together, which makes Bruce inheriting those likely. Another source claims Coco’s will has left all property to her mother.

Well, the family has yet to address Coco Lee’s marriage situation with Bruce Rockowitz . However, regardless of her relationship with Bruce, we sincerely hope netizens will respect all of Coco’s family while they recover from her loss.

Sources: China Press (1)(2), The Sun, Oriental Daily, 8world

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“Summer of New Heights” Postponed

Oh dear, due to unforeseen circumstances, we regret to inform you that New Heights’ first ever show in Kuala Lumpur has been postponed until further notice.

Fret not, peeps. Because M.E Malaysia is awesome, they’re sorting out new dates and venues for the boys. So keep checking back with them via their Facebook page or New Heights’ Facebook page for more updates.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to send in your well wishes, send ’em all in to New Heights via their Twitter account!


#GhostbustersReboot: Ernie Hudson To Make Cameo Appearance In Film

They have the tools, and they have the talent.

Original “Ghostbusters” actor Ernie Hudson is obviously not going to let his “ghost-catching” talent go to waste as insiders told The Hollywood Reporter that he will star in Sony Pictures’ upcoming “Ghostbusters” sequel.

According to THR, Hudson has agreed to make a cameo appearance in the new film that would star a slew of female comedians including Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones in the leading roles.

Back in October 2014, Hudson told The Telegraph that an all-female cast for the “Ghostbusters” reboot would “would be a bad idea”. He even responded to the new cast announcement by tweeting “No comment” before deleting it.

However, in January this year, he had a change of heart and told The Hollywood Reporter that the all-female cast would be “phenomenal”. He said, “Four fiercely funny, foxy, females busting ghosts … phenomenal!”

Today was one of the most fun days of my career. Great respect for Paul and this amazing cast of ladies. pic.twitter.com/QpNssCDL6L

— Ernie Hudson (@Ernie_Hudson) September 20, 2015

Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, who played Dr. Peter Venkman and Dr. Raymond “Ray” Stantz respectively, have also confirmed that they will be making cameo appearances. However, they are expected to play new characters in the film.

We’re not sure if Hudson would reprise his role from “Ghostbusters” (1984) and “Ghostbusters II” (1989) as Winston Zeddemore because his part in this new film is still being kept secret.

It's a wrap on Ghostbusters!!! pic.twitter.com/gzQFRrLUYU

— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) September 19, 2015

In other news, Feig announced that the “Ghostbusters” reboot has wrapped filming.

“Thor” star Chris Hemsworth will be playing a receptionist named Kevin in the all-female-driven flick. Neil Casey also joined the cast as the main antagonist while Andy Garcia will play the Mayor of New York City. Matt Walsh and Michael K. Williams will play “Rourke” and “Hawkins” respectively. New York City’s NY1 news anchor Pat Kiernan is rumoured to be making a cameo appearance as well.

The reboot is based on a script written by Feig and Katie Dippold and is scheduled for release on 22nd July 2016.

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Lana Del Rey Works With Mark Ronson On Upcoming Album “Honeymoon”

Lana recruits Mark for upcoming album, “Honeymoon”.

Mark Ronson who has a great track record for producing, is currently riding high with his latest solo album, “Uptown Special”, which includes the catchy single “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars. Next up for Ronson is likely more production work – and it’s with Lana Del Rey.

Mark, who has worked with Adele, Amy Winehouse, Paul McCartney, Bruno Mars, Lily Allen and more has been recruited by Lana to work together on her third album, “Honeymoon”.

In a chat with Q-Tip for Interview magazine, Ronson revealed that he was hitting the studio with Lana.

“I’m going to do some recording with Lana Del Rey today and tomorrow. I found this cool old studio out here,” says Ronson. “I don’t know. She has some songs and I said I had some demo ideas, and if they are any good, then maybe she’ll like them and we’ll go from there,” he added.

Lana’s sophomore album, “Ultraviolence”, which was helmed by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, debuted atop the Billboard 200 albums chart upon its release last June.

Meanwhile, Ronson scored the longest-running No. 1 single of the decade last week when “Uptown Funk!” logged its 13th week at the top of the Hot 100 chart. “Uptown Funk” is now three weeks away from tying the all-time leader, Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day.”

“Honeymoon” is expected to be released sometime before the end of this year.


CineDrive: New Drive-In Theater At 1 Utama Boasts A Huge Outdoor Screen

The last few months have seen a couple of drive-in cinemas infiltrate Malaysian moviegoing habits. As of right now, another player has entered the fray in the heart of Bandar Utama, and gosh, is it big!

A new outdoor theatrical experience named CineDrive has just launched in 1 Utama Shopping Centre and features an LED screen that is 42 feet tall and 52 feet wide! Wow, that’s 1.5 times larger than an Olympic badminton court! According to the organiser, the screen is also lifted 1 storey above ground level to ensure that patrons experience little to no obstructions.

From the 19th to 27th of September, the location will be screening 22 popular titles, new and old, to tantalise your film tastebuds. Patrons will be able to experience features like “300”, “Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse”, “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Paskal” and “The Matrix” (and many more) on the big screen again. Family-friendly or 18+, CineDrive has got your back.

To listen to the audio from the movie, visitors will have to tune in to a dedicated FM frequency on their car radio. No external speakers are required. Be sure to turn up that bass to feel every low rumble racing past in “Ford v Ferrari”!

Besides, if you were worried about discomfort from turning off your engine and air condition, fret not, as the organisers have purchased carbon credits from solar projects which will offset the carbon emissions in the location. As such, visitors will be able to turn on their air condition and leave their engines running for maximum comfort while watching a movie.

As we live in trying times, this moviegoing experience is also suitable for those who want to maintain social distancing habits to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The only people who should be in danger are those at the tip of Logan’s blades. Snikt!

The following are the showtimes for the outdoor film screenings.

Prices begin at RM80 per (basic) ticket. These are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Nevertheless, you can also purchase a VIP ticket for RM100, whereby a slot will be assigned for your peace of mind.

All tickets come with a large popcorn and drink combo courtesy of GSC Cinemas, but if you’re feeling especially hungry, an additional combo can be purchased for RM15. Furthermore, ONECard – 1 Utama’s Loyalty Club – members can enjoy a rebate of up to 15% in UPoints.

For more information on CineDrive, you can take a look at the official CineDrive Facebook page or CineDrive’s official website.

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(UPDATE) #ScamAlert: This Dubious Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Letter May Put Your Home In Danger

Yesterday (Tuesday, 23rd August), a Facebook user named Shantini Venugopal took to her profile to share a supposed Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) scam that may put people’s homes at risk of being robbed. In her post, she wrote, “Good Lord! The schemes that people come up with!! ? ? If only they used that same energy n intelligence to help contribute to society instead of robbing it!”

According to Shantini, a homeowner recently received an official letter/note which claims that TNB had been to the house to carry out some work but was unable to access the premise as the house was locked. It is unclear as to what work is needed to be done as it was marked under “lain-lain” (others).

The note (as seen above), which looks legit at first glance, provided 2 handwritten mobile phone numbers and went on to request for the said homeowner to make an appointment within a week from the date of notification (11th August 2016) so that “work can be carried out immediately”. It was even signed off by the TNB KL Utara branch manager.

Shantini’s Facebook post went on to explain that TNB has confirmed that the letter/note is a new way for robbers to gain access into your house. Her post has since been shared over 100 times.

There seems to be some confusion, and understandably so, as TNB’s logo is standardised blue and red across the board, not red and black as seen in the above letter/note’s letterhead. Refer to the screenshots below to compare:

We’ve reached out to TNB for comment, and according to a TNB Careline rep, the content of the letter/note is accurate as the name of the person who issued it (Ramesh) is an actual TNB meter reader based in TNB Kepong, and the original contact number was struck out because the TNB KL Utara branch has shifted to TNB Kepong and is no longer in operation.

The rep also confirmed that although the information is legit, the purpose of the letter/note is not. As such, TNB is currently in the process of notifying their customers via their TNB Careline Facebook page about the letter/note.

TNB Careline has posted up an official statement via their Facebook page with regards to the above matter. In their statement, they explained that the letter/note is legit and that it wasn’t issued with the intention of robbery. TNB also explained that the employee left the letter/note as he couldn’t enter the homeowner’s premise to access the meter.

If you have any doubts at all about official letters/notes from TNB, reach out to them via their Careline by dialling or SMSing 15454, or e-mail tnbcareline@tnb.com.my.

For more information on how to reach out to TNB’s Customer Care, visit their website or their Facebook page.


#GoodVibesFest: Good Vibes Presents Echosmith & RÜFÜS Live In KL

Music enthusiasts are in for a treat because Future Sound Asia has announced the launch of a brand new platform under the Good Vibes brand – “Good Vibes Presents”. Believing that all music fans in Malaysia should get the chance to see their favourite international acts, this platform aims to extend that festival feeling to Malaysia all year-round.

Good Vibes Presents will be a series of gigs featuring top international artistes leading up to the main Good Vibes Festival in 2016 and will kick off this August 8th (Saturday), with Californian “Cool Kids” Echosmith, marking the band’s debut performance in Malaysia.

The four-piece family of musicians known for singles “Cool Kids” and “Bright” will be supported by Sydney-based dance trio RÜFÜS and local favourites Dash and Indiego & Co. Tickets for the inaugural Good Vibes Presents gig at KL Live will go on sale exclusively at BoxTix on July 7th (Tuesday) at 3.00pm.

Early-bird tickets are priced at RM80, while further phases of tickets will be released as the event date draws closer.

Good Vibes Presents Echosmith and RÜFÜS:

For more information, log on to the Official Website or hit up Good Vibes Festival on Facebook.

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Concert Review: IU Enchants Malaysian UAENAs During Debut Show In KL

Singer-songwriter IU (아이유)’s headlining concert tour “Love, Poem” (taken from her EP of the same name) finally arrived in the heart of Kuala Lumpur last Saturday (21st December)! The event was organised by Galaxy Group (银河集团).

During the 3 hours and 30 minutes show held at Axiata Arena, concert-goers found themselves immersed with the star’s magical voice as well as her spectacular stage charisma.

The gate opened as early as 5pm. Despite the show kicking off at 7pm, Malaysian UAENAs (IU’s fandom name) started to line up prior to entering the concert venue to ensure they have a nice spot to witness the popular Hallyu star performing live in person.

After everyone was settled down in their seats, a montage video was played on the rectangular-shaped screen to warm up the party. IU (real name Lee Jieun) then appeared on stage – wearing a shimmery princess-like gown complete with a pair of silver-coloured heels – and opened the show with “Unlucky” before proceeding with her 2017 song “Palette”.

“Did you miss me?” IU asked the fans, before adding, “Since this was just the opening, you guys were so energetic. I hope you guys will keep up with the spirit for the rest of the concert.”  Aside from that, the pop singer also showed off her skills in speaking Malay by uttering words such as “Apa khabar?” (How are you?) and “Terima kasih” (Thank you). She then continued the show with “Autumn Morning” and “Friday Night”, wowing the crowd with her flawless voice.

“I wasn’t able to go out. So, I spent most of my time in the hotel,” said IU. However, she couldn’t help but be impressed with Malaysia’s changing climates in a span of one day. “I love the fact that the weather here is changing. Back in Korea, you will only see one weather a day,” she further added.

Speaking about her next song “Secret Garden”, she revealed that the lyrics felt close to her, where it highlights the fact that no one is perfect in this world. The lights eventually dimmed as she exited the stage to prepare herself for the next performance.

The crowd was treated with another VCR video featuring the singer herself walking around a stranded forest. Moments later, she came back on stage clad in a black top beneath a long glittery cardigan with a pair of white pants. The 26-year-old then proceeded with the performance of “The Visitor” and “Jam Jam”. She didn’t miss the chance to interact with the audience with her cheeky facial expressions along with the cute lyrics.

Fellow local UAENAs then went bananas as she took off the cardigan to perform her hit songs “Twenty-three” and “BBIBBI”, along with her troupe of dancers. “Popularnya saya” (I’m so popular), the singer was quoted as saying, in response to the massive fan-chant during the latter song. For the next song, she asked fans to sing-along to “Hold My Hand”.

IU singing Blueming and the fan project from Ku-aenas is a success with the blue balloon. #IULovePoeminKL #IULovePoeminMY pic.twitter.com/hmWtMWx3Bu

— nas | 👑💎Ꮤ🍀 (@naselection) December 21, 2019

Just when we thought IU was running out of energy after those splendid live performances, she took it up another notch with another quirky performance of “Last Night Story” – taken from her 2nd cover EP “A Flower Bookmark 2” (2017). “KL is so hot! I’m sweating as I was singing and dancing,” IU said after finishing the song. She then closed the second segment with her latest jam called “Blueming”, with fans waving light blue-coloured balloons as they chanted along with her performance.

Another VCR was played after the singer left the stage. As the clip was played, a few KUAENAs – a play of the words Kuala Lumpur and UAENAs – started to chant her name numerous times. IU then appeared on stage wearing a sky blue dress and proceeded to singing her chart-topping hit “Meaning Of You”. After that, she asked fans why they shouted for her name, which only hyped up the crowd even more. Praising their energetic cheers, she commented that fans’ voices were “louder than my own microphone. You guys completely won over my voice in this song.”

#IULovePoeminKL IU comes out again after vcr and asked Ku-Aenas why they were so loud and happy with cheers even when she wasn't on stage 🤣 she said she envies us because we are happy all the time and assumes that it was the sunny-rainy weather effect, 😆so comel la IU niii pic.twitter.com/TWoWEcgITB

— Malaysian Kpop Fans (MKF) (@msiakpopfans) December 21, 2019

Okay let’s cry together 🌙I was getting teary eyed from Jang Man Weol’s performance last night.. now where’s my Ku Chan Seong? ✨#hahanyfancam #hahanyhallyu #iulovepoeminkl #iulovepoeminmy pic.twitter.com/wO8ljHzRTB

— Hani Fadzil (@hanybunch) December 22, 2019

IU then talked about the immense popularity of her latest drama series “Hotel del Luna”. “I was informed by my manager that the drama did very well in the country! I am so pleased to hear that,” said IU as she expressed her gratitude to loyal followers of the show.

She then channeled the role of Jang Manweol (her character in the series) and performed a medley of original soundtracks for the drama; “Can You See My Heart” (originally performed by Heize), “Remember Me” (Gummy) and her very own song called “Our Happy Ending”. The screen also showed several scenes from the hit TV series.

The Seoul-born starlet continued to leave the audience in awe with her soulful take on the songs “Lullaby” and “Through The Night”. Her sincere and passionate performance of the songs gave us chills.

Sadly, the final part of the show was upon us. IU came back again on stage in a flowery dress paired with black heels and proceeded with the performance of “This Right Now”. After that, she took KUAENAs back to 2013 with her hit song “The Red Shoes” – taken from her critically-acclaimed 3rd studio album “Modern Times”. Right before her “last” 2 songs, she thanked everyone for having her here, “I was curious and a little bit worried since this is my first time performing in Malaysia. Thank you so much for coming! I can really tell that you’ve been waiting for me to come here.”

This dance sequence in #AboveTheTime is 😍. The transition between this and #YouAndI is amazing #IULovePoeminKL #IULovePoeminMY #LovePoeminKL #LovePoeminMY pic.twitter.com/LdAAru9Up0

— nas | 👑💎Ꮤ🍀 (@naselection) December 22, 2019

She further addressed the crowd by cheekily saying, “Jangan lupa hari ini! (Don’t forget today!)” She then closed the set with “Above The Time” from her latest “Love Poem” EP and the ever-popular “You and I”, taken from 2011’s “Last Fantasy”. However, prior to the performances, she gave out a slight hint of her encore performances to everyone. “I will come back on stage 5 minutes after the last song. After that, you guys can call out my name,” she assured everyone before leaving the stage.

To everyone’s excitement, she fulfilled her promise by appearing on stage again for the encore. During the session, she sang “Good Day”, the title song from her 2010 EP “Real”. Prior to that, KUAENAs showed off their skills in singing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, which received the singer’s acknowledgment. “You guys are so hot and energetic that even I cannot even control myself either,” said IU. She then bid farewell to KUAENAs with the ballad-driven song “Love, Poem”.

Encore with GOOD DAY! yes we having a good day today. #IULovePoeminKL pic.twitter.com/ooCaJ3Eql7

— ✦ crysalide ~remember~ (@ygcrysalide) December 21, 2019

#IULovePoeminKL IU was looking at Ku Aenas banners and slogans 😆😆😆 she spotted a lot of funny banners and said "Are you really my fan? " "You guys are mischievous " ㅋㅋㅋㅋ pic.twitter.com/vsMtWIhUS7

OMG Dream High Ost. SOMEDAY – woohyuk and IU was so cute in it. #IULovePoeminKL pic.twitter.com/9rO5tIcsK9

After a few minutes, her band members reappeared on stage, followed by the singer herself, clad in a more casual outfit. It was very heartwarming to see the star’s effort in connecting with the crowd in attendance. After jokingly commenting that she and the team “haven’t had dinner yet”, she continued by saying that the session will be brief and concise.

IU then asked fans what songs she shall sing for the special segment. A lot of fans came out with various suggestions including “Red Queen”, “Heart” and also her latest duet with fellow balladeer Sung Sikyung called “First Winter”. She then decided to go with a live rendition of “Leon”, a fast-paced number, before switching to a mellowed down performance of the song “Someday”.

She then ended the show with “End Of The Day” with a bang. “I will definitely see you guys again soon. I’m gonna finish this song with a message that I had a joyful time with my fans,” the “Scarlet Heart: Ryeo” star said. She waved one last time before bidding farewell for good.

쿠알라룸푸르에서 오프닝 머리핀 제일 많이 꽂음♥ (Kuaena, you guys were sad because I didn’t sing ‘Heart’ ?I wanted to end it happily with 하루끝..sorry Next time I come, lets sing it for sure!!! ??)

A post shared by  이지금 (@dlwlrma) on Dec 21, 2019 at 10:57pm PST

If we were to describe the performer’s charisma on stage in one word; it would be colourful. We were beyond amazed that she could pull off various genres so well. Indeed IU is one of the most talented gems South Korea has produced. We were also touched with the singer’s commitment to interact with her fans.

We will definitely look forward for her future visit to our country soon. Till next time then Lee Jieun ;)

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The Movie That’ll Make You Never Want To Grow Up

You know Christmas is approaching when a season-themed, feel good animated film is released. And “Rise of the Guardians” is steadily joining the ranks as a good season-themed, feel good animated film that you shouldn’t miss!

First off, let’s talk about how “Rise of the Guardians” starts off with a cast of characters that’s unlike any other cheesy Christmas-esque films. You’ll find that Santa (voiced by Alec Baldwin) is nothing like the way you would’ve imagined him to be, sporting “Naughty” and “Nice” tattoos on his forearms and speaking with a funny accent. The Easter Bunny (voiced by Hugh Jackman) is nowhere close to being as cute or cuddly as bunnies should be and he’s a lot more Australian than you would think.

The half-a-pint-sized Tooth Fairy (voiced by Isla Fisher) looks more like a hybrid of forest fairy and a peacock and a phoenix than anything else. And who would’ve thought that Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine) could look so, well, handsome?

Of course, let’s not forget the dark and brooding Pitch (voiced by Jude Law) who looks strikingly similar to what Jude Law looks like in real life.

That one was hardly a mystery, if you asked us.

We also loved how the storyline was crafted in such a way that you could be either five years old or 50 and you would still enjoy the festive fun of this film. For the little ones, “Rise of the Guardians” would most definitely educate them on the “Guardians”, their roles, and introduce them to the world of make believe. For the “bigger kids”, perhaps it’ll remind you of your childhood and walk you through the world of make believe that you so often frolicked in when you were younger.

After all, who hasn’t attempted staying up for Santa on Christmas Eve, right? And if you’ve ever left a tooth under your pillow for the Tooth Fairy, really, “Rise of the Guardians” is testament that there’s no harm admitting it:

[youtube id=”yd71LWhCO4s” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Sure, the film has very little logic – but then again, magic is never really logical. Our take? Most definitely worth catching in a cinema near you. Bring on the holiday season already!

“Rise of the Guardians” will be released in a cinema near you come 21st November 2012 (Wednesday). For more information, visit the movie’s official website.