(UPDATE) Who’s Next: 2 New Units To Debut Under YG’s Hiphop Project

Whoa, whoa. Slow down there, YG Entertainment!

While we are still in the process of enjoying new music from its new sub-unit group, the talent agency has gotten themselves busy again with a brand new project called “YG Hiphop Project”! What, did you think that they were just going to debut one new unit? Well, think again.

YG Entertainment is apparently planning to debut not one, but TWO new units under their latest project:

The “Who’s Next” series first started in 2013, where they teased fans about their artistes’ comebacks or debuts. The first artiste that was revealed in the “Who’s Next” series is 2NE1‘s CL who made her solo debut, “The Baddest Female“. The “Who’s Next” series was then followed by other YG artistes’ comeback including Akdong Musician, Epik High, and BIGBANG‘s Taeyang. They’ve also recently debut a new sub-unit duo Hi Suhyun, made up of Lee Hi and Suhyun from Akdong Musician.

And yes, this upcoming hip-hop project is a follow-up in YG’s “Who’s Next” series. The poster they’ve uploaded on their official blog has led us to believe the previous rumour about a new rapper duo that is set to debut under YG Entertainment.

Earlier on November 3rd, 2NE1‘s CL is rumoured to be collaborating with Korean rapper, Dok2 for an unknown album. The rumour is originated from Instiz, a Korean website that posted the following tweet about YG’s “Who’s Next” series:

11일(화), 2NE1 CL(씨엘)xDok2(도끼) 콜라보레이션 앨범 예정 http://t.co/ZB9u8nlTLe

The rumour also came after CL’s collaboration performance with Diplo during the 2014 Style Icon Awards in Seoul. Both CL and Dok2 fueled the speculations about their collaboration through their Instagram pictures as Dok2 was spotted hanging out at YG studio. Many refused to believe the rumour as Instiz has previously falsely predicted the release date of other idol groups.

However, YG’s latest announcement about their new project has reignited the rumour as the medals featured in the poster indicates that the first project will feature 2 artistes while another project will feature 3 artistes.

The featured artistes in the project have not been unveiled yet but the first project will be revealed on 21st Nov at midnight KST. As for the second project, the new unit will be unveiled on 2nd Dec.

Now, we don’t know about you but we can’t wait to find out who they are! Who do you think will be featured in the “YG Hiphop Project”? Will the leaders make a triumphant return? More importantly, will GD & TOP make their long-awaited comeback through this project?

Well, well, well, what a pleasant surprise!

Before revealing their first hiphop project, YG Entertainment has dropped another teaser image which reveals one of the artistes that will be featured in their first project. However, the new teaser put CL & Dok2’s rumours to rest as the artiste revealed in the first project is BIGBANG’s leader, G-Dragon!

We are obviously excited about this but we wonder who will he collaborate with for this hiphop project. Is he planning for a comeback with TOP?

Hate to break this to you but a comeback from “G-TOP” (derived from G-Dragon & TOP) is not happening. But! You shouldn’t be disappointed about that because YG Entertainment has revealed that G-Dragon is going to collaborate with Taeyang for the hiphop project instead!

Before BIGBANG was formed, G-Dragon and Taeyang were original scheduled to debut as the duo “GDYB” but the plan was later scrapped by YG Entertainment. Although they weren’t able to debut as a duo, the two had collaborated for numerous tracks before including Taeyang’s “I Need a Girl” and G-Dragon’s “Korean Dream”. The hiphop project will now mark their debut as a sub-unit for a hiphop project.

YG Entertainment just revealed the official poster for G-Dragon and Taeyang’s collaboration as well as the title for their YG Hiphop Project single called “Good Boy”. Here:

The first hiphop project is scheduled be released on 21st Nov at midnight KST while the second hiphop project will be revealed on 2nd Dec. The artistes for the second project have not been revealed yet but who do you think will be featured in the project?

Finally! The music video for “Good Boy” has been released!

BIGBANG’s G-Dragon and Taeyang have recently made a stylish debut through YG Entertainment’s first hip hop project. The track marks G-Dragon’s second time being in a sub-unit as he has previously formed a sub-unit with BIGBANG’s TOP in 2010. According to AKP, the song is composed and written by G-Dragon himself.

We don’t know about you but this song sounds like a great track for live performances! Wishful thinking but we certainly hope that they will perform this song for BIGBANG’s concert in Singapore during New Year’s Eve this year!

Let us know what you think in the comments box below! ;)

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#GoldenGlobes: Stars Pledge #JeSuisCharlie On The Red Carpet + Winners

The highlight of the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, which took place hours ago at Beverly Hilton Hotel in California, was not the return of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as co-hosts. It was not the fact that 22-year-old actress, Greer Grammer (the daughter of three-time Golden Globe winner Kelsey Grammer) was picked as this year’s Miss Golden Globe. It was not even because this year’s Golden Globes promised an ensemble of all-star awards presenters.

During the red carpet event, George Clooney, Helen Mirren, Jared Leto, and Golden Globe-nominated composer Alexandre Desplat, among others, demonstrated solidarity as France copes with last week’s deadly attack at French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. George Clooney and his wife Amal Alamuddin made strong statements by donning “Je Suis Charlie” badgers while Helen Mirren arrived with a “Je Suis Charlie’ sign that she carried with her on the red carpet.

Joshua Jackson, Diane Kruger, Patricia Arquette, and Kathy Bates, amongst others, also joined in with the message of solidarity:

In fact, upon the announcement of his Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement, George Clooney took to the stage to make his acceptance speech.

Amongst the things he said was a very powerful phrase towards the end of his speech:

It’s always fun to come here and catch up with old friends and, now that we’ve seen that everyone’s been hacked, it’s also a good chance for us to meet face-to-face and apologize for all the snarky things we’ve said about each other.

For the record: If you are in this room, you’ve caught the brass ring. You get to do what you’ve always dreamed to do and be celebrated for it, and that just… it ain’t losing. I don’t remember what awards Lauren Bacall won. I just remember her saying, “You know how to whistle, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.” And I have no idea what kind of hardware Robin Williams took home. But I sure remember “carpe diem” and, “Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.” I never forget that.

Listen: It’s a humbling thing when you find someone to love—even better when you’ve been waiting your whole life. And when your whole life is 53 years, Amal, whatever alchemy it is that brought us together, I couldn’t be more proud to be your husband.

And one last thing: to reiterate what we’ve all been talking about, today was an extraordinary day. There were millions of people who marched not just in Paris, but around the world. And they were Christians and Jews and Muslims. They were leaders of countries all over the world. And they didn’t march in protest; they marched in support of the idea that we will not walk in fear. We won’t do it. So, Je Suis Charlie.

Here are the winners from this year’s Golden Globes:

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Actor – Motion Picture, Drama
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”

Best Actor – Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”

Best Actress – Motion Picture, Drama
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”

Best Actress – Motion Picture. Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams, “Big Eyes”

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”

Best Director
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”

Best Screenplay
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo, “Birdman”

Best Original Score
Johann Johannsson, “The Theory of Everything”

Best Original Song
John Legend and Common, “Glory” — Selma”

Best Animated Feature Film
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”

Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”

Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Ruth Wilson, “The Affair”

Best Actor in a Television Series, Comedy
Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

Best Actress in a Television Series, Comedy
Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
“Fargo”

Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Billy Bob Thornton, “Fargo”

Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Honourable Woman”

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Matt Bomer, “The Normal Heart”

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey”

See more pictures from the awards in the gallery below:

For more information, visit the official Golden Globe Awards website.

*Featured image from Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty.

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WeChat Launches In Malaysia!

Yesterday, WeChat, the popular mobile social communications app that has taken the world by storm was officially launched in Malaysia. Not only did it mark WeChat’s official launch, the company’s first ever Bahasa Malaysia television commercial starring local celebrities and WeChat ambassadors Lisa Surihani and Shaheizy Sam also made their debut.

Made available to Malaysians in June 2012, the free mobile social communications platform which supports sending live chat, voice, video, photo and text messages, went on to quickly gain popularity among local user accounts.

The popularity of WeChat among Malaysians has resulted in the app ranking #1 in both the iOS Appstore social networking free category and Android Google Play communication free category for one year, and has also ranked very high in overall free category.

Their recent entry into Malaysia has also opened up fresh opportunities to work with several giants across various industries. One notable partnership is with Domino’s Pizza.

[youtube id=”j4RLmaSUvJo” width=”600″ height=”350″]

WeChat users who follow Domino’s official account, will, upon redeeming a coupon code at Domino’s website and iPhone app (online) be entitled to purchase a second regular pizza for only RM1 with the purchase of a regular pizza at standard price.

Supported on Wi-Fi, 3G, and 4G data networks, WeChat can be downloaded free of charge for iOS, Android, Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Phone devices. WeChat is also available for global use by supporting up to 17 languages including English, Chinese, Indonesian, Portuguese, Thai, Vietnamese, Russian and Bahasa Malaysia.

For downloads and more information, please visit their website.


50 Shades Of Play: The PERFECT Playlist For Your Steamy Valentine’s Night Tonight!

It’s been a long day of doing fun, cutesy couple stuff – like going on dates, receiving flowers and just all things lovey-dovey in general. But it’s now the end of the day and you’re both feeling more sensual than ever because we all know it starts off cute and wholesome but ends rough and dirty *wink wink*.

As most of us know, there’re a lot of factors to take into account when creating the right ambience – factors like lighting, location, music, etc. These factors all work together to set the tone, make you both feel at ease, and ignite the horniness that’s been pushed down by heart-shaped chocolates and plushies.

But as our Valentine’s gift to you, we’ve decided to help out with the music and created the ultimate ’50 Shades Of Valentine’s Night’ playlist. Now – enough with the chatter, it’s time to lock dem doors and turn the lights down low (aha) with these songs:

Although the lyrics don’t exactly scream “F**K ME!”, the beat, rhythm and aura of the song makes for the perfect beginning of a very “eventful” night.

Because it’s all about pleasure and making one another feel good. Trust us when we tell you that Dylan Sinclair gets it.

“Stimulate me, I want you mental and physically, I belong to you.”

This one is definitely a tribute to the tops from the bottoms – that’s all we’re gonna say.

Now this one’s a little more on the romantic side, but still veryyyy seductive

Like Saint Joshua says in this song: “We got all night to do what we do” and he’s not wrong.

Like the first song, the lyrics aren’t straightforwardly sexual – it still is, but in a much more subtle way, for instance: “I wanna be with you till the sun rises”

Aaaand another tribute from the bottoms to the tops, with lyrics like “I saved it for you, don’t waste it” – there’s no denying it.

Now this one has the perfect ratio of love and lust which we think is especially ideal for Valentine’s.

There’s just something about SZA’s voice in this track that makes everything so intimate when you listen to it.

Now this one. This one is… actually, just take a look at ONE lyric from this song: “f**k around, put you down, get it loud, another round.” Yeah.

The beat of the song starts off slow and vibey, but gets progressively more aggressive, just like…

“You can take just what you wanted from me” , “I can taste it on your tongue, numbing me”

This one is very similar to SOMEBODY by Keshi and gives off the same “dom” vibe,

Another one where you just need to listen to the lyrics and you’ll understand why this HAS TO BE IN THE PLAYLIST.

Well, ladies, gentlemen and everything in between – that’s all we have for our ’50 Shades Of Valentine’s’ playlist, have fun and stay safe!

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#SDCC2017: DC Announces 8 Upcoming Superhero Movies

The DC Extended Universe continues to expand with the latest announcement of the DC movie slate.

During the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2017 over the weekend, Warners Bros. reveal a new lineup of 8 films in the DCEU. Since superhero blockbusters are a phenomenon these days, moviegoers can expect a ton of them in the next few years.

Instead of the usual timeline announcement, these upcoming movies were unveiled via a montage of logos and characters. Fans noted that DC’s presentation was a mixed bags of confirmed movies and long-rumoured projects. Following “Justice League” and “Aquaman”, here’s the list of DC’s superhero schedule:

Despite recent rumours indicating that Ben Affleck may be leaving his Batman role, the actor assured fans that he is Gotham’s caped crusader. Meanwhile, “Green Lantern Corps” will feature Hal Jordan and John Stewart as co-leads, hinting that the movie probably won’t focus on a single superhero.

The biggest reveal, however, was the studio’s plan for “The Flash” movie. Starring Ezra Miller, The Flash’s solo movie will follow the “Flashpoint” storyline, which is based on an alternate timeline created by the Flash after he went back in time to save his mother. This ultimately led to reboot of the DCEU.

Noticeably missing from the movie slate were “Gotham City Sirens“, “Man Of Steel 2“, and “Cyborg“. Hopefully as production draws closer, we’ll get more updates on the aforementioned films.


#ItsTheShip2015: 15 Things That Will Make You Jealous AF

You know everyone had a good time during “It’s The Ship 2015” when they’re still talking about whatever that happened on the cruise and sharing throwback photos that they took 2 weeks ago. In some cases, these festivalgoers will even attempt to convince the rest of their friends to join them for the 2016 installment.

It’s not hard to guess why they’re reacting that way. Not only did the 4D3N cruise-based festival open up a whole new world to them, it also made them realise that it is something that they may never get to experience again.

I know everyone’s bucket list is a little different from each other, partying on “It’s The Ship” is one thing that I’d suggest every partygoer to add to their list!

I was lucky enough to attend the 2nd instalment of “It’s The Ship” that took place aboard the luxurious 70,000 tonne Royal Caribbean International’s Mariner Of The Seas from 20th to 23rd November with a pit stop in Langkawi for a show-stopping private beach party.

Despite being a “It’s The Ship” virgin, I had a ball of a time with some new friends I made during Southeast Asia’s largest music festival at sea! I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve got tonnes of reasons why you’ve missed out on all the fun that I had during “It’s The Ship 2015” ;)

1. “Zero distance” with DJs while queuing up to board the ship

That's us boarded for the @itstheshipasia cruise for #FullOn stage tonight! @FerryCorsten @MARCOV @ThomasNewson 😎😎 pic.twitter.com/nw1zlrA6ON

— Mark Sherry (@marksherry) November 20, 2015

While we were waiting hours in line to board the ship, we found ourselves staring at every artiste who either walked past us or stood right in front of us at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore.

I was literally “forced” to wait behind Ferry Corsten, Mark Sherry, Marco V, and his son Thomas Newson due to a glitch in the ship’s check-in system. But hey, you know what? That’s not a bad thing after all. At least I could fangirl over them UP CLOSE!

2. Music was blasting from every nook and cranny of the cruise!

Instead of playing the typical mainstream/pop music that you would so often hear on the radio, the cruise would play some of the latest as well as some classic EDM tracks everywhere you go. That’s right. Music was literally blasting from every nook and cranny of the cruise!

So, if you’re planning to attend the next installment of “It’s The Ship”, don’t be surprised to see some of your shipmates raving in the middle of a hallway or in a lift all of a sudden.

3. Exclusive meet & greet sessions with your favourite artistes

“It’s The Ship 2015” was one music festival that made our semi-stalkerish dreams come true.

On the first night of the festival, some shipmates were given the opportunities to meet and greet some of their favourite artistes at the Boleros Lounge (Deck 4). Though the meet-and-greet sessions with Mark Sherry and Showtek were cancelled, festivalgoers were noticeably excited to see Autograf and DJ Soda.

The meet-and-greet session was actually one of the side activities that any festivalgoer could sign up to participate. The next time you’re going to “It’s The Ship”, don’t forget to participate in one of these side activities and remain cool when you get to meet your favourite artistes ;)

Let’s be real: Who doesn’t like a slumber party?

Bate Motel, which was headed by local DJ duo BATE on last year’s “It’s The Ship”, was supposed to return to the cruise for its 2nd instalment this year. However, the duo had to skip the highly anticipated slumber party due to unforeseen circumstances.

The cancellation didn’t stop our fellow shipmates from showing up at the Viking Crown Lounge (Deck 14) in their goofy onesies and cute pyjamas, of course. Party people were treated to a cheeky night to remember with a surprise set from the Black Butter Records artistes.

5. Ferry Corsten’s killer “Full On” set ft. Marco V, Thomas Newson, & Mark Sherry

What’s so special about Ferry Corsten’s “Full On” set, you ask?

Well, considering how it went from an annual event in Ahoy Rotterda to a worldwide phenomenon, “Full On” is one show that you should never ever miss. The show also hosted stages on major music festivals like Tomorrowland and Stereosonic. This made “It’s The Ship 2015” a little extra special because it was the first time that the show came aboard a cruise liner in Southeast Asia!

Marco V and his son Thomas Newson kicked off the show with an epic B2B set while Mark Sherry played a killer set. Corsten then took over the decks for a full 2-hour session and delivered a mix of uplifting, melody-focused tracks.

6. You don’t even need to go backstage to get up close & personal with artistes

It’s not every day that you get to meet your favourite artistes, but during “It’s The Ship 2015”, there were a lot of side activities that offered festivalgoers a chance to hang out with any of the artistes in the intimate settings.

Some of the side activities included DJ Tigerlily’s intense pilates session, Guvera’s “Conversation on the Nothingness of Nothing” with Peking Duk, Rave Republic’s Wii challenge, and a casino session with the Black Butter Records artistes.

Featuring Brandon Beal and H3, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament was also hosted by Red Bull on board. Other festivalgoers were locked in a game of mini-golf with Autograf, Brandon Beal, and Will Sparks as well.

7. You can wear whatever you want & nobody will judge you

The great thing about “It’s The Ship 2015” is that fashion was not being taken seriously at all.

Festivalgoers could wear whatever they feel like wearing to express their own personal style. You could pretend that you’re a “rave warrior” in your Roman costume or tell the whole world that you’re the biggest Pikachu fan, who also happens to be an avid raver in your Pikachu-themed outfit.

The fact that the buffet on the cruise was free and open for 24 hours a day meant that hunger was not an issue at all on the ship. The food at the Windjammer Café was nothing special, but festivalgoers could walk into the restaurant at any time of the day to cure a hangover or recharge themselves with something quick, filling, and tasty.

Festivalgoers who can afford to spend could choose to dine at the other specialty restaurants on the cruise too, such as Giovanni’s Table, Chops Grille, and Johnny Rockets. Alternatively, you could order from the room service menu any time of the day and night (though any orders between midnight and 5am incur a service charge of USD3.95 per delivery).

9. No Internet access = Genuine human interactions with awesome new friends

You would spend more time making some awesome, like-minded new friends instead of trying to gain Internet access during “It’s The Ship 2015”.

Since everyone was stuck on the same ship with no access to social media, everyone would be making actual social interactions by having genuine conversations with each other. If you ever lose your friends on the ship, there’s a 99.9% chance that you might find them having fun with a bunch of new people that they’ve just met.

10. Getting our dancing shoes on with Easy Star All Stars & Kaskade at a private beach party

Our trip to the private beach party in Langkawi was delayed due to the long trip through customs. Nonetheless, we still managed to get our dancing shoes on with Easy Star All Stars and the energy level was good enough to get the swimwear-clad crowd grooving to their music.

The moment Easy Star All Stars wrapped up their performance, the party crowd started moving nearer to the stage and immediately went wild when Kaskade took over the decks with a spectacular set. The world-renowned EDM artiste brought us a show that featured an expansive LED stage design and played an array of his crowd-pleasing tracks.

The show went late into the night, as Kaskade decided to play an encore set and dropped one track that we all did not expect to hear: A trap remix of Adele’s “Hello”.

11. Party like a real MVP with Baymax at the main deck

Everyone partied like a real MVP when the big acts kicked off their sets at the main deck.

Peking Duk did what they do best on the first night of the festival by making the ravers go crazy with their signature sound. Besides Ferry Corsten’s “Full On” show, we were also treated to an electrifying set by Showtek. Only one half of the Dutch EDM duo, Wouter Janssen, was playing that night as the other half, Sjoerd Janssen, fell sick.

Day 2 of the festival saw a diverse lineup with acts from different countries such as Irama, Axel Groove, and Nasty Guru from Malaysia, DJ Soda from South Korea, DJ Tigerlily from Australia, TWRK and Carnage from the US. Ravers also danced their hearts out to Dutch DJ Headhunterz who closed the night with his adrenaline-pumping music.

As for Day 3, the artistes from Black Butter Records gave us some real uplifting vibes with their disco edits and deep mid-tempo house music while Autograf impressed us with their brilliant live set. After DJ Nikki’s set, Corsten once again took over the main deck as he stepped up to replace Adventure Club with a surprise set that night. The crowd went even wilder than before as Will Sparks dropped banger after banger throughout his closing set.

12. Intimate partying session with the artistes at the smaller stages

Festivalgoers could latch on to their favourite artistes or party hard with them at the smaller stages like the St. Tropez stage and the Hot Tub Time Machine.

At the Hot Tub Time Machine, you might feel like you were in a rap music video from the 2000s as the DJs played some pretty rad remixes of the 90s classic hip-hop songs and today’s hottest EDM hits. We could say the same about the Block Party as well, which featured “Twerk It Like Miley” singer Brandon Beal, BANGKOK INVADERS, local hip-hop legends Joe Flizzow and SonaOne.

There were more goodness coming from the St. Tropez stage, which was hidden away from the crowd. Located on the very top of the ship, the stage featured My Nu Leng and Woz‘s addictive B2B set, as well as Oliver Dollar and Doorly’s fantastic B2B set.

13. Ferry Corsten replaced Adventure Club with a surprise set!

A video posted by Hype Malaysia (@hypemy) on Nov 22, 2015 at 4:59pm PST

The 3rd night of “It’s The Ship 2015” was a highlight for many.

Canadian EDM duo Adventure Club was supposed to mesmerise the crowd with their melodic dubstep that night, but they were forced to cancel their show due to unforeseen circumstances.

Though we were initially disappointed that the duo couldn’t make it to the festival, Ferry Corsten’s surprise set made up for it, as the trance legend kept shipmates dancing with his killer big room house set.

One of the best feelings in the world is being able to see the sunrise without even trying to wake up for it.

During “It’s The Ship 2015”, we would wake up to the beautiful sight and calming sound of ocean waves every morning. Some shipmates even danced until 6 or 7 in the morning and gathered on the top of the ship to see the sun rising over the ocean.

It was a phenomenal sight indeed for everyone on board as the orange hue of the sun slowly overcame the dark blue hue of the twilight sky.

15. All the funny stories that only shipmates can relate to

What happens on the cruise during “It’s The Ship 2015” stays on the cruise.

“It’s The Ship 2015” was basically a giant buffet of memorable festival experiences. You would drink enough alcohol, listen to enough music, and make enough new friends to bring back some interesting stories that only your fellow shipmates can relate to.

We wouldn’t be surprised if some shipmates are still suffering from major “It’s The Ship 2015” withdrawal symptoms. If they still can’t get over how awesome the festival was, it’s a sign that they are hoping to return to “It’s The Ship” again.

Special thanks to our friends from The Livescape Group for allowing me to experience this awesome floating vacation cum music festival! I truly enjoyed every moment of it ;)

What was your favourite part of “It’s The Ship 2015”? Who would you like to see at the next installment of the festival? Let us know in the comments box below!

For more official photos of “It’s The Ship 2015”, check out their Facebook page.

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9 Fun Facts From Behind The Scenes Of “Cowboy Bebop”

Anyone who’s a fan of the original “Cowboy Bebop” anime will tell you it’s unlike anything they have seen before. Unique, inventive, and with no small amount of wit and charm, the OG anime is the perfect blend of style and an artful mish mash of genres — dystopian sci-fi, with a dash of space opera, classic western, and neo-noir influences.

As such, a gargantuan task laid ahead of the creative team behind the live-action adaptation — how do you strike a balance between staying true to the spirit of the anime and the components that made it a cult classic, while also distinguishing itself with a fresh take on the show? Here are some behind the scenes titbits to give you a taste of the work and care that went into bringing the anime to life:

1. The show is full of little Easter eggs and nods to the original anime

The hunt for Easter eggs begins from the get-go — the show’s very first scene is set in Watanabe Casino in a nod to original series director Shinichirō Watanabe. Eagle-eyed fans may also notice that Ana, the proprietor of an underground jazz club frequented by Spike, keeps a picture of composer Yoko Kanno in her office.

For the episode that follows the events of the anime episode ‘Ballad of Fallen Angels’, the creative team even built the cathedral set in extreme detail, down to crafting the same red-and-black tile floors. The live-action episode itself also mirrors several exact shots from the anime! Check out a brief look into how the cathedral scene was shot in this on-set video with John Cho.

2. During pre-production, everyone involved in the project would get together every Thursday to watch an episode or two of the original anime on the big screen

And it’s not just for the creative teams either. The invitation is extended across all departments, so even the transportation and accounting teams would join in the fun!

3. On top of composing new original music for the live-action version, Yoko Kanno also reunited with the musicians who performed the music for the original anime

Kanno was not the only person from the original anime’s creative team to play an active role in the live-action adaptation. The musicians from her band Seatbelts, originally formed in 1998 to perform the soundtrack music for the “Cowboy Bebop” anime series, came together for the first time since 2004 to bring the all-new soundtrack to the screen.

In addition to brand new original pieces for the live-action version, songs used in the original anime were re-recorded for this series. Watch the band perform the opening theme song alongside some insights from Yoko Kanno on creating music for the show here.

4. Elena Satine, who plays Julia, performs her own piano playing in the series

The actress also worked closely with composer Yoko Kanno on a song that became very important to Julia’s storyline called ‘Julia’s Song’, with lyrics written by executive producer Jeff Pinkner.

5. To train for the extensive action and fight sequences in the show, the cast went through a month-long boot camp with the stunt team

For five hours a day, five days a week, the cast trained in everything from basic gymnastics to specific weapons fighting.

To emulate his character Spike Spiegel, who practices Bruce Lee’s famous fighting style called Jeet Kune Do, John Cho trained in martial arts and even considers the scene in which he practiced Wing Chun on a dummy to be one of the toughest sequences to film.

Meanwhile, for his role as notorious Syndicate capo Vicious, Alex Hassell trained extensively with a katana sword.

6. Spike Spiegel’s iconic blue suit is full of hidden details

The suit’s silver buttons have the Kanji symbol for water, his trophy belt buckle has a Japanese wave, and the inside of his suit jacket is printed with roses in reference to his past with Julia.

To complement the latter, Julia’s costuming is also full of roses, and many pieces were hand-painted by the costuming team.

7. Of all the complex sets, the Bebop took the longest to build

Just as the Bebop was originally a fishing trawler, set decorator Anneke Botha and the set decoration team found a real-life fishing trawler for sale in Tauranga, New Zealand and stripped its insides to decorate the Bebop for the show. The ship’s guts, including the piping, engines, and machinery were also used to decorate the Bebop. All in all, it took the team a full 12 weeks to build the Bebop!

To fully appreciate their attention to detail, take a tour of the Bebop, hosted by its one and only captain Jet Black here:

8. The Bebop’s iconic yellow couch was custom-made

To recreate the Bebop’s yellow couch, the team bought a couch, hand-dyed different shades of leather until they found the perfect shade, and then stitched the leather and aged it.

9. Last but not least, Ein the corgi is actually played by two doggos!

Keep an eye out for all of these details when you tune into all episodes of “Cowboy Bebop”, now streaming exclusively on Netflix!

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Bruno Mars Pissed Off That He’s Banned In Indonesia; Blames Ed Sheeran

Yesterday (Thursday, 28th February), the 33-year-old singer found himself reacting in a series of tweets after finding out that his songs were in Indonesia. Out of 85 songs on the ban list, Time reported that 17 of those are western pop songs.

In Mars case, 2 of his hit songs – “Versace on the Floor” and “That’s What I Like” – were deemed inappropriate by the the West Java branch of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPID). Other well-known pop songs include “Dusk Til Dawn” (Zayn Malik), “Love Me Harder” (Ariana Grande), “Overdose” (Chris Brown feat. Agnez Mo), “Your Song” (Rita Ora) and “Wild Thoughts” (DJ Khaled feat. Rihanna).

Ed Sheeran’s megahit “Shape of You” was also restricted and can only be played between 10pm to 3am on radio and television. Mars protested in a cheeky manner and also poked fun at fellow Grammy winner Sheeran in the process.

“I was poppin in Indonesia! Then here comes @edsheeran with his sick, perverted lyrics, gettin us all pinched! Thanks Ed. Thanks a lot,” the funk revivalist tweeted.

Previously, a Blackpink TV ad was also banned after complaints were made about their indecent miniskirts.


Hype’s Exclusive: Turnin’ It Up With DJ Jazelle

Jazreen Sieh, also known as DJ Jazelle has always had the passion for music and dance. Driven by self motivation and desire, Jazelle got into the art of DJing with the thirst to tear up the dance-floor with her infectious skills and massive electronic beats. Jazelle was first given the opportunity to show her stuff as an apprentice at Luna Bar, Kuala Lumpur and she’s been on the roll ever since.

Never failing to impress guests, Jazelle has gotten the attention of many in the nightlife scene and is on her way to stardom. Recognising her talent, Hype.My catches up with Jazelle in an exclusive interview.

What is it like working in a predominantly male dominated industry?

It was a little challenging at first but I think that was because I was new and not so much because of the face that I am a girl. Haha!

What is the one challenge you face most as a female DJ?

The main challenge to me is the dress code. I don’t like living up to the stereotypical believe of “oh female DJs have to bare a lot of skin” kind of dress code. But apart from that, I think like every other DJ out there, some of the challenges I face most are finding the right genre to play, discovering what the crowd is like and how to live up to their expectations.

I’ve always loved music and dance. Plus, my friends are Djs and as I every time I watch them play, I noticed that they are always in this state of mind, so in the zone that and nothing else mattered, nothing but the high of music and the audience. I figured that there must be a reason behind why they are so into it so I gave it a shot.

What would you say is your style of sound/music?

Pepsi ads never fail to get my attention ;)

In your opinion, how has the local music industry changed over the years?

The music industry in Malaysia has been on a roller coaster ride! in a good way, of course.

If you had one million Ringgit, how would you spend it?

Invest in the right things at the right times.

What is the worse fear you have as a DJ?

My headphones failing me when I’m performing.

Have you had the chance to meet any international DJs? If yes, who and what was it like?

I have actually! They are Lisa Lashes, Judge Jules, Woody van Eyden, Shogun, Dash Berlin and a few more but these are the ones that I have the utmost respect for. Especially Lady Lisa Lashes and all I can say is WOW. Just WOW.

Is there a local artist that you would like to work with?

HAHA there are so many! Collaborating with such talents in Malaysia has always been a dream of mine.

What would you say to aspiring female DJs?

Smile! Always stay positive and be yourself. I mean it.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?

On the beach, with a book, and my roomies.

Thank you so much Hype.My! It’s been a real pleasure.

Get a taste of Jazelle on MixCloud and follow her on Facebook for more updates!

HYPE’s #LocalHeroes X John Hafiz & The Other Guy

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(Video) Oscars: Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock For Insulting Wife Jada; Tearfully Apologises Later

You can always expect the unexpected when it comes to award shows. Just today (Monday, 28th March), actor Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face at the 94th Academy Awards and it didn’t look like it was scripted.

The 53-year-old actor, who is nominated for an Oscar this year for his performance as Richard Williams in the 2021 film “King Richard”, shocked everyone after he got up on stage and hit Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Will Smith punches Chris Rock and tells him to “keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth” during the #Oscars pic.twitter.com/tYf7S6OIy4

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) March 28, 2022

Chris Rock was presenting the award for Best Documentary and apparently made a joke about Jada’s shaved head saying, “Jada, love ya, G.I Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.” The joke made by Chris is a reference to the 1997 action-drama G.I Jane where the main character played by Demi Moore had a shaved head.

Jada actually did not appear too happy about the joke which resulted in Will getting up on stage and shocking everyone in the audience with the slap. Chris appeared too shocked afterwards but still kept calm and smiled. “Will just smacked the s*** outta me”, he said.

Will walked back to his seat where he shouted a warning to Chris to leave Jada out of the jokes. Jada actually announced last year that she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia so it’s understandable as to why she and her husband did not find the joke funny.

Twitter has been blowing up about the incident including sharing photos of the other celebrities reacting to the altercation and to no surprise, there’s already lots of memes of it.

During commercial breaks, fellow actor friends Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry comforted Will and Jada. Will later apologised for the incident during his acceptance speech when he won Best Actor for his role in “King Richard”.

Will Smith apologizes for his incident with Chris Rock during his acceptance speech for Best Actor at the #Oscars:

“Love makes you do crazy things… I hope The Academy invites me back.” https://t.co/txHp3uLljK


PlayPlus: GSC Launches Its First Family Friendly Cinema Hall In IOI Mall

Are you a parent with a toddler who loves going to the cinemas, but is afraid that your little one might distract everyone else during the movie? We have exciting news for you!

Malaysia’s leading cinema exhibitor, Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) has finally launched its first ever family-friendly cinema hall in IOI Mall, Puchong.

The family friendly auditorium, PlayPlus, offers families a conducive cinematic experience, where both parents and children are free to engage with one another throughout the movie without any inhibitions.

Designed specifically for families, the halls comes with a variety of features. Parents can look forward to seeing this colourful comforting Cuddle couches. It serve to provide families with a homey experience.

Like any regular home sofas, it’s designed for two adults and two children. Whereas, the Bean Bags fits one adult or a child at a time.

The hall also has its own indoor slide and play area, which kids can enjoy safely as the halls are illuminated during a screening of a movie. In addition, the movie audio volume is lowered for the comfort of the toddlers.

While waiting for a movie to begin, parents are allowed to wait in the accompany lounge. This lounge packs an assortment of visual aids, tools, and games that enables children to learn while they play.

For more information, visit GSC’s website here.

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#Rio2016: Malaysian Mixed Doubles Goh Liu Ying & Chan Peng Soon Win Silver

Malaysia was off to a nervous start last night during the Rio 2016 mixed doubles badminton finals.

Time everywhere else stood still as scores of Malaysians stayed up to watch Goh Liu Ying and Chan Peng Soon battle Indonesian shuttlers Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir for the Olympic gold, what would’ve been a first for Malaysia.

Alas, the first set ended 21-14 in favour of the Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir and the second, 21-12, also in favour of the Indonesian shuttlers. By the time the match went into the second set, our Malaysian athletes looked visibly shaken, which caused them to make a number of errors.

Indonesia, on the other hand, displayed great teamwork and speed as they sailed through the finals and victoriously claimed the Olympic gold.

NST quoted Liu Ying as saying, “There was nothing that we could do as the Indonesians were in top form. Their determination to win was so great.”

“We had a game plan but the Indonesians had theirs too and obviously, they were superior to us. However, we are both happy to win the silver considering that we were glad to have just made the semi-finals,” Peng Soon added.

Nevertheless, it is still a silver in the bag for Goh Liu Ying and Chan Peng Soon, our very own formidable mixed doubles badminton team. As it stands, the pair already created history when they secured Malaysia’s first Olympics mixed doubles badminton final.

Go to the podium, smile and be proud. We are proud of you. #MalaysiaBoleh pic.twitter.com/aXpbbOmn6f

— Khairy Jamaluddin 🇲🇾🌺 (@Khairykj) August 17, 2016

In 2014, Goh Liu Ying underwent knee surgery to fix ligament damage and cartilage deterioration. This was followed by 11 months of rehabilitation, a long and painful road to recovery.

In May 2015, she rejoined Chan Peng Soon in partnership and together, they practiced hard for the Olympic qualification – Liu Ying on strengthening her legs and Peng Soon on staying focused. At that time, they were ranked world #79. Their hard work soon paid off as they steadily climbed the ranks and finally qualified for Rio 2016.

A year ago, no one would’ve expected our mixed doubles athletes to make it past the quarterfinals. In a true story of determination, against all odds, they fought hard and made it to the very end of the Rio 2016 mixed doubles badminton finals, and earned Malaysia a medal.

Congratulations, Goh Liu Ying and Chan Peng Soon! Malaysia is so proud of you. Thank you for bringing it home.


Hype’s Must Watch: We Are Your Friends

“We Are Your Friends” is an upcoming film produced by Studiocanal and Working Title Films starring Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, and Emily Ratajkowski and directed by Max Joseph. The film is a romance drama about the electronic dance music (EDM) and Hollywood nightlife scene.

Cole (played by Zac Efron), a 23-year-old DJ who struggles in the Hollywood’s electronic dance music scene, has dreams of becoming a major record producer. Eventually, older DJ James (played by Wes Bentley), begins to mentor him, but Cole makes a connection with James’ girlfriend, Sophie (played by Emily Ratajkowski). When Cole’s relationship with Sophie blossoms and his friendship with James begins to break down as a result, he is forced into difficult decisions over his future.

Is it something worth watching? It sounds like a pretty standard rags-to-riches, “big break” film and  it’s coming at a real apt time, just as the US continues to ride on the EDM explosion and gold rush.

And if you’ve ever been, like, the biggest fan of Zac Efron then prepare yourself for loads of Zac Efron wearing goofily oversized headphones, Zac Efron wearing colorful tank tops, Zac Efron running through the streets holding hands with a lithe brunette, Zac Efron looking pensive while “having an idea”, and Zac Efron showering.

Zac Efron being a “bro”. Zac Efron channeling Calvin Harris the best he can/the best he knows how. Just Zac Efron.

“We Are Your Friends” is slated to be released on 28th August 2015 in the US.

For more information, hit up the movie’s official Facebook page.

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Hype’s Now Playing: Coldplay – True Love

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from them – and when we say “awhile”, we mean “Mylo Xyloto” in 2011. So, when they released “Ghost Stories” in May this year, we were like, “Aww yis!”

We’re not even going to deny it, we love Coldplay. After all, they’ve won 8 Brit Awards (winning Best British Group 3 times), 5 MTV Video Music Awards, 3 World Music Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards, and 7 Grammy Awards (out of 26 nominations). And let’s not forget that they also pulled of this amazing tour in 2011. If those don’t speak volumes for how talented Chris, Will, Guy, and Jonny are, well, then you need to watch their new music video. Which is why you’re here in the first place, right?

Released recently, Coldplay’s new music video,”True Love”, is the third single to be taken from “Ghost Stories”. The new video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund (who also directed the clip for Magic). “True Love” was shot in Los Angeles and centres around a tale of 2 ballet-loving outsiders, played by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Canadian actress Jessica Lucas. We love how quirky it is and honestly, we’d pay big money to see Chris Martin prancing around in those supersized costumes on stage while singing the song live!

Love it? “True Love” is available on iTunes now! Alternatively, you can also stream Coldplay’s tracks on Spotify here. Enjoy!

For more information, visit their official website or Facebook page.


First On-Foot Look At Adidas x Pokemon Footwear Collection

After getting a tease of Adidas and Pokemon’s collaboration in late March, we now have the official on-foot images.

In conjunction with this week’s release of “Detective Pikachu”, the shoe brand is gearing up to promote their new shoe collection inspired by the iconic ’90s anime series and video game franchise, Pokemon.

First on feet look adidas x Pokémon, Cop or Drop? #pikachu #ashketchum ? #solebyjc

A post shared by  Jean Carlos (@solebyjc) on May 4, 2019 at 5:27pm PDT

While previous photos of Pikachu and Squirtle sneakers had already leaked online, we were keeping our fingers crossed, hoping that Adidas and Pokemon’s partnership will feature more Pokemon designs. Since yellow represents Pikachu and blue represents Squirtle, will we get a green (Balbasaur) and red (Charmander) theme?

Besides Pokemon sneakers, other fashion items include Charizard slippers, Pokemon hat, adorable coloured t-shirts, short pants, and more. Details such a prices and release date have yet to be announced.


10 Best Halloween Films To Watch For Every Scary Movie Junkie

Halloween is less than a week away and 3 things come to mind – scares, candy, and movies! Half of the fun is not what happens on 31st October but the days leading up to it.

In order to help get you into the Halloween spirit, we’ve decided to compile a list of past and present films for your own horror movie marathons. Although several remakes have found mainstream success recently, we’ve also included some all-time popular favourites to give yourself a good scare.

Our first suggestion is probably the only children-friendly movie in the list. Directed by Brad Silberling, the 1995 animated comedy is loosely based on the comic cartoon Casper the Friendly Ghost. When a paranormal expert and his daughter move into an abandoned house, they realise that it is haunted by a friendly ghost and his prankster uncles, known as the Ghostly Trio. If anything, watching this ghost story again will certainly bring back some childhood Halloween nostalgia.

Can you believe that it has been more than 2 decades since “The Craft” was released? For those who are not familiar, the cult classic centres on Sarah Bailey, who transfers to a Catholic prep high school in Los Angeles and joins a trio of outcasts to form a coven. Together, they discover their interest in witchcraft but when the girls start casting spells and using their powers on those who wronged them, karma comes back to bite them hard.

Inspired by a Korean folktale, “A Tale Of Two Sisters” (장화, 홍련) is a psychological thriller that centres on a released patient from a mental institution who returns home to be with her sister. The sibling duo, Su-mi and Su-yeon, are forced to endure a hate/tolerate relationship with their icy stepmother in their haunted mansion. To quote Rolling Stone, “offbeat camera angles disorient the viewer, making it all the more startling when apparitions leap out of the shadows. By the time the movie reveals all its secrets, a dysfunctional family has morphed into its own kind of monster”.

Set in 1944 against a fascist regime backdrop in Spain, “Pan’s Labyrinth” is said to be the “Alice in Wonderland” for grown-ups, with the horrors of reality and dark fantasy blending together. The chilling story centres on Ofelia, a girl who is sent along with her expecting mother to live with her stepfather. In her loneliness, the lonely and dreamy child would dream of fantastical creatures and secret destinies. One night, Ofelia meets an old faun who reveals that she’s a princess. In order to prove her royalty, she must survive 3 gruesome tasks. If she fails, she won’t be able to claim the title of the true princess, and with it, immortality.

Kate and John Colema are rebuilding their troubled marriage after the death of their unborn 3rd child. Devastated, the couple tries to regain some normalcy into their lives by adopting another child. When they first come in contact with a 9-year-old girl named Esther, at the St. Marina Orphanage, they become enamoured by her sophistication. Little do they know that Esther is actually a manipulative and violent 33-year-old woman named Leena Klammer.

Based on a true story, “The Conjuring” has all the horror elements to keep your pulse thumping! Married couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are world renowned paranormal investigators, must confront a powerful demonic entity when a family is terrorised by its dark presence. The film unfolds like a docudrama that makes good use of old school terror tactics such as clowns and dolls, as well as ghosts in sheets. Remember the hand clap game scene? That still gives us the chills.

Kevin is a troubled young man who suffers from split-personality disorder. That means he has multiple personalities – 23 to be exact – fighting for control over his body. Played masterfully by James McAvoy, the Brit actor is convincingly funny and silly one moment, then creepy and malevolent in the next. Not all 23 personalities are given equal screen time, but they are all distinct and believable. Having said that, “Split” wouldn’t be a M. Night Shyamalan film without a surprise twist at the end.

Helmed and written by Jordan Peele, the psychological thriller film perfectly combines horror, comedy, and chair-grabbing tension. The monster in this movie is racism. When a young African-American man named Chris visits his white girlfriend Rose’s family for the first time, a series of weird events start to follow. If there’s something moviegoers can expect, it’s the fact that something’s going to go wrong. Sure, there are plenty of intentional laughs here but just when you least expect it, the movie will dump a bucket of ice water on you.

The 1990 “IT” movie is perhaps the main reason why kids from the 80s and the 90s are terrified of clowns. Based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name, the remake is set in the town of Derry, Maine. As children begin to disappear, a group of young kids (known as The Losers Club) are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil villain named Pennywise the Dancing Clown, whose history of murder and violence date back for centuries.

In promoting Malaysia to tourists, award-winning director Ryon Lee is using horror to draw people here. Since its opening, “Haunted Hotel” has managed to become a box office hit in China by making RM10 million! Not bad for a Malaysian production. Featuring the famous haunted Amber Courts apartment in Genting Highlands, the story follows Bai Ling who checks into a haunted hotel by mistake. Upon realising that the venue has all sorts of creepiness around, she and her friends try to escape. However, escaping ain’t going to be easy.

Don’t forget to check out our other horror-themed lists below:

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The #LEGO Movie 2 To Feature Marvel Characters?

With the runaway success of “The Lego Movie” – $200 million globally, and counting – it’s no wonder that Warner Bros. is eager to make a follow-up right away. In February this year, Warner Bros. announced a sequel to their hugely popular movie.

“The LEGO Movie” directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller won’t be sharing the director’s seat this time around. Instead, they’ll be back as producers on the project instead. Who’s taking on the job then? None other than “Robot Chicken” director and Emmy award winner Chris McKay. Of course, he’s not completely new to the LEGO franchise as he was the animation director for “The LEGO Movie”.

Details on the plot for “The LEGO Movie 2” are still kept under wraps at the moment although word has it that Michelle Morgan and Jared Stern are already writing a treatment for the next instalment. The script is expected to be ready by year end.

We can, however, let you (you crazy LEGO fan you) in on a little secret. Just one.

While they both initially laughed at the idea of getting Marvel (yes, the comic) to work with them, they didn’t immediately dismiss it. At first, Phil Lord said, “Marvel seems to be doing fine on their own,” to which Chris Miller added, “They don’t need LEGO to make their movies successful.”

But Phil Lord later continued, “It’s really hard to convince a company, especially business affairs, to do something, because it would be cool or fun. It takes a lot of effort.” and Chris Miller concurred, “In ‘The LEGO Movie’, definitely, there were a lot of behind-the-scenes legal and business affairs wrangling to get a lot of the stuff we had in that one.”

In “The LEGO Movie”, one of the lead stars of the animation film was Batman, which didn’t involve much legal affairs because Warner Bros. now owns DC Comics. So, a Marvel collaboration does seem unlikely. But let’s take into consideration that Marvel is now owned by Disney and Disney did allow characters from another of their recently high profile purchases, Star Wars, to be featured in “The LEGO Movie”.

Would Marvel be willing to license their characters to DC for one big tongue-in-cheek animated extravaganza? Phil Lord admitted, “We hope so. Hopefully it will be like another ‘Roger Rabbit’ situations where the companies say..’Of course, we’d love to be a part of this’ but..who knows?”

Note: 1988’s “Who Framed Roget Rabbit” broke new ground by having the iconic Disney cartoon characters and Warner Bros appear together for the first time, with Bugs Bunny sharing a scene with Mickey Mouse, and Donald and Daffy Duck playing a memorable duet. “Who Framed Forget Rabbit” was a product of Disney’s sibling company, Touchstones Pictures.

Wishful thinking for us fans? We’re keeping our fingers crossed. We’ll leave you now with the extremely addictive “The LEGO Movie” theme song:

The tentatively named, “The LEGO Movie 2” is slated for a 26th May 2017 release.


Singer Kim Jae Joong Announces Asian Tour; Kuala Lumpur Included

Hey Jae fans, it looks like September is gonna be an amazing month cause Kim Jae Joong (김재중) will be embarking on his Asia Tour Concert, starting in Seoul. The TVXQ (동방신기) / JYJ member was initially supposed to visit Malaysia in March 2020, but then Covid happened.

Now that pop stars are resuming their tours, we’re glad that Kim Jae Joong is returning to our local shores as planned. Besides Malaysia, the 36-year-old K-pop star will also be touring Bangkok.

A post shared by J_JUN🌏김재중🌏ジェジュン🌏แจจุง🌏金在中🌏JJ🌏KIMJAEJOONG🌏 (@jj_1986_jj)

Since the pandemic, Kim Jae Joong has been keeping himself busy with various TV projects – namely “Bad Memory Eraser” where he plays Lee Goon and taking on the role of an MC for variety show “Hope TV”. Besides that, he also posted a live performance of his single “Breaking Dawn” on Instagram. Like many others, we bet this multi-hyphenate entertainer is eager to interact with a live audience again.

Details to Kim Jae Joong Asia Tour in Kuala Lumpur are as follows:

Concert tickets will be sold via online at www.ticketcharge.com.my on 24th June (Friday) from 12pm onwards. Each transaction is limited to a maximum of 6 tickets only.

Stay tuned to this space for more updates to come. We have a feeling this is the first of many K-pop concerts to come ;)

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Henry Golding To Star In “A Simple Favor” Alongside Anna Kendrink & Blake Lively

Henry Golding is one very, very lucky man!

The Singapore-based actor has landed himself another Hollywood role and this time, he’ll work alongside 2 major beauties – Anna Kendrick (of “Pitch Perfect” fame) and Blake Lively (of “Gossip Girl” fame) – in Lionsgate’s forthcoming thriller “A Simple Favour”.

According to Variety, the Malaysian heartthrob has been cast as Lively’s character’s husband, Sean. Based on Darcey Bell’s book of the same name, the upcoming thriller follows mommy blogger Stephanie (played by Kendrick) as she tried to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of her best friend Emily (played by Lively).

The film will be directed by Paul Feig, whose directing credits include “Ghostbusters”, “Bridesmaids”, “Spy”, and “The Heat”. Filming is expected to start on 14th August in Toronto, Canada.

In Golding’s latest Instagram update, it was learnt that the actor is currently in the US vacationing with his wife, Liv Lo, and on his way to the Maple country. “Very exciting new project to be working on with Paul Feig and his team… Toronto here we come!” he wrote.

A post shared by Henry Golding (@henrygolding)

Born to an English father and a Malaysian mother, Golding is a fully trained hairstylist turned Host/Travel presenter who resides in Singapore and Malaysia. His previous works include “Driving Change”, “Food Reformers”, “Two Brothers Two Cities” and “The 8TV Quickie”. He will next be seen as the lead in Warner Bros.’ “Crazy Rich Asians”.

Congrats, Golding! We can’t wait for “A Simple Favour” to release :)

Sources: Variety, Henry Golding’s Instagram / Featured image: Yahoo, Kiss fm, NST.


Before TWICE, There Was JYP Entertainment’s Forgotten Girl Group That Almost Debuted

Did you know? A little more than half a decade ago, JYP Entertainment came up with the “7.6.5 Rookie Projects”, where the agency was set to debut new idol groups based on the numerical order.

Through this project, boy groups GOT7 and DAY6 managed to make their debut in the K-pop scene. However, there was this one group that did not make a debut, which ended up being forgotten over time. The girl group was referred to as 6MIX.

For those curious, 6MIX was the rookie group that JYP was planning to launch together with GOT7 and DAY6. Originally, DAY6 was slated to debut with the name 5LIVE with 5 members, while 6MIX would be debuting with six female trainees. However, Dowoon was added to 5LIVE as the 6th member, and the group went on as DAY6, with 6MIX ultimately never being able to make their debut.

It was revealed that the latter group had already wrapped their pre-debut showcase and completed their first album with members Lena, Cecilia, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Minyoung, and Jisoo (later known among fans as Jihyo) included in the line-up. Plus, some of the girls even made their appearances in a few advertisements as well.

While 6MIX was preparing for their debut, however, the Sewol Ferry incident took place in 2014. The group was unable to make their debut then as a result. With their official debut being put on halt, member Cecilia decided to quit the agency. JYP then recruited Sana from the Japanese girl group team to fill in the former trainee’s spot, with the plan to launch the group in the latter half of the same year.

This current 6MIX line-up was almost done with the preparations and was on the brink of debuting. However, the group’s leader, Lena (who collaborated with Sunmi in the song “Full Moon”), decided to leave the agency out of the blue, putting the group in a difficult situation once again.

The remaining members (including Sana) were then given an opportunity to participate in the Mnet survival show “Sixteen”. The initial members of 6MIX, Jeongyeon, Nayeon and Jihyo, went through a lot of challenges and setbacks before officially making their debuts with one of today’s hottest K-pop acts, TWICE.

Following the revelation, several netizens have taken to the online community Nate Pann to share their reactions. Some of the comments include:

Based on our checking online, Cecilia now works as an actress in her home country, China. On the other hand, Lena (real name Ahn Celena) is currently enjoying her life outside of the spotlight. As for Minyoung, people speculated that she returned to the US to focus on her studies.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.


#ScamAlert: Beware Of “BSN Credit Card” Fraud Calls

It appears that a new type of scam has emerged and many unsuspecting people have been harrassed for the past few weeks.

Apparently, the scammers, posing as “bank officers” from Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), have been calling up victims about their credit card debt and asking them to report to “Bank Negara” with a phone number they provided.

Facebook user, SuiKar Nah, took to Facebook to post up a status detailing the scam process with the said phone call and to warn her friends. The “bank officer” told her that she made a transaction, amounting to RM2,000, in Genting Highlands using her BSN credit card. After telling the “bank officer” that she didn’t have a BSN credit card, the swindler then gave her the number of “Bank Negara” to “lodge a report”, which was +603-21683747.

As SuiKar said, if you ever receive a call about your BSN credit card, which you may or may not own, don’t believe them because it could be another “clever” scam. The syndicate also knew her full name and IC number.

She is not the first victim to receive such phone calls. Another Facebook user from Ipoh known as Ken said that the scammer called to inform him about his BSN credit card debts and also provided him the number of “Bank Negara”.

The syndicate members are very cunning and convincing, therefore we urge all our readers to be alert of this. Share this information with your family and friends because they need to know what’s going on.

Sources: SuiKar Nah’s Facebook page, Ken’s Facebook page.


Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness: Ending & Post Credits Scene Explained

Picking up where “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “WandaVision” left off, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” weaves a cautionary tale of horror and heartbreak. The price we pay for our dreams and the desires. The danger of obsession and the dark depths we’ll plunge to achieve our ends. If you’re reading this, then it probably means you’ve journeyed through this wild adventure. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is about to get a whole lot bigger from here on out. If “No Way Home” opened the door to new possibilities, then “Multiverse of Madness” blew the hinges right off! It can honestly get pretty overwhelming.

Have no fear fellow sojourner, we’re here to give you the breakdown on the ending and post-credits scene of “Multiverse of Madness”. The story of Stephen Strange is far from over. A new adventure awaits him and he’s not alone. Oh and it goes with saying: massive spoilers alert.

After a terrifying universe-hopping battle against Wanda Maximoff, Doctor Strange and his new friend (maybe adopted daughter) America Chavez have saved the day. The Scarlett Witch is defeated and has seemingly killed herself while destroying the Darkhold. A source of dark magical power that corrupts the user as seen in “WandaVision”. Now, the multiverse is free from its evil influence and no one can ever wield it again. Chavez will be staying on Earth-616, learning magic in Kamar-Taj before trying to find her mother whom she accidentally sent away through her multiversal powers.

Doctor Strange starts a new day and is feeling great. Through the whole ordeal, he’s learned to accept that there are just certain things he can’t control, and that’s okay. Just as he’s walking down the street though, he falls to the ground in pain and it is revealed that a third eye has formed. Yes, the same third eye we saw on Strange’s corrupted variant, Sinister Strange, as he laid there impaled on a spike. It was mentioned that the longer one uses the Darkhold, the more corrupted and changed one becomes. And while Scarlett Witch has destroyed the Darkhold’s link to the multiverse…perhaps something came through before the door was closed.

After a copy of the Darkhold is destroyed in the film, Wong is forced to explain to Wanda about how the secrets of the Darkhold was created by a creature named Chthon and that it can be found on Mount Wundagore. Wanda shows up there and she finds four scaly monsters, who look an awful lot like Marvel’s Chthon in the comics, waiting for her. Do they serve Wanda, or is Chthon using them to protect Wanda? Perhaps he’s using her to enter into the Earth-616 universe. Alas, he failed to do so with Wanda nobly sacrificing herself. That being said, Strange did dabble in a lot of dark magic by possessing a dead corpse from a different universe. It’s possible that his prolonged exposure to the Darkhold allowed Chthon to enter into our Doctor Strange. The same way it did in Sinister Strange.

In a mid-credits scene, we see Stephen Strange encountering a woman dressed in purple, played by Charlize Theron. She tells him that he’s caused an incursion and she requires his help. He agrees to go with her as they enter into the Dark Dimension. Based on her fashion choice and affiliation with the Dark Dimension, we can safely say that Charlize Theron’s character is Clea. For fans of the Doctor Strange comics, this moment is pretty huge! So for those not in the know, Doctor Strange is actually the husband of Clea, who herself is the niece of none other than Dormammu! In 2016’s “Doctor Strange”, Dormammu invaded Earth-616, trying to merge his dimension with the universe. Thankfully, Strange managed to bargain him out of his invasion by trapping him in an infinite loop with the Time Stone.

Here’s another interesting fact, the Darkhold has its origins in the Dark Dimension, which is sometimes referred to as hell or the hell dimension. What could be causing these incursions on the Dark Dimension? Is Chthon trying to take over the Dark Dimension? If so, then the sequel to “Multiverse of Madness” could see Doctor Strange teaming up with Clea and his old nemesis, Dormammu to face against a greater threat. Right now on in the comics, Clea has taken the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, after grieving the death of her husband. The third film in the “Doctor Strange” saga could spell the end of the magical defender, with Clea taking a lead role. Wong’s still the Sorcerer Supreme so we’ll see if she gets to claim the title.

Oh and don’t worry, the post-credits scene at the very end isn’t essential.

With the inclusion of Professor X in “Multiverse of Madness”, Disney has all but confirmed that mutants, maybe even’s Fox’s version of them, are indeed floating around somewhere out there in the multiverse. The Illuminati is meant to be see as an alternate version of the MCU’s Earth-616 Avengers, with Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards played by John Krasinski, the X-Men’s Charles Xavier, Captain Carter, Rambeau’s Captain Marvel and Baron Mordo. Now that the Illuminati are killed off, the fate of Earth-838 seems uncertain, and yet intriguing. With Charles Xavier and the Illuminati gone, could we possibly be getting a live-action film or series about the X-Men of Earth-838 stepping up to take their place?

Perhaps the X-Men of that universe could cross over into Earth-616 in a future film. Doctor Strange’s travels across the multiverse have caused incursions. These incursion, as seen in Jonathan Hickman’s “The New Avengers” comics, sees two universes colliding against one another, destroying both realities. That is unless one of them is destroyed first. Now put on your thin-foil hat for this next prediction because we believe that “WandaVision”, “Loki”, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Multiverse of Madness” could all be leading up to one giant inter-universal battle. One involving the remaining Avengers of Earth-616 and the mutants of Earth-838. That’s right, the seeds have been sowed for a future “Avengers v. X-Men” film!

So what do you think of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”? How do you think the film will affect the future of the MCU? Be sure to let us know in with a comment and to catch the film in theatres today.

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As’ad Motawh Falls Off Stage, Netizens Claim It’s Another Gimmick

Teen singer As’ad Motawh have fallen off from a stage during his performance in Sabah, the last location of his Percaya Tour.

The young singer who is called the Justin Bieber of Malaysia shared a video of the incident on his Instagram, saying that he “nearly died” and that he ended up with a few bruises.

A post shared by As’ad Motawh (@asad.motawh)

However, many people are saying that his fall looks like an act and the whole thing is just a gimmick like the one he did in Melaka where he was suddenly hugged by an “overeager” fan who was later pulled off by 2 security guards.

Netizens believed that his fall was staged and some even make fun of him, saying that he tried to do a stage dive and crowd surfing but no one wants to catch him.

Aku rasa plan dia tu nak rebahkan badan macam concert mat salleh tapi REALITY DIA sorang pun taknak support dia😂😂

Nampak sgt dia saja rebahkan badan dia dengan harapan awek awek kat bawah tu sambut dia tapi hakikatnya dia bodoh tada sapa nak sambut kecuali brader2 tu 😅

As’ad claims that he was pulled by one of the fans, but many people in the comment section said that it looks like he willingly falls into the sea of girls.


Datuk Lee Chong Wei Shares His Panic Buying Experience

Datuk Lee Chong Wei has some friendly advice to all the locals out there.

Recently, the badminton legend took to his Instagram to share his recent story when everyone was busy with their panic buying in preparation to face the rumoured Malaysia lockdown.

Chong Wei opened the caption, “Two days ago, there was a rumour of a restriction order regarding the coronavirus. So Mew Choo asked me to go and buy the essential things for the next 2 weeks. My wife is smarter when it comes to add maths, so I followed her shopping list.”

He further recalled, “But by the time I arrived at the supermarket, oh my! There were a lot of aunties and makcik-makcik. It’s like there was a trolly marathon happening! Even can beat Khairul Jantan! Luckily I managed to get the items in the list.”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get his hands on the most important thing on the checklist – toilet paper! “I gaped while watching a man in front of me taking away 10 bags of toilet rolls. (Presumably) He has a lot of poop at his house.” Despite that, he was fortunate enough that a friend who lived nearby was willing enough to hand him a bag of the much-needed item.

In the same post, Chong Wei left a message for the public to not to worry about the recurring situation. Believing that the outbreak will come to an end one day, he further advised that everyone, regardless of race and religion, to give full cooperation and help each other in this critical condition.

If you’re interested, you can check out the full post here:

Dua hari lepas, ada khabar angin restriction order berkenaan coronavirus ni. So Mew Choo pon suruh pergi beli ape yg patut untuk 2 minggu ni. Wife add maths lagi terrer, so ikot shopping list wife. Family 4 orang, ayam 5 ekor, beras 1 bag, sayur 2 minggu, Maggie 2 pack, telor 2 dozen, buah, toilet paper 1 bag. Tapi time I sampai supermarket, aduhai! Ramainyer auntie2 makcik2, macam lumba marathon trolly! Kalah Khairul Jantan! Nasib baik sempat lagi kumpul shopping list wife. Tapi toilet paper I terlambat. Ternganga I tgk mamat depan I tapao 10 bag tisu jamban! Banyaknyer jubur kat rumah. (Toilet papers are important during previous pandemic period due to unclean water and psychological effect) Datang suatu suara menyeru dari belakang, ”Lee, nah amik bag ni. I terambik 2. Tadi tgk sumer rebut tapao wa pon terikot amik extra, ntah kenape, bukan I pakai untuk basuh pon!“ Dia Nazir, sahabat yang tinggal berhampiran. Kita tergelak and catch up sket. Selepas tu, makin ramai gangster trolly serbu, I pon terus cabut, sebab I tau virus ni merebak mudah. Kawan sekalian, saya berharap agar jangan cemas menghadapi krisis ini. Simpanlah makanan tapi berpatutanlah bilangannya. Dan I minta tolong semua duduk di rumah jgn keluar sementara ni. Jangan balik kampong macam cuti raya. Ko mungkin ok, tapi yg mati nnt orang tersayang. Percayalah, mimpi ngeri ini akan berakhir. Jangan panic. Kita warga Malaysia tak kira bangsa dan agama berganding bahu, bertolak ansur, tolong menolong, hari itu akan sampai dengan lebih cepat. Kepada frontliners, para doctor, missi, kakitangan hospital dan juga cashier pasaraya yang terus berkhidmat dalam masa ini. Terimalah tunduk kehormatan dari saya! Cara paling baik kita membalas budi dan bersumbang, is to #STAYHOME #JUSTSTAYATHOME #STAYHOMESAFELIFES #WEAREMALAYSIAN #MALAYSIABOLEH

A post shared by  Datuk Wira Lee Chong Wei (@leechongweiofficial) on Mar 18, 2020 at 5:21am PDT

Hopefully, Chong Wei’s sincere message will be able to reach the community.

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Yusuf Azmi Wants To Teach Zhafvlog A Lesson For Calling “Syahadan” A “3/5 Shit” Movie

The movie “Syahadan”, which features Malaysian silat athlete Mohd Al Jufferi Jamari in the lead role, has recently become the latest target of film reviewer Zhafvlog‘s ruthless criticism.

Taking to his Twitter earlier on Thursday (17th February, same day as the film’s premier date), the popular movie critique had described “Syahadan” as a “Movie without dignity, and also a film of contempt.” As if the criticisms weren’t enough, he also gave a “3 out of 5” rating with a shit emoji!

However, it appears that Zhaf’s feedback didn’t sit too well with activist Yusuf Azmi. In a 40-minute video posted on the YouTube channel Bang Kuchai, Azmi claimed that the opinion issued by Zhaf is insulting to the martial arts world as well as the Malay community themselves.

Additionally, Yusuf also expressed his sadness over the fact that the people who insulted the film were from the Malay race themselves. He also stated that each critique has its own method. According to him, “Anyone is allowed to give criticism and advice. Do what you want to do, you’re free to curse or whatever. But there’s a way for you to criticise. Do not make unfounded criticism.”

In the same video, Yusuf pointed out several times that Zhaf did not actually purchase tickets to watch “Syahadan” when he released slanderous remarks about the movie on his social media. In an effort to teach the blogger a “lesson” or two on manners, he revealed his plans to meet Zhaf face-to-face.

“I want to meet this person, I want to know where he lives. I would like to pay him a visit to give some ta’aaruf session. I want to get to know him and find out why he did this. I’m not going to beat him,” he said in the video.

However, many netizens believed that Yusuf was personally attacking Zhaf for sharing his honest thoughts on the film. In this case, they felt that Zhaf was actually criticising the film’s cinematic technique, and not slamming the silat martial arts or even the Malay race, as claimed by the former.

For those who are interested, you can watch the full video featuring Yusuf here:


#Marvel: Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk To Appear In “Thor: Ragnarok”

Comic book fans are going to have a “smashing” time watching the next “Thor” film because a certain green-skinned superhero is going to appear in the film.

That’s right. We’re talking about The Incredible Hulk.

Sources have confirmed to Variety that Mark Ruffalo is in final negotiations to appear as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk in Marvel‘s “Thor 3: Ragnarok”. Thor aka the God of Thunder will once again be portrayed by Chris Hemsworth.

Both actors were last seen in their respective roles for Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron“.

It is currently unclear how the Hulk will fit into the storyline for “Thor 3: Ragnarok” as plot details remain scarce. However, it was reported that it will take place outsisde of Earth and Asgard.

This will mark the first time that Ruffalo is appearing as the Hulk in a non-“Avengers” film. His character was previously portrayed by Edward Norton in the 2008 standalone “Hulk” film.

Tom Hiddleston and Jamie Alexander will return to the franchise and reprise their respective roles as Loki and Lady Sif.

“What We Do in the Shadows” director Taika Waititi was recently tapped to helm the project that was written by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle. Marvel Studios President Kevin Fiege is producing it.

“Thor: Ragnarok” will begin production in 2016 and is due to be released on 3rd November 2017. Ruffalo will be seen next in Open Road’s “Spotlight” and “Now You See Me 2“.

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#LunarEclipse: Malaysians To Observe Phenomenon On Wednesday (23rd March 2016)

Phenomenal news Malaysians! For those of you who missed the solar eclipse 2 weeks ago will have the opportunity to observe a penumbral (shadow) lunar eclipse tomorrow (23rd March 2016).

This is will be the first lunar eclipse this year and it will occur between 7:21pm, when the moon begins rising, to 9:55pm, when the moon moves completely out of the Earth’s shadows.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, with the cooperation of Starfield Instruments Supply, will be organising a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse observation programme for the public at the National Planetarium tomorrow starting at 7:30pm. Several telescopes will be provided, but those who are interested in participating the programme are encouraged to bring their own telescopes.

Although we may not get to witness a total lunar eclipse, tomorrow’s occurrence is still proof that we live in a fascinating universe.

Sources: New Straits Times, The Rakyat Post.


Concert Review: WINNER Fans Surprised Yoon With Early Birthday Celebration During KL Show

Finally! We got the chance to experience K-pop quartet WINNER (위너)’s headlining “Cross World Tour” concert held at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil over the weekend. Organised by iMe Media Group, this marked the group’s 2nd visit to our country following the success of their previous tour last year.

Local Inner Circles (WINNER’s fandom name) swarmed the concert venue as soon as the gate opened at 5pm. As they filled in the arena, the screen played a series of YG Entertainment group’s popular music videos – much to the delight of everyone.

Soon after, the lights were dimmed as the opening video was played on screen. The 4 members of the group – Yoon, Jinu, Mino and Hoony – made their much-anticipated appearance on the main stage in an all-white ensemble. Without wasting any time, they opened the show with “Everyday” and “Love Me Love Me”.

“Guess who’s back? We are WINNER!” The group addressed the crowd in their official greeting. As the representative of the group, leader Yoon shared to the crowd their  excitement in coming back to KL. Fellow members also took the chance to show off their Malay language skills, especially Hoony, who referred to himself as Abang Hoony. “Saya rindukan awak (I missed you),” the 28-year-old told the fans.

The members then invited Inner Circles to visit their “Island”. They also came forward to the centre part of the stage while performing the tropical beat song to interact more with the crowd. They then proceeded with their 2017 hit “Really Really”, taken from the group’s 1st single album called “Fate Number For”. The lights went off as the group made their exit off stage.

A special montage video soon popped up on the LED screen. The short movie-style video showed the members taking on the role of a secret agent, as if they were gearing up to carry out a mission. Interestingly, they also had their own codename – Yoon as Beer, Jinu as Whiskey, Mino as Liquor and Hoony as allergy. The comedic clip was good enough to heat up the fans’ mood before the next segment started.

It didn’t take long before the boys finally made it on stage for the next session. This time around, they surprised fans with a surprise setlist – a string of their signature fast and uptempo tracks, namely “Dress Up,” “Mola” and “Special Night”. Die-hard Inner Circles went bananas as they sang and dance along to the jams.

Moving on to the next part of their setlist, WINNER took to the main stage as they performed their more mellowed and laid back tunes. “We need to you to sing this together with us, KL,” Yoon was quoted as saying. The boys then mesmerised everyone with their flawless live vocals during their take on “Different”, “Have A Good Day” as well as “OMG” and “Raining”. The boys then took us back to 2014 with their chart-topping debut song “Empty”. And with that, the 2nd session had come to an end.

The appearance of Hoony on stage marked the beginning of the members’ solo stages. Decked in a Matador-inspired outfit, the rapper opened the session with a sizzling take on “Flamenco”. He then brushed off his Latino alter ego and proceeded with an energetic performance of “Serenade”, as he danced and sang his heart out to the fast-paced number. Next came Jinu, who appeared in the middle of the stage performing his solo song “Call Anytime”. With a special appearance from fellow member Mino, the two exchanged playful and cute interactions as the song went on, leaving the crowd in awe.

The spotlight then went to powerhouse vocalist Yoon, performing a song that was familiar with fans who have been following him since his first debuted in the industry – “Instinctively”. The song felt personal, as he revealed to the crowd that he actually came to Kuala Lumpur 10 years back to meet his first manager – who was in attendance. And the first ever song that he sang was “Instinctively”. He then continued with his next song “Wind”. Last but not least, Mino took the centre stage with his upbeat take on his own songs “I’m Him”, “Trigger” as well as the smash hit “Fiance”. The last 2 songs were taken from his debut studio album “XX” (2018).

Best part of Flamenco 💃🏻 today~ hehe#WINNERCROSSTOURinKL #HOONY #이승훈 pic.twitter.com/UxKcdy3q13

— ɴɴɢ+ ♡ 𝟮.𝟱 𝗰𝗺 (@ICs_nsu) January 18, 2020

Yoon: Many people asked why I came here 1st. I'm here to meet my friend. He's my 1st manager in my life. I met him 10 years ago. He's here now. I'm so proud of myself to be able to show him this stage 10 years later. You made it happen pic.twitter.com/WxzjycD1Cp

— Isabelle Leong (@1sabelleLeong) January 18, 2020

The 4 of them finally reunited on stage following Mino’s impressive hip hop numbers, performing “Boom”. The groovy number is taken from their 2nd EP “We” (2019). Being a chatterbox that he usually is, Yoon then asked everyone to stomp their feet and clap their hands, as the boys performed their last song for the segment, “Movie Star”. They then waved goodbye as they exited the stage to prepare for the next stage.

The next VCR was more serious, as the members talked about the process of creating their recent album “Cross”, their passion in producing music, as well as their hopes as artists. After that, the boys came back on stage performing the title track from their new album called “So So”. They then took it up another notch with another bombastic performance of the song “Don’t Be Shy”. Hoony even went down and partied with the crowd in the Cross seating area.

mino’s rap during SOSO when his mic wasn’t working ☹

at least we know they don’t lip-sync 🤙🏻 best boys #WINNERinMY #WINNERinKL #WINNERCROSSTOURinKL #WINNERCROSSTOURinMY #CROSSTOURINKL pic.twitter.com/vHyQdUStsj

However, a minor technical glitch unexpectedly happened as Mino’s microphone wasn’t able to function. As the crews hurried up and made their way to find a replacement mic, leader Yoon ensured all the fans in attendance that things were fine. In doing so, he came out with his own idea in hyping up the crowd. He pointed at Mino’s auto tune microphone. “Why don’t we sing and rap in Malay language with an auto tune voice,” Yoon said to his members, much to fans’ approval.

As we reached the end of the night, fans were asked to get to their feet for the next few songs; which were all powerhouse upbeat tracks. Starting off strong with their 2018 hit song “Millions”, the chilled dance numbers “Ah Yeah” and “Immature”, and last but not least, the ultimate party theme, “La La”. Serving jams after jams, Inner Circles in attendance had found themselves immersed in the atmosphere – dancing along to the beat of the night.

As the boys made their way out from the stage, a number of Inner Circles started singing the chorus of “Millions”. The cycle repeated for a few moments until a countdown video played on the rectangular screen. Surprise! Surprise! The members appeared on the LED screen, signaling that they were ready for the encore stage. They then continued with the performances of their songs “Hello” and “Zoo”.

This show indeed was a special one for leader Yoon. In this case, Inner Circles who came to the event had planned to celebrate his 27th birthday! “Today is not my birthday!” the Busan-born singer remarked. He was then surprised with a cake gifted by fans. He then spontaneously responded by saying, “Today is my birthday!” They then sang the birthday song in Korean and English. He was also teased by his fellow members as he thanked the fans for the early celebration.

Following that, it was time for the members to say their last words to the crowd in attendance, which got everyone emotional. Amidst the thanks and mentions of keeping promises and returning again stronger than ever, member Jinu was seen holding back his tears, as he described the Inner Circles as the true hero for the night.

Meanwhile, Hoony managed to lighten up the situation by referring to them as his “sayang” (loves). “Seronok tak hari ini? (Was it fun today?)”  he asked the crowd, before continuing, “I had a lot of fun today. Looking forward to see you guys again. Sampai jumpa lagi (See you later).” WINNER then ended the show with a bang with the encore special performances of “Really Really”, “La La” and “Every Day”. And with that, the concert was finally over.

Early birthday party with KLICs? Thank u for everything?? I will never forget todays KL? thank y’all ICs? #winnercrosstourinKL

A post shared by  KANGSEUNGYOON (@w_n_r00) on Jan 18, 2020 at 6:12am PST

All in all, WINNER managed to serve us with their triple threat appeal on stage. They were effortlessly cute, charming as well as charismatic in their live performances, which had left Inner Circles wanting for more. Till next time!

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Interview: Malaysian Artist Shares How She Landed The Role As A Lighter For “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse”

Many are stoked for the release of the highly-anticipated animated movie “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse”, the direct sequel to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, which was released back in 2018. Who wouldn’t be ecstatic to see our favourite variants of Marvel’s wall-crawler back on the big screen? On top of that, are you aware that a Malaysian artist had a part in bringing “Spider-Verse” to life?

Introducing Sin Yee Loke, the lighting compositing artist from Bidor, Perak, who has worked on previous international projects such as “Love & Monster” and Disney’s live-action “Pinocchio”! We had the opportunity to speak with the young talent about how she landed the job with Sony Pictures Imageworks, the challenges she faced while working on the “Spider-Verse” sequel and who her favourite Spider-man is.

1. How did you manage to get your big breaks with major Hollywood studios and how did you land this job as a lighter for this exciting project?

I guess I’m really lucky. I knew I wanted to try working on big projects in this industry so I tried working hard on my reels and also venture out. My passion is in animation but I know it’s hard to get into a big animation company so I thought that maybe I could switch to VFX for a bit.

After 5 years of working in Malaysia, I got a role in Australia and I was working on “Love & Monster” for half a year. But then the pandemic hit so I went back to Malaysia during the lockdown. I thought to myself, ‘Since I’ve tried Australia, so this time, I’m gonna try for Canada,’ and I just send all my reels and resume to as many Canadian companies as possible. I was really lucky that a couple of companies responded and I took the offer to join MPC Film in Montreal, Canada where I worked on Disney’s “Pinocchio”.

And while I was working on that, I saw that Sony was hiring for a project. I decided to send in my resume, thinking that they’re probably not going to reply to me but I’ll just do it anyway. I got really lucky because one week later, I got a reply from them. At first, I didn’t know it was for “Spider-Verse”, but because it was Sony, I thought (this was my opportunity) to get back into animation.

I was so excited when I found out that it was for the “Spider-Verse” sequel and the people who interviewed me worked on the first movie, so I was like ‘Woah, I’m a big fan!’ and I think I left a big impression during the interview cause they remembered me like, ‘Oh, the girl that was really hyped during the interview’.

2. For those who are not too familiar, maybe you could briefly explain to us your role and your contribution to this “Spider-Verse” sequel.

So I’m a lighter for “Spider-Verse” and my role is to light and composite the shots. Once the animators have done the animations, they’ll pass them on to us so we will cast the lighting based on the colour key and the concept art. We will try to follow the light direction and render them out, then composite them together and try to adjust them to look similar to the colour key; following the colour values and the feeling.

And because the different worlds in the “Spider-Verse” have their own unique style, we had different teams working on the different styles. We work based on those styles and try to achieve to see if that is what the director wants.

3. Speaking of which, what were the major challenges in getting the lighting for the characters right since each world has its own style?

Because it was more of an art, comic book style, nothing seems to make sense in real life. We had to tweak everything just to achieve whatever looks good in the colour key. Maybe the colours might not make sense and the direction is (vague) but you have to figure out a way to make it as close as possible to the colour key because that is exactly what the director wants. I think that is the challenge; you have to forget what is the logical way and just do it, as long as it is artistically beautiful.

4. Based on what we have seen in the trailers, what were your favourite scenes to work on?

My own scenes, of course! I had a couple of shots in the trailer, which is really awesome. I think there was one that was similar to what I did but not exactly my shot. There was one scene in the rain with the green and dark Spider-Man in the trailer. That one was fun and it’s very different from other animated movies. I think that was my favourite.

5. How was working on “Spider-verse” different than your previous work like “Love & Monsters” and “Pinocchio”?

Yeah, so [“Love & Monsters” and “Pinocchio”] are live-action so you have to recreate what happens in real life and match that as close as possible. While in “Spider-verse”, you can go wild with the colours and add brush strokes, just like a painting. It was so much fun. That’s why I like the animation world because there are more challenges and freedom compared to when you have to match real life and real footage. Spider-verse was complicated but such a fun experience.

6. Out of all the Spider-Mans out there, animated or live-action, which one is your favourite and why?

It’s so hard to pick but I will choose Gwen because I worked on Gwen quite a lot in this movie and I also haven’t seen [Spider-Gwen] in a live-action adaptation so I’m looking forward to the day we get to see that. But all the other Spider-Mans are so cool. Every different Spider-Man in the movie has their own different characteristic and style so it’s hard to choose a favourite but I want to [work on] all of them.

7. Final question, how does it feel to represent Malaysia on such a big scale?

It’s so surreal, I can’t believe that I’m actually one of the Malaysians that get to be apart of something this big. Even getting to speak to you guys in this interview is surreal. Thank you.

Hopefully we’ll get to see more local talents like Sin Yee Loke flourish. Be sure to catch “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” in cinemas this June! Here’s how you can win tickets to the special screening on 31st May!

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#Top100DJs: It’s Voting Season As The 2015/2016 Poll Is Now Open

As of today, the voting for one of the most important DJ Polls in the world has started.

From 6th July 6th – 14th September, the DJ Mag website will be flooded with music lovers from all around the world, voting for their beloved artists and the DJs that they think deserve their vote the most. And with no less than 39 Armada Music artistes ready to dominate this year’s poll, the 2015 voting could very well lead to a bunch of surprises.

Last year’s results saw a few surprising new entries e.g. DJ Snake, Borgore, Boy George, as well as a big jump up the ranks for artistes like Ummet Ozcan, Blasterjaxx, Dannic, and Martin Garrix. This year, with no less than 39 Armada Music artistes ready to dominate the poll, the 2015 voting could very well lead to a bunch of surprises.

With countless clued-up clubbers casting their votes for their all-time favorites every year, and the results scheduled to be revealed at the Amsterdam Music Festival on 16th October during the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) 2015, the results DJ Mag Top 100 DJ Poll 2015 are already highly anticipated by DJs and fans alike.

Vote for your favourite DJ/producer here!


2012 SBS Drama Awards on ONE HD

The stars and crew of 2012’s best SBS dramas and miniseries came together at the Seoul Mapogu SBS Prism Tower on 31st December 2012 to celebrate the end of the year and recognize the talent that shone over the past 12 months at the “2012 SBS Drama Awards“.

The big winner was Son Hyun Joo, who won the Daesang for his performance in “The Chaser“, a 2012 South Korean television series about a grieving father out for revenge against corrupt officials. Son Hyun Joo plays the lead role, Detective Baek Hong-suk, who goes from loving, doting father and cop to harrowed man hellbent on revenge.

Producer Award: Park Geun Hyung, Chae Si Ra

Best Excellence Award(Mini Series): Lee Min Ho, Jung Ryeo Won

Best Excellence Award (Drama Special): So Ji Sub, Han Ji Min

Best Excellence Award (Weekend Series): Jang Dong Gun, Kim Ha Neul

Excellence Award (Mini Series): Kim Sang Joong, Kim Sung Ryeong

Excellence Award (Drama Special): JYJ’s Yoochun, Jung Yoo Mi

Excellence Award (Weekend Series): Kim Soo Ro, Shin Eun Kyung

Special Acting Award (Mini Series): Lee Duk Hwa, Jang Shin Young

Special Acting Award (Drama Special): Kwak Do Won, Lee Jin

Special Acting Award (Weekend Series): Kim Min Jong, Lee Jong Hyuk, Kim Jung Nan

Best Couple Award: Kim Min Jong + Yoon Jin Yi, JYJ’s Yoochun + Han Ji Min

Viewer Popularity Award: Yoochun, Kim Ha Neul

Teens Award: Yoochun + Han Ji Min, Jang Dong Gun + Kim Ha Neul, So Ji Sub, Shin Eun Kyung, Son Hyun Joo, Jung Ryeo Won, Lee Min Ho, Chae Si Ra

New Star Award: SHINee’s Minho, Lee Hyun Woo, f(x)’s Sulli, Go Joon Hee, Park Hyo Joo, CNBLUE’s Jonghyun, Yoon Jin Yi, Girls’ Generation’s Yuri, Park Se Young, Jung Eun Woo

Be sure to catch the “2012 SBS Drama Awards” when it airs first and exclusively on 10th February 2013 (Sunday) at 8:45pm on ONE HD (Astro B.yond Ch393).

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Hype’s Must Watch: Pitch Perfect 2

The Barden Bellas “pitches” are back with more “aca-awesomeness”!

Titled “Pitch Perfect 2“, the film is a follow-up to American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore. First released in 2012, the first “Pitch Perfect” film was very well-received by the critics and became a sleeper hit for earning over $113 million worldwide. It is also the 2nd highest grossing music comedy film, behind Richard Linklater’s “School of Rock” (starring Jack Black and Miranda Cosgrove).

Due to its commercial success, the co-star and producer of ‘Pitch Perfect” Elizabeth Banks is attached to direct the sequel. Screenwriter Kay Cannon has returned to pen the script of the sequel and the film is produced by Paul Brooks, Max Handelman and Banks.

Anna Kendrick’s Beca and the Barden Bellas gang have returned to star in the film but this time around, they are joined by two newcomers, Hailee Steinfield and Chrissie Fitt. American a cappella group, Pentatonix and German YouTube star, Flula Burg will appear in the film for unspecified role as well.

In the sequel, we will see the Bellas striving to compete in the World Championships of A Capella after winning the national championship in the first film. Watch the first official trailer of Elizabeth Banks‘ “Pitch Perfect 2” from The Ellen Show:

Can’t wait to see the film? Well, time to warm up those vocal cords and prepare to sing along then!

For more information, log on to the movie’s official website and visit their Facebook page.