Music Review: People Pt. 2

Before the release of his debut album D-Day under the name Agust D, SUGA of BTS released the song People Pt. 2. This song is a duet with IU, an artist he had previously worked with on the hit song Eight.

According to Yoongi in his interview with Billboard, the title was supposed to be 사라 (Sara), and depending on the consonant added in the end it could be ‘사람 (saram or people in Korean)’ or ‘사랑 (sarang, which is love in Korean).’ It would be up to the listener to decide. Because there were concerns of misinterpretation by leaving it in the original form, they chose to call it People Pt. 2. I liked that there was originally an ambiguity in the title, it was very clever. But I also understand why they had to change it.

YouTube Show Review: Suchwita

One of the things that I heard that SUGA of BTS had thought he would become if he did not end up in BTS was to be a radio DJ or a TV host. He had been fulfilling part of that dream by often becoming the host of their variety show Run BTS and during some of their special lives together as a group, as well as with lives he had done himself using the program name KKUL 0613FM.

Last December 2022, SUGA took this dream one step further by coming out with an online variety/talk show called Suchwita (Time to Drink with SUGA) on the BTS official YouTube channel. Initially conceptualized as a way for Yoongi to support the rest of the members of BTS in their solo efforts by giving them a platform to promote their work, it has now evolved to include interviews with other music artists as well as comedians and actors. It’s just too bad that he had not been able to include Jin and J-Hope in the show since their projects came out before the show started. 

Music Review: That That

Sometime last year, teasers started coming out about a collaboration between the singer PSY and BTS’ SUGA. This collaboration turned out to be That That, which Min Yoongi (aka SUGA) helped to write and produce. 

Initially, the song was just supposed to be given by Yoongi to PSY for the latter to use for his comeback album. According to PSY, their discussions went from Yoongi offering the track/beat, then writing and producing the song, to him performing on the track and then appearing in the music video. It was an outcome that Yoongi himself didn’t expect to happen, but I am very grateful that it did!

Confession: I am a People-Watcher

Maybe it comes from being a writer, maybe it comes from being cautious, but I am what you would call a people watcher. I have this tendency to watch and observe people: to see how they relate to other people/each other, what kind of story is happening behind what they are doing, what kind of people they are…things like that. 

Image by Jerzy Górecki from Pixabay

It’s not something that I do all the time, but I often do this when I am in one place for a long period without much to do. Mostly this happens when I’m in line for something or I’m stuck in traffic or something similar to that. It gives me time to pause, to look around and things tend to go from there.

Netflix Picks: Shadow and Bone Season 2

Netflix has recently released season 2 of the show Shadow and Bone, adapted from Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse series of books. As with the first season, this new one has again combined the stories from the original set of books and its Six of Crows spinoff. 

The series continues from where it left off in season 1, with Alina and Mal in hiding as they try to find the other amplifiers to help her to be stronger to destroy the fold. On the other hand, the crows have their troubles to solve as they arrive home. Compared to season one where their stories are connected for most of the episodes, their stories only fully come together at the end of the season. This meant having both stories unfold from both sets of books in the eight episodes of the season. 

Disney+ Review: The Princess

One of the habits I’ve developed lately has been to stream movies or series online as I do my daily morning workouts. I’ve been able to watch a lot of shows and movies that way but it’s not always advisable if the show or movie is good and you want to take it all in. But since not all these streaming videos are made equal, I’ve had my share of those that I can watch without concentrating on them. The movie The Princess is one of those movies.

Sharing the plot won’t be much of a spoiler since there isn’t much to take in: it’s about a princess being forced to marry a man who has taken over their castle and has taken everyone hostage to witness the wedding. This guy, who is obviously not royal since he wants to marry the princess to become a king, was initially promised that the princess would marry him, but she changed her mind, which led to the takeover and the forced marriage they were preparing for during the movie. 

My Book Lover Story Pt. 2

A few days ago I was talking to my friend about how I grew up with a lot of books at home. My parents made it a point to have a lot of children’s books and educational books that were on shelves in the bedroom and in the living room that my sisters and I could read anytime we wanted. I also had a doting cousin who would buy me books that she would get at their school bookstore so that I could have more to read for entertainment and not just for educational purposes.

Looking back on that I can’t help but think about how much my relationship with books has changed through the years. The books that my parents provided and the books that I could find in my grandmother’s house gave me an interest in reading. Books given to me as a gift or books borrowed from friends helped me to develop my interest in different genres of books. Now as an adult, with access to the rest of the world’s reviews and recommendations, I get to explore more books than I have ever imagined that I would as a child. Not only do I get to read more, but I can also read without all these books cluttering my home in the process.

Music Review: On The Street by J-Hope and J.Cole

As most fans of BTS know, J-Hope is the second of the members to enlist in the South Korean military. He actually entered the service today. It's a big blow to fans like me. I don’t think anyone expected him to be the next one to go and serve. Everyone knew that someone would be going next eventually, but no one expected it to be him until it was announced.

Just like Jin who entered the military before him, J-Hope decided to release a song for the fans as a way to say goodbye for now. Not only did he also release a song just like Jin, but he also did it in collaboration with someone he admired in the music industry. If Jin had Coldplay, J-Hope had J. Cole. 

I enjoyed listening to On the Street. It had a lighter tone compared to J-Hope’s other songs from his recent album and I thought it had a feel-good, comforting vibe which was perfect considering the intentions of the song. 

Karaoke, Anyone?

Filipinos love to sing. A lot of Filipinos can sing. And of those who can, most of those people can sing really well. You can ask any artist who has ever had a concert in the Philippines, most if not all will probably tell you that the crowds sing along to their songs while they perform every single time. So many Filipino singers are recognized for their talent overseas, further proving that this singing culture is something that is natural to the country. There are even memes and viral videos about how singing with Filipinos means having to follow or sing along to someone who sings at concert-level every time. 

Image by wirestock on Freepik

The love for singing is so big that karaoke is a popular thing that Filipinos do to entertain themselves. Sometimes it can just be a simple sing-along over some alcohol and food, but more often than not it can be like a mini-concert in itself with every person singing like they are performing for their life. Then there are, of course, who sing just for the sake of singing, it doesn’t matter if they can carry a tune or not.

KDrama Review: Missing: The Other Side

KDramas are shows that I enjoy watching. I’ve been a fan of Korean shows since the early 2000s when we were exposed to them on TV. I couldn’t help but enjoy watching because they often have different storylines compared to the ones I see from American shows and from local TV. Missing: The Other Side is one of those shows. 

Missing: The Other Side is a drama about a young man who can, as one movie line goes, “see dead people.” The catch is that the people he sees are not just dead people, but those who have been missing. With the help of a man whose own young daughter is missing, he discovers a village where the spirits of dead people who have been missing live. It is only when their bodies are found that they finally leave the village to find peace in the afterlife.