Anime is definitely a catalyst for a lot of things from music to dance to fashion. With NYAF coming up, I’m decided that this and next round up will feature all anime music. There’s a lot out there and if it weren’t for these animes, some artists probably wouldn’t be as popular as they are.

I’ve chosen the list below after consulting a few friends on their favorite anime music. They’re very common and highly loved by a lot of people, including myself. It was really difficult just picking out 5 but I was able to narrow it down.

Also, I’m sorry to have missed last week’s. I’ve been so busy with NYAF! I will double the amount I do next week’s and the week after that. As always, enjoy! More »

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In case you haven’t heard, we’re partners with the New York Anime Festival! This is our biggest event partnership so far and so we felt something special was needed to promote it. Well, the 7 Days, 7 New Bloggers special worked out so well for us, we decided to do 8 Days of Anime (the number 8 is lucky in many Asian cultures). For 8 days, starting on Thursday September 18th, we will be posting at least two articles a day about something Anime related. We’re hoping that if we hyped up Anime enough online, you’ll be all hyped up for the real world event in NYC. In addition to articles, we’re also doing a roundtable discussion for the first time on Ningin where bloggers and members get a chance to share their opinions on a particular anime topic. Also joining as part of this 8 Days of Anime special are two very good friends of Ningin, Xorsyst.com & Otakuden.com, because we love working with good people and they have very interesting websites.

So here’s a list of planned articles which is more or less solid: More »

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What do you get when you combine Beats, Brains and Beauty? Well you get triple threat singer/songwriter Christina Chung. Don’t underestimate this artist on her petite size alone; she is not your average fly-by-night Korean pop singer. She has a great hold on this pop genre, nationwide performing experience, and a great potential to break the blond pop-princess mold.

As a songwriter she has co-written songs with seasoned award-winning industry heads, such as Frankie Storm who actually wrote Rihanna’s hit “Don’t Stop the Music”. Also others, she has worked with, have written and produced for artists like Mary J Blige, Akon, and Danity Kane. But, her talent doesn’t stop there… As a singer, she is willing to expand diversity in her musical horizons. From hip-hop, R&B, electro, and even Brazilian music, her sound is an incorporation of many influences that is totally her own.  As a model, she has stylized for Stella McCartney and MTV, she is also a gifted pianist and skillful dancer. More »

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Finally, what took her so long? The old kpop diva Boa held a press conference yesterday announcing that she’ll be debuting in America sometime in the next few months. She’ll release her English album on October 7th via iTunes and Myspace while releasing it in stores on November 11th.

While I’m a big fan of Boa, I hope she stepped her English game up because her teaser video for “Eat You Up” (sexual innuendo?) wasn’t that impressive. It’s a disconnected beat mixed with Engrish lyrics and a random chandelier crashing. If the dancing wasn’t as good as it is, all I would see is failure. She’s supposedly taking advance English lessons but so was Rain and Se7en.

Boa is honestly Korea’s last hope for breaking out into the US. She’s probably the only qualified Kpopper around unless Hyori wants to let everyone else in the US know her boobs aren’t fake.

Visit her official American website for more details. More »

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You never know what to expect with musical theatre. From my experience production musicals usually involve me with my eyes winced shut, a very deep held breath, and a serious hope for the best attitude. Incidentally though, I have many fears of catchy revival tunes infectiously staying in my head. It is usually because I am one of those that find themselves singing along to music no one else hears … and no one likes people who break out into song on the subway (no matter how on key they are). Despite my fears I am no stranger to theater and seen a good-fair share of Broadway/off-Broadway productions. When the opportunity rose to see a Musical-Comedy inspired by Oklahoma, but written in the point-of-view of a Asian female, my interest was peaked. More »

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Taiyo Na, a 25-year old renaissance man of word, sound and action, released his first full-length solo album Love Is Growth in March of 2008 through Issilah Productions.

Influenced as much by Curtis Mayfield as it is Nas, Ben Harper or Chris Iijima, Love Is Growth is a blend of gritty New York hip-hop and classic American soul. Featuring collaborations with singers Vudoo Soul, Conchita Campos and Emily C. Chang, rapper/producer Koba, jazz violinist Jason Kao Hwang, guitarists Minimum Tek of Outernational and Mark Concerto of P.I.C. and more, the album is composed, arranged and produced entirely by Taiyo. Socially conscious, often funky and always personal, the album showcases the artist’s urgency, scope and depth through songs such as the champion’s anthem title track, the pulsating introduction “One More Time” and the ethereal rock-soul ballad “Take My Breath Away.” More »

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Christopher D. Vu admits as a child, he was jealous of children who received music lessons. It seems that soul filled music was always deeply embedded within his heart. While fully enrolled as an engineering student at MIT, Vu joined a a-cappella group called the MIT Logarhythms. This extracurricular activity of stage performances helped fuel his fire for musical experience and touring with the MIT group proved to be very rewarding. Soon he purchased a digital piano, teaching himself how to play and write music. It was attending an Alicia Keys concert that inspired him along the path of a musical career. More »

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Somebody give me a lighter. Journey, the ultimate stadium-rock band, has just taken the stage. Oh, the guitar solos…the nostalgia. But these days, there’s a different face mixed in with the aging Frisco white guys. It’s the boyishly cute mug of Arnel Pineda, recently emigrated from the Philippines, who’s now the lead singer of the band. His story’s something of a rock-and-roll fairy tale. More »

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Randy Jackson really knows how to milk ABDC for all it’s worth. Apparently ABDC didn’t just end with the 2nd season but now they’ve brought the first and second season crew together to battle for a performance spot at the Video Music Awards in addition to $25,000 donated to their favorite charity. Surprisingly enough, this episode was actually worth watching in contrast to the 2nd season finale. More »

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Your manly looking idol is going to release an album in October and take part in a comeback program with major Korean broadcaster MBC.

After attempting to pursue an acting career in Hollywood and realizing that he doesn’t have much of an acting talent, Rain has decided to return to his comfort zone, which is recording sub-standard songs and shaking his bon bon for his screaming fans. According to the Asian Michael Jackson, this will be an album made for all his Asian fans. It contains both Korean and English songs. It even has some of the songs that Rain wrote for himself. Great, we are so in for a treat! I am sure one of the songs he wrote is about how he was falling in love with a dude girl but she fell sick and left him after she found out she was going to die soon. This is a typical plot in a Korean soap.  Most Asian girls love that kind of crap. They will even shed a tear or two whenever that song comes on the radio.

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I’m a bit disappointed with this week’s round up since most of the songs didn’t really interest me. Also I’m a bit sad that the Olympics finally ended. I didn’t get to catch the closing ceremony but I heard it wasn’t as good as the opening.

Anyways for those of you reading this and unaware, GirlyBubble is having their launch party on Sept. 10th in New York City. If you’re in the area be sure to come as it’s free. Plus there’s going to be hot models and photographers there in addition to the GirlyBubble girls. Check here for more event details.

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Better late than never! I usually post in on Saturdays since Fridays is dedicated to America’s Best Dance Crew. But ABDC is over now and the winner is Super Crew, congrats to them! So I’ll be posting on Fridays from now on.

But that doesn’t explain why this post is a day late. So recently we’ve launched a new website called GirlyBubble and it’s about duh! girl stuff. It’ll feature two new bloggers in addition to me plus a guest blogger whom you may know. :O It’s been a great project so far and I hope the rest of you like. Please show us your support and visit the site. Thanks!

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