There are many times that my friends and I have discussed how some girls are even in some of the more popular girl groups in South Korea. If your singing is sub-par and your dancing is just “okay,” then what the heck do you have to offer? We’re not talking about sentimental “cute” or “image” value here; we’re talking about talent contributions. Here’s my list of the most talent-useless girls in today’s Korean girl groups. More »

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One thing I love about being a SoCal citizen is that my Kpop dreams are never too far out of reach. No, I’m not pregnant with Se7en’s child, but thanks for asking. Instead, I got to see Wheesung, Clazziquai, SS501, Jewelry and other Kpop sensations perform live at the Victory Concert held at the Nokia Theater in LA last night. For concert goers last night, the Victory Concert was held in honor of Korea’s win against Venezuela in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. More »

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With Asian entertainment companies recently seeking to expand their global outreach, the increase in the amount of international talent searches isn’t surprising. It also isn’t surprising that I happened across the idea of investing in fame while doing my business in the bathroom of a Korean restaurant, staring at a wall adorned with random posters announcing open-call auditions for SM Entertainment. More »

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This is an archived blog post. Jason Linetsky is no longer a Ningin blogger.

The sounds of hip-hop, Soul, and a little violin filled the air in one of the trendiest Brooklyn bars, Public Assembly, as Resonating Awareness Worldwide (R.A.W) brought together the coasts for the AM Classic. At first it appeared to be a coastal split with East Coast artists taking up the stage in one room and West Coast in the other but the tech and audio crews created a more harmonious idea. The main room focused on the spinners, scratchers, and MCs mixing their beats with a little freestyling flair. Artists from both coasts came up including Hydroponikz, Magnetic North, the Misnomer(s), and the combo of DJ Dstrukt, Dumbfounded, Youthinasia, and Lyraflyp. The back room had the sounds of live musicians with Heather Park, Cynthia Lin, Kelly Tsai, and Warhol Soup. Filling out the rest of the bill for the night were Jay Legaspi, Deep Foundation, DJ Boo, and Brooklyn’s own Koba.

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