I am currently watching Dream High 2 and I'm absolutely loving it. I will confess, I never saw the first series of Dream High. But, so far, this series has grabbed me so much that I'll be hoping to watch the first series very soon.

I was attracted to seeing Dream High 2 because of Jiyeon from T-ARA. I'm a fan of T-ARA and Jiyeon is by far my favourite member so when I found out she'd be starring in this new series, I was so intrigued. So I started, and I was not dissapointed at all. Dream High 2 may be set at an arts school but it's completely opposite to the usual sterotypes that are attached with the 'art's school' programmes on TV. This series doesn't heavily feature annoying brats who want to be famous and they aren't any cheesey show numbers. It's as far away from High School Musical as possible.

Most of the cast is young and features stars from K-Pop Idol groups (Jiyeon from T-ARA, Jinwoon from 2am and Hyorin from SISTAR) but as well as great vocalists, they're also pretty good actors. Especially Jinwoon from 2am who is probably my favourite character. He's so cool and doesn't show his feelings often but I feel like he wants to. JB is another great character, although he is rather cold-hearted at points.

The series is a mixture of emotional highs and lows. It can be so funny at points (mainly due to former After School member So-Young's character Soon-Dong who makes me laugh with her crazy facial expressions and mannerisms). It can also be highly emotional (Kang Sora's character has such a hard time and I really feel for her).

Although it may have a few clichés and it can be over-the-top in some places, I still find it a fantastic show where the characters are so relatable. I don't want the series to end!


What do you think of Dream High 2? Better or worse than the first series?

Time for a brand new CD review! T-ARA had an incredible 2011 and they've started 2012 off with a bang - and the release of their album Funky Town. Funky Town comprises the 5 original tracks from their Black Eyes mini album but has been re-released with 3 brand new tracks - Lovey Dovey, 우리 사랑했잖아 (We Were In Love) and a club remix of Lovey Dovey.

Inside Cover and Disc

T-ara has had a fantastic 2011. They've had the biggest selling single of the entire year in South Korea with the mega-hit "Roly-Poly" and they've finished the year on a real high - with the current single "Cry Cry". Although "Roly-Poly" may have been a fun, party track that captured the hearts of the young and old of South Korea, their follow-up single "Cry Cry" took a completely direction. They could have simply returned with another catchy, retro and disco-inspired single, but they've instead gone for a more dark and mature sound with "Cry Cry".

The magic of this song is that it comes with both an uptempo dance version and a ballad version. And the ballad version is not just a slowed down version of the uptempo one, no, it's entirely different. Whereas the ballad version illustrates the softer and more gentile side to T-ara, the uptempo transforms the song into a fierce, strong and powerful dance number, featuring harsh, industrial beats and Spanish guitars.

T-ara may not be the most talented girl group around (their vocals are not the best in the K-Pop industry), but they absolutely ooze class and charisma. From "Bo Peep Bo Peep" to "Roly-Poly" (and to some extent their somewhat criticised single "yayaya", which didn't boast any lyrical genius), the 7 girls of T-ara are highly versatile.

Furthermore, as demonstrated in "Cry Cry", they also boast credible acting skills. Their 15 minute music video, or mini-movie as we can now call it, is packed full with drama and a thrilling plot, which accompanies the song (ballad and uptempo version) perfectly. Jiyeon's acting is truly remarkable and gives a stellar performance in her role as a spy.

We have definately been spoiled by T-ara this year, as "Roly-Poly" also had a mini-movie as it's visual. At the end of December, T-ara are expected to release "Lovey Dovey" which is the follow-up track to "Cry Cry". We are told that "Lovey Dovey" concludes the mini-movie that began with "Cry Cry" - as the ending of "Cry Cry" ends with a bit of a cliff-hanger.

We'll look out for "Lovey Dovey", without a doubt, and also look forward to what 2012 will bring for T-ara.

K-Pop may have earned it's title because it originates from Korea, but this does not mean that K-Pop music is strictly sung in Korean. In fact, as fans are aware, K-Pop is not restricted to the Korean language.

The vast majority of the songs are of course sung in Korean, but don't be surprised to hear a line or two (or even a whole chorus) in English. It may come as no surprise, but English is heard in almost every K-Pop song. With this knowledge, it is also no surprise that many K-Pop songs have an English equivalent. Songs such as "The Boys" by Girls' Generation have a version in Korean and one in English. The use of English in songs is becoming more and more of a trend in Korea as this way, the songs can garner more international interest.

But to this day, only one major K-Pop act has attempted to debut in the English-language music world. The Wonder Girls are a 5 piece girl group that have had huge success in Korea and now some moderate success in the US - their U.S. single "Nobody" managed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat never before seen by a Korean act (and has not been done since).

Although the U.S. may be the world's largest music market, Korean acts are actually aiming their sights at the second largest music market in the world - Japan. Yes, it is not in the UK, Australia or America that K-Pop acts are wanting success right now, it's their neighbours in Japan.

But how can Korean music fit into the J-Pop scene? Quite easily, it seems. The K-Pop acts do not change their concepts, their look or their individual styles - the only thing they change for debuting in Japan is the language of the song. And the Japanese versions of K-Pop classics are being hugely welcomed by the Japanese.

It's interesting, girl groups KARA and Girls' Generation have by far recieved the most attention and success so far in Japan. They both boast #1 albums in Japan (their albums mostly consist of the Japanese language versions of their Korean hits) and Girls' Generation's first album is nearing the 1 million copies sold mark. This is a huge accomplishment considering the power of the Japanese music market. And this year, T-ARA debuted straight at #1 on the chart with their first single "Bo Peep Bo Peep". And more groups are expected to debut in Japan, including f(x) (see above) who are slated to do a round of Japanese promotions in 2012.

Previously in Japan, only BoA and TVXQ had flown the flag for Korea in Japan, with BoA experiencing more success in Japan than her home country.

The success of K-Pop in Japan makes me wonder. These acts are already hugely talented - they are renowned dancers, live vocalists and actors. And what's more, they are incredible linguists. They have mastered Japanese in order to be successful in Japan - appearing on Japanese TV shows is the best promotion these acts can get, and therefore a high proficiency in Japanese is strongly needed. And they have no doubt mastered English, not just in the hook of their songs either.

Good music is transmitted throughout the world via great vocals, great melodies and great visuals. But what the Koreans have realised is that it is also the language which is the key to success. With this notion, K-Pop music could be transported all over the world - and to startling success.