[June 2012] DBSK Song of the Month

A/N: This is another article which I wrote for the June issue of TVXQWorld. ^^

DBSK Song of the Month: Love Bye Love

Yoochun celebrates his 26th/27th birthday this June, and so for this issue, I think it is just fitting to feature one song composed by our birthday boy. I actually went through the list of his compositions, listened to them one by one, and after so much deliberation, I finally chose one song to be featured as the DBSK Song of the Month. It’s so difficult to choose, and if only I had the liberty to feature all of them, I would have done so.

For this issue, I decided to review “Love Bye Love (사랑 안녕 사랑)”, which is off DBSK’s fourth Korean album, Mirotic. The music and lyrics were all penned by Yoochun.

From the title itself, you can easily say that this is a song about saying goodbye to a loved one, and true enough, the song is a sad ensemble of all the sadness one feels whenever they have to say goodbye to a loved one---in this case, breaking up with your special someone.

The song starts off with a birds chirping at the background, and a narration from fellow SME artist Go Ara, saying “I’ve gotten over you.. Sorry.” Ouch.

“Love Bye Love” is a mid-tempo song featuring the angsty yet angelic voices of the members of DBSK. We can see how the members do their adlibs in the different parts of the song. Each line of the song was sung with so much emotion, and you can really feel it as you listen. Changmin’s powerful voice at the last chorus left me in awe. I wonder, how high can this guy’s voice get? What makes this song even more special is the fact that Junsu raps alongside Yunho in the bridge. This is something special, as the rapping duties are usually assigned to Yunho and Yoochun.

Going over the lyrics of the song, I discovered how heavy the lyrics are. Yoochun is a genius for pulling off such emotions and putting them in a song, and now I wonder if this song was based on his own experience. Here are some of the lines, to wit:

“When the color of our memories has faded, when it gets cloudy,
That's when I'll try to end my feelings of love,
Bye bye bye my love, bye bye bye my love.”

“Being hurt again by the love you have given me,
The grevious pain, a wanderer who wears an achromatic color,
The loser in the tears that could not be embraced,
Let's not ever experience a love like this.”

“The music I can hear in the crowded street,
I can feel my heart stop beating today,
I wonder if I was always a good person towards you...
Our happy days which could not be stopped like the clouds.”

Whoa, that was heavy---not to mention, painful, too.

He even re-arranged this song and performed it on his own during DBSK’s Mirotic Concert in 2009.

Yoochun’s ingenuity and versatility in composing music is indeed something which makes him a real musician. He writes and sings from the heart, which makes him well-loved by his fans.

I hope Yoochun composes more songs in the future--songs which will mirror one’s real feelings, when they run out of words to say.

Happy birthday, Yoochun!

[June 2012] Yoochun’s Hair of the Month

A/N: This is another article which I wrote for the June issue of TVXQWorld. ^^

Yoochun’s Hair of the Month

It’s our dandy boy’s birthday month, so for this issue, I chose my favorite hairstyle of him to be featured. I chose his short hairstyle during the ‘Colors~Melody and Harmony’ era, which also happens to be my favorite Yoochun hairstyle of all time. I remember totally flailing the first time I saw it in 2009. This short hairstyle totally fits him, and it exudes an aura of manliness, while not losing the boy-next-door charisma that he possesses. Pairing it up with a plaided polo and scarf (like what he wore in their perfs) gives off that relaxing and laid-back look which makes him as everyone’s dream guy. Known in TVXQ for having the most eccentric hairstyles, Yoochun has been experimenting on how to fix his hair for quite some time now. Well, I guess whatever hairstyle Yoochun is donning, I’m sure it’ll all look good on him. ^^ Happy birthday Chunnie! :)

[June 2012] Chunniefied! ^^

A/N: This was my article for TVXQWorld, OneTVXQ's official online magazine, wherein I work as a writer~ ^^

On the 4th of June twenty-six years ago, a healthy baby boy was born and was named as Park Yoochun. In 1998, when he was in 6th grade, his whole family immigrated to the United States. They lived in Fairfax, Virginia for roughly four years before he got discovered. During his stay overseas, he auditioned for Brothers Entertainment and joined different singing contests. In 2001, at a song festival, he won the daesang (the highest award). In 2003, he received a special award in a youth music festival, and because of that, he caught one of SM Entertainment’s recruiting team's attention. He got a contract with SM Entertainment and was accepted as the last member of CEO Lee Soo Man’s dream group, Dong Bang Shin Ki. He used the name Micky (the name he used in the U.S.) as his stage name. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since this issue of TVXQWorld is dedicated to Yoochun, let me share with you the top 10 reasons why I love our dandy boy. ^^

(A/N: Since Yoochun is way too awesome, the following are not arranged in order. ^^)

 
TOP TEN REASONS WHY I LOVE YOOCHUN~

 
1. His smile, personality, and tears

 
Yoochun’s smile is like that of a kid---whenever he smiles, you can see his very prominent cheekbones, and it’s one of the cutest things ever created. He blushes easily, but with his overwhelming cuteness, you can't really be mean to him. One of his assets is his "look" that you cannot resist. Although he had experienced many hardships in life, you can still see that sweet smile on his face. Yoochun’s tears are way too precious, and we have all seen him cry publicly in many instances. Whenever he cried, we cried as well. It makes me want hug him and say that everything will be all right.

2. The collarbones, neck, and Adam’s apple

 
I personally think that these are the sexiest parts of Yoochun’s body. I mean, hey, we all flailed over these right? Yoochun has the collarbone that every female wants, including me. *_* His neck and Adam’s apple are also very sexy pieces of art that are too beautiful to go unnoticed. Have you seen those defined collarbones, neck, and Adam’s apple in his shower scene in “Vacation”? I died. GAAAH.

3. His wide forehead

 
Call me weird, but I find this asset (or not? XD) of Yoochun to be really entertaining. Remember how Junsu described Yoochun’s forehead as a soccer field (as evidenced by his epic drawing)? We’ve seen (and laughed at) all sorts of pictures of Chunnie’s forehead, but I think not many guys can pull off having a wide forehead and being sexy at the same time as our birthday boy.

4. His smexy bedroom voice

 
You don’t call Yoochun the middle low vocal of DBSK for nothing. Sure, he can belt out those high notes with ease (think of “Bolero” and “Unforgettable”), rap with swag (“Rising Sun”, “Shelter”,  and “Summer Dream”), and melt you with sweetness (“One”, “My Little Princess”, “Hug”); but what I love about Yoochun’s voice is the smexiness it exudes. Yoochun’s smooth and husky voice never fails to steal girls’ hearts. One can describe his voice to be sweet, but never tiring. Though it can be nasal at times, it is something which I can listen to all day long in my bed, with his picture beside me. ^^

5. His musicality

 
Yoochun is a musical genius. His knack for composing beautiful music is beyond one’s imagination. He is a versatile musician---he can sing, rap, play the piano, compose, arrange, and probably, produce music in the near future. With many songs composed for DBSK under his belt, which includes “Holding Back the Tears”, “Love Bye Love”, “Kiss Shita Mama Sayonara”, “Kiss the Baby Sky”, and “Get Out”, you can never go wrong with this incredible and talented guy.

6. The gibberish Chunglish

 
Since Yoochun stayed in the United States for four years, we would expect that his English is a bit of a higher level than the average Korean---but lo and behold, this combination of Yoochun and English (YooCHUN + EngLISH = CHUNGLISH) is way more funnier than I had expected. We do all have our own set of Chunglish moments---who would forget Yoochun’s ‘reasonable and passionable’ stint a few years ago? These made us laugh, and Yoochun became more lovable because of these. As defined by the Urban Dictionary, Chunglish is characterized by the frequent use of an 's' or the suffix 'able' where there should not be one and the replacement of words with random terms that sound similar but bear no relation to the intended meaning. Perfect examples are “My Girlfriend” (~First time when I kissed your lips, you were a loveable..),“Kiss The Baby Sky” (~Baby sky, never ever hide of myself prime..), and “Get Out” (~Oh baby tell me why you act so strange, but tonight I don’t need a damn explain..). ^^

7. The adorable Chunface

 
Seriously, this is one of the most loveable assets of Yoochun. The way he twists his face whenever he’s extremely happy, surprised, or disgusted is just so adorable. Like a cute little boy, you could never resist him once he does those facial expressions. His cuteness is so strong, that he appears to be a small child trapped in a man's body.

8. His acting prowess

 
I remember my fearless forecast when I first saw DBSK’s “Banjun Drama” and “Dating on Earth” a few years ago: Among the five of them, Yoochun will have a brightest future in acting someday. Fast forward to 2010, he landed on the lead roles of four different dramas---“Beautiful Love”, “Sungkyunkwan Scandal”, “Miss Ripley”, and most recently, “Rooftop Prince”. Known as the member in DBSK with the richest emotions (as said by Go Eun Ah in “The King’s Man Parody”), Yoochun was indeed a natural born actor. We have seen him in diverse roles in those four dramas, and we all agree---he is a good actor who knows how to play his role well. His performance in the drama was so excellent that you may not believe that it was his first acting experience. Need proof? He already 9 awards for his acting stints.

9. His airport fashion

 
Together with the rest of DBSK, they could have easily earned the title “Kings of the Airport” for their quirky, hip, and outstanding sense of fashion. Who in the world would look super hot in plain tank tops?  His funky airport swag will send you flying away to the moon.

10. His love for his family

 
This is probably one of the reasons why Yoochun should be the next Yu Jun Sang (aka South Korea’s national husband and son-in-law). Girls love him, guys idolize him and ahjummas adore him. He is a very lovable son and brother, and his mom and Yoohwan can attest to that. He loves his family so much, that he is willing to give up anything for them. Although his parents were divorced, his love for his parents never decreased. He has been a good hyung to Yoohwan too, giving him advice and supporting him all the way in his acting career. He’s an all-in-one package, and surely, his future wife is indeed very lucky.

A handsome, talented guy with a beautiful heart---that is how I would describe Yoochun. He is a natural sweetheart, so he deserves all the love in the world. His success never got into his head, and he’s such a humble person. His bouncy and bubbly character never fails to brighten up the atmosphere. Yoochun, you are so loved by everyone, so continue to be the good and loving person that you are. Please stay that way, baby. Happy birthday! 

Rest assured that we will always be KEEPING THE FAITH. 
The whole Cassiopeia family loves you so much! ^^