Hong Kong News Archive

Fala Chen returns to work after month-long hiatus
Posted: 01 February 2012 1338 hrs

HONG KONG: Hong Kong singer-actress Fala Chen, who had been on hiatus since late November to recover from partial facial paralysis caused by problems with her nerves, revealed that her condition has improved and that she has gone back to work, reported Hong Kong media.

“It is not as painful now, and I don’t have to keep taking large doses of painkillers anymore,” said Chen, who spoke to reporters during a Lunar New Year dinner in Hong Kong on Monday.

The 29-year-old star expressed that this was the first long break she had since she entered showbiz seven years ago, and said she took the opportunity to visit her parents in the US as well as go on a holiday to Japan with her boyfriend Daniel Sit.

Chen added that she has no plans to exit showbiz despite her condition and would continue to develop her film and singing career this year.

“The shelf-life of an actress is really short,” said Chen.

“I will make the most of every opportunity and shoot a film as well as release a new music album this year.”

-CNA/ha

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Chrissie Chau, Hong Kong’s “Million Dollar Babe” stars in upcoming beach volleyball drama, Beach Spikes. (Photo …

Chrissie Chau, one of Hong Kong’s most famous pseudo-models, is set to star in the upcoming drama Beach Spikes.

Also touted by the media as “Million Dollar Babe”, the 26-year old model-turned-actress is infamous for her TV commercial advertisement for Slim Beauty which saw her stripping down to her skimpy bikini walking on the streets of Hong Kong. She first made her name after clinching the 1st runner-up title as the 2002 Comics Festival ‘Game Girl’.

Beach Spike stars Theresa Fu, veteran actor Lo Mang and Jessica C, and will air starting this Sunday on Starhub Cable TV.

In this drama, Chrissie plays a waitress Sharon at a local restaurant owned by their Kung Fu Master, Uncle Tao (Lo Mang). Set on Paradise Cove, the land is owned by the wealthy Bu family who plans to change the beach to a playground to get rid of the youths at the beach.

The Bu daughters challenge Sharon and Rachel (Theresa Fu), a fellow waitress, to compete in the upcoming All Hong Kong Women’s Volleyball tournament. If they win, the Bu family will revise their plans for the beach. Sharon and Rachel underwent Kung Fu training with Uncle Tao on skills that can be applied to volleyball.

Having little prior experience in volleyball, Chrissie spent three months before the shoot training daily while juggling her night shoot on another production. She describes the overall filming experience as enjoyable with the crew.

“We were shooting on one of Hong Kong’s most beautiful beaches and so it felt great. Learning volleyball was like returning back to my secondary school days. I think because of the exercise, everyone’s stamina and body reflexes during that time were better too,” she told reporters.

When queried on working with her co-star Lam Chung Him, Chrissie gave a refreshingly candid answer. “I’ve worked with him before and initially my first impression was that he’s a little funny,” she laughed, quickly adding that “After getting to know him better, I realised that he’s quite a thoughtful and spirited person.”

A secret that most ladies are dying to know perhaps will be how she maintains her slim figure despite her busy schedule. Chrissie attributes that to a careful diet comprising lighter foods and exercising whenever she has the time. Her favourite exercise, she said, is jogging. She switches her exercises from time to time; she also loves to swim in summer and ski in winter.

Most recently, Chrissie launched her own lingerie line called ShowNa Collection (秀娜系列).

In collaboration with lingerie brand La Miu which she used to model for, the series launched online two days ago mainly targets teenage girls in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore, Chrissie gushed excitedly about the launch of her new collection. “I am really happy about this venture because I’ve always wanted to do business.”

Chrissie had worked with La Miu’s in-house designers to produce her own lingerie series. “I know what girls want in an intimate wear because it’s something we wear daily. To me, the design is still secondary. What are of utmost importance to me remain the two aspects of comfort and functionality,” she said.

When this reporter asked if she has plans to cater to the Singapore market in the near future if the business takes off, she laughed. “I have low expectations at the moment since it’s my first entrepreneurship venture. But if the business takes off, then of course it’s worth expanding — and not just to Singapore but also to other countries,” Chrissie said.

Gorgeous, ambitious and humble. It comes as no surprise that Chrissie Chau quickly captured the hearts of the public. But not everyone is an enthusiastic fan.

The topic of pseudo models remains a topic of controversy. Otherwise known in Cantonese as ‘lang mo’ which means young and immature, they are a new breed of models that in recent years rose to prominence in Hong Kong via the unconventional way of playing hostess to shows and exhibitions, particularly those promoting video games and electronic products. The most notable criticism came from veteran Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong has openly criticised and ridiculed such models, in particular Chrissie, calling them “brainless” and “bimbos”.

Of course, it is her full 34D assets that first won her the title of a sex symbol. But the Guangzhou-born actress let on none of this during the phone interview. Keeping her poise, Chrissie readily fielded questions from local reporters throughout.

With her talent for modeling and acting, coupled with her knack for business, will she eventually leave the movie scene?

“For now, acting remains my primary focus,” Chrissie quickly clarified. “It’s something I love doing and I’ve only been in the movie industry for two years. I still have a lot of roles I want to try.”

Beach Spike premiers 5 February, 9p.m. on Starhub’s Cable TV Channel 868′s Celestial Movies.

Incoming search terms:

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How The Brits Rocked America: Go West
9pm, BBC4

Among the many unhelpfully high watermarks set by the Beatles was the idea that it was possible to “break America” – that’s to say, for a group to create the same drama and impact in the US as they had done in the cinemas and bingo halls of the UK. The info available for this three-part series leans rather colonially on the “British Invasion” angle, but there were many ways to be received: greeted at the airport like the Beatles, welcomed at the festival like the Who, or run out of town on a rail, like the Sex Pistols. John Robinson

Stella
9pm, Sky1

Stella’s still being pursued by the handsome boxer/decorator but has no idea why. She goes to see Emma’s prospective in-laws and finds them ideologically opposed when it comes to a woman’s place in the home. The show’s appeal is 90% down to Ruth Jones’s effortless performance. She doesn’t telegraph emotions or sentiment, but simply lets them play gently across her face. You are rooting for her in every scene. If this is the kind of thing she produces sans Corden, she is on to a winner. Julia Raeside

Cash in China’s Attic: A Culture Show Special
9pm, BBC2

Mao denounced China’s feudal past – during the cultural revolution he called for the destruction of historical relics. Now, though, China’s newly minted capitalist class can’t get enough Ming vases, jade statues and other art pieces, no matter what political system they were created under. Andrew Graham-Dixon travels to Hong Kong to find a booming antique trade, with pieces trading for millions and auction records being broken weekly as the super-rich vie to outdo each other. He also visits the scientists who use computers to spot the fakes. Martin Skegg

Celebrity Big Brother: Live Final
9pm, Channel 5

The series draws to a close, with Brian Dowling dealing out the news in front of a chilly crowd kept warm by their own baying. As per, the brilliantly irritating were kicked out early (Andrew Stone), leaving a gradually more bored group of bewildered showbiz peripherals smoking fags and scratching themselves. But say what you like, this crop couldn’t have been more current, if a little heavy on the breast models. The winner shall be bathed in glory, of course. Ben Arnold

Naturally Obsessed
7.50pm, PBS

You don’t need to be deeply versed in the science of crystallisation to enjoy this lovely documentary, any more than you do to enjoy Breaking Bad. We follow the progress of four graduate lab students engaged in adventurous but impecunious research into molecular structures, one of which will unlock the key to human appetite. The race is on to make a breakthrough and get the results published before anyone else so that years of work don’t go down the toilet. It’s mostly failure, but that’s the point. “You learn so much from failure – you learn almost nothing from success,” reflects one student through gritted teeth. David Stubbs

New Girl
8.30pm, Channel 4

Four episodes in and already they’re doing the old-as-time sitcom shtick of seeing a flatmate naked. When Jess walks in on Nick, he’s dancing to Yellowman, which lends a deceptively hipsterish sheen to so dull and flat a routine. The payoff is Jess giving an endless stream of tolerance-testing childish terms for what she’s seen: “peepee and bubbles”? Shame, as there’s a much better plot that gets squandered: guest Lake Bell plays a girl whose voice is so ironic-sounding no one can tell if she’s being sarcastic. Phelim O’Neill

Director Dante Lam and superstar Jay Chou were in Kuala Lumpur recently to shoot The Viral Factor. Loong Wai Ting caught up with them

Taiwanese superstar Chou (left) and Hong Kong director Lam in Kuala Lumpur to shoot The Viral Factor

TWO’S  company. When Hong Kong director Dante Lam decided to pair Taiwan’s superstar Jay Chou and Hong Kong’s top actor Nicholas Tse in his action movie The Viral Factor, many were elated. For Malaysian audiences, there’s more reason to rejoice, for most of the scenes were shot in Kuala Lumpur. Other locations include Kota Baru and Cameron Highlands. The movie also included scenes shot in China and Jordan.

When the local Press caught wind of Lam’s arrival in KL with his crew to shoot The Viral Factor, the excitement was palpable.

Lam, who is well-known for his action films such as The Stool Pigeon and Beast Stalker, thinks the country is a great place to make an action movie. “Malaysia is indeed unique. You have everything under one roof. I especially want to thank the local authorities and the crew for their endless support and hard work,” he said. In the movie, Lam utilises many modes of transport, especially during his chase scenes, including helicopters, cars, buses and even motorcycles.

Lam admitted that The Viral Factor has been his toughest project so far, saying that some of the crew even left halfway during shoot.

“I was a little worried that it would affect the others. It was hard because we were working under the hot sun all the time,” he said.

He also hinted that he will be back to shoot another film.

Chou has only praise for Malaysia. “It feels really good to be back in Malaysia. It’s like being on holiday.”

Playing Tse’s brother is Chou, who said he enjoyed it very much partly because he has no siblings of his own. He said he developed a good working relationship with his “brother”.

Chou also learnt how to handle a gun properly from Lam, who is a firearms enthusiast.

The Taiwanese superstar also revealed that he’s eyeing the Best Actor award this year for his role in this film, and jokingly asked Tse to “pass the chance to him” since the latter won it last year.

But Lam thinks that “it’s still too early to tell. There are plenty more films that are yet to be shown.”

The Viral Factor opened in cinemas nationwide last week.

By
Ephraim Hardcastle

Last updated at 2:25 AM on 24th January 2012

On the hunt: Is Lord Patten searching for a ‘safe’ replacement for the director general

The BBC’s chairman, Lord Patten, 67, announces that they’re looking for a new Director-General who’ll be paid ‘substantially’ less than the £671,000-plus-perks incumbent, Mark Thompson. Part-timer Chris Patten is paid £110,000 by the BBC. He has pensions as an  ex-MP, EU commissioner and former Hong Kong governor (where he was paid £237,000) as well as generous Oxford perks. Is he looking for a new BBC DG who is under his thumb and in his own image – a safe-pair-of-hands time-server at the end of his career?

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne’s ex-wife, economist Vicky Pryce, is seen as his enemy in the long-running legal drama over speeding points on his licence. Now Tory MP Nadine Dorries announces: ‘Chris Huhne is going to think his ex-wife is a pussy cat by the time I have finished with him.’ Inflammatory Nadine holds the blighter responsible for an incinerator being built in her constituency.

Rosalind Runcie – widow of Robert, former Archbishop of Canterbury – pictured in her prime, died last week believing that poet Sir John Betjeman had admired her beauty and written about it after seeing her push a pram around Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire, in the early 1960s. Her most cherished possession was a letter from the late poet laureate saying: ‘You were the glorious girl I saw wheeling a pram in the Cotswold kingdom of Cuddesdon.’ But, in a letter to The Times, Canon John Ratings of Wargrave, Berkshire, insists that Mrs Runcie employed ‘mostly German’ au pairs and it was his own wife – herself ‘a glorious girl’ – who caught Betjeman’s eye. Mrs Runcie’s son, James, 52, says: ‘Contrary to what the canon states, my mother did push a pram from time to time and John Betjeman did see her. His letter to my mother begins: “Yes. It was you I saw.” I’m sure Canon Ratings’ wife is glorious but he is the one who is mistaken. I shall be correcting him.’ How unseemly!

No demand: There have been no calls for Sir Victor Blank to be stripped of his knighthood

Practically everyone agrees former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin, 53, should  be stripped of his knighthood but what about his opposite number at Lloyds  TSB, Sir Victor Blank? The decision of Sir Victor, 69, to merge Lloyds with HBOS wiped 85 per cent off its share value. Not only is there no demand for him to be stripped of the ‘K’ he got in 1999 for ‘services to the financial industry’, but he was invited to edit Radio 4’s Today programme over Christmas.

Crooner Sir Cliff Richard, pictured, says he’s taking a rest in 2012. ‘I’ve had four tours in three years and I thought I was overdoing it,’ he announces on Facebook, adding: ‘Not for me so much – I like doing them – but I thought I was asking too much of you, the fans, to keep on coming out to buy tickets and stuff.’ How thoughtful. He deserves a break. But can’t you think of a number of undeserving showbiz types who would do well to follow his example?

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This time, TV5 formally signed up American Idol Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta to do a five-week prime time mini-series that will air next month.

Mr. Archuleta arrived in Manila last Friday to start working on the mini-series Nandito Ako, which will feature the singer together with TV5’s contract artists Jasmine Curtis and Eula Caballero in a story reminiscent of the 1953 American movie Roman Holiday.

Mr. Archuleta will play the role of a Filipino-American pop singer who visits the Philippines to learn more about his roots.

Also in the cast are Gelli de Belen, and Aiko Melendez. Mac Alejandre, who just finished directing the historical drama series Amaya for GMA Network, Inc., will direct the mini-series.

TV5 head for entertainment and creative services Perci M. Intalan said Mr. Archuleta will be in the Philippines for three weeks to do the project.

“We are very happy to welcome David Archuleta to the TV5 family,” Mr. Intalan told reporters after the contract signing at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong last Friday.

The TV executive, however, declined to say how much TV5 offered the singer to convince him to do the project.

MISSIONARY

Mr. Archuleta said the drama series is one of his last projects before a two-year stint as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church).

The 21-year-old Miami native, who grew up in Murray, Utah, announced during a Christmas concert last month that he volunteered to serve as a missionary for the church in an undisclosed location.

“I am very happy to be able to do this project before my mission,” Mr. Archuleta told reporters. “I have been here in the Philippines before, and I can say I really had so much fun here. So to be able to do this here is really amazing,” he added.

STARTED AS A DARE

Mr. Intalan said the project started as a dare last August when Sony Music Philippines’ big boss Narciso Chan came up with the idea after Mr. Archuleta’s sold out concert last July.

Mr. Intalan said negotiations followed involving lawyers and talent representatives from New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong.

“We already knew that David [Archuleta] accepted our offer last December, but we did not want to announce the project until all the details had been settled,” Mr. Intalan said.

News that Mr. Archuleta would be visiting the Philippines was already circulating social networking web sites before TV5 confirmed the reports on Jan. 8.

Just before he boarded the plane to Manila, Mr. Archuleta posted a video on his blog confirming his visit to the Philippines.

Mr. Archuleta said he took acting lessons in Los Angeles to prepare for the drama series. Mr. Archuleta had previously appeared as a guest in shows like Hannah Montana and I Carly.

A HISTORY OF SUCCESS

Born on Dec. 28, 1990, David James Archuleta started singing at age six, inspired by a video of the musical Les Misérables.

He joined his first singing contest at the age of 10, when he participated in the Utah Talent Competition singing Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”

By 12, he sang on several episodes of the TV show Star Search, where he ended up the junior vocal champion.

In July 2007, he auditioned for the seventh season of American Idol at the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. He won the hearts of the judges with his rendition of John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change.”

For a while it looked like Mr. Archuleta would be crowned the next American Idol, but David Cook became the eventual champion.

After the American Idol finals, Mr. Archuleta joined Mr. Cook and eight other show finalists for a 50-city US concert tour.

After the tour, Mr. Archuleta went on to record his debut solo album with Jive Records. The self-titled album was released on Nov. 11, 2008 and sold more than 750,000 copies in the US and over 900,000 worldwide.

His first single, “Crush,” debuted at no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and no. 1 on the Hot Digital Songs charts.

“Crush” was the highest single debut of 2008. The song has sold 1.5 million copies as of January 2009, making it one of the most successful singles ever from an American Idol contestant.

A second single from the album, “A Little Too Not over You,” also enjoyed extensive airplay on local radio stations.

Mr. Archuleta, who considers Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams and Natalie Cole as his musical influences, came to the Philippines in 2010 to promote his second album, The Other Side of Down. He last visited the country in July last year for a solo concert at the Araneta Coliseum. — Jeffrey O. Valisno

Call it Showbiz 101, Tony Ruivivar says, that ability to take a song here, a choreographed move there, a dash of comedy and, perhaps, an unexpected special effect or two to create an entertainment experience greater than the sum of its parts.

The formula has been key to making classic Las Vegas-style entertainment what it is, and it’s exactly the sort of thing Society of Seven has been perfecting for more than 40 years.

This weekend, the popular Hawaiian show band returns to Las Vegas for two shows at the Suncoast showroom. The shows, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, also will feature Jasmine Trias, former “American Idol” finalist, and Martin Nievera, a singing star in the Philippines whose father once was, coincidentally enough, a member of Society of Seven.

For charter Society of Seven member Ruivivar, the show marks merely the latest chapter in Society of Seven’s long association with Las Vegas, offering the band a chance to greet longtime fans and, maybe, hook younger fans-to-be on a style of entertainment that once again seems to be on the upswing.

For that, Ruivivar credits such performance-based TV shows as “Glee,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol,” all of which demonstrate how powerful a versatile array of performing skills can be when brought to bear on delivering a song.

Broadway medleys. Contemporary hits and American standards. Comedy bits. Choreographed dance moves. Vocal impressions. Costumes and special effects. All are ingredients Society of Seven can take out of their showbiz bag of tricks to provide audiences with a memorable evening.

“We never thought singing should be just standing up,” Ruivivar explains. “We always had choreography where we were moving or jumping around.”

He laughs. “Now we don’t jump around as much as we did. But we’d do moves and singing and comedy and serious things. It’s entertainment, it’s not just singing a song or playing a musical instrument.”

Society of Seven’s origins are in Hong Kong where, more than four decades ago and “when we were kids, we would go up on the rooftop and just play music for fun,” Ruivivar recalls.

The group started doing real gigs and club dates and, as a pop group called The Fabulous Echoes, became Hong Kong’s most popular group during the early- and mid-’60s.

“We had 14 hit singles in Hong Kong,” Ruivivar says. “The Beatles had the No. 1 song, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ all over the world except Hong Kong. We had a No. 1 song called ‘Dancing on the Moon.’ “

As The Fabulous Echoes evolved into Society of Seven, its members fine-tuned their ability to combine music, comedy and choreography into a classic variety act. The group has played Las Vegas lounges and showrooms regularly since the mid-’60s and Hawaii’s Outrigger Hotel since 1969. In 2001, the group moved to Las Vegas, passing their long-running Outrigger date to a spinoff group, Society of Seven LV.

Ruivivar said the “LV” on the spinoff group originally meant “Las Vegas,” with plans for the new group to hold down a venue in Las Vegas while the original group continued the Outrigger gig. But, when the original group took up residence here, the “LV,” Ruivivar says, morphed to mean “latest version.”

One hallmark of Society of Seven over the years has been its willingness to enlist younger performers to join the show. Trias, for example, began performing with Society of Seven in 2007.

“My mom would always take our out-of-town guests to see their show (at the Outrigger), so I’ve always been kind of watching them and have gotten to know some of the guys there,” says Trias, who grew up in Hawaii.

“When I was a kid, I was, ‘Wow, they’re so great and they do so many different things’ — impressions and dancing and all kinds of music. It was a very dynamic show. So as I was watching them, I was like, ‘Wow, wouldn’t it be cool to be part of a show like this sometime?’ “

When the group asked Trias to come aboard after she had finished her stint on the third season of “American Idol,” it all came around “full circle,” she says.

However, performing with Society of Seven did require Trias to expand upon her own repertoire of entertainment skills.

“When Tony approached me about doing impressions and all that stuff, at first I was kind of like, ‘I’m really going to do this?’ ” she recalls. “At the time, I was so used to singing songs. I love to sing songs, but there was no dimension to my performance besides just singing.

“Now I’m doing comedy and impressions and Broadway (tunes). I’m doing so much more than I ever thought I could do. Tony really stretched me and made me a more versatile performer, and it’s just been so much fun.”

Among Trias’ impressions with Society of Seven: Shakira (“which I really enjoy because it was belly dancing, and I kind of have a hula background”), Britney Spears, Beyonce and Cher (“Her voice is unique. It’s something I have to work on.”)

When she’s not performing with Society of Seven, Trias is working on her second album, performing solo dates and, she says, thinking about how fun it would be to play Broadway and, maybe, have her own Las Vegas show someday.

What’s the secret to Society of Seven’s four decades-and-counting longevity? Enjoying what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with, Ruivivar says.

“The good thing about this whole group is, everybody enjoys working with each other,” he continues. “We have a great time, and every time we come together, it’s like, ‘Long time, no see. Let’s put on a great show.’ Everybody is in tune with each other and respectful of each other’s talent.

“We have fun performing. We enjoy ourselves and get a big kick out of it that people have a great time whether we make them laugh or cry or applaud.”

Contact reporter John Przybys at
jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.

A MONTH ago, they were nobodies – just ordinary Singaporean girls with big dreams of stardom.

Today, Jasmine Tan, 16, and Maressa Zahirah, 23, can proudly call themselves Singapore’s first Korean reality TV stars.

They were our representatives at tvN K-Pop Star Hunt’s Asian talent search and boot camp held in Seoul.

The show airs on tvN (StarHub Ch824) every Saturday at 8pm.

For more than three weeks last month, the pair and nine other contestants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines were holed up in a penthouse in Seoul.

They were put through intense vocal and dance training, and had to take part in “surprise missions” and elimination challenges.

Shaped to look like The Glee Project-meets-Big Brother (yes, there are hidden cameras in the apartment), tvN K-Pop Star Hunt has given the contestants a whiff of that elusive thing called fame.

“Korean fans are very aggressive and at times, a little scary,” Maressa, a mass communications graduate of Oklahoma City University, told The New Paper.

“Once, we were travelling in our coach and some fans started knocking on the windows, shouting loudly at us.

“It turns out they recognised us from the tvN website, where our audition clips were uploaded… Though they didn’t remember our names, they associated our faces with the songs we performed. Some pointed at me and called out ‘Lonely! Lonely!’”

The girls had won the coveted spots on the show at the Singapore leg of tvN K-Pop Star Hunt: Cube Audition held here last October.

It was co-organised by Korean television channel tvN and South Korean artiste management company Cube Entertainment.

Maressa beat more than 500 K-pop wannabes with her rendition of quartet 2NE1′s soulful ballad Lonely.

Jasmine, on the other hand, was picked for the poise and confidence she showed as she sexily danced to Miss A’s Goodbye Baby.

Their stint in Seoul also got them the closest they’ve ever been to to their K-pop idols.

“Our apartment was in Cheongdam-dong, a posh part of Seoul,” said Jasmine, who collected her O-level results earlier this week and is planning to enrol in a polytechnic.

Close to stars

“Not only were most of the major artiste management agencies like Cube Entertainment, JYP and SM located nearby, several celebrities live in the area, too.

“Girl group f(x)’s house is just across our street, (the members of Girls’ Generation) live a 10-minute walk away… Also, we bumped into so many stars during our stay.”

The girls gushed in typical starstruck teenager fashion as they listed the artistes they met, such as actor-singer Lee Min Ho, boy band MYName and all-girl outfit A Pink.

As with any reality show competition, it wasn’t all glitz and glamour.

For starters, the environment they were thrown into was tough and rigid.

The first day they checked into their penthouse, the contestants were handed the list of strict house rules.

“We had to clean the house every Tuesday and Friday. Also, there was to be no eating after 10pm,” said Miss Maressa.

“If we were caught crossing our legs, slouching or yawning during our training classes, we would be reprimanded… Those were considered bad manners.”

The contestants had to show respect for their trainers – and even the veteran security guard at the apartment building – they encountered by greeting them with a 90-degree bow.

“Even if you have a backache, you see 10 seniors in the room, you have to bow 10 times,” she added with a laugh.

Miss Maressa said she and Jasmine were scolded “quite a bit in the beginning”.

“But we soon got used to them and actually found these rules very refreshing,” said Jasmine. “They instilled discipline in us and made us love K-pop even more.”

The regimental routine they endured was “only 5 to 10 per cent of what proper showbiz trainees in Korea have to go through”, said Maressa.

“While we got to enjoy barbecued meats and lots of other dishes in Korea, the female trainees we met in Seoul ate mostly yoghurt and fruit.”

While Maressa has been eliminated from the competition – the episode featuring her exit will be aired next Saturday – Jasmine has made it to the Top Five.

That means she is one step closer to snagging a K-pop artiste contract with Cube Entertainment, which manages popular groups Beast and 4Minute.

It had been an emotional roller-coaster ride for the girls.

“I shed many tears on the show,” admitted Maressa. “For me, it was hard to leave Seoul as I grew very close to the other contestants…

“It was amazing. Though we come from vastly different backgrounds, all of us share a common dream.”

Reality TV fanatics looking for feuds, catfights and blow-ups won’t be disappointed with tvN K-Pop Star Hunt.

“All the contestants are nice people except for one particular girl from Taiwan,” said Jasmine, referring to 15-year-old Lucica Chen Ying-Yan.

“She was annoying, overly concerned about her looks and she loved playing up to the camera, which came across as very fake.

“I tried to bear with her for a while, but eventually, I couldn’t take it. So I lashed out my displeasure in cut-away interviews (in front of) the camera.”

This article was first published in The New Paper.

Red Priest’s recent debut performance at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas captivates Farhana Ab Rahman

It was an outrageous performance by the Red Priest at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas

Piers says Red Priest is at the forefront of baroque music

A RARE treat for classical music enthusiasts and baroque music lovers, an extraordinary acoustic performance was presented by foursome Red Priest at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur recently.

The concert themed Nightmare in Venice: A Baroque Fantasy, featured works by Vivaldi, Bach, Ortiz, Tartini and Cima.

Red Priest founding member Piers Adams (recorder) and his ensemble — David Greenberg (violin), Angela East (cello) and David Wright (harpsichord) — have been at the forefront of baroque music and the unique musicality of baroque instruments for many years, making it more accessible and giving it a commercial stamp for today’s listeners.

Before Red Priest, no other early music group in the world has been compared to the Rolling Stones, Jackson Pollock, the Marx Brothers, Spike Jones and the Cirque du Soleil.

Named after the flame-colour haired priest, Antonio Vivaldi, the acoustic ensemble has showcased its virtuosity in Europe, Japan and Australia, as well as North and Central America.

Red Priest’s recent releases include a swashbuckling collection entitled Pirates Of Baroque and the group’s all-Bach blockbuster, Johann, I’m Only Dancing.

Founded in 1997, the ensemble has been described as “outrageous yet compulsive” by critics and has performed sold-out concerts at many prestigious music festivals including the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Moscow December Nights Festival, Prague Spring Festival, Ravinia Festival and Bermuda Festival.

For its debut performance at DFP, the group’s repertoire included Vivaldi’s The Nightmare Concerto In G Minor and La Tempesta di Mare (Storm At Sea), Johnson/Strange’s An English Fantasy Suite, Purcell’s Two In One Upon A

Ground, Ortiz’s Two Recercadas, Tartini’s Senti Lo Mare (Listen To The Sea) and The Devil’s Trill, and Bach’s Prelude from Suite No. 5 for Cello.

“To make this music more a3ccessible, we develop the harmonies and structures in such a way we believe Vivaldi himself would have approved of,” explained Adams hours before the showcase.

“I would love to put on a big stage show featuring the history of the recorder through the ages to shake up classical music enthusiasts,” he adds.

Commenting on the group’s record label, Red Priest Recordings, which was launched in 2008, Adams said: “Classical recording industry is changing very rapidly at the moment and it’s becoming a lot harder to fight for the music.

That’s why we have our own label.”

Currently on a coast-to-coast tour of America, Red Priest will make its fourth visit to Japan, a debut tour in Taiwan, and perform in Germany, Italy, France, Norway and the UK.