Spotify Asia launches the best of K-Pop playlist!

Attention all music lovers - hallyu is taking Spotify by storm!

The world’s leading music streaming service today rolls out its first-ever curated Asian playlist bringing music fans the best of K-Pop.

K-Pop Daebak!

K-Pop Daebak (that's the Korean word for 'awesome') features the hottest songs from all-time favourite Korean idols, such as BigBang, 2NE1, EXO, and Girls’ Generation, upcoming rookie groups BTS, Boys Republic, Akdong Musician & Red Velvet, as well as the latest releases from Super Junior, Taemin, B1A4 and HyunA.

The playlist also includes the debut single from YG Entertainment’s newest group, WINNER, who has recently launched their album, 2014 S/S, on Spotify. WINNER’s track, Empty, has been dominating various music charts for the entire month since the album launch. The five-member boy band is YG Entertainment’s first boy group in eight years since BigBang.

K-Pop fans can now bob their heads to the latest hits and all-time favorites in the Hallyuwood sphere on the Spotify Asia page with a playlist that’s going to be updated regularly. Check out Spotify’s K-Pop Daebak playlist here.



About Spotify
Spotify is an award-winning digital music service that gives you on-demand access to over 20 million tracks. Our dream is to make all the world’s music available instantly to everyone, wherever and whenever you want it.

Spotify makes it easier than ever to discover, manage and share music with your friends, while making sure that artists get a fair deal. Spotify is now available in 56 markets globally with more than 40 million active users, and over 10 million paying subscribers.

Since its launch in Sweden in 2008, Spotify has driven more than US$1bn to rights holders. Spotify is now the second biggest source of digital music revenue for labels in Europe, and the biggest and most successful music streaming service of its kind globally.

*Number of tracks licensed globally. Catalogue size varies per market and can also change over time.

Spazz Saturday #4 | Zumba. Kpop. ALife!

This week's edition of Spazz Saturday is all about fitness!


Oh yes. I've been bitten by the Zumba bug. And because I want my Zumba sessions to be more fun and interesting, I searched online for workout routines using Kpop music. This is how I stumbled upon Crazy Sock TV - the official YouTube channel of fitness instructor Bradley Sutton.

Bradley is a licensed fitness instructor who specializes in the Zumba Fitness program. From a "265 pound sumo wrestling out-of-shape guy with no dance experience", Bradley became the 185 pound, healthy, dance fitness maniac who wears crazy socks and the Coolest Shoes.
Based in San Marcos, California, Bradley currently holds classes at the ShadowRidge Dance Center every Tuesday and Sunday.
Check out this 'I am the Best' workout routine by Bradley and friends - one of my favorites in his YouTube channel.

Bradley's Zumba videos, along with my low-carb, high-fiber diet PLUS A!Life Control are the perfect partners in the quest to regain my long-lost size 2 figure. Haha!

Oh, and you may now vote for your favorite photos in the Take Control, Live the A!Life promo! Voting period opens today, and ends on September 28, 2012. The two photos with the most 'likes' will be selected by the panel of judges and event organizers. Winners will be announced on October 5, 2012.

He's a Small Wonder.

A few days ago, I heard my son singing this out of the blue, "Naega jeil jal naga... naega jeil jal naga!" This means "I am the best", which is the chorus of 2NE1's hit song, I Am the Best. I was astonished, of course, because as far as I could remember, he heard this song no less than five times before. 


And then the other day, while we were at Bench shopping for my Super Junior shirt, the little man began belting out, "I love you, Baby I'm not a monster, Neon al janha ireoke kajima!" 
That's from the chorus of Big Bang's Monster, with the Hangul part meaning "You know me so don't leave like this." While he hears this song quite often - from the MYX Daily Top 10, at Arirang's Pops in Seoul, and from my 'Still Alive' CD - I never thought he'd be able to decipher the lyrics considering it's a Big Bang song.


My son has a pretty good memory - something I discovered even before he turned two. But I never expected his memory to be THIS amazing. 

He could already be working on his undergraduate thesis for all I know, lol.

Today, I came across an article from Austega, which gave me a better understanding of giftedness in my child. Looking at it from a broader spectrum, a gifted child exhibits exceptional ability in terms of the following:

• general intellect
• specific academic aptitude
• creative thinking and production
• leadership
• psychomotor
• visual and performing arts

A detailed list of characteristics can be found in this article.

The Circle of Moms simplifies this with an easy-to-understand checklist. The '20 Signs of Giftedness' are listed below:

1. Has early interest in words and reading
2. Has exceptionally large vocabulary for their age
3. Learns rapidly, easily and efficiently
4. Is curious about objects or situations, asks provocative questions; enjoys exploratory activities
5. Has an unusually strong memory, but is bored with memorization and recitation
6. Is flexible in thinking patterns; makes unusual associations between remote ideas 
7. Is independent
8. Has a wide range of interests
9. Demonstrates unusual reasoning power
10. Likes structure, order and consistency
11. Show unusual degrees of originality, concentration and persistent hard work on projects that capture their interest and imagination
12. Is perceptually open to his or her environment
13. Has an advanced sense of humor
14. Is sensitive to the feelings of others
15. Shows more interest in creative effort and new activities than in routine and repetitive tasks
16. Shows an intense interest and aptitude in an artistic activity, such as drawing, singing, dancing, writing, or playing a musical instrument
17. Is intellectually playful, interested in fantasy, imagination 
18. Acts as a leader among children of their own age
19. Tries to excel in almost everything she does
20. Senses when problems exist; always trying to adapt or improve things

*Note that no one gifted child exhibits all of these characteristics.

Highlighted in bold are the traits which we have observed in my son so far. And by 'we' that means I, my siblings, Yue's kindergarten teacher, and even the school directress.

Feel free to refer to this list as you discover and nourish the giftedness of your own child. As for me, I'm looking forward to being further amazed and astounded by my little progeny. :)