Taeyeon => The Best of The Best

She is the leader of the nine. What does it mean to be the leader? There are many styles of leadership. She could have been autocratic, dictatorial, a little sexy Napoleon, but she chose the hardest path in leadership, one might argue that it was the worst path to take. Taeyeon shouldered the heaviest of burdens and chose to remain their friend. She leads by example, with encouragement and constant communication. I think it was Tiffany that said since they’d been together for so long that they would all know if something were not right, that if someone was feeling out of sorts, it was instantly understood, just by looking. There is an important piece of understanding in this. These nine are exceptional people. The nine together are simply the best at what they do, which is to entertain and captivate us. To do that, they need to be in concert, in an orchestration of harmony, with one agenda. If one member is missing, or not with the program, if one member is feeling out of sorts, or ill, if one member is down, it affects us all.

And yet they do it, day after day, days that stretch 16 to 20 hours or more of constant struggle, individually, in pairs and sub-groups, or as all nine, these girls spend more time with each other than any family I know. They sleep together, eat together, share bathrooms, looks, makeup, thoughts, dreams, tears, encouragement, clothes and love. The only one who keeps herself separate, the only one who maintains a slight emotional detachment is Tengu. Why is that?

What makes a girl like her tick? First there is an enormous societal issue. How did she become the leader? Well, in Korea it’s all about experience. When two strangers meet, the first thing they do is establish commonality. You’re a man, I’m a man, you’re a white man, I’m a white man, you’re a man dressed nicely in a business suit, I’m a man dressed nicely in a business suit. And things can progress smoothly. It’s human nature.

The more similar a person is to you, the more you can infer, because you know yourself. It’s incongruous when that nice white man in a business suit starts throwing gang signs or whips out crocheting needles and starts making you a nice sweater. It just doesn’t happen.

In a heterogeneous society, like America, there are taller walls for people to climb in terms of communication and expectation. But in Korea, it goes like this. You’re Korean, I’m Korean. You’re older, I’m younger. You lead, I follow. Of course it isn’t quite as simplistic as that, there is social stratification, educational boundaries, the rural and urban divide, but still, at the bottom it’s all ageism. Leader, unnie, dongsaeng, maknae, sunbae, hoobae. How well you do your duty, as expected of you, as expected of yourself defines worth and self-worth socially. Respect is the name of the game, giving and receiving, according to your role.

But being the leader, to a good leader, is more burden than benefit. Burden, burdensome, it’s a word used much more in Korean society than America. Boodamsae, burdensome. Expectation is a burden. The expectation that you will do your duty, without shirking. Imagine throwing a party for your peers. It lies on you to be entertaining, to have the place looking wonderful, the food and drinks must be top-notch, the conversation has to flow naturally, the awkward wallflowers have to be engaged. Good parties are rarities because good hosts are rare.

So what did it mean to Tengu? Now imagine, you’re going to debut. You’ve been training for years, learning how to move, and sing, how to hold yourself, how to behave in front of a camera. You’ve been doing that with friends, colleagues, fellow students, some you’re close with, some you’ve competed with, some you’ve seen leave and not return. It’s been very much a journey of self-improvement. And then the word comes. You’re going to debut with these eight girls. Some are close friends, some acquaintances, one or two you don’t really know. Oh, by the way, you’re the leader.

What sort of nightmare has this just become?

Imagine the pressure on Taeyeon. The expectation. If the girls fight, it’s on her. If one of them is lazy or doesn’t improve enough, it’s on her. If the group fails, it’s on her. Boodamsae? Yeah.

Thankfully she was blessed to have these eight, just as hungry for success as she was, just as willing to sweat and spend their tears as she was. But making them one, leading them forward and keeping herself separate, what fire that took, what strength.

She struggles to not outshine any of the others. She’s a powerhouse vocalist, incredibly talented, wise beyond her years, and is without a doubt, because of her decisions, the very best leader that Soshi could have ended up with. Flat out, Soshi is so exceptional in large part because she is who she is.

She’s barely into her 2nd decade, when most of her contemporaries are having fun in college, she’s riding herd on a platoon and in a warzone to boot. 2009 was THE year of Soshi, and they were on top of their game, every day. They certainly have the awards to prove it, but they also have the bruises, tears and exhaustion spent to earn every accolade and more. I think if any normal person were to live their schedule for a week, we would throw in the towel, or shoot an SM manager depending on whether the gun or towel were closer to hand. Imagine that kind of pressure, on kids barely through their teens. The only thing that allows them to get through another day is their support structure of family, friends, and most importantly each other.

Ah, but there’s the rub. Simply put, the rest of the girls can lean on each other, but Taeyeon has no one to lean on. She simply CAN’T, because a leader doesn’t lean. Add to that, the fact that her family is so far from Seoul. On the odd holiday that SME doles out to the girls, she stays in the dorm, while most of them get to go back to their families.

Is it any wonder that she has moments of doubt? Moments when she doesn’t want the burden of telling her friends to do something that they have to do? When she herself wants nothing more than to curl up in a ball and cry? She hides most of that from them, just as she mostly hides her tears from the camera.

What’s the upside to being a leader? No, not the automatic respect and deference that small minded people would enjoy. Just pride, pride at leading these girls to success after success. She GOOD at it. Results don’t lie, Soshi is the best, not because they are the best singers or dancers, but because they are one. People have their favorite members, I think that’s just human nature, but for me, I love whichever one I’m looking at at that moment. Not because I’m somehow immune from picking favorites, but because they are best when they are together.

Does something like SNSD just happen? Of course not, SNSD is unnatural, their lack of jealousy is the antithesis of fame-seeking, me-first, ambitious behavior. I mean here we have 9 very talented and beautiful girls, each unique, each driven to succeed, and what do we end up with? A family. A family that believes and challenges and supports each other. And it’s Taeyeon and her style of leadership that deserves the credit. She’s a nurturer, a true mother. She’s always happy to let one of her girls have the spotlight and the mic.

She’s extremely self-deprecating, ridiculously oddly beautiful, and hilarious. In her solo stage during the Soshi concert, when she’s singing Hush Hush, we get to see a Taeyeon that she hides so well. She’s a superstar, with megawatt sex bomb appeal. Our dorkmunster supreme can work the stage with the best of the best, and not give anything away. Her soaring vocals are the best of any idol. And that is only part of who she is. A small part.

I think the closest we get to the real girl inside is her as Chinchin’s DJ. She’s unconsciously entertaining. She can make faces, eat, talk, laugh with abandon, twirl a pen, pose for stills or bora and people will just stare or listen. She’s 158ish centimeters of pure entertainer. It’s no accident that just her speaking voice is enough to capture anyone’s attention. She doesn’t need to show anything more than a funny face to hold her own with any of the other girls. On IY, Sunny and Yuri are the pros. Through their work they let the others shine. Think about that. The best of T-Ara, BEG, Kara, Secret, and it’s two Soshi’s that lead the groups. And yet, when the nine are together, who is the leader, the one that lets the others shine?

There’s one scene of her, on Inkigayo, the Beauty Girls Talk Talk corner, where she’s with the leaders of Kara and 2NE1 and 4Minute. Firstly, of the four, she simply carried the conversation, naturally, without ego, she led the other leaders. I think it was Gyuri that was talking, being positioned at the edge of the group, and JiHyun from 4Minute didn’t want to crowd Taeyeon, so she was standing at a normal distance between them, which made Gyuri almost fall outside of the camera’s view. Like the true professional, and the true leader she is, she pulled the 4Minute leader close, one, to break the boundaries that only a sunbae could initiate, and two so that Gyuri would have her time in the camera. Even for the closing shot, she took an end spot, letting the two rookie leaders, JiHyun and CL have the center. This is what being a leader is.

That’s her greatest quality. Her confidence in herself. She knows she can shine brighter than almost anyone else, so she doesn’t need to. She knows she can speak better than anyone else, so she doesn’t need to. It’s only when it’s for the group that she opens her mouth, like on the KJE Chocolate show, when everyone else is in tears, she chokes it back, and stays with the program.

Except for Taeyeon, each of the members can be her own person, knowing there’s eight others waiting to catch them if they fall. I think she’s relaxing more, as the others continue to grow. I just hope, if Taeyeon needs to, that she can let herself go, and realize that asking for help isn’t a weakness, but giving her sisters back some of the trust they have in her.

Happy birthday Taeyeon, Soshi’s leader and heart.

Source : So Nyeo Shi Dae Addict, Soshism

Yuri => Balance

How does one understand Kwon Yuri, the hottest of the hot?

Without a doubt, she is the sexiest kpop idol. Flat out. No argument will sway me. Several thousand degrees hotter than incandescent, plasma arc hot. Yuri’s hotness would blow away every model that’s ever posed in any men’s mag. She’s just perfection made female. Really, there’s no other description that does her justice.

But what does it mean to be both smokin AND an idol in Soshi? It’s all about balance. The Black Pearl could have been a high wire act.

The first time I saw Yuri, actually noticed her as a person, was in the Chuesok Idol Special, their training room practice footage. I thought she was Yoona. (Cut me a little slack. It was a fairly grainy video.)

But even with how poor the video quality was, she drew my eyes. That was when I was trying to figure out who was who in the group, and the only one I knew with long black hair was Yoona. Yes, Yoona was sporting short colored hair at the time, but I had just gotten done watching the Gee video, aka Yoona of the long black locks and Yuri was the closest match. Only I realized, that’s not Yoona, she’s sexier than Yoona. And wow, whoever she is, she has presence.

Check out her solo bit in the Chocolate MV, when she’s on the glass bed. That is the pinnacle of her using her talents. And Black Soshi? Oh my. She’s not a very strong vocalist, but she uses what she has to devastating results in Chocolate Love and Run Devil Run.

HOW did she get so hot? Certainly genetics helped, but that’s at most half of the equation. You know the saying, ‘my body is a temple’? Yuri could have written that. She cares for her body, she trains it, sculpts it. Yoga was invented for her, or should have been. In a group of 9 outstanding individuals, women who’ve trained for years to maximize what they were born with, Yuri is simply in a class of her own. She took what Momma gave her and ran with it.

Body builders take an aspect of this to a different extreme, where it’s more about delineation, size and raw intimidation. It’s a severe display of the potential of the human genome. But she’s not a statue meant for posing. She’s delightfully dynamic, and in this artificial situation that requires such delicate balance she is the best in the game, the best in all of K-Pop.

What do I mean by that? Women in Korea are judged by a different standard than men. It’s the truth. Yuri knows that her sexiness is her greatest strength, but unlike Taeyeon’s talent in singing, or Hyoyeon’s talent for dance, her sex appeal is a two-edged weapon. One as apt to hurt her if she were to mis-judge and stumble as it is her most outstanding characteristic and quality. She’s simply perfect at walking that tightrope. She has to be.

Any K-Pop idol has to balance public expectation, personal pride, ridiculous schedules and arduous training with performance and rigorous scrutiny. Being an idol is NOT easy. For Yuri, it’s even more difficult. Examine for instance the hypocritical duality in the demands of the adoring public. An idol has to be sexy, but not too sexy. An idol has to know her perfect type, but never actually go out on a date. An idol has to be both virginal and alluring. She has to be both modest, and prideful, and not look like she’s being coy about it.

And she has to sell that duality. That’s unsaid in Korean society. It’s a given, everyone in the showbiz industry there knows it. If they’ve done too good a job selling the notion, of being too sexy, the oncoming backlash can be counted to hit within minutes if not seconds.

Think about that for a moment. They have to flaunt it, make the audience want it, dangle it out there, but not for an instant, MEAN IT. This is beyond difficult. There’s simply nothing analogous to it in the Hollywood scene. It’s like playing chicken, but instead of pink-slips, it’s their career on the line, or the reputation of the group they’re in.

Let’s contrast Yuri with Hyuna, from G7 and 4Minute. I love Hyuna. In G7, she’s the whiny maknae, she’s silly, immature and adorable. But in her solo activities, her image is all about the sexy. I’d say she’s much more risqué than Yuri. But for her, it’s just an act. Watch her for one minute on G7 and you’re hard pressed to see the connection between her and the dancer in 4Minute. That’s why she can get away with doing what she does.

But Yuri is Yuri. She’s hot opening a can of tuna, or punching microwave buttons.

On the other end, contrast her with Park Gyuri (who I really like), Kara’s leader. Gyuri’s arrogance and belief in her looks is her shtick, her identifying characteristic. If Yuri were to mimic her attitude, proclaim what is actually true, that she is the hottest of the hot, it would be too much, and another backlash would set in. It’s ironic. When one is truly gifted, to be accepted, to be acceptable, one has to downplay that gift and live humbly.

How does she do it? How does she maintain her image? There’s the outward superhot goddess, and then there’s the goof, the tongue-sticking-out-while-napping, talking-to-herself dork carrying a Yoona doll. She deflates her hotness by not taking it too seriously. Underneath the outward facing fire is the rest of Yuri. The good daughter, the good friend, the one that can put on a wig or glasses and make odd faces that belie the smoldering heat. And yet, she can slip into a one-piece dress and wear it casually while causing jaws to drop wherever the the internet reaches.

So, beyond the hotness, there’s the friend, the daughter, the clown and the goof. But after watching more and more of their interactions, I get a feeling that Yuri has a softness and vulnerability to her. She loves attention, and works hard to capture the eyes of any audience, but within the group her feelings are closer to the surface than the majority of the members. She’s sensitive and genuine. She’s really bad at trying to fake her emotions and when something bothers her, it has to be let out.

Yuri’s sex appeal is powerful, but it’s as if she’s living with a tiger. She has to always be in control, or it can cause serious damage. Powerful, beautiful, sleek and deadly. That would be Yuri.

So here my picture of WHY Soshi is so exceptional is starting to come into focus. Soshi has the best leader in Taeyeon, the best maknae in Seohyun, the cutest member in Sunny, the best dancer in Hyoyeon, the coolest presence in Jessica, the most heart in Tiffany, the best enforcer in Sooyoung, the strongest idol in Yoona, and the hottest member in Yuri, who can be such a draw and still maintain the true meaning of Soshi. Really, each of them contributes their best qualities to the Soshi gestalt. It’s no wonder they dominate their industry.

Source : So Nyeo Shi Dae Addict, Soshism

Yoona => Strength

I’ve wanted to express my opinion about Yoona for quite sometime, but it’s difficult. No matter how much I’ve been thinking about the ‘face’ of Soshi, she’s really tough to conceptualize. It’s like trying to read a forest and realizing I’m standing too close. Take a step back. Another, another, another. No matter how far back I step, I still can’t see all of her.

I do know that Yoona is as close to the complete package as exists in idol hood.

So, no matter how much I’ve studied her, for me Yoona is still very much a mystery. I know her members know the real her, because she’s loved so much within the group, but she’s either REALLY good at hiding the real Yoona, or we’re seeing the real Yoona every time the cameras roll. She either hides everything or nothing. I have to believe it’s the latter. She’s probably the most photographed and filmed member, but the dumbfounding thing about her is that no matter how much we’ve seen of her to date, I think we’ve only scratched the surface. This girl is DEEP.

So many idols cultivate one facet, one view that they present to the public, but Yoona is a constantly moving target. She’s a CF model, an actress, a dancer, a dongsaeng, an unnie, a student, an utter beauty, sexy or goofy, a total prankster, awkward and graceful, naturally thin, but with an incredible s-line (the result of endless hard work in a gym, you can be sure), delicate and strong, playful, moody, angel and brat, self-aware, self-deprecating, prideful, humble, quiet and loud. She’s killer in the signature Soshi tight jeans. She rivals Yuri in that respect. She can laugh with her whole body like Sunny, and then shut it off by main will alone and do the job.

And about that job. She’s dead serious about work. Professional enough to humble most professionals. She’s a girl who’s never dated, but can pull off acting like a married woman. Get this. She practiced her emotions by recording herself making faces in the mirror. What does that say about her skill and natural talent? Simply mind blowing? Yeah. I’ll go with that. When she was filming her daily drama, she worked incredible hours, went to high school, and did the Soshi schedule. Yes, SM cut her a lot of slack when there were conflicts, but that just meant there was rarely a free moment in her life. The others knew that, and while the impulse for jealousy might be a natural reaction considering her success, knowing what she was going through, I seriously doubt any of them envied her the sheer amount of work it required. The award for best newcomer? Icing. Sheer icing.

Another thing I can’t get a handle on is her beauty. Without a doubt, she is. But HOW? Really, eggs and foreheads don’t have anything to do with this. It’s all internal. Many people who are used to being photographed know they have certain angles that appeal more than others. That’s why you only see one angle in numerous photographs, because the person being photographed is trying to present their best side. They’ve studied themselves.

Yoona doesn’t do this. Browse the internet. The pictures of her are left facing, right facing, chin up, chin down, straight on. Endless variety. She’s one of those people that can be beautiful from almost any angle, and at the SAME time, not be. It’s like she has a beauty switch she can throw on and off at will. IF she wants, she’s heartbreakingly beautiful. If she doesn’t she can be plain, or just plain odd. It’s not a matter of camera angles, hair styles, make up, or any of the typical methods idols use. She IS or ISN’T depending on what she wants to show.

Watch any Soshi video, and if Yoona is present, she’s usually front and center. I thought for a long time about why that is. She isn’t like Jessica or Yuri with their cool or hot in-your-face sex appeal. Sorry, she’s not. But there is something there. Is it her doe eyes with their soft and innocent appeal? Perhaps. But contrast that with her mouth. She’s got a way of holding her mouth, slightly crooked, which is more evident when she smiles or laughs. And her laugh is genuine in that it’s utterly hers, not designed but natural. There’s nothing ladylike about it and falls outside of the classic definition of beauty. Alligator. That’s Yoona. No, the reason I think she’s the center of any Soshi formation is because she’s at that crux, between girl and woman. She’s innocent and alluring, non-threatening, promising but never a temptress. She embodies that perfectly. That’s WHO she is.

Maybe that’s my issue. I’m comfortable when I can classify things. This belongs here, that belongs there. Yoona belongs everywhere. She’s comfortable anywhere, in any crowd. She’s the ideal type for a lot of celebrities, but nothing is overwhelming for her. She has no spazz button, no thing or person that causes her to lose herself. It’s always self-possession. A centeredness that is way beyond her years.

Without a doubt she is treasured by her members, no matter how she’s always picked out as the ‘face’ of Soshi. And the pressure of always being under the gun? Always a camera pointing at her? It doesn’t faze her. She just shines and lets us see who she is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her embarrassed. Frankly, at this point, I have to believe that nothing is beyond her strength or depth. I really do believe that.

She’s simply incredible.

Source : So Nyeo Shi Dae Addict, Soshism

SNSD’s Jessica nicknamed “honey skin beauty”

SNSD Jessica telah mengumpulkan ketertarikan untuk kesempurnaannya, kulit seperti madu.

Baru-baru ini foto Jessica di "Delight Sweet" rekaman lagu untuk merek SPC diturunkan. Banyak orang segera melihat kecantikan dan kulit mulus nya, memberi nama padanya " Kecantikan Kulit Madu."

Netizens berkomentar, "Anda bahkan tidak bisa melihat titik, kulitnya sempurna," " Sekarang waktunya untuk memanggil dia kulit selembut madu sekarang" dan "Saya ingin mendengarkan lagu-nya."

Jessica "Sweet Delight" akan dirilis sebagai single digital pada 13 Oktober.

Park Min Young adores SNSD’s Jessica

Park Minyoung, actress yang saat ini sedang sibuk syuting 'Sungkyungkwan Scandal' bersama Micky Yoochun DBSK, menunjukkan persahabatannya bersama Jessica SNSD.
Melalui twitter-nya, dia men-post foto Jessica dan menulis sesuatu.
Dia berkata, " Dongsaengku tercinta, Jess^^ Ketika kembali dari Jepang, dia membelikan unnie-nya beberapa permen lezat. Saya tidak dapat menahan memujanya "


Source : All Kpop

Co-Ed’s Chan Mi was supposed to debut in SNSD?

Banyak rumor terdengar bahwa dia akan debut bersama F(x) juga. Meskipun ia hanya trainee, ia cukup memiliki popularitas di beberapa fanpage dan cafe.
Netizen berkomentar, " Dia cocok bergabung dalam SNSD. Saya merasakan kekuatan besar dari mendengar vokalnya. Saya kira itu karena dia seorang trainee yang cukup lama "