Tag: Korean Popular Music

Waiting For Donghun ~ Celebrating 600 Days! (Day 600)

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Well, it’s official, and I am taking this auspicious 600th day of Donghun’s service to make an announcement: Donghun has become a father!!! Not in the conventional sense, of course, but a dad nonetheless. Back on February 21st, DH took to A.C.E’s official Daum Cafe and left a sweet message about his new parental status, introducing us to his sweet little poodle pup, Valen.

Welcome to the A.C.E family little one! I hope we see more of you in the coming days, especially in celebration of your appa’s discharge which is just 38 days away. Congratulations Donghun! And to little Valen, I hope you are ready to meet all of your Choice aunties from across the globe!

~šŸ’™~

Next Waiting For Donghun update: Day 608 ~ A.C.E 6th Anniversary!
[Donā€™t forget to follow Donghun on Instagram ~~> dhl2e]

Playlist Roulette ~ Myself [Monsta X]

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Oh my, can it be? TheĀ Playlist RouletteĀ is making a return? Really? It has been so long and there has been so much music released Ā (along with new group debuts) during the long hiatus from this blog series that I had to spend a good deal of time adding more music to theĀ Strictly KoreanĀ playlist (from where these songs shuffle their way out) to bring it current. Yet, as always, the shuffle gods have a mind of their own, and decided a great B-side from Monsta X’s second studio album,Ā Take.1 Are You There? was the perfect choice to bring this series back. And, if you ask me, they chose well . . . really well.

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[Musings] Dreams Do Come True ~ OnlyOneOf in Chicago

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Even though the winds this past week have diminished a bit in my K-pop sails, I did prepare this post about my OnlyOneOf concert experience and want to publish it before they end theirĀ Grand America Tour. If you are a K-pop stan, be extra kind to your ults, faves, not so faves as well as fellow fans and fandoms. We never know how much time we have in this realm and it will always be better spent being loving, tolerant and kind.

* * *

I know. I have been mostly absent. Quite a bit absent, to be honest. Even with a relatively active K-pop concert schedule in 2022, I never felt the push to sit down and write about any of those experiences, even when they were off the chain fantastic – I’m looking at you CIX and Monsta X!! But the sheer miracle of OnlyOneOf putting together a US tour, AND coming to my city, has moved me in ways that I can only describe asĀ miraculous. I have to talk about it, share some pics and video footage because it was THAT fantastic.

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Waiting For Donghun ~ Celebrating Under 100 Days! (Day 540)

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

It’s official!!! Donghun has under 100 days remaining in his military service! Since it has been a minute since our lastĀ DH Fan-artastic offering, I decided it would be nice to showcase a little Donghun fan art for this countdown day. German artist, Quilianna created a wonderful rendition of DH sipping a glass of wine a la theĀ Under Cover era, and it is simply intoxicating.

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Waiting For Donghun ~ Happy Birthday Donghun! (Day 524)

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Oh my goodness gracious Mr. Lee Donghun is officially 30 years old!!!!! Now I know by some K-pop standards and to some K-pop fans, that pushes him right into ahjeossi-land. But when you are aĀ mature K-pop fan such as yours truly, dirty thirty is prime! Oh, and let me be clear: when I say mature, I mean senior citizen halmoeni-esque mature! So, how shall we celebrate such a momentous occasion on Day 524 and Donghun’s 30th revolution around the sun?! How about an explosion of DH fan cams? It’s his special day, so why not? Let’s go!

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Waiting For Donghun ~ Celebrating 500 Days! (Day 500)

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

It is the 500th day of Donghun’s military service!! 5-0-0! Amazing, right? The end of his service is a mere 138 days away ~ we are truly almost there!Ā I don’t know if you would agree, but these 500 days have actually moved rather quickly. Of course for those yearning for all of our A.C.E men to return, I know, I know ~ it’s draaaagggging!! Anyway, for this special marker, I felt like traveling back to 2019 and theĀ Savage era. This was actually the era where I became an official Choice and it was during this era where I first saw A.C.E live on stage in my city! So both the era and the song itself hold special meaning for me personally. That said, A.C.E turned things up a notch with Savage,Ā served up some formidable violence, and our Dong Dong was there every step of the way full of swag, attitude and fire.

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Waiting For Donghun ~ Happy Lunar New Year ~ Year of the Water Rabbit (Day 487)

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

ģƒˆķ•“ ė³µ ė§Žģ“ ė°›ģœ¼ģ„øģš”!! Welcome to the Year of the Water Rabbit! Here we are ushering in yet another Lunar New Year with our resident Water Rooster, Donghun! I wonder if the water element will work some kind of special magic for Donghun. Well, for one, he has a mere 152 days remaining in his service and 2023 will see 4/5 of A.C.E sprung from military duties so all-in-all it is already shaping up to be a pretty good year, right?

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Waiting For Donghun ~ Happy DH New Year 2023! (Day 466)

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Wow…when we began this journey it was the year 2021 and here we are embarking upon yet another new year – but this time we are so much closer to Donghun’s discharge so the celebration feels all that much more festive! We are nearing the home stretch of our ethereal main vocal’s service as discharge is less than six months away, and time is moving rapidly (although for some of you I am sure it drags as you wait for DH to return).

Well my lovelies, at least we can say that with this new year, DH isĀ reallyĀ coming back! And listen, we will also get Wow, Junhee and Byeongkwan back in 2023 as well, so we will literally have 4/5 of A.C.E back this year! 2023 is feeling quite promising, right?! Our baby sunshine Chan will be set free in February 2024. Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s just focus on this very moment and the start of a new year!

I wish Donghun, his dear A.C.E brothers (omg, I cannot explain how much I miss them) and all of you a most healthy, happy and prosperous 2023.

āœØHappy New Year!!!āœØ

~šŸŽ†~

Next Waiting For Donghun update: Day 487~ Happy Lunar New Year!
[Donā€™t forget to follow Donghun on Instagram ~~> dhl2e]

Waiting For Donghun ~ Merry Donghun Christmas! (Day 459)

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Our second Christmas celebration of the countdown and Donghun is now just a mere six months from discharge. I hope that the light at the end of the tunnel seems brighter as we slowly creep towards completion. But you know, baby steps right? We have a few more milestones to celebrate before we welcome Donghun back which include another birthday celebration in February. Yes, our main vocal will return to us two years older and all the more wiser, I am sure. If you have been following Donghun on Instagram, you will have noticed that he keeps readily in touch with his many updates and appears to be enjoying the hiatus. He looks healthy and happy! And, that is all we can wish for during this holiday season for him and always!

Merry, Merry Christmas!!

~šŸŽ„~

Next Waiting For Donghun update: Day 466~ Happy Donghun New Year!
[Donā€™t forget to follow Donghun on Instagram ~~> dhl2e]

Waiting For Donghun ~ Celebrating Under 200 Days! (Day 440)

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Wow…..the long road continues to shorten! When we started this journey at 638 days and counting, getting into the 100’s seemed like a distant dream. True, time marches on without hesitation or break, but I think we all can agree that some days seem to just drag out longer than others. And that can be frustrating while waiting for an end point. TheĀ ‘are we there yet’ rings louder when we are so close and yet still so far. Hopefully, this little series has helped keep the journey somewhat entertaining. So what little tidbit do I have to share to celebrate Donghun having less than 200 days remaining in his service? Well. This one blew my mind. I did not know pre-debut Donghun shared the stage with my beloved GOT7. But HE DID! And, it was by way of a little mystery music game show called I Can See Your Voice [ė„ˆģ˜ ėŖ©ģ†Œė¦¬ź°€ ė³“ģ—¬].

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