Clarification: I named my blog after the song "Met You By Chance" JDH performed in May 2014. I never really met the guy. I "met him by chance" on Youtube.
Now, October 2014 I'm starting to write these ramblings because I want to sort out my thoughts and feelings about 정동하 - Jung Dong Ha, a South Korean singer who won me by storm sometime in February 2014.
I will be musing about him, make remarks about his voice, his talent as a performer, his looks, and basically everything.
I'm a FAN again!
Somebody once said that Jung Dong Ha must be a "rainman". He has several songs on his list that talk about rain. There is "Rain", and "Early Rain", and now it's "Rainwater".
I really like this performance. But I actually have a critical comment about it. This performance shows how NOT to win Immortal Song. Dong Ha comes on stage to sing a gut wrenching, intensely desperate song of sadness and longing. But before he begins, he makes a silly joke about his raincoat, and asks if he looks good. If you joke lightly like this, and then make tragic faces while singing, it doesn't come across as genuine. The emotions look fake to the audience, hence the people don't vote for you. That is my comment of the video.
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I really love how Dong Ha sings the song though, with over the top screaming, and everything else.
I love it all.
I love the guitarist, too.
Only, I hate this raincoat.
I haven't posted anything lately for a few weeks. This is because I'm trying to avoid being fun-girly on this blog. I'm really trying to be as emotionally "detached" as possible from this amazing singer, and I'm trying to stay dignified, or at least not be sentimental. But every time I open these pages to add something, I have to fight the temptation to just gush about him like a 13 yr old.
Recently I've been in such a mood for gushing and eeing about him, so then I gave up to post anything, because it might make me look weird. Even though Anna in Hungary encouraged me very much, by basically saying that there is nothing wrong with loving a singer from afar, because "love and devotion are ageless", I still feel dubious.
So, for this Throw Back Thursday, I'm sharing one of my many favorite performances by JDH, from Immortal Song2 - Param, param, param (Wind, wind wind).
This was December 2012 - he had only debuted on that TV show in September that same year, but his presence was already very strong. He won the hearts of that audience multiple times in the following years. How not to adore him!?
I wish he would come to give a concert in the US, somewhere withing 500 miles from me...But I don't think it will happen any time soon. He is so happy in Korea, doing wonderfully, receiving lots of love from fans there. Why would he want to come to the US for? Maybe to give some love to the faithful fans who can't go to Korea?
Jung Dong Ha often adds theatrics element to his performances. It was particularly visible in the earlier appearances on Immortal Songs2 TV singing competition (2012-2014), but he's been doing some theatrics on a smaller scale, while giving live concerts. I will post some video examples.
It is my understanding, that when the word "theatrics" is used, it is in negative, unflattering, almost derogatory meaning. It's considered something cheesy. It's almost as if the artist uses some kind of "tricks" in his/her performance to attract attention, or to cover their shortcomings as far as real talent. So the talent inadequacies are masked by theatrics.
Sometimes it's true.
But I definitely love when Jung dong Ha does this, I always enjoy it a lot. I feel that his theatrics, sometimes unexpected, make his performances
richer, more colorful, and easy to remember. He himself must like doing it too, since he adds theatrics every now and then. I do not think he overuses it.
When he debuted on Immortal Songs2 in September 2012, he already made a big splash, not only by his voice, but also falling on his knees during his song, to covey desperation. The very first performance:
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But the ultimate theatrics, and most memorable JDH performance of this kind, the one that people still mention when reminiscing about the past IS2 shows, came 2 month later, in November 2012.
Here, Dongha did a whole spectacle, while performing song "Wind". I read an old interview with him, translated into English, in which he said that he had put a lot of work into learning the entire fight choreography, and that he was proud of himself that he did it.
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Here below is another example, again from Immortal Song in 2013. Someone commented on YouTube, that Dongha is playing a game "how many genres can I fit into one song". Funny comment. ^_^ The song's name is something like "I Love Seoul". I love how he plays orchestra director in the beginning. With this performance, he won that particular episode of Immortal Song2, probably because everybody was enjoying themselves so much. ♥
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And in February 2016, during a very special yearly concert dedicated to the late singer Kim Kwang Seok, before performing "About Being Thirty Years Old", Dong Ha is seen sitting at a table in front of bottles of soju. It is probably referring to a phrase by Kim Kwang Seok, that a good song is like a bottle of soju; the more you have, the more you like it. This song expresses a lot of melancholy by a young man who reached age of 30, and is not happy with his lack of accomplishments. Dong Ha talks, playing a role of that man, having a conversation with a friend.
This was a winning performance on Immortal Song2 in June 2015. The song name is "If You Are Like Me"
Dongha starts while sitting, like he often does for the beginning parts of some songs. His voice is so soft, and soothing, but you can hear some deep sadness. For about 2/3 of the length of the song he continues in very subdued manner, without his usual belting. A few times his voice goes into higher notes, like a little bit of weeping. Even when he stands up, which usually is followed by his very forceful singing, he continues with tenderness and melancholy. Only for the last minute, he gradually increases the volume, as if he couldn't keep it bottled down, and had to shout out his anguish.
Nothing more to say, it was a wonderful performance; everybody agreed.
What a fantastic performance this is! I loved it the first time, and I love it now. The instrumental arrangement is great, as with many, many Korean pop songs. They are such creative, and talented musicians. In my mind I can hear clearly the piano, rhythmically imitating the running train.
But I also have a very personal, emotional connection to this song.
It happened by chance, just like the discovery of Jung Dong Ha!
The connection is this:
Last August 2016, I went to South Korea to visit Miki. Miki was living in Songdo-Incheon, teaching English in one of the private schools. But during his first Korean trip, he had lived in Jecheon - little town in the middle of the country. He had befriended a wonderful Korean couple, who had taken him under their wings, and "adopted" him, as their third adult child.
Both of us were invited to visit them in August 2016. We spent 2 and 1/2 days with them, traveling around the area in their van. Mr.Kwon, "the best driver in the world", liked to have the car radio on. I wasn't paying attention to the background music, but at some point, I suddenly heard the familiar tune! It was the Whale Hunt song, a different version, not rock style, sang by a group of men - some kind of old recording. Nevertheless my heart jumped!
And then, Mr. Kwon behind the wheel, burst into singing together with the radio!
Therefore, whenever I hear it, I always think about our Jecheon adventures. Forever ♥
The first time I heard the song, and the name of it,"Whale Hunt", I was a bit perplexed.
So I asked Miki: "does this song really talk about hunting the whales?" Miki listened to it, and said that yes, but it also is talking about a trip on a train. It talked about jumping on a train, and going to the sea, to catch a whale. Well, I thought it was a little strange, since to capture a whale, don't you jump on a boat, not a train?
I had an inside feeling that there was a different meaning to this song. My online search revealed the lyrics, and reading them, I thought the "whale" must be a metaphor for dreams.
Recently I found some more background information. The song, "Gorae Sanyang" is from 1975, by a famous singer Song Chang-Sik. The 60-ties and 70-ties were a difficult period for Koreans. I will quote from the blog Not your average K-pop I found lately. "(...) lyrics that reflected the depressed period that Korea was going through, under the military government.
Folk music, flare jeans, men’s long hair, acoustic guitar were all symbols of defiance in Korea between 60’s and 70’s.
Especially, folk music that liberally spread the message of freedom was
the target of military police enforcement. Men with a long hair were
caught because they were most likely folk music fans and it meant they
would possibly protest against the government. It was a dark, oppressing
time (...) The government excessively censored music and a number of music were banned for ridiculous reasons.(...) “Gorae Sanyang” was banned because of the title of the song, which means
“Whale Hunting” in English. But really, the government knew what it
implied.(...)In the song, the whale symbolizes the dream and hope. Especially of the
young who were trampled, jailed, and even killed by the government
because they claimed their civil rights and spread the truth about
government corruption.(...)Musicians during this time couldn’t write the lyrics they wanted because
of the strict censorship. They had to use metaphors, which
unintentionally resulted in beautiful music.(...)
Only a deep sadness no matter how much drinking, singing, and dancing.
Looking around to see what to do, but all I see is people turned their back on.
Leave for the East Sea, take a local train, a third-class seat.
A dream from last night is forgotten when you wake up
But the dream that is remembered is the small, lovely whale
Leave for the East Sea, to catch the whale alive and breathing like a myth
Even though our love would be shattered, even though we would lose everything at once
We have it vividly in our heart, the lovely whale
I was so impressed when I saw during the performance, that the audience was totally familiar with the lyrics, and people were mouthing them together with the singers on stage. I'm really glad that Jung Dong Ha was a part of such a performance. It was entertaining, yet meaningful.
{EXPLANATION: This post was first written and was intended to be published in May 2016. I was procrastinating. I had it in the drafts, and I had thought it would keep it's May 2016 date, but as soon as I started editing lately, it automatically switched to the current date.Ugh.}
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So. I am quite disappointed with the way things turned out on the recent episode of Immortal Song 2 (episode 245). Some kind of weird injustice happened. What was the audience thinking, when they gave Jung Dong Ha the LAST place ??!!?? It's unbelievable to me. A travesty really.
It's true, that I'm speaking from the point of view of devoted/enthusiastic/crazy JDH fan, and also from the point of view of someone who likes the particular style of the song he performed.
I was totally pleased, when I only first heard that Dong Ha would be performing a jazzy song. When this day finally came, and I listened to it, and saw the video, I loved it! Not that I would like Dong Ha to always sing in this style, but it was something new to hear him perform this kind of bossanova/smooth jazz/sleepy elevator song. I can understand that Korean audience is not very fond of jazz - that's what was explained to me. I can understand that Dongha did not win this time. But he got the least number of votes of all 7 singers! Seriously?
I enjoyed listening to the video multiple times for a few days on You Tube, and I had firmly believed this was one of the most memorable performances of his on that competition.
Then one evening I decided to view the video clip with my streaming
device, on the large screen TV. And, wow, it hit me hard. The song itself is more or less telling a story of a
man who who is in deep regret after a break-up. He blames himself for missing a chance for a true love. Link: Immortal Song 2 YouTube, April2, 2016 "Swamp"
Once I saw it on a large TV screen, I was like struck by lightning.
My face was like this : I was
thinking, "what is going on?" Is that him, that sexy man?" I just couldn't take my eyes off of him, looking at that performance. He let himself go completely. He does that often, though not always. But in this video it's so enchanting! I find the video of him singing this song addictive - I especially like to watch the second half, when he is standing by the microphone. What is he doing with his body? His whole body is singing! He is swaying, and trembling, doing some weird jumps, and everything! And at the end, he is just smiling to himself. His own singing made him happy. I was so under the spell, so mesmerized and so flustered by the impact that video had on me, that the next morning, during a chat with another fan, I expressed myself a little too recklessly, lol.
The exchange was very excited between me and the other fan, an here is what I said: Me:Yes, I was going to say too, he was jumping...Yes, passionate... (...) He was able to express so much with this performance. Hopefully the TV viewers could see that clearly. (...) Maybe it's different for the audience. (comment on the fact that Dong Ha received the LOWEST number of points on that day from the audience in the studio) (...) And the veins on his neck! At the end. Awesome! (...) I
will say something, just about this particular performance . He is very
mesmerizing when he performs, because there is something unusual about
him, some sort of magnetism. I guess it's called charisma. Charisma on stage - he has it always. But specifically in this video, he is simply sexy as hell. (...) I really do not like to use this expression, but nothing else come to my mind. I do not have a habit of describing beautiful, or attractive people as sexy. But hey, why deny it, when it's there?
After this dialogue I felt embarrassed, and apologized to my facebook friend. That girl is way younger, she could be my daughter, and she knows it that I am an old (ish) lady. I chastised myself for not being able to control what I say. But she said this was nothing offensive, and also referred me to the small video, which showed how other singers in the waiting room backstage reacted to his performance. Wow, singer Hong Ji Min, could not hold back how she felt.
*OMG! I just watched the video clip with English subtitled posted by 이한미 on FB.
*You were so right, the comments in the waiting room were exactly the same as what I said yesterday! And look at Hong Ji Min, wow, she saw the exact same thing.
*I saw everything Hong Ji Min was talking about.
* It feels so STRANGE, that people on two different sides of the Earth Hemisphere would have the same impression, and comment in the same way.
*I had thought I went overboard. I feel better now.
*This was precious!
My reaction to dh performance was unusual, because I'm normally tame and composed.
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After the Immortal Song 2 Ep. 245 aired on TV, One Hallyu Blogdescribed the performance like this: "Veteran rock singer Jung Dong Ha covers Swamp by Jo Kwan Woo, a
ballad released in 1994. Dong Ha sits on a chair while his guitarist
plays a chilling tune. Dong Ha makes a suave start by using a sultry
tone. Like a possessed man, he feels the music while in complete control
of his vocals. In the chorus, he continues to play with dynamics, which
compels you to keep on listening for more. After a short pause, he does
a few powerful adlibs that leaves Sandeul in amazement. He then
quickens the pace and stands up to show off his rock roots. That is,
belting high notes and transitioning into head voice like a walk in a
park. He goes for broke on his last sustained screechy high note to
finish the performance."
They sure are right. He is "like a possessed man" sometimes on stage
He was having fun with a folk song!!! What an energy! This was on Immortal Song 2 TV program in 2013.
By the time I saw this video for the first time around mid 2014, I had already started paying attention to him on you tube, because of dozens of videos I discovered, mostly from IS2 and some from live concerts. Somehow I created an image of him in my mind, of a young singer with completely awesome voice, but very serious and solemn, and specializing in epic ballads. Turned out I was quite a bit wrong. Suddenly I discovered he had many different sides. Suddenly I saw his adorable youthfulness, as well as his humorous side. First, through the somewhat parody-like "Companion", and very soon after that, this one: "Kwengjina Chingchinane".
Discovery of Jung Dong Ha's playful side thrilled me very much. "Well, he is completely different than I thought, and I like it!" - that was my conclusion. And I stopped hesitating whether I should become his fan. "Of course, I should!" Who else can thrill me as much, and who else is able to deliver all kinds of emotions through his singing. Nobody that I know of.
The video below, is just a small example how very energetic on stage he can be, and how his enthusiasm is so very contagious. He does it so well - invites the audience to have fun together with him, and for a moment forget about the everyday troubles.
I really love the use of traditional Korean instruments in this song.
(Note to myself: do the throw-back Thursdays on regular basis. It should be easier to post than specific subject blogs. Maybe subject blogging is too ambitious for me, resulting in big gaps in posts. I don't lack ideas, but it's always difficult for me to write what I want in one sitting. Then I keep my unfinished posts in drafts folder for too long, and they become stale).
What a great run in that singing contest on TV. Jung Dong Ha is the winner four times in a row. It's very well deserved, with every performance just fascinating! Contrary to the circulating rumors, he was not de-throned after three times on the show - he won the 4th time, and is still THE KING.
A couple of days after the very successful debut in Seoul as Prince Kalaf in Turandot The Musical, Dong Ha had two wonderful public, very much appreciated, performances. He must have been very happy with these successes, because they involved performing songs by his two most favorite singers/songwriters.
Dong Ha have spoken very often, and quite emotionally about those two. They are both named KIM, by their last name, they are both deceased, and they both died in a tragic way, around of age of 30. They both are treated with highest reverence by the Koreans, who appreciate these guys talents (also, there is something about Koreans that they seem to dwell on death a lot). I have often mixed the two of them, couldn't remember which song was by whom, so I will put them here in my blog, so that I can always go back, and remind myself about them.
Kim Hyun Sik
Kim Hyun Sik–basically died of overdrinking. The truth is,
he was an alcoholic. WIKIPEDIA: “ he was one of the most popular singers in
Korea, in the 1980s, with his unique vocal style that ofteninvolved shouting. He died of liver disease
on November 1, 1990, at the age of 32”.He left a son behind.
Jung Dong Ha's legendary performance on Immortal Soong2 in the past, has been Kim Hyun Sik's "Like Rain, Like Music". The song, together with video clips of the late singer, was later incorporated into Dong Ha's live concerts on stage. I have seen it in 2014, and it was a beautiful tribute. I could sense, it was truly heartfelt.
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Immortal Song 2 logo
February 20, 2016 - Immortal Song 2 show, broadcasted on this day (recorded in front of live audience about a month earlier), was dedicated to Kim Hyun Sik. OMG, Dong Ha won another trophy! He won!!! The audience chose him as the best on that day! That was so unexpected, especially that he won already a month before. I didn't have high expectations, because he sang "My Love By My Side", which he had performed before in concerts. The other fans , however, were highly excited, anticipating that Dong ha would change the song. And he did!!! Oh, my goodness, when I listened to it, I new it must become another legendary performance by Jung Dong Ha.
When I heard that initial scream of his, I was almost knocked out. I lost a heartbeat for a second, and stopped breathing. It stunned me so much, and shook me to the core. That was probably the intended effect. He has never done it before, it's a totally new "trick". Dong Ha changed the very beginning of the song, and the very end of it, leaving the middle the way he usually sings, but with more emotion. His performance is so spot on, considering the sad fate of Kim Hyun Sik, and considering his singing style.
Below is the Youtube link to the official KBS video, that is blocked from embedding. It's worth checking to see the comments, and people's reactions.
This picture reminds me of actor Song Joong Ki somehow.
Jung Dong Ha on Immortal Song stage, KBS - February 20, 2016
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On the same day, that Dong Ha was on the KBS-TV with his spectacular winning performance, he participated in a very special, live event. It's an annual concert dedicated to Kim Kwang Seok.
Every year, around his death anniversary, there is a commemorative show prepared, with many young singers singing his songs, as a way to do a tribute to him, and to celebrate his talent. He is really a beloved artist of Korea.
Kim Kwang Seok
Kim Kwang Seok - He was a tragic person. It seems, he suffered from depression all his life. He committed suicide by hanging on January 6, 1996 at age 31. He did not leave any children. So this year is the 20th anniversary of his death. At some point, some people questioned his death, and suspected a murder, but it had never been proved. He is described as rock/folk singer, but it seems to me that most of his songs are either melancholic ballads, or some of them are a little joyful. Jung Dong Ha performed the song " About The Age of Thirty" where the singer reflects on his age, and experiences.
I found an interesting quote, perhaps it was by Kwang Seok himself: "Hey, do you know what is the best side dish for soju? That is… Kim Kwang Seok’s song. His songs are the best side dish for soju."
I wonder if this is why Jung Dong Ha started his performance sitting by a bottle of soju.
The performance of "If You Are Like Me", on Immortal Song 2 TV show, not only brought DongHa a winning trophy back in June, but also an appreciation from vocal experts. The OneHallyu blog gave our singer a very high #2 rating (and the #1 is the incredible Kim Sohyang). I wasn't aware of this blog, so I want to thank Fatma of Tunisia for pointing it out to me. ♥ The people who write the blog are truly knowledgeable about vocal techniques, which I concluded after finding their in depth analysis of singing, here: Official vocals thread. So it really warmed up my heart to see that people with professional knowledge of the subject do appreciate the singer I love. Thanks.
Below is the official judgement written in the blog:
The OneHallyu Blog is a place where exclusives and original content
of Asian Entertainment are shared through this platform. OneHallyu
hopes to bring more insight about Asian Entertainment through
interviews, event recaps, and other pieces about the entertainment
industry in general.
Whether you are a OneHallyu user or a casual guest lurking by, we
hope you enjoy all the contents that the OneHallyu Blog has to offer.
South Korea is a host to hundreds of talented and capable singers, with
exceptional and jaw dropping performances to boot. South Korea is not
all about K-Pop, top professional gamers, and PSY. Power performers are
there for us to explore, learn, and love.
For every quarter in each year, our VOH!cals team consist of Rinne, AhMin, VT Evil Queen, and Haruko
will go through amazing vocal performances in currently active quarter.
There are lots of them, but we can’t
list them all out so we decided to
rank the best 10 among the best.
#2 Jung Dongha
Haruko: Jung
Dongha’s take on “If You’re Like Me” is probably one of the most
interesting on this list. He starts off softly, a normal on Immortal
Song 2. But after a few minutes, he does something rare. He sings
acapella, which(while brief) most vocalists would avoid. Dongha then
resonates his way through the song before going acapella again and
belting into the climax of the song.
VT Evil Queen:Starting
off the song with soft slightly airy vocals Dongha plays into one of
the most used gimmicks used by people who sing ballads, which has been
demonstrated numerous times on this list, but unlike others he adds
acapella section adding a completely different dynamic to the
performance this also shows his confidence as a vocalist. Aside from
just using airy vocals he also adds a slight rasp here and there to
give the song more life. Dongha also easily resonates his way through
this performance showing great skill.
Ahmin:Jung
Dongha is one of those vocalists who has shown that good technique
keeps your voice for years and years. He has such good control of his
voice and he is not one of those beginner rock singers who yells
everything out to create “rasp”. Jung Dongha doesn’t have to sacrifice
his vocal health to add a well controlled amount of rasp to his vocal
performances and he’s also a tenor with a connected head voice,
beautifully transitioned into and adding even more to his arsenal of
vocal guns. He’s got control of his volume, his ability to transition
through a song with power, to create desperation, longing and lastly
ending with decisiveness, never losing the power in his voice.
Definitely one of Korea’s finest tenors.
Rinne:He
is like the second coming of Jesus. Those acapella parts are real
killers, and he played with his vocal in a mocking way (don’t hold your
breath, idols). This type of performance, rich in colors and stylish
deliveries, is very re-playable. It’s legal to rape that replay button
here. ******************************************************************************************************
Who would have thought, huh? The video below provides a surprising contrast to the one preceding it. Just shows Dongha's versatility. He is fearless, and continuously challenges himself.
To distract our minds from the sorrow of the cancelled shows this month, let us soothe our hearts with this most recent IS2 performance on May 23, 2015.
Since this is a post about the rocker Dong Ha, let's have a bonus song. It's also from Immortal Songs 2, earlier this year
