Terri’s Re-Take: Rain’s “Love Song” (English Version)
~Cloud Cover by Terri :-}, Managing Editor
Hello, lovely Clouds.
Everyone knows that when Rain’s Back to the Basic album was released, there was no one more excited than us here at Cloud USA that the album included an English song. Okay, well, maybe there were others who were more excited, but since I’m the princess of this blog and the writer of this post, then I can claim whatever I want. So, like I said, there was NO ONE more excited than me and Stephe.
Still, here at Cloud USA, we have always said that, no matter what, we were going to tell the truth about Rain—even if it hurt. So, after we took a gander at the English version of Rain’s Love Song, as delighted as we were that he was actually singing in English, we couldn’t help but speak out about its flaws—most of which were just as obvious to every other native English speaker out there listening as they were to us. Like we said, we were simply being honest. You can read what I said about the Back to the Basic album when it was first released HERE.
The other day, though, I was driving home from work and listening to music (like I always do on my long, daily commute), when the English version of Love Song popped up on my iPod. Since I’m committed to being honest here, let me say that most of the time, I actually skip over that song. I truly do. I’m such a freaky, English editor-type that I usually simply cannot bear to make myself listen to it, regardless of how good of a singer Rain is. And yet this time, right before I pressed the forward button, I stopped myself and let it play.
Then, I made myself really listen to it.
Now, I’m not going to say that I totally changed my mind about the song. Like I said before, some of the word choices (and Rain’s English 
pronunciation of those words) are terrible. The English translation of the song itself is not all that great either. And yet, in all fairness, there are some beautiful elements of the song that I didn’t mention in my earlier report mainly because, at the time, I simply hadn’t gained the distance yet to notice them.
But now I have. So, in all fairness to Rain and his diligent effort in bringing his beloved English-speaking fans a new song in their own English tongue, I want to share those elements with you.
First element: The structure and the quality of the music itself.
The song is a beautiful, classic ballad, a tender love song about a man who is fighting desperately to get the woman he loves (and has lost) to come back to him. The thing I like the most about the musical structure of this song is it really holds back. The song begins with just a piano and Rain’s voice. Then, slowly, it begins to add strings and other instrumentals. Still, we are halfway through the song before we get an orchestral feel, and even then, it’s not a full, ornamental sound with all of the bells and whistles. Instead, the music is balanced so that the richness of Rain’s voice shines through it. Awesome composition by Rain and awesome audio mixing by some of the best U.S. and Korean audio engineers in the business.
Second element: Why a ballad?
Rain himself took great care to tell his Korean audiences, during his pre-release appearances, that the title song of his new mini-album was going to be a ballad and not a dance tune. Ballads are not Rain’s modus operandi, not by a long shot. There are many reasons why he might have made the decision to make the focal point of this album a ballad, but I’ll take a stab at a couple of the possibilities:
- Rain wants to do more ballads. Rain is a great dancer. He knows that. He is extremely confident in his dancing abilities—and rightly so. He is also a great singer. I think he knows that too. The problem is he is such a great dancer that he doesn’t always get the chance to show off his vocal chops. I think he would love to do more ballads. The problem is he’s not so sure that his fans want to see him standing on stage singing lots of ballads. I think that’s one of the reasons Rain felt the need to add those sexy dance moves to Love Song, to give his fans something to “watch.” Frankly, I don’t think the song really needed any choreography. It was good enough to stand on its own. Still, Rain added choreography anyway. To me, that says a lot.
- Rain is not as young as he used to be. Although Rain is not old by any stretch of the imagination, he knew that if he was going to sell lots of copies of this album, he was going to have to promote the hell out of it on every bloody music show in Korea. When you are a 29-year-old dancer (30 by international standards), I imagine that full-out dancing in back-to-back, weekly music shows, can be a killer. So, not only would a ballad give Rain the chance to vocally shine, it would also give him a break in the body department. Smart move.
Third element: Rain’s voice.
The timbre, the tonal quality, of Rain’s voice in this song is even better than usual. It is a mystery to me how the richness and clarity with which Rain sings combines with the natural whiskey flavor of his voice to enthrall his listeners. But it does. That is one of the reasons Rain is such a successful singer. Regardless of his endless efforts to be the best at what he does, it’s the natural qualities of his voice working together that somehow simply mesmerizes people. I’ve seen it happen time and time again when someone around me stops and takes the time to listen to him sing. This mysterious aura is never more evident than in the English version of Love Song.
Fourth element: Rain’s acting.
Rain’s voice is not all that is better in this song. Even the emotion that Rain manages to exhibit throughout Love Song in English is better than his Korean version. It is so much better, in my humble opinion, that by 
the end of the song, his listeners are totally convinced that he is a broken man. This achievement is even more amazing when you consider that he is not even singing in his native language. You English speakers just try to sing one of Rain’s songs in Korean (no fair if you actually speak Korean) and see how well that works out for you. :-}
Fifth Element: Rain’s English.
Which brings me to my final point. As I was sitting there, really engaging myself in every word, it suddenly hit me. Good grief. That’s right. This man is not an English speaker. And yet, for the most part, he is singing in almost perfect English. If he had been able to avail himself of a vocal coach who was an expert in the English language, he would never have made the minor errors that he made in the song in the first place (like saying “agayin” instead of “again, ” “ahver,” instead of of “ohver,” “chore” hands, instead of “your” hands, “choud” instead of “should”). The English lyrics of Love Story and Rainism, written and recorded by Double Dragon Productions, were superbly done, and those were produced years before Love Song. If Rain had been given the proper support for Love Song, there’s just no telling how great it could have been. Frustrating? Yes, but it is what it is.
So, what’s the bottom line? Well, for me, it’s this. The fact that Rain was able to do as well as he did with this song in English without the proper support in place gives me great hope for his future career here in the U.S.A., now that he has Rainy Entertainment by his side. No matter which path he decides to take, I think it’s pretty clear that whenever he puts his mind to it, Rain can accomplish anything.
Even singing in English.
Terri :-}
[Video credit: XDDDD30 on YouTube]
Cloud USA 
Lol, was always wondering how native speakers of English feel about Rain’s songs in English – so, as always, turned to the best and most entertaining source, Cloud USA 🙂 Great post again (hm, if I can tell this even after 5 years :-))! The funny thing is that as a non-native-speaker, but a professional translator from another language, I so far haven’t been able to listen to any of Rain’s interviews in Engllish, just have to turn it off after few seconds – so I wanted to know what some of you think… Actually, I like the English version of Love Song, although the translation (and his pronunciation) could be better for sure, it’s still the best of his English songs. This all applies even more on his Chinese songs… I understand that those songs are just his little gifts to his foreign fans, yet another evidence how much he cares about all of his fans. Anyway I like reading all of your posts, it’s the top-level fan-site/source on Rain 🙂
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A few weeks ago I shared by facebook with Cloud USA Rain interview video translated to the Spanish. Never before I had seen this video and believe has it been one of the best interviews of Rain. It was very open and honest about personal issues. This video was never shared with the rest of you, the reason I imagine that, it was that was in Spanish.
The other day to send the video, Cloud USA public a huge email where they said that most of the people subscribed to Cloud USA only understood English and a graphic where placed all Spanish-speaking countries in the category of others. I imagine that the purpose was to understand that Hispanic people are a minority in the Cloud USA and to not try to introduce information of Rain in another language other than English. It was a great disappointment, because I hoped that similar to the Korean videos you translate to English, they could translate this for the enjoyment of all. Even I could have helped.
I felt that there is a great cultural intolerance. We are not open to look for options that break the barriers that we may be separated by an end common. The simple fact that thousands of people that we are not Asian are following his career no matter in which language shows that what really counts is your talent. Would be wonderful if through love to Rain, we could destroy the barriers and prejudices that separate us as being human.
Sorry, but my English is not pretty good too…. lol 🙂
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Hi, Marytere. This is Stephe. Thanks for your comments.
I remember the video you’re talking about. We’re grateful that you sent it to us, and we’re glad that the interview was finally subtitled in Spanish, because it was already subbed in English and Japanese and a few other languages a few years ago. We’ve seen the original interview and shared it a while back here on our blog; it is one of our very favorites that Rain has done. Are you saying that we didn’t post the video you shared because it is subbed in Spanish? Because if that is what you’re saying, you are wrong.
In the past two years, we’ve posted many videos that were shared by Latin/Hispanic fans, Russian fans, German fans, Hungarian fans, fans all over Asia and Europe, videos subbed and spoken in many languages. We’ve even posted Rain videos in Arabic. Yes, we cater to English-speakers because that’s what we speak and English-speakers have had a very difficult time when it comes to being treated fairly in Rain’s world. But we would never turn away a Rain video simply because it wasn’t in English. Such a thing would go against what we stand for. (I’ve even translated Spanish videos and German articles into English and posted them here before, when there was time.)
I’m not sure what “huge email” you’re referring to… if you’re talking about a post (specifically this one? https://cloudusa.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/cloud-usa-community-regular-or-visitor-where-are-you-across-the-rainiverse/), then that was to show how happy we were to have so many blog visitors from all over the world who loved Rain, and to welcome everyone equally. It was to show naysayers that Rain is loved EVERYWHERE, all over the world. It was not to make anybody anywhere a “minority” on our site, or anything of that nature. Once again, if that’s what you’re thinking, you are wrong. We were saying “Welcome!” and “Thanks for coming here!”, not trying to insult anyone, NOT putting people in some kind of order of importance, and it shocks me terribly that anyone would think that. If I’ve misunderstood what you are saying and this post is not what you were referring to, accept my apologies and tell us where this “huge email” is… I am very curious.
The only reason that the video you shared hasn’t been posted here yet is because frankly we haven’t had time to properly do it – yet. We get many emails and many questions and many videos and requests from fans every day, but our staff is small and Terri and I are really busy working and taking care of our families and keeping a roof over our heads like everyone else. Updating and maintaining all the many parts of Cloud USA plus keeping up with Rain’s activities takes an extraordinary amount of time. Cloud USA doesn’t just run itself. We are only human and we simply cannot answer every request or post every video, much less right away. There are too many of them out there. (An overseas Cloud shares her English translations with all of us. We don’t have our own translators yet. And as I mentioned, fans already subbed that video into some other languages a long time ago, in 2008. Many people have enjoyed it.)
I agree with you that there is great cultural intolerance in many places (Cloud USA is not one of them). But if we all continue coming together and sharing in the things we love regardless of opposition, the barriers are bound to fall. We must keep pushing! And we must also remember to have great patience with each other because people can only do so much. Patience has no language and without it, there can be no understanding or unity. Without patience, things people say and do are constantly taken the wrong way.
We simply cannot see or respond to everything or everyone. We try. We do what we can. That’s going to have to be enough.
Again, thanks for your comments.
Stephe ^@@^
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Ahhh, just out of great curiosity..Which interview was that? Could you possibly do a revisit post for it? I may have seen it already. But if I haven’t I would love to!! I know you ladies are uber busy. THANK YOU LADIES AND EVERYONE THAT HELPS WITH CLOUD USA!!! YOU ROCK!!!
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Hi there. It’s the interview from late 2008 or early 2009, when Rain was interviewed by host Kang Hodong on the Golden Fishery/”Knee-Slap Shaman” talk show (which was one of Rain’s favorite shows at the time). They kept trying to trip him up about women and dating LOL. He was funny and shared about recent filming experiences, about important things his dad taught him (when you like a woman, grab her QUICK or some other b*stard will LOL, that his mom and dad got together and he was born the next day LOL) and there was a very serious segment when he talked about his mom’s last days in detail. It was terribly tragic and you could have heard a pin drop.
I’ll bet you’ve already seen it because a lot of people have. (His hair was tinted burgundy.)
We shared the English-subbed version back in September 2010, but those videos have since been taken off of YouTube. During my next blog maintenance session, I’ll look for another set to post here because surely by now there are more… I hope…
Stephe ^@@^
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This is why you rock. ^_~ And yes I believe I did see it.. Was he in a scarf or hat?
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Nothing on that pretty “Rainism” hair. Black scarf over sort of a white t-shirt type thing.
^@@^
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JiHoon is a smart man and he pays attention to detail and trends, not only that but he listens well from the ones that love, care and respect him. So I have no doubts if he does do an English cd it will be completely together, if not his is a voice that’s just to sexy in any language. Also their have been Latin singers that have done extremely well with broken English, case in point Julio Enqelsis.
But I do know while right now we have an Asian section with all kinds of info into some of those countries their not one for Korea except Kpop and everyone on but Rain’s or even MBLAQ music, I’m talking old and newer music of a lot of artist, so their getting more input in America right now. And as I love some of this other artist I still what to see our guys music front and center….a lot of it.
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@Lotus,
I agree wholeheartedly. Julio Iglesias is Latin and Latin people are known for being Sexy. Maybe….hopefully, Bi will become the first true Asian heartthrob singer in the U.S. There is still a barrier to be broken there I think. We all know he’s Sexy and Fly as hell, hopefully the rest of the country will soon see that as well. As I read once regarding heartthrob singers/actors, women have got to imagine themselves sleeping with you and men have got to imagine themselves being like you. So Bi, you got the female population covered Boo. (SMILES)
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So “Love Song” just finished playing on my computer… ^_^ English version…and I love it when he sings to me while I’m working…
First I gotta say…while I love Rain in movies, I would support and go to each and every one as well as buy the DVD when it comes out, but I would be terribly disappointed and hurt if he choose to turn to cinema and do less music. I favor Rain’s voice and music above all…something about that voice…it is my drug….
As far as the English version…well it didn’t sit well with me at first. I still, however, listened, after a very short while, I got past it and was back to enjoying that gorgeous voice of his. He is after all Korean and English is not his first language. I had to giggle when I read Terri’s comment about trying to sing one of his songs in Korean…this I do everyday and oh how I butcher his songs. But I am determined to learn them all and sing them properly so that when I do finally see him and hear him sing to me live I can sing along with him. I enjoy every single one of his songs…English, Korean, Chinese, Japanese….as long as that element of Rain is there and that voice that just entrances me at times is there…I will enjoy it.
And its already been said, but Rain being Rain…he will come full force should he decide to release his songs in English for us…while I’m sure he will have that Korean lilt in his voice…his English won’t even be an issue and more people will know who Rain is.
But for those of us who are lucky to already know who he is and what he can do… We can appreciate his Korean vocals. It will just be a bonus treat when he croons to us in our native tongue.
Rain never stop giving us the gift of that beautiful voice! Always keep striving towards your goals… We are waiting for you here in the States ever patiently.. ^_~ Sorta patiently…
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@rain4flowers,
What up my peoples?! (SMILES)
You know I don’t think you’ll have to worry that Bi will do less music necessarily. He may choose to keep singing in Korean and keep releasing music like he always has. It’s just if he chooses to do music here (on the regular) then unfortunately he will have to brush up on his English, he just will. I wish we Americans were more open and enlightened, but many of us are not and simply won’t support music that they don’t understand/get. WE Clouds get it, but think about just how diverse this country is. I’m not just talking race alone….I’m talking age wise, financially, culturally (races within certain cultures). The gamut is so wide open and the Only thing that is the common thread here is English as a language. Even though many Americans speak the language of their own family’s culture, English is the common language of our country as a whole. Also remember, Americans are arrogant (in general) too and some will act hoity-toity and feel like they don’t NEED to try to understand someone’s music in a foreign language.
Goodness knows “I” want this fine piece of SEXY to be totally/completely successful here, no matter what he does. However, IM (Ever so humble) O I think it will be an easier transition for him to make movies first, you know…let the US public get to know him on that level first. It was how I came to know him first, as well. Once he has a couple movies under his belt, he will (1) now be on the radar of more than just us Clouds and fangirls.. (2) he will have been here for a little while speaking daily with other English speakers….then POW hit us with that English album…..Or Not! (SMILES) Heck, he may do something totally different and unexpected….which will be even better. Anyway, what Bi does with his music, I think, would depend on just how diverse a crowd he wants to reach here. After all, he has already done concerts in the US before, but dare I say the crowds were probably mainly Asian. The other “nasty” little fact is, you can’t ignore his age in this equation too. The age he is, is the same age as some of our top performers here who have also been in the biz since their childhoods too and their ages will soon take a toll, if it hasn’t already. I love Miss Janet “if you’re nasty” Jackson, BUT she’s my age. I saw her last year in my hometown and she put on a great show. However, I heard a lot more (*Wheeeezing*) in between dance numbers than I did the first time I saw her. Can’t fight Father Time…..I’ve tried….it’s called Nice & Easy.
Bi would be new to American audiences (musically) and would have to hit it……hard to promote his album. As much as I want to see him perform live, his body is going to say……”DUDE….what the hell are you doing to me?” (SMILES). I say get a couple blockbusters under your belt, then go back to what comes natural, singing/performing….this time do some acoustic versions where you can sit a bit and engage the audience. (*Kekekeke*) Making women scream their heads off, while you chill or do some intimate venues….ladies only shows. Huh, huh?? He’s Bi, so he’ll probably do both movies and music simultaneously. Now, to what degree is the question. It all depends on what specific entertainment goals he wants to reach here. However, whatever he decides, I’ll be there…for sure! (SMILES)
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Rain4Flowers,
What a sweet comment. “Sorta patiently” LOL.
Terri :-}
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Terri I can’t understand what’s Rainy Entertainment either but the truth is they are doing the good work so I’m please with them! So far so good!! Regarding Rain’s singing career I beg to differ that it will be difficult for him. I am optimistic in this cuz, seeing the way kpop is growing and the way people around the world is accepting it; if Rain do beautiful songs, with that beat only he can do, then I think he has a good chance of making it as a singer in the USA. Yes, he has to learn his English and work hard for his career with his staff but knowing his fierce way of doing things I think he can do it. I always mention Antonio Banderas cuz to me he’s like Rain in many ways, so talented in everything, so full of yummie sex appeal and so intelligent. Look were Banderas is now!! A respected actor loved by latin people and american people alike!. I think that if Rain really, really focus and puts his mind to it, he can be a respected actor and singer in this side of the ocean as well. 😀
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Mari,
I think he can too. But Antonio is known for his acting not singing. We are much more forgiving with actors who don’t speak great English than we are singers.
Terri :-}
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I love his Love Song in Japanese.. Especially when he says Ai Shiteru..
~sighs~
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Great article and insight into this song. I am not a fan of the song in either language. My favorite slow song by Rain is Love Story but even with that one I rather the Korean verison then the English verison. I love Rain and I know he will be a big movie star in the US but not so much in music. Reason is (like someone else said) R&B fans are hard to please. For me I am really an oldschool music lover. I don’t hardly listen to the latest music. I think in my age of music the artisits could really sing and the songs had so much meaning. I love to dance so if the music can make me get up and dance, cool. I don’t even have to listen to the words in the song. I will say I am amazed by some artists who are not American and have big acents. That when they sing in English you can’t even tell that English is not their first language. I’ll willing to take no English album from Rain but I want and need (lol) him in American movies I can go to the show and see.
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@Gee,
I agree with you about being and old school R&B music lover, even though I might listen to some today’s music…..LISTEN TO IT…not buy it. (SMILES)
As much as I love hearing/seeing these young K-Pop and K-R&B artists, hey there’s a saying….”The truth is the light.” If you (K-Pop/R&B artist) can sing to a “house” filled with, I’ll say R&B lovers and make THEM get on their feet and applaud (ala Showtime At The Apollo) then….I’ll give you the proverbial “hi-five”….SMILES! You’re right, when I was growing up the focus wasn’t so much on looks as much as it was can ya…SANG. You could look like the bottom of a primate’s rear end, but if you could sing and give people “goose pimples” now THAT said something.
As Terri said, Bi most definitely has those qualities and it would be cool to see him shine like that on American stages performing, but Americans (as a whole) just won’t support your music if they can’t sing along to it. Some are TOUGH in the critique department and I’m talking about the music Buying public…..not actual music critics.
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Girl you said a mouthful. Listening to music on the Radio or whatever is sure different from going out and buying it. I am very critical and set in my ways when it comes to music. I do like Rain’s music and have bought enough of it. But today it’s not about wheather you can sing, it’s about good writers of the song. I have heard artists sing on songs that jam but see them live and they sound like s**t. You know what I’m talking about. All I can do is wish Rain is good luck with that part of his goals.
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Yes, I do know what you’re talking about. Those artists are called “studio creations” (at least in my book). Remember Milli Vanilli…..don’t laugh I got a good point to make. They were totally and completely a studio creation and their “makers” got over on the public for a long time…..Until (Da, da, da…..) the “tape” broke on stage. I would laugh, but for their downfall caused one of them to spiral downward so bad, I don’t think he ever recovered from the humiliation. He passed away fairly young I believe.
My point is this, if you have true singing talent….then I don’t care what breaks back stage or on the stage. I don’t care if your pants fall off…..you should still be able to stand there in your jockey shorts and bring the crowd to their feet. There are a Lot of singers in the world who can do Just That, but the “image makers” throw their studio creations out into the music buying public and people who look “regular” or have a few pounds to lose, but can BLOW your socks off, don’t stand a chance of getting noticed. These shows like AI and AGT and XFtr are great and get regular people noticed, but ultimately the “image machine” goes to work and even extraordinarily talented people end up putting out watered down, same ole, same ole pop music that you hear 9 million times a day already. It’s nothing new and everybody ends up “sounding” the same. So frustrating.
YES, I do believe Bi can sing the crowd to their feet Especially in his jockey shorts (and cause a few coronaries……SMILES) but my preference………*Movies Bi…….PLEEEASE!* (SMILES)
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BIA I like u more and more. Smile. We r so on the same page.
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Yeah I’m not a fan of the auto tune, never buy the fake singers there’s no true qualities there. Our Rain is
100% the real deal.
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Wow, Terri a great article! You know, it’s not easy to tell a bunch of Clouds that Bi is not perfect in every way, but I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of Love Song. I also think HE will/would appreciate the Honest and Fair critique of his song. I have Love Song and I must say listening to some parts is like putting nails to a chalk board, BUT and I reiterate BUT, I give Bi a STANDING OVATION for even Attempting to sing in a language not his own (*clapping for Bi*). I Know, not one person would want to hear me sing period, much less sing in Korean…..so Bravo Bi in that regard.
Like you that recent article about him preparing for the next phase of his life I only saw “business English” myself. That’s all that I took away from that article. Those two words said to me that Bi is SERIOUS about this thing of transitioning into the next phase of his career. This Brotha…..yes, I said Brotha means business and he knows what he has to do. I also agree that his English as it is now is DAMNED GOOD, all things considered. JiHoon is the Epitome of one of my father’s favorite words…….FOCUS! He sees what he wants to achieve and he sets about to do it and damn if he doesn’t do it too. I mean he zeros in on that thing and just…..does it!
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Congratulations Terri, a fascinating article. The way you highlighted the effort made by Rain to perform a song in another language is remarkable. I had not heard the English version, but the way he sings and especially at the end, where it breaks his voice is wonderful. Thks again!! 🙂
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My pleasure, Adry. :-}
Terri :-}
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Terri you are right in everything you said. I love that song and even though is not well done, is so beautiful and the feeling Rain put on it is so heartfelt that is enough for me. His English is not perfect either but with enough practice and time I think he can do much better. He’s come a long way and I’m sure that JiHoon is preparing himself for his comeback. Now that we know that Rainy Entertainment means business and is supporting him in the right way, I know his comeback is gonna be beyond awesome. I can’t wait to see it!! 😀
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Mari,
I think you are right. I think Rainy Entertainment has got it going on. It is a welcome change, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t quite understand what the difference is between Rainy Entertainment and J.Tune Entertainment, especially since Rain started both of these companies. Still, it feels like Rainy Entertainment is a heck of a lot more supportive of Rain than J.Tune was. They are also a lot hipper than J. Tune was about things like the Internet and social media and they seem to “get” how to handle new age, Internet-savvy fans.
I am also stoked because I seriously do not believe William Morris Endeavor would have signed someone to their agency who they didn’t think would be able to make it here in the U.S.A. too. They were unable to showcase Rain’s talent properly until now because of his military service obligations. But I’ll bet you that as soon as he is released, it is going to be no holds barred. As a talent management company, the only way they make money is if their talent WORKS. And you’d better believe they are going to try like hell to make sure Rain WORKS. He just has to do his part, and one of those things he needs to do is learn to speak fluent English.
I keep harping on this English thing, because Rain will never really make it here in the U.S.A. until he learns to speak English fluently. I’m not trying to be mean about it. It’s just the name of the game here. Sure, he might get parts now and then, just because he’s super talented. However, unless he can read and totally comprehend contract offers in English, sit in business meetings and directly converse to the people trying to offer him those contracts, read scripts in English and understand the writers’ intents for the characters they wish him to portray, he will never reach the heights I truly believe he is capable of reaching. This is why I keep dogging him like I do. When he said he was studying business English now, you should have seen me grinning from ear to ear. LOL. I’m such a mom. I really wanted to tell him I hoped part of those lessons included reading English literature and English scripts. He needs to do that mainly because that is simply how the business works. Why? Because most Americans (even in the entertainment business) only speak one language–ENGLISH.
It’s stupid, but that’s the way it is. Most of us are never taught to speak other languages, nor or we encouraged to. Right now, I’m harping on my son, Rob, to freshen up his Japanese. He learned basic conversational Japanese when he was fifteen (took classes for two years) and had gotten pretty good at speaking it naturally. He could actually converse with native speakers very well, as long as they didn’t get too technical. But then he got busy and had no reason to use it, and so his studies fell by the wayside.
Well, this band he is developing has suddenly started picking up fans in Asia. Most of them speak Japanese, and he’s like, “You know? I really need to work on my Japanese again, so I can talk to these fans,” and I’m like, “Dude, you really should. No kidding.” Hopefully, he will take the time to do that. He will if I have anything to do with it. My youngest son is studying software engineering and he is also studying Japanese now. I’m also pushing him to keep on going. If nothing else, they can practice on each other. LOL. But when I think of the opportunities my younger son could have as a software engineer just because he is bilingual? Incredible.
I think knowing more than one language is so important these days, especially for our kids. Still, our American kids are so far behind with this concept. We have never been a more global society than we are today, and yet our American kids are still being taught only English until they are in high school. It is changing a little, in some areas (mostly in the wealthy areas of the country, as usual. Sigh.) It so frustrating!
Man, I am really wordy this morning, aren’t I. LOL. All that was just to say that I think Rain has an excellent chance to do great things here in the U.S. if he will just get his English under control. That’s all he has to do. His natural talent and hard work ethic will do the rest. I know that’s no small feat. I am trying to learn Korean and it is kicking my butt. Maybe when I’m about 90 years old I will be fluent in it. Maybe. Okay, probably not, but I’m a natural optimist. LOL.
I’ve learned two languages already, French and German, and I’ve forgotten most of what I learned, because I have never been able to use them enough to become fluent in them. Well, except when I lived in Germany in the 80’s. I lived there for six years, when my husband was in the military. We lived off post, in the German community. So, I had no choice but to use German then, or I could have gotten myself in big trouble. Still did, sometimes.
There’s nothing like having your German neighbor’s kids come running to your door shrieking and jabbering in serious kindergartner German and trying desperately to figure out what they are saying, because someone could have been killed next door, and if so, you’d really like to know. Then you finally realize that they just want to play with your dogs in your backyard. What a relief. You think adults are difficult to understand in a foreign language? Try kids. LOL.
My point is I absolutely know how hard it is to learn and hang on to language abilities. Truly I do. But I also know that Rain can do this. I KNOW he can. ‘Cause he’s the man. LOL.
Oh, and speaking of William Morris, one of my favorite Korean stars is Kim Yunjin. We here in the U.S. became fans of Yunjin when she starred as the popular character “Sun” in the hit TV series “Lost.” Even though she was an extremely popular star in Korea, she wasn’t here. Now she is. People on the streets here are now starting to recognize her and are beginning to love her work. She will be starring in a new TV series here in 2013, called “Mistresses.” You can imagine what that series is about, but it is based on a TV series in the U.K., by the same name. It is a dramatic role and I can’t wait to see her in it. She is a great actress. She is also represented by William Morris Endeavor.
Terri :-}
(Yes, there is a reason I’m a writer. LOL.)
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They’re going to be doing “Mistresses” HERE? Oh, dear lord. The U.K. version is the BOMB. I’ve been watching it for years.
Hopefully we won’t eff it up the way we’ve effed every other U.K. show that’s EVER been redone here. (horrible writing because a U.S. style doesn’t suit U.K. issues well, bad ratings, immediate cancelations, weak episodes) *sigh* *not much hope*
Yunjin will be really good in her role, anyway, regardless of the rest of the script.
*depressed*
Stephe ^@@^
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Ah ha ha.
No, I don’t have much hope for the show either, but I am looking forward to seeing Yunjin on my television again.
Terri :-}
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I couldn’t be more agree with you…Rain needs to improve his English if he really want to enter to the American market, we all know that he has a lot of talent to do it, but unfortunately that’s not all that matters, he needs to speak fluently if he really wants to make a big impression in U.S.A.
Personally I’m studying industrial engineering, and now that I’m not so far to finish my career, I’m sure I wants to continue studying a graduate out of my country in some place where Spanish is not the first language, and for that I need to know English and speak it in a fluently way, that’s the reality.
We all love Rain and trusts in his talent and persistence, and for sure he must be thinking about how to improve his english *I hope so* for make it in big in U.S.A after he leave the military, he is so talented, he just needs to try a little harder, and will be a unstoppable force taking by suprise America 🙂
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Beautifully said Terri….BRAVO for saying it out loud.
I’ve felt that way all along so when he did Earth, Wind & Fire I was so completely proud of him.
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wow amazing article. I’m not a native English speaker, but even so I enjoy what you wrote in this entry, I can’t give my opinion about the English pronunciation of Rain, maybe that only will be possible if he sing in Spanish, something that probably will never happen hehe! but I can say: thank you for one more wonderful article 😀 this is one of the things that makes me love this page, you not only post news about Rain, you also go beyond, trying to make interesting reflections in different topics about him.
Really love this song,perfect for a rainy night like this 🙂
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adoro esta cancion !! es tan dulce !! gracias !!!!!! thanks
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