[Exclusive] Kollaboration: Atlanta Style

•April 25, 2011 • 6 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Terri, Managing Editor :-}

Grand Prize Winner Adam WarRock ~ Photo by Johnny Cheng

Collaboration. It’s an inviting word.  One that implies cooperation, coordination, a coming together of like minds in an effort to create something great.  But when you spell it Kollaboration, the word becomes something more than great.  It becomes empowering.

Center Stage Theater, in Midtown Atlanta ~ Photo by Jim Thornton

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, the Cloud USA staff was lucky enough to be invited to Kollaboration Atlanta 4, a talent competition hosted by Kollaboration, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to encourage the diverse talents of Asian Pacific Islander (API) youth and empower them by:

  1. providing at-risk youth with a creative outlet and leadership training that serves as an alternative to gang activity and delinquency;
  2. offering API families a platform for communication that bridges the gap between first generation parents and latter generation youth; and
  3. raising awareness in the API community-at-large for other critical community issues and non-governmental organizations.

Kollaboration, the movement, was founded in 2000, in Los Angeles, by Executive Director Paul “PK” Kim.  Under the watchful eye of Executive Producer Roy Choi, in 2006, Kollaboration finally became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.  Since then, each year, 10 cities across the United States (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Tulsa, and Washington DC) host competitive Kollaboration showcases of their own to spotlight an array of local talent ranging from musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, and more.  The winners of each of the competitions receive cash and other prizes, to assist them with furthering their chosen careers.

PR Head Mary Gui ~ Photo courtesy of Kollaboration

All we can say is Kollaboration’s mantra, “Empowerment through Entertainment,” was in full force at this year’s Atlanta event, which was held at Center Stage, in Midtown.   In spite of our being 15 minutes late (due to the horrific weather), Kollaboration Atlanta’s PR Head, Mary Gui, graciously met us at the stage door and escorted us backstage to meet some of the performers [the us being Cloud USA staff Managing Editors Stephe and Terri (also Hellokpop.com’s Chief Editor), and Jim, Cloud USA’s photographer/videographer)].  After a few introductions, we headed upstairs and stationed ourselves in the press area of the lobby, where we hoped to chat with and take photos of as many of this year’s participants as we could before the show began.

While we were waiting for the first group to appear and the speed interviews to start, we were lucky enough to meet one of the judges, Antwain Hart.  Antwain is one of eight members of Jungle Boogie Crew, a dance crew from Stone Mountain, Georgia that nabbed 4th place in season 5 of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew.

Antwain Hart, Jungle Boogie Crew ~ Photo by J. Thornton

Although he was busy, Antwain was kind enough to say hello and to let us snap his photo.  Two other members, Raqi Carter and BeeJay Harris, were also there to help judge the contestants, but we didn’t get to talk to them.

A few days later I was able to catch up with the crew and they sent me the following message:

“It was great to see so much Atlanta talent in one place at one time, but it also made the judging even harder to do!”  ~Jungle Boogie Crew

Jungle Boogie Crew, a dance crew with its own star rising, is trained in over 10 dance styles, but is best known for “cranking,” a Southern dance technique.  In 2010, the crew appeared in the 2010 feature film Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming, and more recently the placed 3rd in the 2011 Urban Street Jam competition in Los Angeles, California.

Jungle Boogie Crew’s next major appearance here in Atlanta will be at Atlanta’s first Urban Street Jam, on June 25, 2011, at Georgia State University’s Rialto Center.

We also want to give a nod to Kellindo Parker, who also served as a judge for the event.  We didn’t get to speak to him at the event, but when we tweeted to him later, asking him for a quote about the experience, he kindly responded, saying:

Kellindo Parker is the lead guitarist, composer and arranger for three-time Grammy-nominated singer Janelle Monae.

The other esteemed judges for the event were: Andrew Alexander, from Creative Loafing,  Jennifer Brett, from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Carlton Lynn, Mix Engineer from Milk Money, and Producer, Engineer and Drummer (again, for Janelle Monae), Mikey Phillips.

After we interviewed eight of the show’s contestants, we packed up our gear and headed into the theater to find a good seat.  We managed to finagle a spot pretty close to the stage and right next to our DJ team for the night, The Space Kids.

The Space Kids: Mark Guinto (Martian) & Will Reyes (Strongwill) ~Photo by Jim Thornton

The Space Kids consists of Mark Guinto (Martian) and Will Reyes (Strongwill) who began their DJ careers in the San Diego college circuit.  It wasn’t long before they found themselves moving on to clubs and events throughout Southern California and beyond. We can see why.

Kollaboration's Exec. Prod./Pres. Roy Choi ~ Photo by David Lu

Some pre-show freestyle by audience members warmed up the crowd and then the event began.  Roy Choi, Executive Producer and President of Kollaboration’s national network was a wonderful host and introduced each act with flair. Performer after performer enthralled the audience and moved with grace from nerdcore rapping and melodic mash-ups to Christian inspiration and hip hop swagger.

The show even included an intermission that began with a performance from Kollaboration Atlanta 2010’s Grand Champion, Lost in the Gym, and ended with a freestyle dance competition, where the winner won $250.00, thanks to the competition’s generous sponsor, Red Mango).

One of the impromptu dancers tickled audience members (and hellokpop.com/Cloud USA staffers) as he performed a flawless imitation of Rain’s Hip Song grind.  Alas, he wasn’t the winner.  :-}

Rain's Hip Song Grind ~ Photo by Johnny Cheng

After the show, we were invited to the after-party.  I tell you, there’s nothing more intimidating than being at an after-party crowded with professional dancers.  Nothing.  I don’t think Jim and Stephe were as overwhelmed as I was though, because while I was absorbed in conversation with one of Kollaboration’s sponsors, Eric Lu of StateFarm Insurance, Jim and Stephe vanished in the direction of the dance floor.

They said they were going to scout a good quote or two from one of the winners, but I suspect what they were really doing out there on that dance floor was krumpin’.  :-} Ah, well.  I guess I’ll never know, because before I could go check them out, they were back.  We had to leave the party far too early, so we could get back to work here at Cloud USA and hellokpop.com.  Still, do I need to even say that we had a terrific time?  No, I didn’t think so.  :-}

In the United States, where mainstream media and entertainment careers for Asians and Pacific Islanders are few and far between, Kollaboration’s work is admirable.  The organization’s history is even more impressive when you think about how far they’ve come in the past 11 years–from that one stage at the University of Southern California to 10 stages, each year, across the nation.

Also impressive is the talent that is quietly being discovered on their stages:

  • In 2001, Dave Elsewhere Bernal performed for Kollaboration audiences.  The video of him performing his unique dance moves became “one of the most viral videos in Internet history” and landed Dave “numerous job offers in film and, television and commercials.”

(Video Credit: )

  • In 2003, a little known group from Los Angeles, called Far East Movement, took to the stage and wowed the crowd with their hot, electro-pop act.

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  • In 2006, a crew of dancers from Los Angeles captivated Kollaboration’s audience with their athleticism and innovation.  Their name was Quest Crew, and in 2009, they went on to conquer the national stage as America’s Best Dance Crew.

(Official QUEST CREW Channel)

Cloud USA salutes Kollaboration for its valiant efforts and hopes its successful stages will continue for many years to come.

In keeping with our own mission to promote Korean (and other Asian American) culture here in the metro Atlanta area, Cloud USA is in the process of creating a Kollaboration feature page.  That page should be up and running next week and will include not only the rest of the full-length interviews we conducted at Kollaboration Atlanta 4, but also some casual photos and videos we captured during the event.  We do plan on updating the page with any juicy Kollaborative tidbits we run across from time to time.  So, please revisit the page every now and then.

In the meantime, below are our full-length interviews with Adam WarRock, this year’s Grand Prize Winner, and Purple Elephant Society, this year’s 2nd Place Winner.  We hope you will enjoy reading about these extremely talented young people as much as we enjoyed meeting them.  They were a pleasure to work with and even more fun to watch on the stage.  Cloud USA wishes all of them every success on the road to super-stardom.

Kollaboration Atlanta 4’s Grand Prize Winner:  Adam WarRock

Grand Prize Winner Adam WarRock ~ Photo by Johnny Cheng

One of our first conversations of the night was with Kollaboration Atlanta 4’s Grand Prize Winner Adam WarRock.  Even as we swooped down on him with our voice recorder and video camera, Adam greeted us warmly and grinned effusively, eager to talk about his work as a Nerdcore Rapper.

Terri:  So, we read a little bit about you online, and I have to tell you, what I read was fascinating.  Fascinating.

Adam: Yeah. I imagine—that’s one word to call it.

Terri:  So.  Nerdcore Rapper?

Adam:  Yeah.

Stephe:  How long did it take you to come up with that description? I mean, that’s really something else.

Grand Prize Winner, Adam WarRock ~ Photo by Jim Thornton

Adam:  (Laughs) Well, it was the kind of music it was, mostly. I did a lot of stuff in college, and back then, there was a lot of Indie and Underground Rap? When you’re in college, you make it [your music] about all this stuff you think is meaningful. And then I took some time off, and I came back to start making music again.  And I didn’t have all that emotional angst.

Terri:  That youthful rage?

Adam:  Yeah. That feeling that there was so much depth in every word I wrote. And so I just decided to write about stuff I liked. And that stuff turned out to be about movies and comic books and my friends’ web comics and my friends’ websites. It just all started out as a joke.  From there, we just kind of started making more music, and it kind of caught on in a couple of ways.

Terri:  Right. You know, I actually listened to your album: War for Infinity, the the other day. I was researching you and I just ended up listening to all of the songs—the whole thing. It was that interesting.

Adam:  Thank you very much.

Terri: I was fascinated by the concept. I’m not a comic book fan, but I know Stephe is.

Stephe:  Yes, I am.  Thank you.

Adam:  Nice!

Terri  So, I’m sure she was fascinated.  But let’s talk a little bit about your history.  You were an attorney at one point?

Grand Prize Winner Adam WarRock Photo by Jim Thornton

Adam:   I was. I practiced law. I went to law school, which is why I stopped making music. I actually had the chance to actually go and make albums, and so I said, you know?  That’s for younger people, and I’m going to go and do this serious thing, and I went to law school. That’s why I stopped for a while. I was working and I was really miserable all the time, and suddenly I realized that it was because I hadn’t been creating anything.

So, I started making it [music] up for fun, on the side. Like I said, I just needed a place to kind of put songs to show people, and so I started a website. I never intended it to be more than just a thing that  my friends would listen to, but then a couple of songs kind of caught on and blew up and gave me the chance to quit my job on one very impulsive day of bad boss interaction and work—things like that.

Stephe: Really?

Adam:  Yes.  I practiced law for about 3 years.

Terri:  But this—your music—it’s a full-time job for you now?

Adam:  It is. It is.

Stephe: Yay!

Adam:  [Laughs]  I’ve been traveling. I don’t think I’ve had a consecutive weekend at home, because I go and do shows everywhere, and I record music. So.

Terri:  Very good.  So, what are you going to be doing for us tonight, here at Kollaboration Atlanta?

Adam:  It was hard! Because I didn’t really know what to do, since it’s like a cross-genre show?  A lot of people that listen to the stuff I make are not rap fans.  So, I’m very hesitant to do an aggressive rap song for a crowd that’s not all into it. So, I’m doing a song that I actually made for my friend, Phil and his site, called angryasianman.com.

Terri:  Yeah, we know that one.  [Stephe affirms, with a grin and a nod.]

Adam:  Yeah! So, I’m friends with Phil, and I made a song for his 10th anniversary called, Angry Asian Man. The song is about my experiences growing up as an Asian American here in the South.  I grew up in the South.  There is a lot of racism you have to deal with here.

Terri: Absolutely.

Adam:  You know, you’re angry at first, and then you kind of grow older?  The song’s about kind of letting go of that anger, but being thankful that other people still focus on it, like Phil’s site.  Because, you know, not all of us can keep that energy up through all of the other things that we do. So, it’s kind of like a personal song and it’s appropriate for the theme of the Asian American performers here.  Hopefully people will like it.

Adam WarRock in the Spotlight ~ Photo by Jim Thornton

Terri:  I’m sure they will. So, what are you doing next?

Adam:  Next, I’m going to California for 2 and a half weeks or so. I will be on a panel with Racebending.com, actually at WonderCon 2011, in San Francisco. Then, I have a couple of shows in Los Angeles.  I’m doing a show on April 11, at Meltdown Comics, through Nerdist.com, which Chris Hardwick runs.  After that, it will be on to the next thing—whatever that is—whatever my calendar says. I don’t really remember what. I just know it’s the next thing. You know? That’s pretty much about all I can keep tabs on.

Terri:  Great! Is there anything you want the world of K-Pop to know?  Anything that you might want to tell our readers?  Or is there anything you might want to tell young musicians out there—any advice you might want to give them?

Adam:  I would say two things. First, if you don’t think you like rap or hip-hop, there’s probably someone out there that makes rap or hip-hop that you might like. ‘Cause you can say a lot in it. There are a lot of people who don’t do rap that is about really vulgar, offensive stuff. There is always a place to find that. Second, if you want to make art about something completely stupid? That you think is stupid? Well, there may be a lot of people who will want to hear it. That’s what I’ve discovered. I make songs about Ira Glass and comic books and people actually like it, and I’ve been thankful for that.

Backstage with Adam WarRock & Oscar Mendez ~ Photo courtesy of Kollaboration

Stephe:  Right.  One thing we found fascinating was your reason for getting into rap in the first place–the fact that you thought you could say a lot more with rap than you could in a regular song.

Adam:  Yeah! That’s nice.  I  came from a writing background.  I’ve played instruments and done other stuff, but I’ve always been drawn to writing poetry or performing the spoken word. And somehow I just graduated into doing rap music.

Stephe:  And you do it well.  Have a great show tonight.

Terri:  Please do.  We’re excited.

Adam:  I’m excited too.  Thank you very much.

Adam WarRock Works the Kollaboration Crowd ~ Photo courtesy of Kollaboration

[Author’s Note:  After the performance, we found Adam at his merch table and congratulated him on his win.  We asked him how he felt and he said, “Shocked.”  He said that when the winner was being announced, he was actually behind the group of performers, backstage, checking out text messages on his cell phone, not really believing he had a chance.  So, he was truly shocked when they called his name.  We, however, were not shocked in the least. :-}]

Kollaboration Atlanta 4’s 2nd Place Winner:  Purple Elephant Society

2nd Place Winner, Purple Elephant Society ~ Photo by Jim Thornton

Terri: Tell me a little bit about yourselves–who you are and how you got started and we’ll go from there.

2nd Place Winner, Purple Elephant Society Photo by Jim Thornton

Ajaye: Well, we are the Purple Elephant Society. My name is Allan “Ajaye” Skeen, Jr. [former Swagger Crew member, ABDC 5]  This is Daishandra Loving, Vony Woods and Jason “Caba” Cabacungan [also former Swagger Crew member, ABDC 5], our artistic director.

And we’re the group. We started out actually about a month and a half, two months ago. We had our first auditions for the company. So, we’re a brand new company.

We do all styles of hip hop—popping, locking, breaking, krumping—and we’re going to start branching into more contemporary styles—jazz, funk—and just try to get the well-roundedness together . I said that in the other interview too. So.

Terri: Sounds good. What are you going to do for us tonight?

Ajaye: Tonight we have a special little treat. It is a piece that is based on the Men in Black series. It’s nice and intricate. I don’t know how to explain it. [To Vony] How would we explain it?

Vony: It’s a fun show. We’re going to be doing our best to be entertaining. We just want to put on a good show for you guys.

Terri:  I’m sure we will enjoy it.  So, what’s the plan for Purple Elephant Society as a crew?  As a group?  In the future?

Ajaye: Our plan is to branch out into the Atlanta dance community, in whatever way possible, to go out there and do a lot of community service, get the community involved in dance and the actual industry of dance and learning the technique of not just hip hop, but of all styles of dance.

Then, to incorporate all of that into every show that we do. We also want to give other dancers an opportunity to perform that might not necessarily be able to get the professional training that they could get in another city.

Purple Elephant Society ~ Photo by Johnny Cheng

T: Where are you guys all from? Are you all Atlanta-based?

Ajaye:  Actually, the majority of us are from other places, but we are all based here now. I’m from Springfield, Massachusetts, as well as Vony.  She’s also from Springfield. Daishandra is from Pascal, Washington.

Daishandra: Washington State.

Ajaye:  Yeah. And Jason is—actually you’re from here!

Jason: Yeah, I’m homegrown. I’m from here.

Ajaye: He comes back and forth from Florida. Florida/Atlanta? I don’t know.

Terri: Thank you for taking a little time with us. I know you’re busy—and we’ve run out of time.  They’re about to start the show.

 Stephe: I just wanted to say this. You all were talking in Kollaboration’s promo video about how through dance, you could show your personalities without talking? Without singing? Well, I think you have really good shot. You’re gonna to do fine, because the four of you were great in that [Kollaboration] video. Your personalities came straight out. It was great. So have a great show. We’re going to enjoy watching you.

PES Crew: Thank you.

2nd Place Winner, Purple Elephant Society ~ Photo courtesy of Kollaboration

To see more photos, watch more videos, and read the rest of our interviews with the other performers, please visit Cloud USA’s Kollaboration Page (under construction).

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Sources: Cloud USA & Kollaboration Atlanta

Posted in Asian Culture, Korean Culture, Korean Entertainment, Uncategorized
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[Cloud USA reminder] A super cell is on the horizon.

•April 25, 2011 • 5 Comments

Good news! Cloud USA‘s Atlanta Cloudburst is having their first face-to-face meeting on Saturday, April 30, 2011, 6 p.m.

For more information about the event and to RSVP to join the party, please visit our fan forum’s Atlanta Cloudburst conversation at: http://cloudusa.lefora.com/2010/12/02/cloud-usa-super-cell-atlanta-georgia/

We look forward to meeting everyone!

Terri :-} and Stephe ^@@^

Posted in Cloud USA, Rain Topics, usa cloud
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Rain check.

•April 25, 2011 • 10 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

RRG served up fresh and hot, from Rain’s Ninja Assassin premiere era. (courtesy of babycookie)

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N-i-c-e Rain character compilation art, compliments of rainstorm, Japan. Every role he’s played in his career is here. Woah.

The Man in a CF where he won a fictitious Grammy in the States (filmed in Australia). He had mental flashbacks of this CF in the car on the way to the 2010 MTV Movie Awards last year, and was humbled and amazed to be there. 🙂

Posted in Bi Rain, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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Don’t forget about J.VJQ… it’s going to Rain there, too.

•April 25, 2011 • 6 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Well heavens, everyone. MENtholatum Skincare for men has had us all in such a relentless full-nelson with the visuals of their Rain OcHyPo (oil.Control/Hydrate/Power.UP) campaign, to where we can barely breathe and that we sort of forgot that Rain has two new endorsers in China, not just one.  Doh!

And so I moseyed myself on over to J.VJQ hypoallergenic Cosmetics, where Rain is a new face of V·OnFace, and sure enough, the old homepage with the female spokesmodel and products are gone, and in its place is this temporary doorway:

Oh yes, folks. Looks like the 2010 J.VJQ website is in the process of revamping itself with 2011 Rain. The homepage has been temporarily changed to herald Jung JiHoon’s arrival. He is coming on board.

Everything inside looks temporary as well, in fact. The site is sprinkled with a few chosen shots from the J.VJQ press conference in Beijing this past March 25, and none of the CFs are active, et cetera. But they definitely want people to know that Rain is coming.

Very interesting indeed. Are Rain and the current spokesmodel, popular Korean actress Kim HeeSun, going to be co-faces? Probably so. V·OnFace appears to have product lines for both women and men.

So we will sit back and wait patiently for J.VJQ to finish doing their thing. What oh what kind of marketing theme have they decided to use? What kind of Rain visuals will they end up delighting us with? Whatever they do, it had better be on point. MENtholatum has come out of the gate like gangbusters and they are taking no prisoners.

Please stay tuned.

Stephe @cloudusa.wordpress.com

P.S.: We have permanent links to J.VJQ and MENtholatum in our media blog sidebar under Links: Chinese.

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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It’s About Time: Rain in Times Square

•April 25, 2011 • 32 Comments

~ Cloud Cover by: Terri, Managing Editor

Well, FINALLY.

Apparently, Rain is in Times Square, enjoying the city and being very accommodating. 

Nice pic, Rain.  We hope you are having a WONDERFUL time.  :-}  ^@@^

Ladies, I will add more pics here under this post as they roll in.  It’s easier than me making multiple ones.

Terri :-}

Posted in 2011 Time Magazine 100, Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Bi Rain Runaway/Fugitive/DoMangJa, Rain, Rain in NYC, U.S. Alert
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[ETA: Rain on the Plane. :-}] Tweets Abound: He’s ready!

•April 25, 2011 • 22 Comments

~Cloud Cover by:  Terri, Managing Editor

He’s in NYC and he’s ready!  Go get ’em Ji-Hoon!

Terri :-}

Edited to Add:   A self-portrait — Rain on the Plane (Heh, heh.  I crack myself up… Terri.  :-}]

Posted in 2010 Time 100 Poll, @29Rain Tweets, Bi Rain, bi rain magazine, Bi Rain Runaway/Fugitive/DoMangJa, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain, Rain in NYC, Uncategorized
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[ETA Eng trans] Tweets abound: There are two phenoms in this picture.

•April 25, 2011 • 2 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

(Rain, and the backpack.)

Yes, yes, yes, MCM… we know the Man is representing you with a fierceness all over the world. We only hope you’re paying him what he’s worth. Just sayin’. (They are basically tweeting here about Rain’s TIME 100 trip and how this stylish world star is sporting their Phenomenon backpack on his road to New York.)

Source: MCM_Korea @Twitter / Image: MCM_Korea @Twitpic

타임지가 또 한번 인정한 월드스타 비(Rain)! 뉴욕에서 열리는 ‘타임 100人’ 파티참석을 위해 출국하는 모습에서도 ‘MCM 페노메논 백팩’과 함께 스타일리시한 월드스타의 진면모를 보여주고 있습니다.

[Edited to Add: (English translation by rain bird @rain-eu.) World star Rain who has once again been acknowledged by Time magazine ! He is showing his real worth as a world star by looking very stylish with ‘MCM Phenomenon Back Pack’ even while leaving the country to attend ‘The Time 100 Party’ to be held in New York.]

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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Rain check: Rain arrives at JFK.

•April 25, 2011 • 11 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

(credit: Scorpiola @rain-cloud)

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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[quickie][fan made] Dearest Rain: Happy 9th Anniversary~2002-2011.

•April 24, 2011 • Leave a Comment

RAIN (bi) _Happy 9th Anniversary ~2002-2011. (credit and edit: Kongsao / Rainbijiwoo @ YT) — Stephe ^@@^

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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[slideshow][clip][fan cams] Rain leaves Incheon Airport for the 2011 TIME Gala in NYC.

•April 24, 2011 • 6 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Rain is on his way to the States as we speak. And he has his “American look” and hairdo on for the occasion. Nice! For our latest updates on his progress, please go to Terri’s U.S. Alert post HERE. Thanks.

[Rain (Bi) News]110424 Rain @ Incheon International Airport. (Source: TV Daily / courtesy of ratoka @YT)

[Rain (Bi) Fancam 4]110424 Rain @ Incheon International Airport. (Source: DC / courtesy of ratoka @YT)

[fan cam] 110424 인천 공항 출국. (Credit: goldenRain6to5 @YT)

[Rain (Bi) Fancam 2]110424 Rain @ @ Incheon International Airport. (Source: DC / courtesy of ratoka @YT)

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Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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[ETA ANOTHER UPDATE] U.S. Alert: The Man is On His Way to NYC, U.S. Clouds…

•April 24, 2011 • 17 Comments

[NEW UPDATE: Wanna track his flight in real time, Clouds?  Well, then.  Go here: http://www.flightview.com/TravelTools/, choose his airline in the drop-down menu, Korean Air, type in Flight 85 in the box for the flight number, click “find flight” and you will see Rain’s flight in the air.  Want to be even more stalkerish?  Scroll down and click on the “Launch Live” button, and you will be able to see his plane actually move across the U.S., towards NYC.  Have fun, Clouds! :-}]

[UPDATE:  Rain’s flight to NYC has been identified.  He is on Korean Air Flight KE85.  Right now (2:36 PM EST), the tracker says he should be arriving at about 8:00 PM EST tonight (April 24), at JFK.  Thank you, NovemberRain, on The Cloud, for this tip:  http://www.twitlonger.com/show/a2967o ]

Calling all Clouds!

It has been reported that Rain is on the way to The States.  And we know he left because here’s a video of him leaving.

[credit: on YouTube]

He left at 19:30 PM KST through the Incheon International Airport and is on his way to NYC.

We have no idea which flight he took.  As far we as can tell, no one has posted that information anywhere.  If anyone out there has that information, that would be helpful to those on the ground in NYC who might be able to meet his plane when he lands.

In any event…hold onto your hats, U.S. Clouds…he’s coming!

Terri :-}

Posted in 2010 Time 100 Poll, Bi Rain, Internet Poll, Rain, Rain in NYC, U.S. Alert, Uncategorized, usa cloud
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[quickie][fan made] Happy 9th Debut Year Anniversary, Rain!

•April 24, 2011 • 7 Comments

RAIN (Bi) Fanmade MV ~ Happy 9th Anniversary~ (credit and edit: lunaluna / courtesy of eye0rain @YT) — ^@@^

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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[instructions] Twitter Trend to celebrate Rain’s 9th career anniversary and TIME 100 honor.

•April 24, 2011 • 4 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Posted on The Cloud Rain News board by NovemberRain, and carefully compiled by Wakkitakki. The #RAINtimeNINE Event Time Announcer set up to get everyone to the Trend on time is HERE.

TRENDING PROJECT
#RAINtimeNINE
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
9:00 p.m. Seoul, Korea time

Please join fans and supporters of Rain to trend at Twitter. This trend is to celebrate Rain winning the 2011 TIME 100 Poll and becoming the 2011 PEOPLE’S CHOICE for the TIME 100 list of most influential people in the world. It is also to celebrate the 9th anniversary of his debut. Rain debuted as a solo performer on April 24, 2002. On April 26, 2011, he will once again be walking the red carpet at the TIME 100 gala event in New York City, New York USA.

Trending will begin at 9 p.m. Seoul, Korea time on Tuesday, April 26. The trending tag: #RAINtimeNINE A special clock has been set up so you can find the time in your area that matches with 9 p.m. Go here: http://tinyurl.com/3c76h2r Find your city or the one closest to you and there will be the time for you to be online and trending.

Below are detailed instructions for trending for those who have never done this. Skip #1 if you already have an account.

HOW TO TREND AT TWITTER

1. You will need a Twitter account. Visit http://twitter.com/ to create an account if you do not already have one. You will need an email account to do so. I suggest using gmail.com Put gmail.com in search bar and it will take you to the page to create that mail account. Click on “create an account” and follow the directions. You may set up more than one gmail account and more than one twitter account using the extra gmail account. This can be useful for trending projects and voting.

There is a function for finding people to follow. Obviously the first one you should follow is Rain. His twitter: @29rain After that you can click on Who To Follow and twitter will make suggestions. I don’t know how accurate it is in matching you up to others though.

2. You will need to tweet messages of 140 characters or less that contain this: #RAINtimeNINE Each tweet must have this in order for it to count toward the trend. Your tweet must contain other words in addition to the trend in order to not be considered spam. See example:

Congratulations to Rain! #RAINtimeNINE
USA welcomes Rain to NYC! #RAINtimeNINE

3. Trending also requires that these tweets be RETWEETED. Every tweet you see that has #RAINtimeNINE in it needs to be retweeted. Hover your cursor under the tweets that contain the trend and click RETWEET. There will be a pop up that asks if you want to retweet to your followers. Click Retweet. (If you have the older version of Twitter, click yes)

You can easily find the tweets to retweet by typing #RAINtimeNINE in the search bar. It will pull up all tweets that contain it. Simply retweet them. You especially want to retweet the ones that have the most retweets on them already. The tweets you pull up will have a notation of number of retweets posted on it.

** Important Please Read Carefully!**

Twitter does not count tweets OR retweets done by privated accounts. In order for your tweets & retweets to be counted in the trend your twitter should NOT be Protected (locked)! If you have locked your account(s) go to Settings> Account> Tweet Privacy> UNCHECK Protect My Tweets When set to private only those who follow you see your tweets. You may easily set this back when you finish trending.

Twitter only allows a certain amount of tweets or retweets done in succession & once you hit that mark your twitter account will be “frozen” for up to 2 hours & you will only be allowed to READ tweets. The approximate number is 125. This is why you may wish to have more than one twitter account for trending purposes. We will need to have at least 100 tweets/retweets per minute in order to trend.

Twitter will not count any tweet in the trend that has more than 3 things with a hashtag (#) in the tweet. Over 3 and the tweet will not count. Example: OMG #Rain !! #RAINtimeNINE #WebelieveinRain Go #Rain! This would not count. This would: Go #Rain! Congrats! #RAINtimeNINE

If you need a quick refresher course go here to the original thread on the trend project: http://www.rainlegend.com/bbs5/v … mp;extra=#pid102190

By: Wakkitakki @rainlegend.com

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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[clip] Revisiting 2006: Rain attends his first TIME 100 Gala, in NYC.

•April 23, 2011 • Leave a Comment

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Actually, this YStar Channel entertainment news clip is about Rain AND my favorite Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer. And I absolutely do not blame the production team for it because Bruckheimer was and is one of the folks at the TOP of the mover-and-shaker totem pole in Tinseltown. For real. He knows what projects to put his name behind, and can spot a winner when he sees one.

Let us reminisce, and prepare for Rain’s 2011 Red Carpet repeat. 🙂

(Guess what, CloudUSAers? It’s going to be some of you standing there greeting Rain this time! OMG, are y’all excited or what?)

[music] Rain, Time magazine selected 100 people Party (비, 타임지 선정 100인 파티 참석). (credit: ystarchannel3 @YT)

Posted in Bi Rain, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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Rain check.

•April 23, 2011 • 3 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

(All courtesy of rainstorm, Japan)

Posted in Bi Rain, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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Information on the upcoming Rain Twitter Trend.

•April 23, 2011 • 12 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

This works out to Tuesday morning, April 26 at 8:00 am EST here on the east coast. (And don’t forget… we have a whole slew of tools on our Conversion Page HERE.)

[post] @The Cloud Rain News board:

Hello clouds…

we are trying to trending #RAINtimeNINE for Rain on Twitter on 26th April the day he will attends TIME 100 party. And make it Worldwide Trend this time.

The Trend is #RAINtimeNINE 26 April 9:00 PM KST (korea Time) you can check your local time here:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=%23RAINtimeNINE&iso=20110426T21&p1=235&ah=2

so we wanted to informed all clouds about this event and please help us to spread the words by tweeting or posting in every forum you’re at

By : RedCloud @rainlegend.com

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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[clips] Rain in entertainment news. There be a million of ’em.

•April 23, 2011 • 1 Comment

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

But we’ll just give you some of them on this fine Saturday. 🙂

First up, an idol chart show on 4/20 showcases two full minutes of Rain’s body and declares him the #1 hottest In The Land. “C’mon, yo! jeongidam-yo! namomun-yo! Yo-yo-yoooo!” ROFLMAO! *tears streaming from my eyes* Please enjoy! Thanks for sharing this with everyone, Duggu. Hug all of your Peruvian Clouds hello from us in Atlanta.

110420 Idol Chart Show ranks hottest idol bodies_Rain#1. (Credit: duggu1982 @YT)

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KBS TV 1 offers up another (shorter) Rain interview today on their News9 segment, 4/23, that showcases his TIMEline and career.

Rain 110423 NEWS. (courtesy of maruborarainish @YT)

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CEN in China reports on the TIME 100 special issue.

RAIN BI 비 110423 CEN_雜誌嚴選百大國際名人 (Journal of carefully selected international celebrities Baida). (Credit: biblueberry06 @YT / Cloud Taiwan)

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In a quick-quick-quick clip, Rain encourages participants on MBC TV’s Birth of a Great Star audition (스타오디션 위대한 탄생).

[Eng Trans]110422. (source: DC / courtesy of ratoka @YT)

(English translation by rain bird @rain-eu.)

RAIN: “I’m really looking forward to this, and I’m also excited.

I’ll cheer for them, too.”

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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[Eng trans] RAINY DAY Season 3, episode 4. Four gorgeous songs, back to back.

•April 23, 2011 • 16 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Asia broadcast 4/23. It continues raining as we pick up where we left off last week…

It’s about 2:15 (probably PM) at Sun Music Studio now. SungTak helps Rain a bit with his thought processes before he launches into “I Do.” Dancer/Choreographer SungTak, who I absolutely adore, is one of his dearest hyungs, one of his 7 Rainmakers, and has been with him since the beginning of time his earliest JYPE days. SungTak has been instrumental in the choreography for “It’s Raining” and lord knows how many other Rain projects. I truly don’t think a day will ever come when the man isn’t in Rain’s Crew and there by Rain’s side. It’s a forever thing, yo. And I like it.

(Love that mirrored column Rain is standing close to, because we keep getting shots of his eternal cameraman. Haha!)

“JiHoon the Jokester” is never far away from Rain even in rehearsals, as we’ve been seeing since this season began. Who the heck is he sneering at while singing? Well the guy is sneering right back at him, so that’s good. LOL! (Wasn’t he “ordering” this guy to get coffee earlier? LOL)  Enter the “I Do” girls. Let me pause a moment and just listen to the master sing… The band is a little too loud at one point and has to bring the volume down…

Aaaand we’re into “My Girl.” Yeah. He almost starts off in the wrong place but quickly corrects himself, and we don’t care anyway, do we? Because he works so darn hard all the time to get it right. ♥ “My Girl” has to be fine-tuned big time because there will be a fan on stage with him. Gosh, I’ve said this before, but this band is just tops. They sound so good.

We get a small portion of “Love Is” next, right before “Not A Single Day” (Harudo). Woah… four of his most gorgeous songs, back to back— My heavens, just listen to that voice wrap itself around Harudo after he tests that mic. Goodness gracious me! *turning the sound WAY up*

And that is where we end for this week. Boy, serious hair fetish fans got their money’s worth in this episode, wouldn’t you say? ‘Til next time!

Stephe @cloudusa.wordpress.com

(credit : happyyyrain (Torrent) / courtesy of ratoka @YT)

Continue reading ‘[Eng trans] RAINY DAY Season 3, episode 4. Four gorgeous songs, back to back.’

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics, RAINY DAY
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[Cloud USA Article] Time & Rain: Terri’s Take

•April 23, 2011 • 36 Comments

~Cloud Cover by Terri, Managing Editor :-}

There is a trend building and, frankly, it’s bothersome.  So, since I had a few minutes this morning to sit down and actually write, I wanted to say something that might at least slow down the momentum of the bad buzz.

First, to all of you Clouds out there who are irritated at Time Magazine:

I understand your irritation over Time Magazine.  I really do.  Yes, their write-up about Rain was lame as hell.  So were some of the other write-ups about the rest of the people on the list, many of which were done by “guest” writers.  Annoying?  Yes.  Tragic?  Not so much.

As frustrating as the Time experience can be, the enormous amount of effort I devote to this cause every year is worth it.  Why?  Because of the massive amounts of publicity Rain receives—not only here in the good old U.S. of A., but also all over the globe—every single time he lands on top of that online poll or in that magazine.

Frankly, it’s not about the “feel good,” people.  Instead, it’s about the fame—and the fortune.  I’m of the opinion that the only reason Time sponsors an online poll every year is to draw traffic to their website right before they publish their special Time 100 issue, in the hopes that more people will visit their website and maybe buy their physical magazine.  That’s all it is—a marketing ploy.

Yeah, yeah.  I know Time Magazine’s Managing Editor, Richard Stengel, would probably object mightily over my cynicism.  In fact, he talks a good game in his “democratization of influence” article on Time.com.  Still, no one will convince me that the people on Time’s list are truly the world’s most influential people until the following two things occur:

  1. the people who are chosen for the Time 100 list are chosen by popular vote ONLY, by voters all over the world, and
  2. when Time Warner, one of the world’s largest and wealthiest media conglomerates and owner of Time Magazine, becomes a non-profit organization.

The good news is it’s a marketing ploy that appears to be working beautifully.  So, for that alone, I can’t help but give Time kudos.

Time reported 23.1 million global unique visitors in March 2011.  That was before the Time 100 Online Poll had even started.  That ain’t chump change, folks.  One thing I can’t figure out, though, is why the fact that this is a marketing endeavor is bothering some Clouds so much.  After all, doesn’t Rain’s career as a celebrity depends on how popular he is with the masses who might be willing to spend their hard-earned money on his work?

Just think about it.  Because of Time.com’s poll and their Time 100 issue, over 23.1 million people have been exposed to Rain.  Most likely, more than 23.1 MILLION people, after the poll began!  And that’s not counting all of the people who might pick up a physical magazine issue now that it’s out on newsstands.

Frankly, Clouds everywhere should be dancing in the streets right about now.  It’s pretty obvious from his recent tweets that Rain is giddy with glee about it.  So, why aren’t we, his most ardent supporters, just as delighted as he is?

Second, to those who wonder why Rain would even bother to show up at Time’s gala at all, after supposedly being so horribly insulted with such a lame write-up:

Again, because it’s good marketing.  Rain will be attending the gala for the very same reasons that everyone else will be attending:

  1. It is an honor.  Regardless of what you may think about Time Magazine, it is still is an award winning magazine, and it truly is an honor to have been chosen as one of their 100 most influential people in the world.  It’s even an honor to have won their silly online poll, because it means you are really REALLY popular.
  2. Some of the world’s 100 most influential people (according to Time editors, anyway) will be in attendance.  And frankly, not to expose himself to those people would be extremely stupid.  And if there’s one thing Ji-Hoon is NOT, it’s stupid.

Third, to those who wonder why we all bother to participate in this stupid thing year after year after year:

Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I know why Cloud USA encourages everyone to participate in it every year.

The effect of being on top of that poll and in that award-winning magazine (I repeat, yes, they do win awards and they ARE prestigious, even if we hate to admit it.) means that Rain gets invited to a party where, for an entire evening, he is able to schmooze with some smart, powerful, and highly influential people.  At that gala, he might meet that one person who will remember his name and pass it on to that one producer who will offer him the opportunity of a lifetime.

Shoot.  He might even meet the girl of his dreams there and end up residing in the U.S. forever.  After all, according to Rain in his latest KBS interview, his “ideal type” is still Megan Fox.  You never know.  (LOL.  Okay, now that was totally a fan moment.  Sorry, Clouds.  :-})

If we can take the time out of our busy lives to vote for Rain and put him at the top of a gazillion online polls on a gazillion obscure fan sites all over the globe, then why can’t we continue to vote for him on an online poll that brings him such an amazing amount of exposure?  In my humble opinion, it’s not about Time Magazine at all.  It’s about Rain.  It’s about about getting the people who think they might be able to use him to make more money for themselves to even notice he’s freaking alive.

In case you hadn’t noticed, that’s Cloud USA’s mission:  “to present Jung Ji-Hoon, the artist known as Rain (Bi), to the English-speaking world, in an effort to help him achieve his personal and professional goal of becoming a world star.”

And you know what?  Clouds everywhere are helping us do a damned good job of completing our mission.  So, before I say anything else here, I’d like to say say THANK YOU to all of you Clouds out there for being there for Rain.

THANK YOU for voting on Time.com.  Thank you for being here with Cloud USA to help us share Rain with the U.S.A.  And thank you to those of you who are busily making plans to be in New York City to cheer Rain on outside Time’s gala event on Tuesday, April 26.

We hope all of you will continue to support Cloud USA and Rain whenever we think something is important enough for Rain’s career here in the U.S. for us to be involved in it. Our fervent wish is that someday Rain will be such a household name that Cloud USA will become redundant, that there will be no need for us anymore.  We truly do hope that in a few years, whenever people hear the name, Rain, instead of saying, “Rain?  Who the hell is Rain?”, they will be saying, “Rain?  Yeah.  Wow.  That guy’s got talent.”

Yep.  We’re just waiting for the day to come when Stephe and I can look at each other and grin and say:  “GAME OVER.”  :-}

Terri :-}



Posted in 2010 Time 100 Poll, Bi Rain, Cloud USA, Internet Poll, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain, Uncategorized
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It’s Time for a Little Rain.

•April 23, 2011 • 61 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Terri :-} and Stephe ^@@^, Managing Editors 

…and that’s exactly what TIME gave us…a little Rain.

Frankly, we’re speechless.

(magazine scans credit: Terri @CloudUSA)

Posted in 2011 Time Magazine 100, Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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Rain check #2.

•April 22, 2011 • 1 Comment

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Rain inside the April 2011 issue of Chinese magazine COOL Music (COOL 輕音樂). (Credit: oO时尚宠儿Oo @Baidu RainBar, as tagged / tip: Scorpiola @rain-cloud)

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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Tweets abound: Rain’s thoughts on his news interviews.

•April 22, 2011 • 4 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

More from Rain today! We love it when he gets that Twitter Itch.

And this is a recap from earlier, but with the Gori Tweets included.

For whatever reason, or whatever the context is between the lines here, maybe Rain is educating Gori on the TIME editors chosen 100 list, which isn’t voted on. Rain has been in the TIME online readers’ voting poll for SIX years. There is no way he does not know the online voting poll is chosen by voting. That would be just plain stupid.

That’s just my take.

If anything, Gori might have been trying to “score buddy points” on the sly over the rest of the Crew, and Hoon let him know he was on to him by shutting him down with an obvious lie. ROFL! In any case, we’ll probably never know. 🙂

Posted in @29Rain Tweets, Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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Rain check.

•April 22, 2011 • 9 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Rain on MBC TV’s Birth of a Great Star audition (스타오디션 위대한 탄생) today. (caps source site: rain-cloud)

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Rain during his interview on KBS Newsline today. (screen caps: DC / source site: rain-cloud)

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The BEST in Taipei, Taiwan… (tip: Scorpiola @rain-cloud / source: gq.com)

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Seating chart for The BEST Rain 2011 tour stop in Taipei City, Taiwan… at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall. (tip: Scorpiola @rain-cloud / source: g-music.com)

Posted in Bi Rain, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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Pop meets Classic: The Cloud donation project at the Dresden Music Festival.

•April 22, 2011 • 5 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

What a great idea, for Clouds to help Rain and cellist Vogler bring pop music and classical music together in Europe, and to show that, no matter where Rain goes, we’ll be there in the flesh to support him. And the victims of the Japan earthquake get more aid in the process. Germany should be abuzz for a good while after this concert.

Looks like everything’s all set. Thumbs UP, Korean Clouds!

[post] Donation Project at Dresden Music Festival – 19 May 2011 @The Cloud English Talk Board

Posted by: huhuhuhu, 4/22/2011

When the news that Rain and Vogler will be performing together at the Dresden Music Festival on 19 May, 2011 was announced, we believe it is a special occasion: Rain will be performing on stage for the first time in Europe, it is “Asian Pop meets European Classic” and Rain is the best ambassador to cross over the two cultures. We want to offer our congratulations and to show our love and support, and we think Rain will like our idea of a donation. This is also a very good way to demonstrate the positive influence Rain has, which is far beyond merely an online poll.

Our original idea is that as Rain will be releasing a new album (at that time the date we got was April), we will give 519 copies of his latest album to the audience who will attend the concert to introduce Rain to them. They could make a voluntary donation in return.

When we knew that the new album will not be released in time for the event, we decided to give Rainism and Back to the Basic instead. Korean clouds donated the CDs to us for this project.

We contacted the Dresden Music Festival for their approval. They were positive and supportive. The donation will be made to arche noVa, a non-profit and non-governmental organization from Dresden, and the fund will be used for the Japan disaster victims. (Link to arche voVa: http://www.arche-nova.org/versio … p;sprache=en&id)

We understand that Mr. Vogler himself may have made the final decision on this, and that Rain may also have been informed. Regardless of this, we think it is a meaningful project itself.

If you will be in Dresden for the performance, please do visit our stand and lend us your support. If you cannot be there in person and would like to make a contribution to support the project, please send in your donation via paypal to: RainsHawaiianCloud@yahoo.com.

Posted in Bi Rain, Cloud USA, Rain Topics, The Official Cloud Fan Club
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[ETA Eng trans][article][clip] Rain interviewed on KBS TV 1 about his career and TIME 100 repeat.

•April 22, 2011 • 31 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Do enjoy Rain’s interview on KBS Newsline, fans, which took place today.

Wow, Rain, you’re such a fashion plate (is that the Alfred Dunhill suit you wore on your March Esquire cover, or one similar?) and boy did you look good on the air! You also looked as cool as a cucumber and so darned happy. Delighted. You’ve probably thought a lot about that TIME Red Carpet every year since you last stood on it in 2006, and now, to know that you’re going to walk on it again in a matter of days… Well, were it me, I’d be over the moon too. 😀

Oooops—the anchorman just had to zing JiHoon unexpectedly about marriage. LOL! What a surprise (to him too). Heheh. We’ve had The Discussion before, folks, for the past three years. Don’t get all excited. Ain’t happening yet. Mama knows. LOL!

For an idea on what was said in this interview, do see the article included in this post. If a translation is made available, we’ll bring that to you here.

 [HQ]110422 Interview. (credit: KBS / courtesy of ratoka @YT)

[**ETA 4/23: Hmm. And so the plot really thickens. Remember when I said that the names on the TIME 100 List and the Online Readers Poll List  often overlapped (ended up the same)? Sounds to me like that’s what Rain is talking about here, and it may very well be true that he was chosen early, and what I have to say to that is: Rain, you should probably go back to TIME and say WTH, guys! because if that’s the write-up you get when you’re chosen, then you got gypped. 

Oh my god! The Megan Fox debacle from the past will rear its ugly head yet again now! LOL! Those really were some great questions from Twitter and all. — Stephe ^@@^] 

(English translation by rain bird @rain-eu.) 

~0:22
Q : Rain has been twice selected as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine, and he has also ranked top in its online poll. It is an honor and a pleasure to welcome him to this news show. Hello, Rain.

Rain : Yes, hello.

Q : Congratulations to you for being chosen as one of the 100 people.

Rain : Thank you.

0:26~0:36
Q: I hear you’ve also ranked top in the Time online poll.

Rain : Yes. and I must say I never expected to be. It’s a great honor.

Continue reading ‘[ETA Eng trans][article][clip] Rain interviewed on KBS TV 1 about his career and TIME 100 repeat.’

Posted in 2011 Time Magazine 100, Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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Tweets abound: Rain thanks his fans across the world and shares his precious TIME invitation.

•April 22, 2011 • 21 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

And he did it in ENGLISH on his Twitter. Oh, my stars…! Is that awesome or what? *speechless* ♥ He must be ecstatic all right.

Okay, fans and Clouds up the eastern seaboard… he is TIME gala-bound, and you now have the time and the place. Make him welcome when he arrives. Show New York just how much he means to Asia, North and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, all of us. Represent!

Oh, JiHoon—congratulations!

(source: 29rain @Twitter / 29rain @Twitpic)

Posted in @29Rain Tweets, Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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[article] Attention New York Clouds: Rain’s coming to the 2011 Time 100 reception.

•April 21, 2011 • 16 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

And on top of that, color me tickled. This article out of the Asian media is perfectly correct concerning Rain’s TIMEline, while the ones on our side of the world are wrong. LOL! Wow.

Asia Economy/Naver News, Korea Economy/Nate News 4/22/2011 — [English translation by rain bird @rain-eu.]

Rain becomes the first Asian to be twice picked as TIME’s top 100 most influential entertainers in the world.

As world star Rain has become the first Asian to be twice selected as one of the World’s Most Influential People by the Time magazine after ranking top in its 100 Poll this year, he is being congratulated from his fans all over the world.

Before this, in the 2011 Time 100 Poll that closed officially as of midnight on 14 April, Rain took first place, maintaining dominant position in the list of 203 candidates after beating out Jay Chou (second), Susan Boyle (third) and so on.

As a result, he is scheduled to leave the country at 19:30pm on 24 April at the invitation of an official party hosted by the Time 100 to be held on 26 April in New York.

The party will be attended by prominent figures from around the world included in the Time 100, including the American First Lady Michelle Obama and Rain. He is expected to return home at 17:35pm on 28 April in order to film movie ‘Red Muffler’ as scheduled.

Meanwhile, in 2006, Rain had proven it by being picked as TIME’s top 100 most influential entertainers in the world.

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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[quickie][clip] Revisiting 2009: Rain chosen to represent Seoul as a goodwill ambassador.

•April 21, 2011 • 3 Comments

Yes, pop stars do MORE than sing, dance, and act. They are very influential… in case anyone’s wondering. ^@@^ Rain (비) [ShowBiz Extra]. (credit: arirangworld @YT)

Posted in Bi Rain, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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[quickie][fan cam] Just call me Rain, babe… in Sepang.

•April 21, 2011 • 3 Comments

LMAO @ the fans around the cammer! ^@@^ 비 Rain 2011Malaysia F1GP live concert at Sepang *You*. (courtesy of MrsRainshaBi @YT)

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
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[articles] Newsflash: Rain has not won the TIME poll three years in a row. He has topped it.

•April 21, 2011 • 5 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

While write-ups on Rain in the English-speaking news that aren’t derogatory are terrific, awesome, and downright appreciated, some misinformation has been dropped by a news source today and everyone is running with it. Of course. As if there is no such thing as research and search engines on the Internet. *sigh* 

Rain won the TIME poll in 2007. He came in as the #2 runner-up in 2008. TIME claims no placings for anyone in 2009 because of the moot hack (though they did claim moot the winner. Odd.) Rain came in at #4 in 2010. He has won in 2011. Sources say he won it in 2006.

Let us review. A 2006 win, 2007 win, and 2011 win is not winning three years in a row, winning for the third straight year, etc. Wow, folks.

Rain has topped (been at the top of) the TIME poll every year, since he showed up there, an amazing feat indeed! And so, fans, enjoy these articles and ignore the misinformation on Rain’s TIMEline.

Stephe @cloudusa.wordpress.com 

» Reuters UK: Newsmakers join pop stars on Time 100 list.

» WHTC Holland: Newsmakers join pop stars on Time 100 list.

» National Post/The Ampersand Canada: Justin Bieber joins Oprah, Korean Pop Star Rain on Time 100 list.

» The Washington Post National Blogpost: Time 100 list: An Egyptian activist and Japanese doctor join Kate, William, Patti, and Rain.

» CBC News/Art & Entertainment: Bieber, Assange make Time’s most influential list.

—

There is no misinformation in this one. It’s just a finely written article that makes you really think about the whole TIME (100) machine. Nice.

» CBS News Online: Time 100: Interesting but not “most influential.”

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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[post] Have your say… the Biebs versus the Rain! :)

•April 21, 2011 • 21 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Just for fun, of course…! 😀

The post is correct when it calls them both two of the most talented men on the TIME list. There is a glitch where it says Rain has won the TIME poll three years in a row, however… He won it in 2007, 2011, and many sources say he won it in 2006. Regardless, we do like, like, like Hollywood Life’s enthusiastic support of Rain in this write-up.

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Hollywood Life 4/21/2011 —

Justin Bieber V. Rain — Who Is Your Favorite ‘TIME’ 100 Pop Star?

The two biggest international music acts both landed on the esteemed list, but which pop phenom is your favorite?

The highly anticipated TIME 100 list has finally been released, and two of the youngest, and no doubt most talented, men on the list are both international pop stars — Justin Bieber and Rain! 17-year-old Justin has had quite a year, and it’s only April! He released his 3-D movie Never Say Never to major box office bucks, is in the middle of an international tour and went public with his much discussed relationship with Selena Gomez. We wonder what else he has in store for the year!

Rain, 28, has also had a crazy year. For the third year in a row [no, not in a row ^@@^] Rain won the voter poll for the TIME list, beating out Lady Gaga and even President Obama! Rain also snagged an MTV Movie Award for his role in Ninja Assassin and remains one of the most beloved actors and singers in South Korea.

So HollywoodLifers, we want to know — who is your favorite TIME 100 pop star?

» You can see the original article on the Hollywood Life site HERE.

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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[charts/slideshow] Restating the obvious… It’s all over but the shouting at Time.com: Rain the 2011 TIME Poll winner.

•April 21, 2011 • 10 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

(If I may, let me give this teeny-weeny little suggestion to TIME for next year: DON’T have the extra week of Favorites Voting to give readers something to do and get your site more views while you get your final announcement ready. When the official voting deadline hits, just shut everything down. Your intentions are good, but it confuses people and it has for the past two years. They just don’t get it, so please don’t do it anymore.)

After the TIME Poll Machine was shut down over in the wee hours this morning, the last of the votes continued to trickle in for several hours, sort of like a time delay, and rightly so, seeing as THOUSANDS of people all over the planet had still been voting (for favorites only) nonstop over the past week. Even machines have their limit, folks. They can only go so fast. See below the final 2011 Online Readers Poll tally, where the slight shuffle in the rankings since last week only affected placement #2 and downward. Someone could have magically come up with half a million votes, sure, but because they didn’t do it before the end of the 14th, it wouldn’t have changed a thing. Rain had already earned his spot in the 100. (We continued voting because we just wanted to see how high we could all get him, and we are liking that final number. S-w-e-e-t.)

Doesn’t he look great in that top spot there? Doesn’t he? 😀  Congratulations to Jay Chou, Susan Boyle, Chris Colfer, and the other nominees who also made it to the top and gave Rain a run for his money. They have influenced many people across the world, will continue to do so, and they certainly deserved to be there.

Shine up those dress shoes and get that tux steamed, JiHoon. You’ve got a TIME party to go to!

» [photo essay] RAIN: South Korea’s Unstoppable Pop Superstar. Singer, dancer, actor—the artist’s triple thread potential has fueled his meteoric rise is HERE.

Heart throb. Fists of Fury. Crowd pleaser. Epic cool. Fashionista. Pop sensation. This is how TIME.com describes Rain. Thumbs up.

» Rain’s 2011 TIME 100 Poll winner Page is HERE.

» The final 2011 TIME 100 list, chosen by TIME’s editors and including Rain as our Online Readers Poll winner, is HERE.

(cap by Scorpiola)

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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[images/fan cam] Rain about town: In China for MENtholatum.

•April 21, 2011 • 19 Comments

— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Wait for it… wait for it… and… BAM. THERE IT IS.

[Fancam]110420 RAIN bi 비上海地鐵裡曼秀雷敦燈箱廣告 (Shanghai Metro Freeman Mentholatum Lightbox). (Source : rabbitee625 @tudou / courtesy of shelleyshea @YT)

Holy Cow! You know you’re The Man and you are larger than life if people see you—a lot of you—while hurrying to catch the subway. If I had to pass Rain’s delectable man-V blown up in a rapid transit station, I would NEVER, EVER catch my train or bus ON TIME. Would you?

MENtholatum sure knows how to sell a product, yo.

(Cloud USA photographer Jim is seriously impressed. He’s trying to think up ways to get his own portrait posted on columns in some of the MARTA stations in Atlanta, for business purposes of course…)

(images: as tagged @weibo)

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain MENtholatum, Rain Topics
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[quickie][clip] “It’s much better to take something off than dance.”

•April 21, 2011 • 8 Comments

I’ll say! 🙂 — ^@@^  / Korea’s Sexiest Male Stars [subbed]. Credit: KBS World / courtesy of neverlandlady @YT

Posted in Bi Rain, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon, Rain Topics
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