A little dancing never hurt anyone.

On the 18th of Saturday, I found myself at the  Beverly Garden Holiday Inn in North Hollywood at the K-Pop TaKover, presented by MYX TV, featuring MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew Season 5 winners Poreotics and Movement Lifestyle. People of all ages, from kids as young as 6 and adults as old as 48, participated in a number of dance workshops, scheduled over the course of two days, to learn and improve their dance techniques. What made this convention unlike any other was the fact that this was the first ever K-Pop convention.

Continue Reading »

Great news!

We’re doing a FREE giveaway.. even though it’s not Friday!

What a great way to start the week.

This weekend, MYX TV is bringing the first ever K-Pop dance convention a.k.a. K-Pop TaKeover on June 18-19th, Saturday and Sunday at the Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn.

Choreographers from Movement Lifestyle and Poreotics will be teaching the actual dance routines from music videos of Korean pop stars such as Big Bang, 2ne1, and Se7en.

Classes are valued $30 each, and this week, four lucky winners will be able to attend a class for free!

To enter, you must:

• FOLLOW us on Twitter and Facebook
• RETWEET the contest to your friends and link @audreymagazine so we’ll see you did this
• SHARE the link on your Facebook page
• COMMENT below with your favorite K-Pop song

You can enter as many times as you like.  The deadline is Wednesday 11:59 p.m., so hurry now!

Check out the website for class schedules and more information.

And here’s a sneak peek of just what you’ll be catching this weekend:

Don’t miss out!

Poreotics (top) and GRV (bottom) killing it out there.

This Sunday, January 30th, get ready for the hottest hip-hop competition in Southern California! Lambda Theta Delta is holding its 16th annual VIBE dance competition in Irvine to showcase only the best hip-hop teams in the West Coast. VIBE has staged some of the most recognized stars, such as the Jabbawockeez, SickStep and Far East Movement. Once again, they’re bringing many fan favorites to the stage of Bren Events Center for an amazing show. This is the night to witness competing teams show off their best moves and exhibition teams demonstrate once again why they are “must-see” acts. Music by some of YouTube’s well-known artists will also be featured.

This year, twelve teams battle it out to win the title of VIBE XVI Champs, including four past champion teams, three new teams and five returning teams who hope that this may be their year. Choreo Cookies, who have swept most of the previous titles, Kaba Modern, who appeared on America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC) and who won first place in VIBE VIII to X, Team Millennia, VIBE XII and XIII champs and CADC, VIBE XIV winners are back again for some tough competition. The teams returning to fight for the title are Pac Modern, GRV, 220, Common Ground and NSU Modern. But experienced doesn’t always mean better; they better watch out for IV League, The Company and Super Galactic Beat Manipulators who are appearing on this stage as contenders for the first time.

KM Legacy at VIBE XV.

Aside from some intense battle, VIBE is bringing in some well-respected groups, like KM Legacy, Kinjaz and Unity LA. In addition, some of the exhibition teams you may have seen on TV in shows like ABDC, but you have yet to see their acts live. These include Jungle Boogie, Boxcuttuhs and Poreotics (featuring Miniotics, their junior team). YouTube music stars are also coming together for a never-before-seen collaboration. Look out for Dumbfoundead, the Korean American rapper from Los Angeles who may be best known for his rap battles and viral hits, Jason Yang, a growing sensation on YouTube for his mastery in the acoustic and electric violin, and Victor Kim, known not only for his membership on Quest Crew but also for his musical talents.

Choreo Cookies receiving the title of VIBE XV Champions. (Photos courtesy of Tikko Studios Photography)

Don’t miss out! Pre-sale tickets are $25 and they can be purchased through (1) the Bren Event Center Box Office: 949-824-5000, (2) any Lambda Theta Delta representative, or (3) ticketmaster.com. Follow VIBE on twitter and facebook @VIBEdancecomp as well for live updates and a chance to win free tickets! A portion of their sales will be donated to a local charity.

DETAILS

Date: Sunday, January 30, 2011

Time: Doors open at 5 pm; Show starts at 6 pm

Venue: UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center
901 Mesa Road, Irvine, CA 92612

Cost: $25 pre-order; $30 at-the-door

With the year winding down, Audrey Magazine has narrowed down some greats of 2010.

Aarti Sequeira: The Next Food Network Star [Season 6]
We already told you that Aarti Sequeira won season 6 of The Next Food Network Star. She already has her own cooking show of The Food Network and is doing very well. She struggled a little in the beginning with her confidence, stating in an interview with us that she “didn’t think [she] had the culinary chops to compete with these people and challenges that were requiring you to cook in 15 minutes or something.” However, the judges really liked her for her unique take in which she incorporated her knowledge of Indian cuisine into classic American dishes. We will always remember her as a bubbly star who is very passionate in cooking.

Alex Wong: So You Think You Can Dance [Season 7]
Alex Wong may be one of the best dancers to have graced the SYTYCD stage. His exit due to an injury to his Achilles tendon was definitely one of the saddest moments on the show. This classically trained ballet dancer was a potential front-runner who many predicted would’ve won the show if it wasn’t for his misfortune. He gave America a strong first impression with a heartfelt contemporary piece to Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah,” danced with Allison Holker and choreographed by Travis Wall. His best moment though, has to be his hip-hop routine with Twitch to “Outta Your Mind” by Lil Jon and LMFAO, choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. Best wishes to Alex to full recovery.

Left: Andy South. Right: His winning design (episode 3).

Andy South: Project Runway [Season 8]
I love a designer who designs edgy clothes, and Andy South was definitely one of them. His signature looks all have a warrior-women resemblance. I was in disbelief that he managed to just braid and fold ribbons together to create a beautiful little black dress. He made it into the finale this season, but unfortunately, lost himself a bit at the end. Nonetheless, I am proud of his successes and hope he makes it far.

Kevin Wu and Michael Wu: The Amazing Race [Season 17]
Kevin Wu is an established Youtube star, better known as KevJumba. He has over a million subscribers on Youtube for his comedic videos. Michael Wu is his father and they went into the competition knowing their personalities are not the most compatible. Nonetheless, they managed to place 7th on The Amazing Race. Their best placement was third in Leg 2 and Leg 6.

Poreotics: America’s Best Dance Crew [Season 5]
This all-male Asian-American dance crew is best known as the winners of ABDC. Their name is derived from their specialization in popping, choreography and robotics, hence Po-reo-tics. They’ve been safe almost all season long, landing in the bottom two only once the week before the finale. Since the show, they made an appearance on Justin Bieber’s “Somebody to Love” video. They also formed Miniotics after their victory, which is a second sector of their crew that consists of dancers ages 16 and under.

KoreAm Journal’s Unforgettable Gala has come and gone.  All the glitz and glamour can be a little overwhelming to take in so Audrey breaks it down a bit for you with our Ten Things: Highlights (and lowlights) of Unforgettable.

1) A Jinro Bottle dressed up in a tux brings all the girls to the yard.

Forget the pick-up lines, nice cars and sleek haircut.  Because seriously, who can compete with this hunka hunka green chunka glass?

2-5.) We love Parks!

2. We love the gorgeous Park Plaza where Unforgettable was held.

3. We love the adorable Randall Park and how he can make the terribly trying task of being master of the ceremony (entertaining and informative and smart and semi-politically correct) look so easy.

4. We love Heather Park and her silky smooth husky tremor of a voice. We weren’t the only ones crushin’; Brian Joo could not stop raving about the R&B singer. (Park is also featured in the winter issue of Audrey Magazine.)

5. We love Grace Park. The Hawaii 5-0 cutie may be the only person in the world who can forget what she was supposed to say, like, 5 times throughout the night and have the audience still sigh at how adorable she is when she’s forgetful.

6. Poreotics can dance

The America’s Best Dance Crew champs showed what they were made of –which, if you just watch the way they dance, you’d think they were made of feathers and rubber– as they grooved their way into everyone’s hearts. Grace Park totally gave them a shout-out when she went on stage too! If that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is.

7. Juju Chang’s Acceptance Speech

The always eloquent Juju Chang used her effortlessly eloquent storytelling to show her gratitude for winning her achievement award for the evening.  Funny, sweet, poignant, America’s lucky to be able to say good morning to her everyday.

8. Ameriie and Kero One Duet??!

Would this not be the flyest collaboration ever?

9. Thank God for open bars.

Asians are naturally awkward, right? Thanks to sponsors Jinro Hite, we got a little juice to loosen them up and enjoyed a totally poppin’ after-party.

10. No thank you to camera hogs

A sore spot of the evening would have to be those individuals–you know who they are–that hogged the cameras as if it was their oxygen tank.  Going through the Unforgettable photo gallery, we couldn’t help but see one or two of these individuals that seem to be in EVERY SINGLE PICTURE with every single person they can possibly grab to stand next to them and pose with. I would post a picture to show you exactly what I mean but that would just be giving those fame whores exactly what they want- more attention. No thanks.

What were some of your highlights and lowlights to Unforgettable? Let Audrey know!

Photos thanks to Mas Chae, tada Chae and Eric Sueyoshi

It may be a bit early for awards season, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is hard at work narrowing down its film nominations. Among them is the docu-drama under the Philippines’ Star Cinema Productions called Noy. Co-directed, produced and starring Filipino actor Coco Martin, Noy held a screening for press at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles recently. The film is being considered in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the the 83rd Academy Awards, to be held in February 2011.

Fans, press and other celebrities gathered around the red carpet as the lone star, Coco Martin, stepped out of the limo and made his way to his film’s screening.

At last, the star of the night has arrived in a shining white blazer.

Before his arrival, stars like Michael Copon, Ron Jeremy and the dance group Poreotics made red carpet appearances.

ABS-CBN's Balitang America interviews Coco Martin.

Joining in with America's Best Dance Crews' Poreotics.

Martin plays Noy, a fabricated journalist amidst the real presidential campaign of now-President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. No, this story isn’t another Shattered Glass movie about a journalist who is a pathological liar. The film unravels as Noy’s true identity is revealed as he is blind-sighted by the drive to support his widowed mother, crippled older brother and bright young sister.

The indie film has all-around compelling performances from the actors who bring out the true core of the family-oriented Filipino who faces hardships with resilience and hard work. As heard on Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, ” ‘Ohana’ means ‘family.’ ‘Family’ means no one gets left behind.” That is the very case for this tale, but with a twist of fate and hint of Hurricane Ondoy’s aftermath. The cinematography is also charming, with an assortment of shots which make life like a box of chocolates because you never know if you’re going to get the bird’s eye view or the close-up. The musical score has a great way of embedding historic revivals into the film. However, its plot left me a little confused. Even Ron Jeremy said that he thought the acting was great, but the plot could have been clearer.

Coco Martin waits for his film, Noy to start.

After the film, Martin had a Q&A session and described his drive to carefully select roles because he is an advocate of the poor and also because he is one of the few Filipino celebrities who came from humble beginnings.

Martin has left his mark in the indie film industry in gay-oriented films Masahista (The Masseuse), Daybreak and Jay, but he truly got his break after starring in ABS-CBN dramas.

Filipino American actor Michael Copon prepares his notes before taking part in the Q&A portion.

Martin answered questions from the audience during the Q&A session.

The event ended with a reception, and it was on to more drinks, appetizers, gift bags and fun!

Gift bags containing a DVD of the film and other goodies were passed out to audience members.

Ron Jeremy (right) and a friend pose in their contrast-perfect clothes.

Keep checking back with AudreyMagazine.com to find out the fate of Noy for the awards season. In the meantime, check out the trailer here:

Far East Movement’s (FM) Kevin Nishimura, also known as Kev Nish, said it best last Sunday, September 6, at the JCPenney presents International Secret Agents Concert in Cerritos, Calif.: “This [concert] is about following your dreams and following your dreams to represent a community, our community.”

Already in its third year, the International Secret Agents (ISA) concert has become a gateway to building and making dreams come true for many hopeful Asian American artists. The show was a successful collaboration created by two visionary artist groups — Wong Fu Productions and Far East Movement — that truly illustrated the potential of many rising Asian American musicians, singers, filmmakers, comedians and dancers. This year’s ISA hosted not one, but two concerts — in New York and L.A.

Far East Movement gets the crowd going.

This was my first time attending one of the ISA concerts and let me tell you, the night was full of such great energy! It was truly a night dedicated to putting Asian American faces and personalities on stage.

Luckily, although I was running a bit late (as usual … horrible!), I got a chance to catch up with both the creators of ISA.

“ISA will bring the fans what they want, and allow these artists to extend their reach beyond their regular fan bases. This year is going to be historic,” said FM member James “Prohgress” Roh.

Wesley Chan, Ted Fu and Philip Wang of filmmaking group Wong Fu Productions also shared the same sentiment. Started in 2003 by Chan, Fu and Wang at UC San Diego, Wong Fu Productions has become an Internet sensation with 30 million viewers on their YouTube channel.

“The internet is how we were able to reach our fans on a global scale,” said Wang. “With ISA concerts, our fans get to meet us and the artists that we work with on a more personal local level. And to have ISA in both L.A. and New York is going to be amazing. The last three sold-out shows were all in California and fans were asking us to bring ISA to the East Coast. That’s why we decided to bring it to New York City — because the fans demanded it.”

This year’s glamorous event was nothing but a success, with famous YouTube stars Ryan Higa and Kevin Wu hosting the event along with dance starlet Lydia Paek of Quest Dance Crew … all sporting fall fashions from JCPenney!

Kevin Wu, more popularly known as KevJumba on YouTube, said the cast had just gotten back from New York. He explained that although they were tired, they were ready to start ISA LA with lots of energy and high-spirits. Wu had said that ISA LA had given the artists a chance to reunite again and see their friends one more time. “It’s like a reunion and it’s been nothing but great,” said Wu.

To his viewers’ delight, Wu has even more exciting news as he and his father have been announced as the new contestants on CBS’s The Amazing Race. He said he is nervous but excited for the show.

The line-up included the darling AJ Raphael (singer/songwriter with 200,000 YouTube subscribers), bohemian princess Alyssa Bernal (Interscope recording artist with 300,000 YouTube subscribers), and America’s Best Dance Crew Season 5 champs Poreotics. Surprise guests included my fellow anteater and YouTube queen Jennifer Chung who was spotted in the audience, the ever-funny man Danny Cho, dreamy YouTube singer David Choi, Andrew Garcia, America’s Best Dance Crew Season 3 champions Quest Crew, and even Nick Cannon! (Since when did he become Asian?)

But perhaps the two most anticipated performers of the night was none other than FM and South Korea’s former 2PM music band member Jay Park (Park Jay Beom).

This was Park’s first live performance since leaving the Korean stage. He will be debuting his new album on September 24. His performance was different from his pop 2PM days as his single, “Demon,” is a powerful song full of poised beat and rhythm. FM’s “Girls on the Dance Floor” just debuted as the #12 most purchased on iTunes Chart. As they hip-hopped their way to the stage wearing their signature sunglasses of funk, “Fly Like a G6” bumped up in the speakers, and all the young girls had rushed to the stage in an instant.

Perhaps, one of the luckiest girls of the night was Ted Fu’s girlfriend … or should we say fiancé. At the ISA New York concert, Fu had announced his engagement to girlfriend Katie of two and a half years and Wong Fu definitely played up Ted’s proposal throughout the L.A. concert, even showing off a hilarious last-minute new short vying to be Ted’s best man.

Some of the ISA fans.

Overall, I was amazed by the power and passion of these artists and moreover, their message. It was inspiring to see such a show dedicated to the appreciation and cultivation of our Asian heritage and cultural roots. FM’s Kev Nish said that it was “important to stay in touch with your community and it was important to have fun while doing it.” They were proud to have worked with Wong Fu Productions and are extremely humbled by the growth of ISA over the last three years. Hopefully with the growth of ISA, Americans can continue to support the evolution of Asian Americans in media and film. As Nish said, “No longer are Asian American artists going to be labeled as Asian American artists, but as simply artists who produce good quality music.”

And the event proved just that, straight from the hearts of artists pursuing their dreams.

Photos thanks to Jenny Lee.

Editor’s note: Assistant Editor Janice Jann also attended the ISA concert and wrote her own thoughts on the concert here.