Mike Shinoda guitar Linkin Park concert Singapore F1

Singapore: Day 7 – Little India, F1 Sunday race, Linkin Park concert and Avalon Club

By Mithun Divakaran
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Feb 09, 2012
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Singapore, Travel

Date: September 25th, 2011

How time flies. I landed on the 19th and thought “Hmm, I can take it easy, I have lots of time!”. Now it was my last full day in Singapore.

I decided to visit Little India, as last year I had to rush through it. Plus, I wanted to have lunch from a restaurant there.

Little India mrt station Singapore — Took the MRT

Kerbau hotel Little India Singapore — It was noon by the time I got here

Chander road colourful old buildings Little India Singapore — It’s Indian, expect lots of colour 🙂

Sri Veeramakaliamman temple Indian gods design Singapore — Sri Veeramakaliamman temple, on Serangoon Road

Sri Veeramakaliamman temple Indian gods models — It’s a major tourist draw in Little India, but to most Indians — we’ve seen bigger

Shoe rack Sri Veeramakaliamman temple Indian Singapore — It was closed at this time

Mustafa centre Little India Singapore — Went to the famous Mustafa Centre

Mustafa center Little India Singapore — Even though Mustafa Centre is famous for being open 24 hours, I consider it a lousy place for certain goods, especially as far as pricing goes (Read my 2010 experience)

Ananda Bhavan vegetarian restaurant Little India Singapore — You have enough vegetarian food available in this part of Singapore

Serangoon plaza Little India Singapore — I just walked around aimlessly hopping from one shopping centre to another

Flour mill auto supply store Little India Singapore — It was time to find a place to eat

Azmi restaurant Norris road Little India Singapore — After checking out a few restaurants, I sat at this corner shop. You can buy beer from the Chinese vendor on the right and food from two other vendors on the left.

Mutton kheema chapathi Tiger beer Singapore — Had a few phulkas with mutton kheema & peas curry (and a beer). The whole meal cost less than SG$10.

Thye Chong restaurant Norris road Singapore — This is the place

Little India white building windows pattern Singapore — I walked back to the MRT station

Gandhi restaurant Little India Singapore — This place seemed really popular as there was a long queue for takeaways

Shree Lakshminarayan temple Little India Singapore — Shree Lakshminarayan temple

No durian sign MRT Singapore — ‘No Durian’ – popular fruit in Singapore, but not allowed in public transportation! 🙂

Back alley pubs boat quay Singapore — I decided to enter the circuit via Gate 5 as I figured the lines would be smaller than the more easily accessible Gate 4

Gate 5 entrance Singapore F1 circuit — I made it just before 3pm and I was right, the queue wasn’t that long

As soon as the gates opened and the security check was done, I began to run. Because so did many other youngsters! And by youngsters, I mean Linkin Park fans!

Line for Linkin Park Padang Singapore — Because this was the scene just 10 minutes past 3 ‘o’ clock. Two lines had already formed on either side!

F1 concerts Fanzone wristbands Singapore gp — Luckily, I got my Fanzone wristband! Woo-hoo!

Fanzone section Padang concert Linkin Park Singapore gp — Some people were already queuing to get as close to the stage as possible

Linkin Park concert line Singapore F1 — Just shows how popular Linkin Park is!

LG Cinema 3d tv booth Singapore F1 — I didn’t really have anything on my agenda, so I checked out LG’s booth where they were showcasing their 3D Tvs

LG booth babes Chinese model Singapore GP — I checked out the demos and left. (That model is really pretty isn’t she?)

Instead of wasting time, I decided to go all the way up to Avalon Club at Marina Bay Sands to find out when The Chemical Brothers were set to hit the stage for the F1 After Party tonight. The Linkin Park concert was surely going to end past midnight and I didn’t want to miss The Chemical Brothers. After all, I paid good money to see these both these acts!

Walking to Avalon club Singapore — I took the MRT and then walked to the club

Avalon club Chemical Brothers Singapore — I saw two guys who resembled Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons (a.k.a The Chemical Brothers) but I couldn’t go up closer as they were testing the visuals and the sound. I at least felt good knowing I could expect a good set tonight!

I asked around the club when The Chemical Brothers would take the stage for their set but no one could give me a definite answer. They guessed it would be after midnight, and well after the race.

The reason I came all way to Avalon Club is because when I tried calling them earlier, no one answered. I had good reason for concern. When I tried visiting their Facebook fanpage yesterday, it had been deleted. I wanted to know how Friday night’s party (LMFAO and Ludacris) went but there was nothing! (Avalon has a new page now with a different Facebook url)

Marina Bay sailing Singapore — I left Avalon Club with the notion I may be able to catch The Chemical Brothers in time tonight

Marina Bay Sands The Shoppes mall interiors Singapore — Stepped inside The Shoppes for some air conditioning

Marina Bay MRT station Singapore — I took the MRT back to City Hall

St. Andrews cathedral church Singapore — I decided to go inside St. Andrews Cathedral as I passed by it so many times but never went in

Chinese fish St. Andrews cathedral pond Singapore — The Asian touch

St Andrews cathedral prayer hall Singapore — Christianity is the second most widely practiced religion in Singapore after Buddhism

Zone 4 grandstand Singapore F1 circuit — By 5:40pm, I went back in

Earth Collide Thai band Singapore F1 concert — A Thai band called Earth Collide were playing at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre

Marina Bay Sands hotel Artscience panorama — Marina Bay Sands was gleaming in the afternoon sun

Marina Bay Sands skypark Singapore — Took out my 70-200mm lens again

Singapore evening by the bay — The sun was about to set

Concert by the bay next performance Singapore — I waited for the Forbidden Broadway show to begin

Drivers parade on screen Singapore gp — But just then, the F1 drivers parade began

Drivers parade Singapore F1 Sunday race — I rushed back to Esplanade Drive and raised my camera over a barricade to try and get a clear shot

Rubens Barrichello drivers parade Singapore F1 — Rubens Barrichello

Jenson Button drivers parade Singapore F1 raceday — UK’s Jenson Button

Sebastian Vettel drivers parade Singapore F1 raceday — And the obvious guy to win the race — Sebastian Vettel

I went back to the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre where the Forbidden Broadway show had began.

Forbidden Broadway show Singapore F1 — New York’s longest running off-Broadway musical comedy revue parodies popular Broadway shows

New York off-broadway Lion King spoof — Like ‘The Lion King,’ which ironically, was playing right behind them at the Marina Bay Sands theater

Forbidden Broadway Singapore show Lion King spoof — They ripped Walt Disney for its corporatization of Broadway and invading live theatre with their successful film franchises

Lion King spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — It was pretty funny

Ariel Little Mermaid Forbidden Broadway Singapore F1 show — Even Ariel, The Little Mermaid, wasn’t spared

Avenue Q Forbidden Broadway Singapore show — Next up was Avenue Q (Poor Elmo, what did they do to him!)

Forbidden Broadway puppets Singapore F1 — Shows using puppets were ridiculed next

Mary Poppins spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — Oh god…

Mary Poppins spoof Singapore F1 show — Mary Poppins! Another Disney franchise that was made into a Broadway show.

Les Miserables spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — Next up, the long-running Les Miserables

Les Mis spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — The actors were funny, but they were great performers and singers too

Phantom of the Opera spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore F1 — ‘Phantom of the Opera’

Wicked spoof Forbidden Broadway Singapore — ‘Wicked’

Even though I had never seen a Broadway musical live, I still got most of the jokes. After all, if you watch enough Glee or follow popular culture, one would have found this show funny. I enjoyed it, it was good change from the usual concerts.

Floating stage Mambo Jambo Singapore F1 — I caught up with my friend Niranjan who had also flown down from Bangalore for the Singapore F1

Marina Bay Sands hotel ArtScience museum F1 night — We just sat by the bay and took a break from the heat

Marina Bay Sands F1 car lasers Singapore GP — Marina Bay Sands had laser F1 cars going up the towers

Esplanade drive crowd Singapore F1 raceday — We walked back to Esplanade drive

Mithun Divakaran Niranjan Singapore — Me and Niranjan (Photo was taken by his wife)

I parted ways with Niranjan and we agreed to catch up after the race. I decided to watch the race for a bit.

2011 Singapore F1 starting grid — The 2011 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix was a go!

Zone 4 Grandstand Singapore F1 Sunday race — I walked to the overhead staircase near the Zone 4 grandstand to get a better view

Zone 4 seating from staircase Singapore F1 — Also, I wasn’t the only cheapskate tried to get to a better view, there were quite a few

Singapore F1 zone 4 grandstand race day — I didn’t stay on the bridge for long, just took these photos and left

Zone 4 walkabout Singapore F1 circuit — I walked to another vantage point

Singapore Grand Prix circuit turn — I mounted my 70-200mm lens again

Force India F1 car Singapore GP — Bends are probably the best spots to snap these cars, because that’s where they actually ‘slow’ down

Ferrari racing Singapore F1 car — And when I mean ‘slow down’, I mean taking turns at 90-100kmph

Air Asia racing F1 Lotus car Singapore GP — I shot these hand held over the photographers who had placed themselves right in front and set up their tripods

Red Bull racing Singapore grand prix F1 race day — Red Bull Racing has had an amazing 2011 season so far

I got bored and walked back to the concert ground. My opinion about watching an F1 race remains the same. When I watched the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from a grandstand seat in 2010, at first the prospect of it sounded exciting — but it soon got very boring. Be it seated or even with these walkabout tickets, watching cars whizz by at speeds in excess of 100kmph gets boring pretty quick. Given how loud these cars are too, you can’t even hear the on-air commentary through the speakers until the cars fade away.

Crowds watching race Esplanade park Singapore F1 — Watching a race on the big screen is any day better in my opinion. You get to see the cars better, hear the commentary and view multiple angles.

But the Singapore Grand Prix is an experience like no other. First of all, the city is the circuit! That too the impressive central business district, which looks even more impressive at night. They don’t set up most of the grandstands until a few days prior to the race week. It’s an event which really showcases Singapore’s glamour — something the government is really good at marketing.

Watching Singapore F1 race Padang stage — I went back to the concert grounds and watched the race on the screens there

Padang stage crowd watching race Singapore F1 — It wasn’t that exciting a race anyway

Germany flag Singapore F1 crowd — As expected, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel won

Linkin Park Padang concert Singapore F1 — With the race over, there was one final moment everyone was waiting for

Linkin Park concert Singapore show — One of my favourite bands, and one of the best bands that debuted in the last decade — Linkin Park!

Linkin Park concert Singapore GP 2011 — Linkin Park hit the stage at around 10:45pm

Linkin Park Chester screaming Singapore F1 concert — Took out the big lens for a few close-ups

Chester Bennington Linkin Park live in Singapore — I don’t know how he does it every night, but Chester Bennington’s heavy vocals are amazing!

Chester Bennington Linkin Park Singapore F1 concert — His screaming especially! Undoubtedly one of the best rock vocalists out there!

Mike Shinoda Chester Mr Hahn Linkin Park live Singapore — From their early days when they mostly wore casual black, these days the members look very ‘grown up’ 🙂

Mike Shinoda Linkin Park concert Singapore — The unofficial leader of Linkin Park, Mike Shinoda, and resident DJ Joesph Hahn on the turntables

Linkin Park clapping hands Singapore concert — It was harder for me to take photos of the other members as they remained ‘in the shadows’

Dave Farrell Phoenix bassist Linkin Park Singapore concert — Bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell

Brad Delson guitarist Linkin Park Singapore concert — The rather quiet Brad Delson on lead guitar

Linkin Park white stage lights Singapore concert — Linkin Park were on the Asian leg of their ‘A Thousand Suns’ tour, so they played a lot of their new material along with all their hits from albums past

I didn’t record videos because I did enough of that at the Abu Dhabi concert. I wanted to enjoy the show this time, so I only took one video. Here’s “The Catalyst,” from one of my favorite Linkin Park albums:

Linkin Park live stage lights Singapore concert — It wasn’t easy for me to take photos surrounded by so many people, but I did my best

Chester Bennington on-screen Singapore concert — I had a blast seeing these guys again

Mike Shinoda guitar Singapore concert — Mike Shinoda’s look reminded me of technology editor Joshua Topolsky (Yeah, what a geek am I right?)

Linkin Park Singapore F1 concert — The show lasted nearly one and half hours

Chester Bennington end of concert Singapore — Chester finally got to rest his vocal chords

Linkin Park end of concert Singapore — The band gave out guitar picks as usual

Rob Bourdon handing out drumsticks Linkin Park concert — Drummer Rob Bourdon finally came to the front of the stage

If you want to see the entire concert, this guy filmed it — but don’t assume the crowd was lousy based on that video. The crowd was much better on my side! It was a better crowd than at the Abu Dhabi concert, all thanks to the Zone 4 ticket prices which made it affordable for real fans of Linkin Park to come see them. Something the mostly younger fanbase couldn’t afford in Abu Dhabi.

For a band that has yet to perform in Bangalore, I feel quite privileged to have seen them twice. The setlist was slightly different (at least the order of songs) from the Abu Dhabi show late last year. Of course, in Abu Dhabi, I actually met Mike Shinoda in person! That luck didn’t repeat itself here in Singapore.

My 2011 Singapore F1 experience was finally over. I truly got my money’s worth! For SG$138 (Rs. 5000/$110/€83) I got to see Linkin Park, Shakira, a bit of Shaggy, 3/5th of K-pop supergroup BIG BANG, Charice, Rick Astley, an off-broadway show, samba dancers, etc. — and cars racing. Beat that for value! Had I not stepped out of the circuit to go around town with Aimee, I would have seen much more. The organizers definitely did a better job this year as far entertainment went. In 2010, they had a pregnant Mariah Carey headline on Sunday. Yeah, don’t ask. My friend Ramesh attended the race last year and he told me how bad it was!

I have my bets placed on Coldplay headlining the concert series in 2012 and even though I would love to go back to Singapore, the same Zone 4 Walkabaout ticket is now SG$178! :-/Update (10/02/2011): A day after this was pushed live, Maroon 5 has been announced as the headliners for Saturday. Now that a band is headlining one day, will it be a female artist like Rihanna or Madonna (or Katy Perry) headlining Sunday? (Please, no Britney!)

As I exited the concert grounds, I bumped into another friend from Bangalore who told me he attended the Friday party with LMFAO and Ludacris at the Avalon Club. He told me the experience wasn’t great. That… didn’t sound to good to me. None the less, I exited the circuit after catching up with Niranjan and his wife.

I said my goodbyes to them and took the MRT to Marina Bay, which was on its last journey for the night.

Marina Bay Sands light signals Singapore — I walked to the Avalon Club

Marina Bay Sands hotel shoppes night Singapore — The excitement I initially had for seeing The Chemical Brothers had wore off a bit. I was quite tired and I wondered if it was too much to attend this party as well.

As I entered the club, there was a sign outside stating an apology for Saturday night’s Sander van Doorn party — which was cancelled. This was yet another sign implying something wasn’t right about Avalon. It was too late for me to bail out though, I had no choice but to go in.

Once inside, I wasn’t too impressed. One, despite its exterior, the dance floor didn’t look that big for a big-name club. Two, what the hell is this?

Avalon Club smoke fog inside Singapore — I haven’t been to hundreds of clubs, but where have you seen this much smoke/fog?

It really irritated me. It’s as though the management didn’t want us to see if the DJ was even there! I made my way through the smoke and to the DJ stand, where there was no one playing a live set at the moment. I went upstairs because the smoke got nauseating after a while, plus it was really hard to see.

Avalon club Singapore F1 after race party — I still couldn’t see the stage from here, but at least I could breathe better

I ended up chatting with a few youth who had come down from Indonesia just to see The Chemical Brothers. We were excited and danced away when any Chemical Brothers track came on. An hour passed and after the popular tracks like “Star Guitar,” “Do It Again” and the epic “Hey Boy, Hey Girl,” I stopped dancing. The smoke machine was still on and I began to wonder if The Chemical Brothers were even performing live!

I bought my tickets for this gig with certain expectations. I wasn’t expecting Glastonbury-level of epicness inside a club, but the visuals are very much a part of The Chemical Brothers experience. When I visited the club earlier in the afternoon, they were running some visuals on the screen. As long as I was in the club, that screen didn’t even come on once! I felt so ripped off.

Avalon club fog machine Singapore — All I got was smoke & mirrors – quite literally

The Indonesians left after a while and I felt like leaving too. That is until I looked outside…

Heavy rain Singapore night Marina Bay — It was raining so heavily! For the past three days, it was sunny! It’s like the deal F1 organizers had struck with the rain gods ended as soon as the race was over.

Avalon Club inside VIP lounge Singapore — I was stuck inside the club. I had to wait until the rain subsided as I wasn’t carrying an umbrella — and the roads were a bit of a walk away.

Long chandelier Avalon club Singapore — Looked like they floors going a few level below the entrance

For something that was branded an ‘F1 After Party,’ I didn’t see many who even remotely looked like they were part of the major F1 teams. No drivers, nothing. Just a bunch of fat men who were ordering pricey vodka bottles and had Asian girls much younger to them on either arm. It wasn’t the crowd I was expecting for a Chemical Brothers gig.

Boy George DJ Avalon club Singapore — The smoke only subsided during Boy George’s set. His set was pretty good actually, but I was quite angry reaffirming myself all that smoke from earlier was to hide the fact The Chemical Brothers set wasn’t live!

It was nearing 3am, and I wanted to leave so badly. I didn’t care about the SG$83 I paid for this ‘party’ because I needed to get some sleep . I still had things to do before I left Singapore later in the evening of the 26th (which it already was). After Boy George ended his set and before the next DJ began his, I left. It was still drizzling, but I placed my handkerchief to cover my head. I was told by the staff at Avalon I could get taxis in front of the convention centre at Marina Bay Sands. I went through the Shoppes to the bus stop in front and waited.I showed my hand to many taxis that passed by, none of them stopped. Some were full, some were not — and there were quite a few of us in need of a ride home.

Fed up, I then walked to dropping point at the casino, to try my luck there. All the taxis that stopped here were already booked or weren’t taking any passengers. A bunch of Indians from Mumbai were frustrated and said if it were back in their city, they would have already gotten a rickshaw or a taxi in a matter of minutes. It’s true.

I was getting really angry at this point. It was still drizzling, I was wet and sleepy. Past 4am at this point, I then walked to the Marina Bay Sands hotel lobby hoping the reception could call me a taxi no matter what the cost. At the lobby, I was then shown to the dropping point where an snake-line had already formed, and where many like me were waiting an awful long time to get a taxi. An Italian woman who looked like model was frustrated at the notion of waiting this long to get a taxi at an “$8 billion hotel”! Couldn’t help but agree with her to an extent.

Many in line were fuming. Some tried the old ‘slip some money in the hands’ of staff to get an advantage, but the staff declined. But it didn’t matter. Some people saw that and started shouting at the staff over preferential treatment — even though the hotel employee didn’t show any. One taxi that did stop by demanded SG$500 from some Westerners who needed to go the airport. The taxi driver got a “Fuck off!” instead.

I stood there quietly, but very, very frustrated. Eventually I got fed up as the line wasn’t moving as fast as I hoped. I asked the staff when the MRT would open and he told me 5am. Fuming, I walked in the drizzle to the MRT station as it was only few minutes until 5am.

Got the first train, and finally reached Central mall. I didn’t take the overbridge, I just hopped over the divider and crossed the road. Yeah, I jaywalked, I didn’t care! I was so frustrated with how my night turned out after what until Avalon, was such a good day! Never going to make this mistake again. Another lesson learnt? Carry an umbrella at all time when in Singapore.

As soon as I got to my room, I took off my socks and slept. There was little else I was in the mood for.

Next Post:

Leaving Singapore, and discovering certain truths about this famous city state

Previous posts in the series:

Singapore 2011: Day 6 – F1 Saturday (Rick Astley, Shakira and Shaggy concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 5 – Chinatown, F1 Friday (Charice, Seungri and GD&TOP concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 4 – Marina Bay Sands Casino and views from the SkyPark observation deck

Singapore 2011: Day 3 – Bukit Timah and Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore 2011: Day 2 – Jurong Bird Park and… *ouch!*

Singapore 2011: Day 1 – Landing a second time; walking around CBD

Jay Park – ‘New Breed’ full album review: Quality and value like no other in K-pop!

Here I go again — new music from Jay Park baby! What began with the digital single “Girl Friend” last year, was then followed by volume 1 of ‘New Breed’ in December, and is now complete with the release Jay Park’s first full album.

Jay Park New Breed 1st album covers K-pop — Take your pick

The track-list for ‘New Breed‘ goes as such:

01. NEW BREED (INTRO)
02. Know Your Name
03. Girl Friend
04. Up And Down
05. I Love You
06. Go
07. I Got Your Back
08. 별 (Star)
09. 놀러와 (Come On Over)
10. 전화기를 꺼놔 (Turn Off Your Phone)
11. 너 없이 안돼 (Can’t Live Without You) [Acoustic ver.]
12. Aom&1llionaire
13. Enjoy The Show
14. 훅 갔어 (Wasted)
15. Clap

Out of the above, I’ve already dedicated one entire post for “Girl Friend,” and my ‘New Breed: Vol. 1’ review covers “Star,” “Enjoy the Show,” “Up and Down” “Can’t Live Without You” and “I Got your Back,” so I won’t be rehashing the same text here again.

Instead, here’s a review of the remaining songs:

01. “New Breed (Intro)” – The album kicks off with a lyrically hard-hitting rap track with Jay Park telling you he ain’t gonna ‘play the game’ in this business. He’s going to give you the “real shit” whether you like it or not! Ha ha, sure why not? – 3/5

02. “Know Your Name” – The lead single for this promotion cycle:

Produced by Da Beat Freakz, the New York-based production duo also behind “Girl Friend” as well, “Know Your Name” is a killer dance track. The song manages to get the right of mix Euro-pop and R&B, without ever sounding too much like any one genre. It’s a great record and makes for a perfect single! But I would love to hear the English version as the music is better suited for it, as I’m sure it was originally intended.

As for the MV, it’s a return to fast paced dancing and choreography by Andrew Baterina – one can tell, because some of the moves look recycled (something I’ve critiqued before). Other than that, the music video looks slick and props to Jay for featuring a black girl! 😉

My rating for “Know Your Name” – 4.5/5

05. “I Love You” Feat. Dynamic Duo – Oh. My. God. I was smiling as soon as Jay began singing his first verse. It’s such a good song! The beats, the melody, the chorus — it’s just lovely. The rap from my favourite Korean hip-hop group, Dynamic Duo, is awesome and I couldn’t move on to the other tracks because I had this on replay for near half-an-hour! The only flaw I found in this song is Jay’s vocals when he attempts to sustain a high pitch. Still, I’m going to give it a 5/5 anyway!

Edit: Even after a few hours of pushing this review live, I just can’t stop listening to this track! I hope Jay Park and SidusHQ consider it for a second single, it deserves to be! In my head I kept picturing the MV to feature intricate dance choreography, minimalistic colours (mostly black & white) — and for some goddamn reason, Hyoyeon as the female lead, dancing with Jay. Gosh, I’m such a SONE!

06. “Go” – A slow-paced track with the audio production made to sound as if it’s going in loops. Very listenable none the less and great vocals from Jay on this one. – 3.5/5

09. “놀러와 (Come On Over)” – I listened to this song right after “Go,” and I couldn’t help but find it a bit similar. Sure, this is an even slower track and Jay Park sings it in a mellow falsetto for much of the song. Quite sexy and atmospheric R&B – I love it! – 4/5

10. “전화기를 꺼놔 (Turn Off Your Phone)” – Smooth, sexy R&B territory again. Jay Park has surely shown his more mature side and makes no qualms about writing ‘bedroom music’ 🙂 – 3/5

12. “Aom&1llionaire” – A song dedicated to Jay Park’s frequent collaborators. AOM are of course, Art of Movement, the B-boy dance crew Jay Park is a part of. And 1llionaire are the South Korean hip-hop record company that rappers The Quiett and Dok 2 are a part of — both of whom have been featured on many of Jay Park’s songs. Expectantly, it’s a pure rap song, and it’s alright, but I doubt I’ll be listening it too often on album replays. – 2.5/5

14. “훅 갔어 (Wasted)” – Okay, knowing how up their asses MOGEF are, this song may end up getting banned. Why? Because it’s about drinking alcohol — and lots of it. Chugging, shots and eventually getting ‘wasted’. I don’t know if Jay even drinks like that for real but this song is again, pure rap and has a bit of a spooky vibe to it. But I kinda like it! – 3/5

15. “Clap” Feat. Tiger JK & Tasha – The final track, and by the end of this album, you must have realized Jay Park is now striving to be a hip-hop star more than a pop idol. Featuring Korean hip-hop legends Tiger JK & Tasha (Yoon Mi-rae) – who are husband and wife in real life – the last song on New Breed is meant for a live experience. – 3/5

————-

I don’t think it’s going to be fair compare ‘New Breed‘ to ‘Take a Deeper Look’. While mini-album TADL was a good ‘first attempt’ for a newly solo artist, that too one who did a lot of the work himself with an amateur production team, New Breed on the other hand is much more than just a slight improvement. Listening to the album in its entirety, it’s simply too good! Perfectly crafted, excellent production value, and the least formulaic. It’s one among the few K-pop albums I’ve reviewed where I didn’t use the word “filler” to describe a song. Only albums from 2AM, Block B, and Wonder Girls come to my mind in terms of such quality.

I didn’t feel Jay Park was really himself on songs like “Tonight,” which seemed like pure fan-service. ‘New Breed’ on the other hand is a clever message to the K-pop scene. This former boyband idol is spearheading a new breed of idol singers in the Korean market by showing the industry what he really likes to do musically, no strings attached. This album is just quality music with a difference. From start to finish, there’s hardly any song I would skip out of pure boredom or hate. And the fact Jay Park wrote most of the songs just reinstates the faith I have in his talents!

And talk about value for your money – 15 different songs in one album! Sure, haters will argue Jay made money selling “Girl Friend” and half of this album digitally in Korea, but given how global K-pop has become (and Jay Park’s own fanbase), there are still going to be enough takers for this complete release now that it’s available on iTunes. Plus, only now can you purchase a physical copy of the album — which is what I’m going to do. Screw mp3, this album is a collector’s item! ‘New Breed‘ is probably going to be Jay Park’s last Korean release before he begins work on his English debut.

All said and done, Jay Park is taking a step-by-step approach to international super-stardom. He hasn’t taken a misstep yet, and I hope he still retains creative control when he debuts in America. I’ll be hella disappointed if he ends up doing cheap Euro-trash dance pop like the rest of America’s popstars these days.

Even if he is forced to by his label, I can always pop in ‘New Breed’ and remind myself how good Jay Park really is!

Jay Park New Breed review rating — Good job Jay! (Again)

P.S: I’m aware of the fact Jay Park also released an acoustic version of “Know Your Name”. I didn’t really review it because it’s more a promotion for a cellphone brand. That said…

Jay Park Kissing Girl Know Your Name acoustic MV — Oh Jay... are MVs your only chance to make out with a girl? 😉 You know how many fangirls are dying for the chance?

The acoustic version sounds decent enough, but I’ll take the dance version over it any day.

My other posts on Jay Park:

Jay Park – ‘New Breed: Part 1’ album review: Star rising

Jay Park – “Girlfriend” review: He kissed a girl!

Jay Park – ‘Take a Deeper Look’ album review: About time!

Jay Park live in Bangkok: First Step in Thailand fan meet (Fancam)

Mithun Divakaran with Rick Astley Singapore F1

Singapore: Day 6 – F1 Saturday (Rick Astley, Shakira and Shaggy concerts)

By Mithun Divakaran
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Feb 03, 2012
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Singapore, Travel

Date: September 24th, 2011

Today started real slow. Got up… I don’t know when, had breakfast at the hostel and just chatted with the other guests staying at River City Inn.

I only stepped out in the afternoon to meet up with my friend Aimee and her fiance for lunch. After much pondering, we sat down at a seafood restaurant on Boat Quay.

Alex Presto Aimee Marie boat quay lunch Singapore — Alex and Aimee

Alex Presto Aimee Marie boat quay restaurant — Don’t remember what the conversation was about

Haven lobster seafood restaurant Boat Quay Singapore — Haven Lobster & Seafood restaurant is where we sat

Mithun Divakaran spring rolls chopsticks Singapore — Feasting commenceth!

Aimee Marie Alex Presto lunch Boat Quay Singapore — This was just the appetizer

Chinese chilli fish Boat quay Singapore — We had this fish next, which was alright

Singapore chilli crab Boat Quay seafood restaurant — I finally got to eat some Singapore chilli crab — pretty much the city state’s most famous dish

Singapore chilli crab after — Had it with some white rice. It was yum.

It was a nice lazy lunch as I was in no hurry to enter the F1 circuit and didn’t care much for collecting today’s Fanzone passes like I did yesterday. I felt relaxed with tummy full and sipping on chilled beer. Well, relaxed until the bill came. I knew the chilli crab was pricey but I was willing to pay for it beforehand. The fish you see above cost SG$88 (Rs. 3,400) — which we felt was a ripoff as it wasn’t even that tasty! It was the price we had to pay for making the mistake of not finding out the cost before ordering.

Alas, we paid our SG$300 (Rs. 11k/$240/€180) bill — the most expensive meal I’ve had on this trip so far.

Seafood restaurants Boat Quay Singapore afternoon — I wouldn’t rate where we ate as the best in terms of taste. I’m sure there must be better in Singapore, or even here at Boat Quay.

Alaskan king crab forum seafood Singapore restaurant — The Alaskan king crab — way, way more expensive than what I just ate

Mud crabs Alaskan aquarium Boat Quay Singapore — Plenty of seafood available here — but given the location, expect to pay way more than inner Singapore

I parted ways with Aimee and her fiance, and made my way in to the F1 circuit.

Singapore parkour boys practicing — Some boys were doing a bit of parkour practice

Singapore boys parkour jumps Marina Bay — I wonder if these guys come here every weekend. Felt like asking them if the building’s management objects to this French import being practiced here.

It was 4:30pm, but I still walked straight to the Padang grounds to see if the Fanzone passes were still available.

Padang ground F1 Saturday fanzone Singapore — Guess what! They still had a few left 😛

Trouble is, I didn’t know what to do to pass time now. There was nothing on the schedule for Zone 4 I was very keen on witnessing, except for the Rick Astley gig.

Singtel booth F1 Saturday Singapore — The SingTel booth was busy as ever

Singtel booth formula one car simulators Singapore GP — I felt like having a go at one of these simulators but you needed to sign up a form first. Thought I’d do it later.

Taking underpass to Esplanade theatres Singapore — Decided to take the underpass to get to the Esplanade side of the track

Basement parking The Esplanade theatres underpass Singapore — Quite a basement

Singapore F1 circuit Esplanade view — This is in front of the Esplanade

Singapore F1 Esplanade drive zone 4 stands — The JK Racing first race was taking place

Esplanade drive Singapore F1 race stands — I walked to the stands

Esplanade drive F1 stands zone 4 Singapore GP — They have quite a few viewing platforms here

Singapore skyline JK racing Saturday race — Since it’s an elevated platform, the views are better

Walking to Theatres by the Bay Esplanade Singapore — I walked to where Rick Astley was going to be performing

Colours by the Bay Esplanade Singapore — You have bars and eateries by the Esplanade Waterfront

Panda suits Esplanade restaurant Singapore — As seen at a restaurant here

Zone 3 Bay grandstand seats Singapore F1 — This is the end for Zone 4 ticket holders, that over there is the Zone 3 Bay grandstand

Sunlight ray through clouds Singapore Marina Bay — Good weather today

Man sleeping Marina Bay Singapore afternoon — For some, it was quite a relaxing setting

Amphitheatre by the bay stage Singapore — It was 5pm

Apmhitheatre by the bay concert stage Singapore — The Rick Astley gig was in an hour’s time

Amphitheater by the bay seating Singapore — But I still sat down to reserve myself a good spot

Amphitheatre audience Rick Astley concert Singapore — …because by 6pm, this was the scene

Marina Bay Sands skypark observation deck Singapore — I took out my 70-200mm zoom lens

Merlion park evening Singapore — I would be using this lens throughout the concert

Rick Astley band backup singer Singapore concert — By 6, the band got on stage

Rick Astley band playing Singapore concert — The music began…

Rick Astley entering stage Singapore F1 concert — …and from the side of the stage walked a man with a deep baritone voice

You can watch the video of his entrance here.

Rick Astley Merlion Singapore concert — Rick Astley began the concert with his number 1 hit “Together Forever”

Rick Astley singing Singapore concert Marina stage — Rick Astley still had his distinct voice — which sounded great even at age 45

Rick Astley fan Singapore concert — The 80’s pop idol posed with fans while he sang

Rick Astley winking Singapore concert — Rick had a fantastic sense of humour too

Rick Astley drinking water Singapore concert — Like when he complained about the heat in Singapore and really wished he had some cold beer

Rick Astley looking at watch Singapore GP concert — Poor Rick wonder how much longer he had to be on stage in this humidity, because the organizers denied his request to serve him alcohol on stage. The audience booed.

Rick Astley fan giving beer Singapore concert — But then came this damsel, with a glass of beer, to Rick’s rescue!

Rick Astley drinking beer Singapore concert — Relief

Rick Astley beer bottle Singapore concert — The organizers finally relented and gave Rick some beer… in this bottle. Which Rick and the crowd agreed looked like something else 🙂

Rick Astley concert audience Singapore F1 — Even though not everybody in the audience was familiar with Rick Astley’s songs, it was still a fun atmosphere

Rick Astley with back up singer Singapore concert — Heck, even I only knew “Together Forever” and his biggest hit “Never Gonna You Give You Up”

Rick Astley on stage Singapore F1 concert — After all, had it not been for an internet prank, Rick Astley wouldn’t have seen a resurgence in popularity

That prank being the “Rick-roll”. Basically it works like this: “Hey, check out this amazing video of me doing the splits while juggling!” And if you opened that link to watch the video, you just got “Rick-rolled”.

Rick Astley singing Singapore F1 grand prix concert — The British singer entertained us for over one and half hours, despite the heat!

Rick Astley ended his concert with the song everybody knew (okay, some still didn’t — they probably don’t spend too much time on the internet I presume). He even brought on a special guest for “Never Gonna Give You Up”…

Rick Astley Eddie Jordan drumming Singapore F1 concert — … racing supremo Eddie Jordan on drums!

(You can watch the final performance of Rick Astley’s set here)

Rick Astley Eddie Jordan Singapore concert — Eddie left the stage, and so did Rick soon after

It was a fun concert. Rick Astley knew the cheesiness of his 80’s pop music in today’s times but he didn’t mind indulging in the campiness of it all. After the concert, as I packed my bags, there were many middle-aged women in the audience who all spoke of how young they suddenly felt seeing their teenage idol perform. Rick Astley was a nice addition to the Singapore GP’s entertainment line-up.

Rick Astley tshirt Singapore — The Rick-roll internet meme has inspired clothing prints too

Rick Astley band backstage Singapore concert — Rick Astley was busy with photographs

Rick Astley with fans backstage Singapore gp — Rick then posed with a lot of fans/random people in attendance

Here’s a brief video I took:

I was pretty close to him and I just wanted to shake Rick Astley’s hand and tell him he still sounded amazing, but there were more ‘real fans’ eager to have a few seconds with him, so I stepped back, let them take my place and I walked back to the F1 circuit.

Marina Bay Sands ArtsScience museum at night panorama — The guests staying at Marina Bay Sands could watch the race from the Skydeck

Marina Bay Sands skydeck watching F1 Singapore gp — Though at that height the F1 cars must look like slot cars

Esplanade Drive standing platforms Saturday night Singapore gp — The Saturday practice session was going on

F1 car barricades Singapore grand prix — This was the Esplanade Drive straight stretch

Petronas F1 car Singapore GP race — I tried my best to freeze frame but these were F1 cars — it’s no joke how fast these things go on a straight stretch

Esplanade drive barricaded track at night Singapore F1 — But I got to see how the professionals photograph an F1 race. You see that section to the right?

FIA photographer taking photos Singapore F1 race — There’s an opening, through which authorized photographers can take photos

FIA photographer taking photos Singapore gp — Like so!

Singapore F1 night race Esplande drive track — There’s also better lighting where he’s taking photos from — and no barricades covering the view

Marina Bay Sands at night from bridge Singapore — Odd looking building, but looks impressive at night none the less

ArtScience museum at night Singapore Marina — The ArtScience museum

2011 Singapore F1 crowds Esplanade drive — I decided to head back to the Padang grounds

Singapore F1 track Esplanade Drive — The practice session had just ended

Esplanade theatre dome Singapore at night — I went back to the Esplanade theatre to take the underpass

As I took the escalator down to the basement parking, I saw a familiar looking man taking a photo of a blonde woman posing with one of the security men.

Rick Astley taking photo Singapore Esplanade — 🙂

Rick Astley Mithun Divakaran Singapore F1 — So, in the end, I still got to shake Rick Astley’s hand and compliment his voice. Mithun Divakaran, officially ‘Rick-rolled’ in Singapore!

Singapore gp Saturday crowd — Everybody was heading towards the Padang stage for Shakira’s performance

Shakira concert Padang stage Singapore gp — I didn’t rush, I already had access to the Fanzone anyway

Singtel Singapore F1 Shakira concert stage — I didn’t bother trying to get too close to the stage today

Shakira Singapore F1 Saturday concert — The sexy Colombian singer hit the stage just after 8:30pm

Shakira band performing Singapore gp concert — Shakira had a pretty big band to back her up

Shakira jumbotron Singapore concert — Quite straight away, Shakira got down to ‘business’ — much to all the whistles from the audience

Shakira Singaporean girls concert Singapore F1 — During her performance of “Whenever, Wherever,” Shakira brought up on stage a few Singaporean girls

Shakira hip dancing on stage Singaporean girls F1 concert — And she taught them how to shake their hips

Shakira guitar on stage Singapore F1 concert — Despite her visual appeal, there’s no doubt Shakira has a myriad of talents. She even performed a mellow(er) version of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”.

Shakira on the ground drummer Singapore F1 concert — But it wasn’t long before she was back to writhing about on stage and doing chest thrusts

Shakira dancing Singapore F1 concert — Lots of flamenco and belly dancing

Shakira music singing Singapore F1 concert — Shakira sang a lot of her Spanish songs, which I didn’t mind. I figured she was saving her English hits for later.

Shakira dancers Singapore F1 concert — Shakira went through a couple of costume changes

Shakira silhouette Singapore F1 concert — Another dress change later…

Shakira belly dancing Singapore concert — … Shakira returned to perform the first song I ever heard from her — “Ojos Asi”. It still ranks as my favourite Shakira song!

Shakira on stage Singapore concert — Shakira got a lot of love from her truly global audience

Shakira bending belly dancing Singapore F1 — More sultry dancing

Shakira singing Singapore F1 concert — … and then back to singing

Shakira Hips Don't Lie performance Singapore F1 concert — When it came time for “Hips Don’t Lie,” we didn’t get Wyclef Jean but a guy who looked like him to sing the “Shakira, Shakira” bit

Shakira Waka Waka visuals Singapore concert — As soon as this came on, everybody cheered… because we knew what time it was

Shakira waka waka dance Singapore concert — “Waka waka” time!

Shakira waka waka concert Singapore F1 — Even though the 2010 World Cup is more than year over, this song remains wildly popular

Confetti Shakira concert end Singapore F1 — It was the last song Shakira performed

As Shakira left the stage, her latest hit “Rabiosa” came on the speakers — which sucked, because I expected her to perform it, in either English or Spanish! She didn’t perform many other hits like “Did It Again” or “Objection (Tango),” so it wasn’t a full fledged concert. Who knows, maybe Shakira had to be at some other event.

Singtel booth simulator car Singapore — I decided to try out the F1 simulator at the SingTel booth

Waiver liability form Singapore F1 car simulator — But first I needed to sign a liability form — just in case anything happens (to me)

Singtel F1 car simulator Singapore gp booth — Fortunately I got in just in time. It was 10:30pm and they closed the booth.

The experience in the F1 car simulator was alright. You go around the Singapore Grand Prix track and experience the bumps, the breaking and the jerks that one experiences (when you drive badly :P).

Cameras people thronging samba dancers Singapore — As I left the SingTel booth, there were many clamouring to take photos of some dancers

Samba dancers at Singapore F1 — It was a group of Brazilian Samba dancers

Brazilian samba dancers Singapore F1 performance — It wasn’t easy to photograph the girls. They were moving fast and many men were in front of me.

Brazilian samba dancing Singapore F1 — So I just took overhead shots the best I could

Brazilian samba dancers Singapore F1 — I had never seen hips being shaken so violently before! Forget what Shakira did on stage, this was the real deal!

For someone who ranks witnessing the Rio Carnival pretty high on his travel wishlist, it was a good experience to see real samba dancing in all its exotica. It’s like the organizers didn’t want to leave anything out as far as world-class entertainment went!

I had dinner from the circuit itself and went back to the Padang grounds for the final act in Saturday’s concert line-up.