[ARTICLE] Fabulous four chase K-pop dream Filipina girl band MICA says they want to make it here By Kim Ji-soo Almira, 27, Irene, 25, Mylene,22, and Celina, 19, have been performing together for 10 years now. The Cercado sisters are now all in their 20s — meaning they have been singing since they were teens or even earlier in their home in Quezon City, Manila. Singing for us is a means to pay the rent and pay the school fees, said Almira, the oldest. Were the bread and butter earners for the family, said Irene, 25. Supported by their singing performances, Almira and Irene graduated from the Technological Institute of the Philippines while Mylene is on leave and Celina has matriculation ahead. But their vitality and talent shows that music can be much more than just a means to a living. It can sometimes lead to stardom. Since the sisters tried out at a local talent quest, Superstar K 6, they are possibly on the way to realizing the K-pop dream. The sisters — known as MICA with the initials standing for their individual names — did not win the top award. But since the audition ended in November, they have been traveling back and forth between Seoul and Manila to perform and meet with fans. Their harmony and coordination as a performing group, their love for K-pop — including solo singer Ailee — have won fans in Korea. I think they appreciate the harmony, said Almira, giggling with her sisters in a cafe in the Hongdae area of Seoul on Thursday. The four are also able to hit some very high notes even as they unfold smoothly choreographed movements. Were in charge of choreography, because were small, said Irene. There was initially talk about whether they were professional singers or not, but Almira said that they were a family group with their mother and older sister helping them on tours. The only time there was ever just the four of us was during the auditions in Korea, which was a challenge, said Almira. During their nearly two-month stint on the audition program, and even now to some extent, the four sisters said that they work to learn and obtain the Korean way of doing things. Like bowing 90 degrees to someone older or higher, said Almira. The sisters said that if anyone had hallyu or Korean wave bug it was Irene, who would stay up three nights in a row to watch Korean dramas. I liked ‘I Hear Your Voice, ‘My Love from the Stars, and ‘The Heirs, said Irene, who seems largely responsible for spreading the hilly bug, as the sisters gradually started to pick up Korean words, favorite K-dramas, K-pop music and stars. One of the first Korean songs they were asked to perform in the Philippines was Nobody by Wonder Girls, as fans noted that the girl group had four members just like MICA. In the Philippines, there is a large demand for solo singers who sing the ballads, said Almira. But K-pop was very popular with younger girls, because its colorful, the music is energetic and the dance steps are very now. The fact that K-pop is now so group-oriented has also helped, because many talent auditions in the Philippines oddly do not allow groups. Almira said she had seen a former Philippines rival Chalice go on to become a superstar in Korea and in the Philippines. Korean fans should remember Charice as the powerful vocalist who wowed viewers on the Korean program Star King a few years ago. When she was a child, Almira had applied and gone head-to-head in a Batang Campion, or Kid Champion contest against the now-famous Chalice. I was 10, and Charice was 8, and she won, said Almira. She said she and Charice were now friends, and like her friend, Almira and her sisters want to go on such Korean shows as Star King, Yoo Hee-yeols Sketchbook and M!Net Countdown. How do they know these shows? Oh YouTube, said Irene, who also went on Google to get information about Korean auditions. The sisters want to produce an album in Korea and also in the Philippines. With the number of multicultural families increasing — as of this January, the number of multicultural family members reached about 790,000 in Korea including 200,000 children — did they experience any possible bias or favorable treatment? No, so far were really thankful — people ask us for autographs, said Irene. After their fame on the local audition program, demand for them to perform has increased. For example, before the program aired, they would perform about twice a month. Now they get asked to perform about four times a week. Their mother, Erlinda Cercado and eldest sister Elvira accompany the sisters. The eldest sister Elvira quit her job as a nurse to look after her younger siblings, jokingly adding that her new job as a manager pays better. Their father, ill for long time, mostly stays home and the sisters also have a younger brother, 8, who sings too. Their mother hopes her daughters will stay in Korea as performers. Its a bigger market with better potential, she said. Foreign members in K-pop It is hard to talk about K-pop without mentioning girl and boy groups. The top K-pop stars are groups such as Big Bang, 2NE1, 2PM, missA, Super Junior, Girls Generation and EXO. As Korean society grows more open, foreign members have been recruited and successfully acclimatized into the Korean popular music scene. Examples include Nickhun, a Thai member of boy group 2PM. Super Juniors Mandarin Unit, known as Super Junior-M, has Henry, who is Canadian. Henry can be seen in such popular Korean entertainment programs as Real Men. Girl group missA has two foreign members, Fei and Jia, both of whom are from China. EXO, the new power group affiliated with SM Entertainment, has Ray and Tao, also from China. New boy band GOT7 includes foreign members like Bam Bam, from Thailand and Jackson from Hong Kong. source:koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2014/12/135_170299.html
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 13:22:36 +0000
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