It is the show that brought the UK to a standstill, the biggest show in the world, and it’s on its way to New Zealand! The X Factor, the most anticipated series of 2011.

Created by the world’s most powerful media identity, Simon Cowell – The X Factor is the hottest TV franchise aroundthe globe.

“It’s not about me anymore. It’s about them,” Cowell says about the new series. “I want to make people’s dreams come true. I even think about the environment. My attitude this year? Helping others make a better tomorrow.”

The X Factor sees four judges and mentors, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid, and Nicole Scherzinger, hitting the road across America for a massive audition tour to find contestants who might have the ‘X Factor’. The auditionswill be open to singers of all ages – either solo performers or groups.

Once through to the final audition process, Simon, Paula, L.A., and Nicole will take on mentoring roles as the performers are split into categories – Boys under 25, Girls under 25, the over 25s and Groups.

It’s this part of the series that Cowell says separates The X Factor from other reality competition shows.

“I wouldn’t have made the show unless I thought it was going to be different,” he explains. “We see this as a game-changer; we’re going to try and change the rules.”

Among the other differences: contestants as young as 12-years-old can compete, the show will entertain both soloartists and groups, the auditions are held in front of Live audiences, and mentoring will be a major part of the process.

But before this happens, make sure not to miss your first introduction to the thousands of hopefuls when The X Factor premieres with these sometimes more than just-a-little embarrassing auditions 

Even though, it serves also as a training ground to see what CSC are doing this such kind of stuff for us to implement some ideas, understanding, learnings and etc.. This idea that might bring and help us in our profession. Having this kind of organization gives me more strength and willingness to pursue my own course. I’m proud to be an Electrical Engineer even though some may discriminate us but still I’m proud whatever might happen. As JCSC, I will continue this journey at the end and make a very good decision if I have the opportunity to serve for them. 

As our senior said “It is a one step forward to success”, but still the success is in you to become a successful person. 

Battle Royale a Japanese movie in early 2000, directed by Kinji Fukasaku based on the novel of the same name. It was written by Kenta Fukasaku, and stars Takeshi Kitano and Tatsuya Fujiwara. The film aroused much controversy.

It was introduced by my friend just to download this movie, she said that this movie is cool to watch. So, I’m curious about it so I’ve downloaded it to torrent. As I, finished to download it I’d watched it. I thought this is a tough one, but all those killing scenes are very grose. Those blood shooting scenes when the characters are killing each other which is the important game of the story. I quote that ” Could You Kill Your Bestfriend?”, definitely after seeing the movie, my answer is “I dunno”, If I were on that movie, I’ll don’t know if I can take that situation surrounding my beloved friends and the only way out is to kill each other and only one can left be alive.. Well then, better to watch the movie.

The film concentrates on Shuya Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara), a charismatic young boy living in Kanagawa Prefecture. After his mother abandons him and his father commits suicide, he becomes disillusioned with life. The rest of his classmates are similarly disillusioned, and have little respect for authority. Shuya’s best friend, Yoshitoki “Nobu” Kuninobu (Yukihiro Kotani), attacks their teacher Kitano (Takeshi Kitano), but runs away before he can be identified. Noriko Nakagawa (Aki Maeda), a sweet, reserved young girl who happens to witness the incident, hides the knife that Nobu has just attacked Kitano with. Kitano, frustrated, resigns.

The next year, as the students are nearing the end of their compulsory education, they embark on a class trip. On the bus the entire class is gassed, kidnapped, taken to an isolated island, and fitted with electronic collars. Once there, the students are shocked to find that they are inside an abandoned school, and that Kitano (along with the government) is behind the entire operation. Kitano informs them that they have been selected as participants in Battle Royale, a game created by the Millennial Educational Reform Act (better known as the Battle Royale Act) where the students must kill each other until only one is left. One class from the country per year is selected to participate in the program. If after three days a winner is not declared, the explosive collars attached to each student’s neck will be detonated. The collars also prevent the students entering certain areas of the field of participation, the “danger zones,” with the intention of forcing the students to encounter one another. (These instructions are delivered by a cute, smiling girl via a video, who behaves like a kindergarten teacher and refers to herself as their “big sister”.) After killing a student, Fumiyo Fujiyoshi, for whispering, Kitano also detonates Nobu’s collar, killing him, to provide an example to the class. One by one, each student leaves the school, being provided with survival packs containing food, water, a flashlight, a compass, a map of the island and a random weapon. (In some cases said weapon might actually be deadly, such as an axe or submachine gun; in others it might not even technically be a weapon at all, such as a saucepan lid or binoculars.)

The students separate, some of them forming groups or teams for mutual protection, while others remain solo. A few embrace the program and become willing to kill the others to ensure their own survival. Kazuo Kiriyama volunteered for Battle Royale for the adventure, and manages to kill a large group of students and goes around the island alone, killing without remorse. Also willing to kill is Mitsuko Souma, who has taken it upon herself to win the game, using everything she has at her disposal, especially her sexuality.

Some students refuse to play the game. Shuya, grieving over Nobu’s death, decides to take it upon himself to protect Noriko, the object of Nobu’s affection. Elsewhere, class presidentYukie Utsumi (Eri Ishikawa) gathers up a group of girls and decides to hide in an abandoned lighthouse, while junior revolutionary Shinji Mimura (Takashi Tsukamoto) gathers his friends and plans to hack the system and blow up the school (along with Kitano), thereby liberating the students.

Other students refuse to kill or hide. While some commit suicide, Hiroki Sugimura (Sousuke Takaoka) decides to make the best of his final hours, and seeks out his best friend, Takako Chigusa (Chiaki Kuriyama), and the girl he loves, Kayoko Kotohiki (Takayo Mimura).

The film’s main plot focuses on Shuya and Noriko. They eventually run into Shogo Kawada, a seasoned warrior and Kobe native with an agenda. They witness Kiriyama murder Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano, who were trying to call for peace, and Kawada runs off. Later, they run into Kawada again when they stumble upon his hideout. Kawada lets them in and reveals that he is out to avenge the death of his girlfriend, Keiko Onuki, who was killed in a previous game. However, when Kiriyama kills Toshinori Oda outside the building (earning himself a bulletproof vest), Shuya tries to kill Kiriyama and only survives due to Hiroki Sugimura intervening while Shuya escapes. Sugimura then brings Shuya to the lighthouse where the girls are hiding out.

Shuya wakes up bandaged in the lighthouse, where many of the girls are hiding. Yuko Sakaki poisons a bowl of soup meant for Shuya. When Yuka Nakagawa is instead killed by the poison, all of the girls begin to distrust each other and they all kill each other, except Sakaki, who commits suicide over the guilt of killing her friend. An injured Shuya grabs all of the guns and begins looking for Noriko. Elsewhere, Noriko is confronted by Mitsuko, but Kitano scares her off and Noriko meets up again with Shuya.

As the game continues and only a few students are left, Sugimura finds Kotohiki, the girl he loves, hiding in a warehouse. She kills him, thinking he is a threat. As Sugimura dies, he professes his love for Kotohiki, who is sorrowful at having not known this. Shortly after, Kotohiki is shot by Mitsuko and dies. Kiriyama then arrives at the warehouse and after a short battle, kills Mitsuko, taking her pistol. Elsewhere, Mimura and his friends have hacked into the system and are ready to destroy the school. One of Mimura’s friends sees Kiriyama, and thinking it is Shuya, calls out to him. Kiriyama kills every one of them, increasing his kill count to twelve, but not before Mimura manages to detonate the bomb, leaving Kiriyama blinded as Shuya, Noriko and Kawada arrive on the scene. Kawada confronts Kiriyama, who even while blinded, manages to injure Kawada severely until Kawada shoots his collar, killing him, leaving only Shuya, Noriko and Kawada on the island.

Kawada then, in a plot twist, reveals that he lied about Keiko and merely kept Shuya and Noriko alive because they trusted him. Kawada then seemingly kills both of them; the soldiers in charge go to check for the dead corpses, but Kitano stops them, ending the operation. Declared the winner, Kawada treks to the school. Kitano has since declared the operation a success, and is left on the island after the government leaves in helicopters. Kawada confronts Kitano, and is soon joined by Shuya and Noriko, who are revealed to be still alive after Kawada disabled their collars to fake their deaths. Kitano is unsurprised to see that Shuya and Noriko have survived, having realized Kawada’s plan. He reveals that he had hoped that Noriko would survive, as his daughter, Shiori, hates him—he sees Noriko as the daughter he never had. Kitano then reveals a hand-painted picture of Noriko, smiling and standing among her dead classmates. Not wanting to return home, he orders Noriko to kill him. Shuya eventually does when Kitano threatens Noriko with a gun, which is revealed as he falls to be a water pistol. Following a final conversation with Shiori, over the telephone, in which he tells her one must accept the consequences of hating someone (revealing he also had a real pistol in his back pocket which he did not threaten Noriko with), he dies.

The remaining trio escapes the island on a boat, but Kawada succumbs to his wounds and dies after teaching Shuya how to pilot the boat. As he dies, he reveals that in Shuya and Noriko he accomplished his goal of discovering why Keiko smiled at him as she died—she, like he now, had finally found true friends and was willing to give up her life for them. Shuya and Noriko make it to land, where they become fugitives wanted for murder. Shuya, in the movie’s final narrative, explains that the two of them, while still peaceful, will fight if they have to protect each other. Together, they go on the run.

The Baker King (Baker King Tak-gu) is the most recent Korean drama to hit the Philippines by storm.  It is about the experiences of  Tak-gu, the illegitimate son of the Chairman of Samwha Enterprise, as he strives to be the best baker in South Korea.’

KBS broadcasted The Baker King (Baker Kim Tak-gu) from June 2010 to September 2010 in South Korea and during its finale, the Korean drama got a record viewer rating of 50.8%. The Baker King was also accorded presidential honors in the 2010 Republic of Korea Content Wards Ceremony for its contribution in the overseas popularity of Korean popular culture.

The star of The Baker King, Yoon Shi Hoon, is a very young Korean actor who debuted in 2009.  He was also in the drama High Kick Through The Roof and the Korean movie Gosa/Death Bell 2.  Other stars in Baker Kim Tak-gu include Kim Eugene (Wonderful Life, 3 Dad 1 Mom) and Joo Won.

Also called Bread, Love  and Dreams, The Baker King is currently aired in the Philippines by GMA Network.

Well, I started watching it a few days ago, and the verdict is in: it’s because it’s good. I can’t believe it either, but Baker King is incredibly solidly written, and after speeding through the first 12 episodes in the past few days, I’ve come gradually to the conclusion that it is in fact one of the better Korean dramas I’ve ever watched. I wasn’t too fond of the first few episodes – the first 2 episodes were decent but unexceptional and childhood stories, especially in dramas, bore me to tears, so I skipped episodes 3-6 entirely, re-entering the drama with episode 7 when the child characters grow up. And that’s when Baker King got unexpectedly good. The premise is (relatively) simple: A wealthy, unhappily married couple is desperate to have a male child and heir. Seo In Sook or Sandra (played with cold brilliance by Jun In Hwa) is a neglected society wife to cold, business-obsessed  husband Goo Il Jong or Conrad (the equally good Jun Kwan Ryul), the president of a major baking company. (If you’re wondering what exactly a baking company is, he owns factories that produce bread). What’s interesting about this dynamic is that it would be easy for the drama to show In Sook as the sympathetic figure here – and indeed we do feel sorry for her at first -but In Hwa’s performance, portraying In Sook as a brittle, calculating wife and later a ruthless mother, turns the tide of favor inevitably away from her and toward Il Jong, who comes across as deeply flawed and selfish, but not consistently cruel or ruthless. The premise is very cliched – straight out of a soap opera – but the actors’ performances here lift it into something more.

As the program aired continuously on GMA Network, I’ve actually watched the other episodes UP TO THE END of it. Knowing the story makes me feel that “Life isn’t fair, even there’s some obstacles to take if you’ve worked hard on it, your own “HARDSHIPS” can make it to your GOAL”. That’s was life meant to us and even also the program took this message. Knowing that viewers likes it too much even ME.

THE MAIN CAST:

And now I really can’t go any further without mentioning how absolutely fantastic Yoon Shi Yoon is in this drama.

I haven’t seen him in High Kick Through the Roof, his only previous drama to this one, but all I can say is, if he was half as good in that drama as he is in this one, then the High Kick series has lived up to its reputation as a career-starter for young acting talent. As an occasionally cocky, mostly warm-hearted, streetsmart ruffian who grew up on the streets surviving on his wit and fists, he grounds and centers the drama, refusing to yield an iota of screen presence to the older, veteran actors surrounding him (Jang Hang Sun being a notable presence). He’s not perfect – he was a little awkward in several of his first scenes in episode 7, and tends to over-act when portraying rage/anger in particular, but he steadily improves over the course of the drama. An incredibly charismatic actor, especially for someone so young, he’s possessed of a crazy grin that lights up the whole screen,  and absolutely throws himself into his role as a boy who has spent most of his life cheerfully beating other people up and getting beaten up himself on his quest to find what he’s looking for.

Joo Won as Ma Jun (Matthew) is also great – another complex figure brought to fascinating life by a good actor. Ma Jun is cool, collected, icy by nature and upbringing, prone to cruelty and ruthlessness, driven to bring Tak Gu down – and yet it’s so clear that barely skindeep underneath that poised exterior is a lonely little boy just craving his father’s approval and an ounce of genuine warmth and attention from anyone.

Eugene as YuEugene as Yu Kyung is possibly the most complex figure of these four, and while I’ve said before that she’s not a great actress, she has a natural warmth and screen presence that generally carries off her characters, and that is the case here. Kyung is possibly the most complex figure of these four, and while I’ve said before that she’s not a great actress, she has a natural warmth and screen presence that generally carries off her characters, and that is the case here. When next we reconvene, Tak Gu and Ma Jun have all grown up, Tak Gu on the streets and Ma Jun in the somewhat less-than-loving bosom of his rich family. When the two meet again, they quickly become rivals, not least for the affections of Tak Gu’s childhood love, Yu Kyung (Eugene).

Lee Young Ah (Melissa) as the baker girl he eventually falls for is also quirky and adorable, though I have some major issues with the romantic denouement of this drama.  She is the one who accompanied on the Pal Bong Bakery and a competitor on the said event on the bakery. She’s very cute on every scene when Tak Gu tease her as “Falling Soy – beans” , she makes funny on her face. At the end of the drama, the one man that her dreaming of will be ended to that situation when, Tak Gu propose to her as her boyfriend.

Baking has surprisingly little to do with the drama’s themes – this is not a cooking drama at all. Rather it’s a drama in which bread is a kind of motif and occasionally a metaphor which runs underneath all the other story-lines, drawing them together when necessary, and often reflecting back on the characters truths about themselves. There’s a lot of themes at play here – family, poverty, class and social injustice, courage, persistence – and they’re all deftly handled and woven in through the characters’ lives. If there’s a drama that Baker King reminds me of, it is, oddly enough, Shining Inheritance – both dramas are premised on a fairly standard plot, but lift it above that plot through excellent writing, acting, and directing. More importantly, both dramas strike a perfect balance between light-hearted and tragic elements, and in the process become wildly addicting. I highly recommend Baker King to be watched over and over again.

• Aaron Kelly
  

  16 years old
  Sonestown, PA

• Alex Lambert
  

  19 years old
  North Richland Hills, TX

• Andrew Garcia
  

  24 years old
  Moreno Valley, CA

• Ashley Rodriguez
  

  22 years old
  Chelsea, MA

• Casey James
  

  27 years old
  Fort Worth, TX

• Crystal Bowersox
  

  24 years old
  Elliston, OH

• Didi Benami
  

  23 years old
  Hollywood, CA

• Haeley Vaughn
  

  16 years old
  Fort Collins, CO

• Janell Wheeler
  

  24 years old
  Orlando, FL

• Jermaine Sellers
  

  26 years old
  Joliet, IL

• Joe Munoz
  

  20 years old
  Huntington Park, CA

• John Park
  

  21 years old
  Evanston, IL

• Katelyn Epperly
  

  19 years old
  West Des Moines, IA

• Katie Stevens
  

  17 years old
  Middlebury, CT

• Lacey Brown
  

  24 years old
  Amarillo, TX

• Lee Dewyze
  

  23 years old
  Mount Prospect, IL

• Lilly Scott
  

  20 years old
  Littleton, CO

• Michael Lynche
  

  26 years old
  Astoria, NY

• Michelle Delamor
  

  22 years old
  Miami, FL

• Paige Miles
  

  24 years old
  Cypress, TX

• Siobhan Magnus
  

  19 years old
  Barnstable, MA

• Tim Urban
  

  20 years old
  Duncanville, TX

• Todrick Hall
  

  24 years old
  Arlington, TX

• Tyler Grady

  

  20 years old
  Nazareth, PA

• Note: While Chris Go-Lightly is disqualified and was been replaced by Tim Urban. Chris Golightly was shown as making it to the Top 24 in the Hollywood “group”, but Tim Urban was the one shown in the individual “dancing”.

A preview of the “We Are The World 25″ music video was aired Last week I think. I just saw this on Youtube when I’m browsing some funny video post and I came up here watching this.

The rendition is very cool and new. There add some raps, more more artists (but those celebs that I wanna seen on this video, they’re not in there) and some unfamiliar faces.

Justin Bieber opened the song! Hahaha.

This did not sound good at all — specially the end.

Update: The whole video is now online. More horrible than the preview. Wow

You can watch the Official Video here:

Here watch this video:

PopEater has the exclusive first look at Kris Allen’s music video of Live Like We’re Dying!

Like this song, even the lyrics on it. The best cover single ever.

Watch here:

Entertainment Weekly says: “… Allen’s appealing pipes (that adorable little hitch in his voice!) to sew this patchwork of pop production-for-hire together … ultimately provide the album’s strongest selling point.” Grade: B-

Let’s keep on buying Kris Allen’s CD and tell your friends about it!

Adam Lambert’s debut album “For Your Entertainment” is now streaming on MySpace and Facebook.

This album is amazing.

The official music video of “You Are Not Alone” from the cast of The X Factor.

Watch the video here: