Sundown Festival 2012 Part I - Press Conference

Hi Huneybees,

I had the honor to meet the performers at the Press Conference of Sundown Festival 2012 held at Marina Mandarin Hotel on 30th November. It was however a pity that my favorite Hong Kong singer-actor Raymond Lam (林峰) could not attend this event as he only arrived on 1st December due to his busy schedule.

First to appear at the Press Conference was the seven-member Korean boy band, BtoB (비투비). 
Stands for Born to Beat, this latest export from Cube Entertainment was an instant hit with people in the room, with their cute looks and down-to-earth personalities. 

One of the member, Lee Minhyuk (민혁) who turned 22 on 29th November, mentioned that he was very appreciative when fans turned up at the airport to wish him happy birthday and showered him with presents. Many of the fans even trailed the group all the way back to the hotel. 

The boys shared their secret on team bonding - including watching movies together and having hear-to-heart talks with one another - and were very proud to be sharing the same stage with top Asian artists by performing at the Sundown Festival.

Up next was the Chinese singer and actress Jeno Liu Li Yang (刘力扬), the 2nd runner up at the 2006 finals of 超级女声 (Super Voice Girl). 

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by her good command of English, during her interview session and she even joked about whether could she speak in mandarin. She mentioned that her style of music and fashion was related to her attitude and lifestyle.

 

The Taiwanese American Mandarin Pop singer Anthony Neely (倪安东) drew laughter from the media when he misheard the word “Char kway teow” as “Chocolate down" and "Traffic down" and thought it was an American food when he was asked if he had tried some of the local delicacies here.

His fans could look forward to 2013 with the release of his new album in May/June and a Chinese movie.  His sense of humor was apparent throughout his interview session but what I really love was when he transformed himself into a mechanical doll, posting from left to right, during photo shoots.  

Last but not least was the Japanese rock group, Alice Nine (アリス九號). This is the first time the group has came to Singapore.

Dressed in cool rocker outfit, the group was looking forward to visiting places like the Marina Bay Sand and the Merlion and would like also to be exposed to the culture here. It was rather unfortunate that the guitarist Hiroto was not available for the press conference as he was not feeling well that day. 

Fronted by the charismatic band's vocalist, Shou, the group was looking forward to perform at this year's Sundown Festival as they have plans to venture outside Japan with the band's 9th anniversary next year. 

More photos can be viewed here.