Rain, Hwasa, BINI, Carlos Yulo grace IAM Worldwide’s 7th anniversary, music festival

BY JONATHAN HICAP

Oct 21, 2024 12:38 PM

  

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Philippine direct sales company IAM Worldwide celebrated its His7ory 7th Anniversary with a ceremony and music festival on Oct. 20 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. 

K-pop stars Rain and Hwasa of Korean girl group Mamamoo, and P-pop queens BINI headlined the music festival. 

Korean singer Rain (Photos from Mall of Asia Arena's Facebook account, screenshots from IAM Worldwide video) 

Hwasa of K-pop girl group Mamamoo (Jonathan Hicap)

 

Filipino girl group BINI (Jonathan Hicap)

Celebrities and endorsers who graced the event included Olympic double gold medalist Carlos Yulo, Atasha Muhlach and Andres Muhlach. 

Hwasa performed first and sang “I Love My Body,” “Na,” “Twit,” “Don’t” and “Chili.” 

“Kamusta po? It’s been a while since I visited Manila. Are you guys doing well? The last time I visited the Philippines for the Mamamoo concert, I remember the night,” she said. 

BINI performed “Cherry on Top,” “Karera,” “Salamin, Salamin” and “Pantropiko.” They also announced that they are now part of the IAM Worldwide family. 

They congratulated the company for its seventh anniversary celebration. 

Rain (real name Jung Ji-hoon) was the final act, performing “Gang,” “La Song,” and “Love Song,” and taking off his shirt while singing “Rainism.” 

“What’s up, Philippines? I missed you guys. I’m so happy to be here. It feels amazing to be back here with all of you,” he greeted the crowd. 

He also went down from the stage to be close to the audience during his set. 

During the event, IAM Worldwide awarded its top sellers. 

The IAM Worldwide His7ory 7th Anniversary was presented by Wilbros Live. 

Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo (2nd from left) with IAM Worldwide executives (Jonathan Hicap) 

Andres Muhlach (center) (Jonathan Hicap) 

Hwasa of K-pop girl group Mamamoo (Jonathan Hicap)

 

 

 

Filipino girl group BINI (Jonathan Hicap)

ILLIT says ‘I’ll Like You’ in second mini-album out now

BY JONATHAN HICAP

Oct 21, 2024 07:36 PM

  

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K-pop girl group ILLIT made their comeback on Oct. 21 by releasing their second mini-album “I’ll Like You.” 

ILLIT’s return to the music scene came just seven months after their record-breaking debut with the Billboard Hot 100-charting single “Magnetic.” 

While their debut album “Super Real Me” focused on capturing thoughts and feelings around the idea of “my true self,” the new album tells the story of the “self” that becomes deeply immersed in their encounter with “you” they wish to get closer to. 

ILLIT during their media showcase on Oct. 21 (Belift Lab)

“As we tried to express through our brand film and the album overall, ILLIT will strive to be a team that always looks straight ahead and walks towards paving our unique path,” said ILLIT during their media showcase held a few hours before the album release. 

Full of curiosity for the world that surrounds them, the five members of ILLIT venture out to go beyond simply expressing their fondness for “you” in the lead single “Cherish (My Love).” 

They declare, “I want to know how you feel about me, but my feelings for you are more important than just that,” implying a sense of satisfaction in understanding one’s own feelings over anything else. 

The dance pop track features an addictive chorus that sings “Ch ch ch ch cherish my love,” painting the picture of a girl who stays focused on understanding what her own feelings are in the moment and acts on those feelings to no regret.

The music video for “Cherish (My Love)” has a story line that blurs the line between reality and imagination. As a part of a uniquely imagined society named “Sarangnee Club” (Wisdom Tooth Club), the five members show each other their heart-shaped wisdom teeth, open up their hearts for each other to see, and candidly communicate love in their own ways.

“I’ll Like You” contains five tracks. ”I’ll Like You,” the medium pop opening track that shares its name with the album, sets the enigmatic yet charming undertone for the rest of the track list. 

Following the lead single “Cherish (My Love)” is the two-step garage track “IYKYK (If You Know You Know),” the dreamy “Pimple,” and the dynamic pop track “Tick-Tack.”

Their debut single “Magnetic” made history as the first-ever K-pop debut track to enter the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Official Singles Top 100 charts, peaking at No. 91 and No. 80 respectively. The single also surpassed 400 million streams on Spotify recently, shortly after it was recognized as the most globally streamed K-pop song released in the first half of 2024. 

“I’ll Like You” is available on all streaming platforms worldwide. 

ILLIT during their media showcase on Oct. 21 (Belift Lab)

 

WORDS POWER

Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.”

In fact, words can literally shape the material world. The words we speak not only reflect, but shape our thoughts, and our thoughts shape the physical structure of our brains.

The religious and philosophical writer Tulushkin stressed before: "If you can't go for 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, you have lost control of your tongue!" Joseph Telushkin lectured on the awesome power of words.

He suggested taking a revealing "tongue test" to see where you stand. "Monitor your conversation for two days, "he said. "Note every time you say something negative about someone, who is not present. Also record, when others do so, as well as your reactions when it happens. Do you try to silence the speaker, or do you ask for more details?" Telushkin concludes, "Most of us who take this test are unpleasantly surprised." Now, guess why... .

I found a good description in Proverbs 6:16-19, relate to the causes and effects of damaging words: "Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet those are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies (!), and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers!"

But also written words can damage. I described it as "aggression's hotbed" in one of my old columns. Many times, it's painful to read columns or editorials, where the writer doesn't care for self-discipline, responsibility, inquisitiveness and respect. We all know how journalists can mentally shape public opinion, character, life, community and the way things go.

The power of words, written as well as spoken out, is a weapon, which can hurt - or kill! Writing with a wicked pen and having a sharp tongue doesn't mean that journalists should walk disrespectfully through life. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, even with a picked pen or sharp tongue.

Matthew 12:34 says, "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

Proverbs 10:19 says, “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.” Proverbs 15:4 tells us, “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”

"The Place to begin dealing with our words is inside our thoughts about others and us. If we accompany that with a commitment to stop speaking harmful words. We've begun a dramatic mid-course correction in life", another religion writer, Dave McCasland said.

Careless words can really inflict wounds that last a lifetime. Kind words can bring healing and encouragement. Everything we say has the power to hurt or to heal. Let's accept that great challenge and let's think first, before we open our mouth or before we start writing.

Words shape our lives because words have power. Their meaning establishes intuitions that frame our attitudes, navigate our character, and eventually, establish our world. Their power emerges from our sentimental responses when we read, enunciate, or listen to them.