Okay, so I felt like blogging about Kevin today since he was one of my favorite singers back then (but I didn’t realize it was him until one of those days several years back that I put two and two together). He just looked different in those days so it was a bit hard to notice.
So what was with the outburst? Honestly, I wondered what happened but I guess TVB happened. More specifically a temptation in the name of V-Lok. Yeah, I knew what happened in the past with his master/teacher must have been hard, etc but it was a bit disappointing to see him cave in in the end. Well, he got fame and recognition, but somehow I felt it was for all the wrong reasons. I felt like he should have gone down the singing career path instead of the acting one since people did not care for him in that matter because he would just be a shield for all of TVB’s political fights. Not to mention he was often placed on the platter for people to idolize because of his looks AND not his talent (or like no one cared to analyze it further than that). Then somehow along the way, I don’t know, but his singing seemed to deteriorate (or so I thought) as well. It was like the more handsome he became (or thanks to those people working on his current image), the less talented he turned into.
What was wrong with his singing now? I don’t know. I liked more songs from him back then than now. He sounded more lively back then. Yes, I know that most of the songs he sang now are sadder but honestly, I could not feel the emotions brought into it versus his songs back then. Also, though his image was along the line of a nerd (or something like that) back then, somehow I liked it more that way. It looked more natural, more real versus all the fake layer now. NOT that I am accusing him of being fake, BUT I am just saying it looked forced somehow.
I think I should be glad that he and Raymond Cho are still best friends–like once upon a time. At least it shows that he still remembers how Ray was supporting him during those harsh times.
Well, you know how I feel about Kevin, so I will try no to be too harsh.
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Perhaps I should pity him more than dislike him, since thinking about it more now, it’s more TVB’s fault that he is the way he is now than it is his own fault…though he should definitely take responsibility for not improving his skills much and instead heading in the “other” direction (deteriorating).
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I definitely believe that TVB did him a huge injustice by putting him on such a high pedastal when he was nowhere near ready for it. It’s sad that they always “use” their artists like that, but unfortunately, when it comes down to TVB, the reality is that they are both petty and greedy, so whatever works for them, that’s all they care about. That’s why it’s hard for me to understand why artists who have signed management contracts with them boast about how “proud” they are to be associated with them (????) — all I can attribute this attitude to is that they (those who boast of TVB as though they could do no wrong) are extremely naive (and that’s putting it nicely).
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Also, I didn’t know until you told me that Raymond and Kevin were best friends (though I would never be able to tell because I rarely seem them interact outside of filming series and never read anything about them being friends). Anyway, I do sincerely hope that Kevin cherishes the friendship he has with Raymond and not let TVB ‘corrupt’ him any further, because in this industry, a true friend is hard to come by….
@llwy12 – no need to hold back – at least your comments are often well analyzed and/or knowledgeable ones.
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Yes, I agree that Kevin’s to blame for his lack of improvements AND even went downhill instead. It was not cool seeing him going backwards BUT somehow, I hold this little tint of hope. (AND I did blame him in the above for caving in.)
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Regarding TVB artists who boost about TVB, I think it’s like a mantra they (TVB) etched into their artists. Either that OR get freeze so no choice BUT to say it. OR like you said, might be SUPER naive, which is unbelievable since they are NOT young (at least most of them started when they are well over the adult age) like say TW artists (since most of them start really young ’cause of how different dramas requires fresh face and/or eye-candies).
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Regarding Kevin and Ray, I read several articles around as well as seeing them listed as friends in their profiles like ages back. (I think most of the old online sites are gone OR something that I couldn’t find real proofs of it. But one of the articles are still on AF regarding how Ray defended Kevin of the incident that happened in the past.) It was actually their friendship that I somehow was glad Kevin was in FHII since I could see them reunite BUT too bad they didn’t get too much of interactions in there. They were seem close at the FHII promo events? I got one of the pictures saved in my files. (Oh yeah, just to defend FH cast, I didn’t want Kevin to hug the screen too much in there though – wished it was only like a guest star OR only appearing in one case then it wouldn’t ruined the formula BUT that’s TVB! Grrr…)
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Pictures:
http://i2.sinaimg.cn/ent/v/p/2008-06-20/U2184P28T3D2068589F326DT20080620105032.jpg
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/5594/cimg0744kv5.jpg
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Okay, enough rant from me.
Hi again! Thanks — and that’s the same reason why I like reading your comments / posts as well (because they are so well analyzed and thought out).
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Well, let’s see if Kevin is going to improve or not because he seems to have an awful lot of series coming out this year (and next year)….not that I’m looking forward to those series because I most likely am not going to watch (depending on the rest of the cast)….and let’s see how he conducts himself outside of that (like during events and stuff), since you can tell an awful lot about a person through interviews and observing them at certain events.
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Regarding TVB — true, that could be the reason as well, especially given TVB’s well-known “pettiness” and how they “frown upon” anything that paints them in a negative light and basically vehemntly denies everything (hmmm…sounds like a certain governmental body that we all know…but I won’t go there)…I guess I would rather believe the “naive” thing because if that’s not the case, then that means those people are being “fake”, which in my opinion, is way worse (since at least with the former you have the excuse of being ignorant, but with the latter, the integrity completely goes out the window)….ok, I’ll stop with the TVB rant…(I’ll save it for another day….lol).
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Thanks for the info and pictures of Kevin and Ray. Good to see that they are still friends (at least it appears that way) — it’s actually a good thing because hopefully Ray will be a good influence on Kevin.
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And regarding FHII — well, I could go on and on about all the things that are wrong with the series, but I’ll save that for next time. The one thing I will say is that I didn’t like how TVB put Kevin and Charmaine in there purely “for the heck of it” and wasted a perfectly good “formula” that had made the first FH so successful. And just have to throw this one in — the ending was EXTREMELY cheesy and was obviously a “setup” for a sequel starring Kevin….
@llwy12 – Honestly, I don’t think he’s going to improve unless he gets less projects. I mean since he’s like in everything they could throw him in, etc. He would get so burnt out (though they do spread the projects out) and wouldn’t have time to mold things over OR try to see where he needs to improve, etc. Unless he’s a genius like some people and could see it right away. BUT then again it’s unlikely (though I don’t want to insult his intelligence but it’s been obvious that he could not learn as he goes after so many projects jammed together). It’s the same thing happening with the younger generation now as well. The more projects they appear in, the less likely they improve unless they get supporting OR minor roles. I see the new ones who portray minor roles improve faster OR at least have a knack for it. It is also because of the repetitive roles the main leads get aka the same characteristics and/or personalities for those roles that makes it worse. SO the ones in the supporting and minors are learning better because they get a wide range of roles – whether it is just some salesperson or some gangster, etc.
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The ‘knowing/not knowing’ thing – Now that you put it that way, I guess I would rather believe the ‘naive’ story too. What’s funny is when someone says negative stuffs about TVB, others DO NOT believe it OR say that they DO NOT know. Is it because the person who said it is less famous or less known? So it seems ridiculous? I don’t know.
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Yea, hopefully Kevin and Ray are still good friends like the picture is paving. (OR I’ll just have to cut Kevin off and he could go cry about it. Okay, that’s going overboard since I don’t think he knows about me doing that, lol.)
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Regarding Kevin’s image outside though, I don’t know if he stops smoking yet. (YES, I stumbled across some articles saying that he quit and then he started again OR something. BUT I didn’t even know he smoked before. There’s another reason for you to hate him now! Great or what? NO, I just didn’t want to hide stuffs when I find out about it. So gotta share, great or what?) He doesn’t have to quit cold-turkey but has to at least try. (I know someone who smokes and it’s really hard to quit BUT if Kevin makes an effort, it would add up aka one step at a time.)
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FHII – Yea, I got you started, right? I wished TVB hadn’t done that since now everyone hates Charvin even more. AND I hope they don’t go through with the third one OR it’s going to be super cheesy. Like it wasn’t before BUT it was getting on the point of being even more cheesy. I want more of Bobby, Yoyo, and Frankie team, BUT rather not if they’re going off base.
DTLCT: Haha, got to endure my rant again! LOL…
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You’re right…I shouldn’t expect Kevin to improve because if he hasn’t by now, it’s most likely NOT going to happen. And yes, I agree with you regarding how TVB is not helping their artists improve by throwing so many projects their way — so much so that they don’t even have time to breathe. I’ve been following many of the TVB artists’ weibos and alot of them have been complaining about being sick (though none will say that it’s because of work — but it’s quite obvious)…Bottom line is that the management at TVB are greedy slave-drivers!!!
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Oh, and this drives home the point I’ve been ranting about like forever — that TVB should not have gotten rid of those Acting classes — because those classes do exactly what you described…have the graduates start in minor roles to hone their skills so that by the time they reach the lead role, they are already quite good. Nowadays, the artists go straight into lead roles without any (or very little) formal training, then before they even have a chance to gain/improve their skill (since most didn’t have any to begin with), they are thrown a gazillion different projects and end up not having time…
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Regarding the criticisms of TVB — well, my opinion is that most people are so brainwashed by them that they refuse to believe TVB is capable of doing any wrong. And yes, it really depends upon the person saying it and how much “clout” they have — that’s why I was SOOOOOO happy when Jacky spoke out against them (yay!!!!) and was fine with them banning him because that just proves how petty they are (plus he doesn’t need them anyway…his new album still broke records).
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Hahaha…one more reason for me to hate him? Nah, the smoking thing doesn’t really matter much to me (though I personally feel that smoking is disgusting, but won’t hate someone because of it)….but thanks for sharing though! LOL!
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FHII — haha..yea, you sure did get me started! All I’m going to say is that I hope they DO NOT make the 3rd installment either — because it is going to be extremely cheesy…I mean, Tim Sir as a wife-killer??? What the heck??? And no Dr. Koo?? I mean, Bobby and Frankie were the main reason why I loved the first FH so much — if TVB is going to mess with my guys like that, I am so going to kill them!!!
Talking about people being sick and all, I think the rainy weather these past days doesn’t help much either. Since they’re already working and/or putting in a lot of hours AND the rain adds to it too hence their health situation is at risk.
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I’ve never understand the whole idea of ‘brain-washing’ AND how manipulative people could get before BUT after encountering a few cases with several people, I finally believe that the power of ‘brain-washing’ is definitely scary. AND maybe you’re right, they’ve been brain-washed (at least the majority of those who are still singing the “don’t know tune”, etc.
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Forgot what else was going to say but maybe next time, lol.
So do I. I do feel sorry for the actors who seem to be overworked. They also have to act during odd hours of the day and night and I often wonder how they are able to remember their lines , say, at 5.00a.m. Can they really do justice to their performance then? Like Kevin, I think he’s still not finished with filming the Mainland series, Bu Bu Jing Xin, a time-travelling tale, and then has to practice at his boxing skills for the series The Boxer King in March. It’s amazing how he does it! More like Superman’s job to me.
@P. Tan – Thanks for commenting. Exactly my feelings at times. I wonder how they could juggle so much. I meant they did choose that path, BUT I can’t help but feel like it’s about the best they could get to earn money to support their family. Either that or try to survive. That’s just one thing to worry about. Like you said, would they be able to do justice to their characters? Sometimes I want to cut them slacks when I think of how hard it is to earn money enough for living. Though it’s not a good excuse for some to do poorly in the acting department, but I think I rather think positive than negative about it. I have to clarify that this post is not the best representation of my feelings toward Kevin but the following up post that also linked to this post.