Charice rocked the stage in Khalifa Stadium with her one of a kind voice which led fans to a total amazement. The concert in Doha which was held last Thursday, September 29.

It was her first ever solo concert and it was also her first time to perform in Doha, Quatar. The fans may have felt a bit short on Charice’s performance since she only performed for about 2 hours.

On the other hand, though it was just a two-hour performance, fans were still satisfied and overwhelmed seeing and listening to their idol. Filipino fans were very much elated to be up close and personal with the Filipina singing sensation and today’s most promising international singer.

Charice was thankful to her fans in Doha for the warm welcome she received. During the concert, she took time to thank all her fans and suwpporters. “Mahal ko po kayo, thank you so much for coming here.First of all, I am very very honored to perform here tonight. Thank you so much for having me here. To all the people behind the show, thank you so much for having me here. It’s such an honor, thank you po, whoever you are, non-Filipinos, Filipinos, kabayan, maraming-maraming salamat po. Thank you so much,” said Charice.

Pempengco was the first Asian celebrity singer to perform in the newest and grandest stadium in Qatar.

source:http://www.dailypinoyshowbiz.com/charice-pempengcos-concert-in-qatar/

International star Charice and Korean group Wonder Girls bagged nominations in the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2012, both of whom are nominated in the Favorite Asian Act category along with singers Agnes Monica of Indonesia and Yuna of Malaysia.

The awards show will be hosted by Will Smith and will be aired live on March 31 from the University of Southern California Galen Center.

The Wonder Girls starred in the Teen Nick movie, "The Wonder Girls," which was aired last Feb. 2.

Among the nominees this year are Jim Carrey, Johnny Depp, Daniel Radcliffe and Adam Sandler, who will all vie for the Favorite Movie Actor award.

In the Favorite Movie Actress, the nominees are Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Sofia Vergara and Emma Watson.

Justin Bieber, Toby Keith, Bruno Mars and Usher are all nominated for Favorite Male Singer while Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are vying for the Favorite Female Singer award.

Hallyu star Lee Jun Ki is in trouble for taking part in the production of a new single while serving in the Army. A representative from the star's agency had accidentally let it slip that Lee recorded a new song on Friday to release in Japan next month, which angered the Ministry of National Defense.

A representative from the ministry said that the actor should not have spent time on any profit-driven activities during his national service.

"The fact that Lee spent time designated to serving the country for his own profit raises some ethical concerns," a representative from the ministry said. "Even during a serviceman's vacation, he is still technically serving the nation and therefore it was wrong for him to record the single."

The ministry is currently investigating the matter and called Lee "irresponsible." As the actor is currently a part of the public relations branch of the military, some from the ministry said that he should have known better.

Source: http://www.asianbite.com/default.asp?display=4322

SINGAPORE: "The Wedding Diary" revolves around Daniel Cai (Aniu), an average Joe who falls deeply in love with Tina Chong (Elanne Kwong), the daughter of wealthy property magnate Colin Chong (Jack Choo Hou Ren) and his frigid wife Alison Chong (Kara Hui).

Cai and his lady love eventually decide to get married but things start to go terribly wrong.

Tina Chong's parents demand a lavish wedding and go toe-to-toe with Cai's father Ah Sai (Marcus Chin) and his aunt over this issue.

Cai's pride prevents him from saying 'no' to an expensive wedding, even though his savings as an engineer is nowhere near sufficient to cover the exorbitant wedding costs.

Egged on by his best friend Jeremy (Shaun Chen), Cai resorts to gambling and even lies to his new wife in a bid to turn things around, all while his ties with his father become more and more strained and his wife wanders ever closer to the truth.

"The Wedding Diary" takes a humorous looks at what it means to get married, looking beyond the romance between the marrying couple to uncover the complications that can arise, when their families become bound together as well because of their marriage.

Aniu turned in a convincing performance as the hapless Daniel Cai, eliciting laughter from the audience at every turn with his 'kampong boy' looks as he struggles to deal with the most awkward of circumstances.

Hui deserves praise as well for infusing her character with such emotional depth, even though she has relatively few scenes in the film.

"The Wedding Diary" ticks all the right boxes for a successful romantic comedy.

It brought together a pair of lovable leads with truckloads of chemistry and has a quirky storyline which audiences, especially Asian cinema-goers, will be able to relate to.

It also contains some genuinely funny sequences which left the audience howling with laughter.

Despite having a plot that is a tad predictable, this heart-warming film is definitely worth a look.

"The Wedding Diary" opens on February 9.

-CNA

source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/reviews/view/1181652/1/.html

Australia is more forward-thinking than the UK when it comes to portraying ethnic minorities in soaps, an Asian-Australian actor has claimed.

Sachin Joab plays Ajay Kapoor, a member of the first ever South Asian family to move into Neighbours' Ramsay Street.

He says the family were written without resorting to "cheesy stereotypes".

"There are no Indian accents, no references to Hinduism or Islam, or Bollywood music," he said. But UK soap producers have defended their shows.

ITV says the characters on Coronation Street are not defined by their ethnicity, adding that the show is "very much character-led and not issue-led".

Diverse mix

Three years ago, Sir Trevor Philips, who chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), headed a report into cultural stereotypes on TV.

The report concluded that shows like The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing represented the UK's diverse ethnic mix more than British soaps.

Among the UK's leading soaps, EastEnders has featured Asian characters since 1985 and Coronation Street got its first permanent Asian family in 1998.

ITV says its Asian characters do not play up to cultural stereotypes.

In a statement, it said: "Dev and Sunita do run a corner shop, but that is incidental to their love lives, relationships and dramas that they find themselves at the centre of."

Shobna Gulati plays the role of Sunita in Coronation Street and says her character's experiences - from life threatening disease and long love affairs to one night stands, marriage and divorce - transcend stereotypes

"Her cultural references stem from her family, friends and environment," she told the BBC. "She is not defined by these. These references do not form her behaviour and they are not her story.

"I cannot deny my own diverse origins, heritage or cultural reference, why should I? After all, I am an actor and I will bring that to the table to inform my work, but not to define it.

"I play Sunita. I play a person, a human being. She is a barmaid and she does not pull a racially stereotyped pint," she says.

'Watering down'

Joab says that Neighbours should be commended for its representation of Asian people.

"They could have easily said, 'OK, your character is Ajay Kapoor and we need you to speak with an Indian accent'. But they didn't even ask. They just said 'You're Aussie and you are going to play an Aussie.'"

However, not everyone agrees that cultural traits should be discarded.

Hajaz Akram, principal of the Academy of Asian and Ethnic Dramatic Arts (AAEDA) in London, is concerned that Neighbours is watering down what it means to be Asian.

"Asian families do come from ethnic and religious backgrounds, and we need to explore and celebrate that. I think that's important for us to explore as Asian people, but also to let communities be educated themselves."

When Neighbours first announced the arrival of the Kapoor family, some people posted racist comments on the show's website.

A minority of Neighbours fans claimed it was "un-Australian" to cast the new family. The comments were quickly removed, and Neighbours executive producer, Susan Bowers explained that the show wanted to represent a "more modern society".

But Akram says that, in doing so, the show is failing to represent the distinctiveness of ethnic minorities.

"If you've got a family that is just like everybody else, and who they are and what they stand for doesn't matter, then where is the issue?

"I think there is a massive missed opportunity."

The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.

Actor Dingdong Dantes will have a cameo appearance on the last episode of GMA-7′s epic-serye Amaya.

He will play the role of the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan. Amaya is played by Dingdong’s real-life girlfriend Marian Rivera. The series airs its final episode tomorrow, January 13.

Dingdong who recently won Best Actor in the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival for his role of a psychologically challenged husband in “Segunda Mano,” feels that it is a great honor to be part of the top rating series. “Kahit papaano, naging bahagi ako ng kasaysayan dahil sa malawak na naibibigay ng Amaya sa larangan ng entertainment at education.” he said.

Dingdong and Marian (DongYan) are the lead stars of the upcoming Kapuso primetime series “My Beloved.”

After stunning the public with an edgy teaser earlier this week, the Wonder Girls have released the full music video for their new U.S. single, “The DJ Is Mine”!

“The DJ Is Mine” is one of the songs on the soundtrack of the ladies’ upcoming Teen Nick movie ‘THE WONDER GIRLS’. The MV features the quintet in the club, only to find trouble with the School Gyrls, who also co-star in the film.

The music video will be launched at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas today in 3D. Check it out below!

SOURCE:http://www.allkpop.com/2012/01/wonder-girls-unleash-mv-for-new-u-s-single-the-dj-is-mine-featuring-the-school-gyrls

The starlet and artistes from the same company pooled in S$86,000 as lucky draw prizes for the staff members

Record label HIM International held a 20-table annual dinner at a renowned hotel on Jan 10 which was attended by the company's artistes, including S.H.E, Fahrenheit member Jiro Wang and Mike He.

Last year, HIM International threw a low-profile party because Selina sustained burn injuries in an on-set accident and was then on the road to recovery. Most of the money collected was also donated to the Sunshine Foundation to help burn patients.

This year, with Selina's condition stabilising and picking up, HIM International forked out a generous amount of NT$800,000 (S$34,400) to throw a lavish company dinner; the dishes reportedly cost up to NT$25,000 (S$1,000) per table.

The banquet also included a lucky draw segment and the first round of games called the 'started round', saw everyone going home with something that night and 70 lucky staff walked away with a total amount of NT$3 million (S$130,000) cash.

The artistes from HIM International pooled in NT$2 million (S$86,000), while the company's executives took out NT$1 million (S$40,000).

The boss of the company then announced that staff members would receive a four to five-month annual bonus this year.

Furthermore, HIM International will also organise a company trip for its staff, with all expenses paid by the record label.

Lee Hyori, who is well-known for her kind heart, donated her paycheck. According to KBS, Lee Hyori participated in filming the recent "KBS Special - Our Neighbors' Little Heroes."

"Our Neighbors' Little Heroes" follows the lives of people who put volunteering as a top priority in their lives. Lee Hyori donated the money she earned from narrating to "The Ho Dduk of Love Couple." ("Ho dduk" is a sweet Korean pancake that has a mixture of brown sugar, honey, peanuts, and other yummy things in the middle of a sticky batter dough. Yum!)

The "Ho Dduk of Love Couple" travels all around Korea, making and giving free ho dduk to the handicapped and unfortunate children.

According to producers, Lee Hyori was embarassed when she received compliments for her benevolent act, saying that this "was not something to be complimented for." It was also discovered that she donated $50,000 USD for heating expenses to over 300 seniors who live alone.

What a beautiful person, inside and out.

Credits from:http://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/news/edison-chens-girlfriend-100200029.html