Philippine team finally scores victory on ‘TARA 4’

MANILA, Philippines – “The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) 4” executive producer Michael McKay wasn’t kidding around when he told Bulletin Entertainment, during the media junket in Singapore in August, that the show always got strong teams from the Philippines. He joked that it must be something in our water… or the beer.

The final episode of “TARA 4” aired across Asia on AXN on Dec. 9, where the Philippine team of Richard Herrera and Richard Hardin proved victorious in finally bringing home the elusive title, as well as the hefty US $100,000 cash prize that went with it. And surely they would attest that beer had nothing to do with it. Unfortunately.

After a couple of close calls—with Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez finishing third in Season 2, and Geoff Rodriguez and Tisha Silang ending the race as runner-ups in Season 3—the Riches triumphantly touched the mat after beating 9 other teams in a race across 15 cities in 8 countries and with over 38,000 kilometers traveled.

Beating the father-daughter team, Hussein and Natasha from Indonesia, and the rebel pals Claire and Michelle of Singapore on their own turf, the Richards had surely relied on their strength for most of the physical tasks. But it wasn’t always an easy race for this formidable duo. In fact, the boys also had their share of close calls at crucial times during the race.

Breaking a race rule in Indonesia, they almost got eliminated after being lost for nearly two hours. “We took a beating getting around Lombok when we had to do a U-turn to the previous venue (fishing village) and back. We were serving penalty for getting a free ride from a kind-hearted local,” Herrera recalled. “Rich and I agreed on the way to the next task to never stop running, because we wanted to finish strong no matter the outcome for us.”

But as one of the final three teams tasked to fly out of South Korea to Singapore (the race’s final pit stop), the gamble they took paid off handsomely. “We had to make a decision to either take a risk of getting stand-by seats, or take a later flight that had seats available,” Hardin recollected. Despite the nerve-wracking decision they had to make, luck had pushed them ahead of the other teams again.

Hometown advantage was lost to the Singapore girls when a risk they took got them stuck in South Korea, 10 hours behind the other teams. And when Hussein failed at a tightrope task, it practically sealed the deal for the Richards.

“The run to the mat as the other teams cheered us on... I couldn't feel my body at all running up those steps,” Hardin shared. Surely, that moment eclipsed even the most exhilarating instances they had during the race—like finally catching the four wily pigs in a Detour in Legazpi, Philippines; or Hardin staring his fear of heights in the face by doing a 440-foot bungee jump in New Zealand.

“Hardin's patience and my impatience strangely balanced us out in the last few legs,” mused Hererra.

“When Allan Wu announced that we were the first team to arrive, I felt like I had dropped 3,000 pounds off my back,” Hardin said, recalling the final pit stop. “TARA is an awesome experience like no other, but it’s definitely not easy!”

Manila Bulletin

Last hope of F4 2010 reunion is dashed

After The Little Tiger's reunion on CCTV's annual Spring Festival Celebration program for their twentieth year, there were rumors and speculation that perhaps F4 would also reunite on the show for their tenth anniversary.

While that plan to bring together Jerry Yan, Vic Chou, Van Ness Wu, and Ken Chu didn't fall into place, CCTV gave it one more shot by mailing out formal invitations in hopes that the four would attend the New Year's Eve celebration in Shenzhen on the 21st this year. Alas, Vic thought that the New Year's Eve celebration would actually, you know, be on New Year's Eve (the 31st), and so he had already made vacation plans for the 21st.

Unlike in Taiwan, Mainland's CCTV holds their New Year's Eve party earlier. On the night of the 20th, they hold the red carpet event, a press conference, and the dress rehearsal. Then on the 21st, they officially film the show. Had the reunion of F4 been successful, they would have been Taiwan's sole representatives.

The "mother of F4", Angie Chai, has deemed it "Mission Impossible" to bring the four together due to their different management companies. And since Vic will be doing promotions in Tokyo for "Black and White" near the Spring Festival date next year, chances are slim that the four will be able to reunite for the occasion. However, it can't be completely written off yet. Perhaps Hunan TV, who has offered to provide them with planes for transfers for Hunan TV's Spring Festival show, will be able to finally bring them back together again. Even Jerry's manager has stated that the four have a consensus on reuniting, but it will all depend on their schedules.

In the meantime, we can look forward to other big names coming to the CCTV New Year's Eve party, such as theFour Heavenly Kings consisting of Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai, and Aaron Kwok.

Source: Appledaily

Shu Qi: "I'm afraid to go home"

TAIPEI : Taiwanese actress Shu Qi is afraid to go home lately.

Not because she is worried about crazed stalkers but because her family members have stepped up their efforts to set her up with men.

"My family and friends keep arranging matchmaking sessions for me, so much so that I am afraid to go home," said Shu during a promotional event for her new film "If You Are the One 2" on Monday.

"I'm also very afraid of going out for tea with other people. For now, I just don't think there is a need for any matchmaking. Everything is up to fate."

Shu revealed that she had been on so many matchmaking dates that she has devised a cunning plan to handle such sessions – always bring along a friend and introduce any uninteresting dates to her instead.

"If I am suddenly asked to go for a meal [with a prospective suitor] I will bring along a friend who is dying to get married.

"Just recently, one of them hit it off [with her date] after spending an afternoon together," said Shu before admitting with a laugh that she would ditch her friend if she likes her date.

The 34-year-old actress pointed out that she preferred to go on a group vacation with some friends and her prospective suitor to see if any sparks fly between them, instead of going on deliberate matchmaking sessions.

Yuri feels pressured by the focus on SNSD’s legs

SNSD’s Yuri shared her thoughts about the popularity of SNSD’s legs in Japan during her appearance on the November 30th episode of SBS’s “Strong Heart.”

Yuri began by stating, “In Japan, they call us the ‘beautiful legs group’ because they think our legs are beautiful. Honestly though, our legs aren’t that pretty. Only a few of us have nice legs, but they keep the focus point on our legs a lot.”

SNSD’s hit song, “Genie,” was especially popular for its ‘kick’ dance. Their shorts and choreography accentuated and emphasized their long legs, but Yuri explained that the pressure was too much.

"All nine of us do not have pretty legs. Sooyoung, Tiffany, and a few others have very nice long legs but the rest of us are either short or thick. My legs, realistically, have a bit of meat on them as well so there’s a lot of pressure when cameras focus on them“, she confessed.

Yuri then revealed the secrets behind managing their legs, “Our legs get more makeup than our faces in order to hide any scars and bruising.”

ALLKPOP

Ga-In confesses she enjoys filming ‘We Got Married’ the most

Brown Eyed Girls member Ga-In, who’s become a triple threat with her ventures in singing, acting, and guesting on variety shows, recently revealed that she has the most fun when filming ‘We Got Married’.

On this week’s episode of MBC’s ‘Good Day‘, Ga-In confessed, “There was a time when I didn’t get much sleep. I was really busy from having to perform at a Japanese concert, record our album, shoot ‘We Got Married’, and even film for ‘All My Love‘.”

When asked which schedule she enjoyed the most, Ga-In expressed, “To be honest, ‘We Got Married’ is the most enjoyable, because it’s not tiring. I like it the most because I get to play around and be my true self.”

Regarding her new sitcom, the singer said, “At the moment, I feel it’s more difficult than it is fun, so I still get nervous. You never know though – once I get used to it, sitcom filming might become the most enjoyable.”

Ga-In is currently acting as a main character for the daily sitcom, “All My Love”, alongside her ‘We Got Married’ ‘husband’, 2AM’s Jo Kwon.

SHINee’s Onew performs a duet with Lena Park

On November 18th, Lena Park (Park Jung Hyun) released a new special album titled “Cover Me Vol. 1“ which contains her previous hit tracks from her first 3 albums. After taking a temporary break from singing in order to focus on her academics, she has returned to the music stage. ALLKPOP previously reported that during the recording for MBC’s “Beauty Concert,“ Lena Park performed a duet track with SHINee’s Onew. Well, the show finally aired on November 20th and both Lena Park and Onew serenaded the audience with a cover of Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat’s “Lucky.”

I have always loved Lena Park. She makes me smile whenever she sings. As for leader Onew, need I say more? I still remember myself in complete amazement while listening to their song "Stand By Me" for the first time, specially during his parts. His voice is amazing. This will be my very first time hearing him sing in English, and I'm impressed.

Check out the video below: