FAME - Hugh Keice "Dancing in the Rain"

Welcome to the 7th episode of FAME! It seems that our schedules keep getting crazier every week, so for this week’s post I (Vic) will be the only one writing yet again. College/Uni (for our lovely international fans – apparently there’s a big difference between saying “college” and “uni”) is crazy!

For this week’s FAME, I will be reviewing “Dancing in the Rain (Off The Record)”by Hugh Keice [aka 오프더레코드 휴 키이쓰]. 

I was actually rather surprised by this week’s pole! I just threw Hugh Keice in there this week because it was a song I had heard a while ago that I like to unwind to, and apparently you all really like it too. I thought for sure that Shinhwa’s “Venus” would dominate, since both Dillon and I loved it on the first listen, but apparently I was wrong. Should we start incorporating more indie style songs instead of pop songs in our poll? Please let us know in the comments! ^_^

Anyways, I really liked “Dancing in the Rain” the first time I heard it, but it took me a minute to realize that the whole song was going to be in English. Usually when I see a music video (MV) on YouTube that has a load of Hangul around it, I automatically think the song will predominantly be in Korean. So, I was extremely surprised (in a good way) to hear a lovely British accent. I was rather taken aback at first – then I criticized myself for being so racist hahaha. There are some stereotypes that I’m still working to get over, but I think this was reasonably understandable. Did I mention that, for some reason, most Americans are obsessed with a proper British accent? – We (at least Dillon and I) think it sounds so cool – Seriously!  … That really has nothing to do with the review of the song, but oh well. I’ll try to stay on track from now on.  

I love the tone of the song – how they’re so relaxed and get along so well. I think whoever had the idea to film them performing live on the steps of a bridge was brilliant. The tone of the music matches the tone of the video perfectly. The lyrics are calm and talk about dancing in the rain (obviously), and the video background is a calming grey color with the water flowing softly in the river below.

You guys already know, from Episode 6, that I love it when live music performances are just as good as the studio recordings. And, this song “takes the cake”. I actually like the live recording of “Dancing in the Rain (Off The Record)” more than the studio recorded version. I also adore the fact that, as an appreciation for all of the lovely comments Hugh Keice received on the YouTube video, he released the live recording for free on soundcloud. He isn’t a really well known artist yet, so make his recordings available for free is a huge deal. I really appreciate how much he cares about his fans; it seems as though we’re featuring a real gentleman this week.

There isn’t really a movie type plot for this MV either. It’s just Hugh Keice and his buddy performing live – simple and sweet. The live recording made me feel like I was sitting just a few feet away watching him perform – a feeling I don’t often get from music videos these days.

Hugh Keice is a UK based singer/songwriter who launched his career in South Korea but challenged himself in 2010 to branch out to the UK market. He now goes on tour in both countries. With that being said, I give the English in this song a 5 out of 5. I mean, really, it sounds like he’s been reared in the UK – how am I going to argue with his English? hahaha

And that’s all for FAME this week. Please head on over to our Facebook page and look for the pole to vote for next week’s Friday Awesome Music & Entertainment, or just look for the pole in the top left area of this blog to cast your votes there as well. Also, feel free to leave us any comments or suggestions you may have in the comments section, through email, our Facebook page, or on Twitter. Thanks!