Karen’s World (龔柯允)

剛才去上了我來臺發片的第一個通告–【超級偶像】。

現場看到很多經常在電視上出現的人！

也遇見很多新朋友！

但是，讓我最最最感動的是——————–>>>>>>>>>他們—>>>>>>【我臺灣的 KFC ‘Karen粉絲’ （KAREN KONG FANS CLUB）】

聽到他們為我大喊的 “打氣口號”，看到他們為我制作的牌子！

讓我超級感動！！！

也因為有你們，我當下的緊張都消失了～～～～～

其實，當我知道要上這個節目時，心情是又期待有害怕的。

期待是因為這是我來臺發片第一個通告！

害怕是，因為是REALITY SHOW，所以難免要比賽:(

昨天彩排的時候，又被經紀人和工作人員責備說我的表演不好，所以心情非常的低落。

不是因為害怕失敗，而是害怕第一個通告就讓大家失望。

所以，我給了自己很大的壓力！

但是。。。。最后。。。還是。。。。

（但是什么呢？結果我贏了還是輸了呢？請大家留意7月18日的【超級偶像】首播吧）

Hey there ! … hope you are having yet another great weekend so far! I know all of you are busy with studying or working, but you are not going to miss out on your weekly dose of American Idol Season 8, just like me! (hehe) …

I was very busy this week but still managed to catch another great episode, I really enjoyed listening to Motown hits (even though many of the songs are new to me, hee) and I should say, I was pretty much tuned in the whole time. The performances were just simply amazing, I loved the arrangements and I felt that the Idols were pretty lucky to be mentored this week by the father of Motown himself, Smokey Robinson.

As usual, my favorites just blew me away! Danny Gokey didn’t let his fans down (yes, me included) when he did his version of The Temptations’ “Get Ready”, with an uptempo beat but with his added trademark gospel sound. And I’m sure you were all moved by Adam Lambert’s performance of Smokey Robinson’s “Tracks of my Tears”! That got me really excited, I have to say he looked handsome and stylish … and it was such a wonderful performance that Simon called it the best performance of the night! Wow!

But I will leave all the raves to Jimmy because I know that he has so much to say about this week’s episode. What I wanted to talk about is the lip-synching issue that has come out this week. I find it pretty sad that a lot of people have been speculating about this, but I really cannot blame them. As fans, we have every right to do so. It didn’t help that Justin Guarini (I heard), season one’s first runner-up admitted that they did in fact lip-synch some songs during the show.

I have to say I have mixed feelings about it … As a singer, I always shared with you the importance of being true to your song. But I can’t blame the producers of the show too (happened to me quite a few times when I was doing some local TV music shows too!). Anyway, I think that it is actually their way of helping the Idols out too. The competition is pretty nerve-wrecking already, and singing live all the time just might make the pressure even more intense. I can just imagine their feeling as they face millions of people while they try their best not to be eliminated. But then again, it is also unfair to fans because they are not really seeing or hearing the real thing, because everything has already been enhanced through recording.

Nevertheless, I think what’s important is the fact that American Idol has produced some of the world’s best performers today. For me, it doesn’t really matter whether you do it live all the time or not, but what really matters is you put in your 100% in what you do, don’t you think so?

And with that, I’d say bye for now and thanks for always reading my thoughts. I always enjoy sharing my updates with fellow fans like you! Catch you guys again next week for more great Idol updates!

Cheers! Karen

PS. This is a shameless plug, but please support my newest album, Showtime Vol. 2, out in stores now! I shall tell you guys more about my latest Taiwan album soon!

Hi everyone!

It’s been a while since I last updated my blog (soooooorry), I’ve been spending lots of time practising new songs as well as doing CNY promo back here in KL (did anyone manage to catch my performances? Hehe) …

Anyway, ever since I uploaded the ‘Help Payatas’ entry, I’ve received many responses and comments about the charity drive and I’m so glad that I did my very small part by raising more awareness about how many kids in Payatas are living in poverty right now, and if you can … please continue to help them where ever you are …

Oh I’ve also been invited to participate in this interesting project featuring one of my favourite TV show ‘American Idol’! Not only I’ll be following the music show every week, I’ll also be sharing my thoughts and comments on the show (including some gossips on the contestants!) - CLICK TO THIS LINK ok.I’ve always wonder whether it’s hard to be a contestant in the show since I’ve also joined Malaysian Idol a few years back before I was discovered .. I guess that’s another story (haha!).

So do check back on my blog and I promise to have more updates soon!

See ya!

Karen

I took a very short break visiting my hometown earlier, just wanna share some photos of the lovely KK (Kota Kinabalu) and my hometown LABUAN :> Enjoy ya!

很高興前些天爲了表演而有機會回到了自己的故鄉，Kota Kinabalu (KK)。。雖然從小就在納閩島（Pulau Labuan）長大，但是這裡畢竟是我的出生地，也是我小時候常來的地方。。在這裡跟大家分享一些照片吧！！

I was asked to watch a video on youtube this week and it really saddened me seeing so many children suffering from poverty.These children are from a place called Payatas in the Philippines and they remind me a lot of the children that came to my house in Labuan almost every day to ask for food – (they were also from Philippines cos Labuan is very close to the islands).

All I could do then was to donate some food for them, but now with more people trying to do more, I hope I can do my part too because I have so many friends from Malaysia, Philippines and from around the world – can you take some time to read the following story please? It will only take a few minutes but I hope you can give something to these children for Christmas too :> CLICK HERE FOR DONATION :>

Christmas for Payatas

The landfill in Payatas, The Philippines, is notoriously known the world over as Smokey Mountain. For over 35 years, the smoking dump site has grown to become a stark and heart-tugging reminder of the desperate conditions of humanity.

On a daily basis, children pick through newly arrived garbage to collect material to sell. The earnings made by one child are not enough to even buy food for the day. Hence, entire families are forced to climb the mountain each day, hoping to earn enough to feed everyone. Children as young as four years old are forced to work in this daily struggle for survival.

On 10 July 2000, after a period of heavy rain, a trashslide occurred in the Payatas dump claiming over 200 lives, including many children. The tragic victims were the scavengers and sorters at the dump site and those living in the nearby shanties. While the authorities instituted better management of the site after the tragedy, many continue to depend on scavenging as it is their only means of livelihood.

Fortunately, there are caring organisations such as The Lighthouse Center For Children Foundation, run by Judge Lorenzo B. Veneracion (former Manila judge and Charter President of Rotary Club Quezon City North). They operate a much-needed charity project to alleviate the sufferings and to help reduce their dependence on scavenging as a livelihood. Among their supporters are FusionExcel International, which has previously donated funds towards this worthy initiative.

The Lighthouse Center For Children Foundation currently provides food to these underprivileged children, now numbering over 500 children daily. This figure used to be 2000 children per day, but support and donations have been getting harder and harder to obtain. The foundation hopes to be able to feed 5000-10,000 children every day if it can raise additional funds. There are over 20,000 children living on Smokey Mountain. Intending to function as more than a soup kitchen,the foundation embarked on a Literacy

Program for the Payatas children. Most of the children are not attending school, but helping, at their tender age, to support families. Nevertheless, most of the children dream of becoming teachers, nurses or doctors. Sadly, their dreams are hindered by the reality of poverty and its vicious cycles. Through the educational component of the project, the Foundation hopes to break the cycle.

In addition, programs are also on-going for Health Care Services and Skills and Livelihood Training are being conducted for the adults.

In response to the plight of these children, Totedaddy.com is working with Lighthouse Center For Children Foundation to bring a little cheer to the children this Christmas.

Totedaddy.com is kicking it off with a cash sponsorship of USD 10,000 to enable the children to celebrate Christmas. FusionExcel International has also pitched in a USD 5,000 cash sponsorship. The money raised will help fund the projects already in place, and help fund additional projects aimed at providing better housing, and a means of livelihood for the Payatas community.

It is hoped that by creating better awareness to the plight of these children, more support can be garnered towards their betterment. This is in line with FusionExcel International corporate social responsibility to uplift underprivileged communities worldwide through charity projects.

Together we can bury poverty!

今天心血來潮，要自己動手炒飯吃。

沒想到，從第一個步驟—煮飯就開始煮飯就碰上問題。話説， 我的宿舍的電飯煲屬於比較老舊式的。說真的， 我從來沒看過也沒有用類似的飯鍋，但是向來都有冒險精神的我還是不管了，就試一下吧。

於是就開始照著小時候媽媽教我的方法，洗了米量了水就把米放入電飯鍋。時間一分一秒的過去， 突然安靜的客廳傳來好大一聲’tuck‘。 心急的我趕緊跑去查個究竟，當時我的心想，“成功了hor?!難不倒我，熟了hor..’。

但是，沒想到‘現實跟想象原來是相反的’，我第一次在臺北煮的飯失敗了！ 原本想煮飯但是，卻不知道怎麽的變成粥。但是，我還沒氣餒噢，還是將錯就錯的把’軟軟的飯’炒成美味的炒飯。不是我自誇， 而是經紀人吃了以後一直讚不絕口哦！看到她吃到那麽開心， 我也開心。因爲這個炒飯是為她所準備的，所以她吃的開心， 我就開心了！

獨家哦！這是認真炒飯中的Karen。 。

好了，我”軟綿綿”的炒飯。。。

試試看。。。”軟綿綿”炒飯的味道如何。。 hmm。。。好吃!

這是我媽媽的私房菜，呃忘了叫什麽名堂， 只知道容易弄，健康又營養。

做的方法很簡單，

1）放點蔥爆把鍋子爆香，

2）加入青菜，

3）水（變成菜湯）

4）最後呢，就把蛋打入湯裏在加一些調味料，就可以吃了！

大家也不妨試試一下吧！真的好好吃，又健康哦！

Hi everyone!

hehe, i guess many of my friends here don’t read chinese huh .. sorry about tat :This post is about my first ever fried-rice experience(Taiwan style) and i almost screw up (actually i did, hehe) cos i wasn’t sure how to operate the rice-cooker here (hehe) so instead of cooking rice, I somehow made porridge, haha!

You may ask .. how can I make fried rice from porridge? Actually, somehow i did !! (check out those photos) hehehe .. and my manager Tramy agrees! Well as long as she enjoy eating it .. i’m happy and mission accomplished !!

Love, Karen

來了臺北幾天，總算settle down了。

還記得離開吉隆坡那天，心裏是複雜的。老闆和同事來到我家接我到機場，check in後我們一起吃‘最後的午餐’（哈哈）的那刻老實說心裏是很不捨得甚至也有難過。在跟大家擁抱道別時，淚腺發達的我，努力強忍著淚水，笑著跟他們道別。

過後，就一路緊緊地追隨著經紀人的步伐，飛奔入登記室(因爲我們遲大到了)。結果，不知道是我們幸運還是倒楣，就在我們搭上幾場快鐵，準備要飛奔登機室的那刻，快鐵突然停電了。當時經紀人的表情是–慘了，而我就擔心的靜靜在一旁等著。但是，這次工作人員得效率非常得快，才一會維修人員就來幫我們把們打開。。。總算順利搭上飛往臺北的飛機。

來到臺北的第一個夜晚，我和經紀人兩個女生，拖著大大的行李從臺北機場到宿舍。一路上天氣冷冷的，風很大，但是我們卻感覺非常興奮！但是，一抵達宿舍，兩個女生才。。。晴天霹靂，因爲這個宿舍也太髒了吧？！我們二話不説，把行李放好就開始打掃我們‘臺北的家’。

打掃了一番後，發現宿舍的日常用品非常的不齊，例如：有床沒有枕頭，有被沒有床單，有牙刷但沒有牙膏等等。雖然當時很苦惱，但我還是‘熬’過來了！

P/S：我在臺北的第一夜，因爲沒有枕頭和床單，所以我被迫睡在沙發上。。。這樣的經歷也為我在臺北的第一夜留下難忘的回憶。

PSS: hi everyone, for those who cannot read chinese, hehe .. i’m in Taipei now and i’m practising my ‘mandarin’ so my blogs are also in chinese for a while … hehe

在這裡跟大家分享我–“臺北的家”：-

從我房間往出去的景色~漂亮嗎？

簡單而舒服的客廳~

我上網和工作的地方~~

來臺北的第一夜，我就是睡在這張沙發上。。。

‘this is the photo that captures my expression now .. hehe’ wow … time flies again!! it’s been a loooooooong time since i posted … actually since i launched my album, i guess it’s a good time to update cos i feel a little ’sad’ now ..

Last night i attended Sinchew’s mooncake festival celebration in Seremban beside a very beautiful lake (especially thanks for my friends from KFC that came all the way to support me) …

Anyway, while i was interacting with the crowd .. my favorite ring (which i bought from Bangkok) accidentally slipped from my finger and dropped onto the ground … this happened while i was still in the middle of a song :< so i couldn’t stop and pick it up … later I’ve asked Sinchew people to help me find it back but unfortunately, they said someone picked it up already and took off :< (so sad) …

If you’re wondering which ring i’m talking about, it’s the one I used during my album photoshoot … the one i always wear when I perform … anyway, who ever that has got it … i hope you cherish it and take good care of it ok? (hehe)

So i guess … i’m 太傻 for losing my own favorite ring .. hehe, hope you enjoy this music video (finally) Music Video hehe … and HAPPY MOONCAKE FESTIVAL !!

每一次逛唱片行的時侯，看到一些包裝精美的改版專輯我都會想，什麽時候我才會擁有一張屬於自己的改版專輯。沒想今天因爲你們而成全了我這一個小小的夢想，讓我有機會推出這一張改版專輯。這50場簽唱會下來我的專輯取得不錯的成績，所以當公司有這個想法要推出慶功改版專輯時我毫不猶豫地答應了。50場的簽唱會不容易完成，但是這50場的簽唱會卻讓我認識了更多的你們，讓我深深的體會到了你們的心意，你們的支持，也因爲這50場的簽唱會的成功才有《表演Vol.2慶功改版專輯》，同樣地，這一張專輯對我來說真是意義甚大。所以我的公司花了6個月的時間來為我製作這一張慶功改版專輯。或許一些朋友會覺得你們爲什麽要花這麽長的時間來製作一張改版專輯？我想這是因爲我和公司都希望可以為你帶來一張高品質的專輯，用最真誠的心和行動來感謝支持正版的你，這是我們能付出的小小回報。

相信許多來到現場支持我，預購《表演Vol.2慶功改版專輯》的朋友們都知道專輯裏不但包括了收錄在《表演》專輯裏的歌曲，也加入了5首新歌（這其中包括了"太傻"）。想要學唱我的歌的你，嘿嘿。。改版專輯裏加入了卡拉版 MV DVD，裏頭包括了6首卡拉版MV和一些MV製作花絮，這一次是輪到你為我表演的時候了，下一次我們來一個大合唱好不好？我等你哦！！

我的唱片公司真的花了好長的時間來製作這張慶功改版專輯（我非常感謝公司為我所作的一切，感激），從音樂製作，拍攝宣傳照，MV拍攝到封面設計，他們都花了很長的時間，因爲我們的目標都是一致的，就是要帶給你一張最有誠意的慶功改版專輯，因此專輯的製作比我們預計的花上更長的時間。如果你已經在我的簽唱活動上預購了這一張慶功改版專輯（特別是來自東馬的你），我要跟你們道歉 – 對不起，因爲一些印刷上的問題，專輯比預期的時間晚了推出（原本預定7月10日正式發行），非常對不起，公司同事告訴我他們經常接到詢問的電話，我知道你們期待已久了，對不起，對不起。。。但是我可以保證，你一定會在這兩個星期之内得到這一張專輯，所以請你們再給我一點時間，好嗎？謝謝你，謝謝。。

Hi all …

As far as I know, most artist will come up with a
re-package album when their album becomes popular or when there’s a
‘re-print’ so for my <Showtime> album, my company wanted the same
too.  The only difference is that my re-packaged album <Showtime
Volume II> has taken a much longer time to produce (more than 6
months!) and I guess it’s mainly because we didn’t want to do a
straight forward ‘re-print’ album but instead, we wanted to produce
something special for all the people who supported my original album
and also for my friends who have only just got to know me after my
50-venue promo tour - it was bcos of this tour that i had another
chance to come up with a follow up album so this re-packaged album is
extra special to me …

My company has spent lots and lots of time to produce this .. from
the music production, album photoshoot, music video shooting to the
album design (and printing), so it has taken way longer than we
anticipated.  So if you’re reading this and you’ve placed order during
my album ‘pre-sale’ .. please accept my apology (soooo sorry) that it
was delayed (my launch date was supposed to be 10th July) but i’m happy
to tell you guys that my <Showtime Volume II> will be available
within 2 weeks (in JULY) so please wait a little longer ok?

This album will feature 5-new tracks (including the classic song
Tai Sha) and also comes with a bonus DVD of all my music videos (all
six of them as music karaoke version!) and footages from my music video
‘making of’ … so this is really something we’ve created especially
for you guys as a special ‘thank you’ album .. for all the supports
that I’ve received from everyone! So again .. please wait a little
longer (gimme more time!) and I promise I will not let you guys down
ya!!

Thanks!
Karen