Spotlight: Tan Jianci
Greetings Jellies, I wanted to do something different this spotlight and do a soloist and a Chinese singer. While some fans of Chinese dramas may recognize Tan Jianci from dramas like Under the Skin ( a personal favorite) and Love Me Love My Voice (also wonderful), he actually started out as a competitive ballroom dancer (something I learned recently). Back in 2006 he became a trainee, before debuting in boy group M.I.C. While I know technically he isn’t fully a soloist because he started in a group, I want to focus on his solo music because that is how I got introduced, mostly through his OSTs. Chinese music is a lot harder to find. Sometimes I could find OST’s from popular dramas, but even that could be hard at times due to translation issues. Even with Tan Jianci, a lot of his music isn’t available, of the ones available I also was trying to avoid music videos with talking/spoilers or live performance with sound issues. This first song is the intro for Under the Skin. While it does have music video, it does contain scenes from the drama with talking. As I didn't want to spoil it if someone hasn't seen it, I opted for just the song. If you're unfamiliar with the drama, Tan Jianci plays an art student who is dragged into a criminal investigation after his art is used in connection to a murder. These events leave a deep scar on him and makes him step away from art to become a portrait artist for the police. He has gives lessons on art history to the police academy, including its long standing connection to the darker side of humanity. Personally as a history student, lover of art museums, and mystery enthusiast this one hit a sweet spot for me.This is from a stage performance he had, I thought his live vocals were quite lovely. This song is called Dawn and Dusk, it's from the Love Me, Love My Voice OST. It's video also has a bunch of scenes from the drama so I'll just share the song. If you're looking for a soft and low angst watch, I definitely recommend the drama. Love Me, Love My Voice is a story of two people drawn together through a voice chat. One is a college student trying to compose historical music (think costume drama music) who loves a particular voice actor's voice and hopes to work with him. One day they both meet in a voice chat. This is the romance drama for people whom have a list of favorite actors specifically for their voice, they'll definitely understand the female leads feeling falling in love with a voice. Warning: this is a slow paced, chill, slice of life, romance. Slower dramas aren't for everyone and that's okay.I am including a second song from the Love Me, Love My Voice OST. I felt that this was a very meta song to share as it is a song performed for a show within the show. Plus this demonstrates a different style of singing. Because I want to showcase his range, I’ve included this music video which has a very different vibe from the other music I’ve posted.My final song I’m sharing is the newest one I found by him. I hope you've enjoyed this introduction to Tan Jianci. Please look into his dramas and music, I don't know if he has any upcoming music, but he has several dramas coming soon. - Rei
Waking Up Playlist #7
Good Afternoon Jellies,I hope you’re staying healthy, eating well, and sleeping well.This weeks theme: Children’s Day (June 1st)In China Children’s Day is celebrated on June 1st children under 14 might get a half day at school or have special events. For adults in recent years it’s become popular to share childhood photos and take the opportunity to eat favorite childhood foods and snacks. This weeks is a combinations of songs about being young, and ones that have that feeling of nostalgia about growing up. Youtube and Spotify 1. Snooze by Lucy
2. Youth by Lee Know of Stray Kids
3. Youth2Youth by Epex
4. Fun by Octpath
5. CBZ (Primetime) by BSS
6. We Are Young by ONEUS
7. Growing Pains by Monsta X
8. Child by Mark ( formerly part of NCT)
9. Childhood by The Rose
10. Time of our Life by Day6 What are your favorite childhood snacks/foods?Wishing you good mornings this week,- Rei
Waking Up Playlist #6
Good Afternoon Jellies,I hope you’re staying healthy, eating well, and sleeping well.This weeks theme: 520 (Wo Ai Ni)May 20th is unofficial Valentines day or sometimes called digital Valentines day in China. 520 which is said ‘wu er ling’, is said to sound like ‘wo ai ni’ which means I love you. When I looked it up, I saw a lot of posts talking about how this picked up back when pagers were really heavily in use, couples would send 520 to each other as a little I love you message through out the day. While some may argue whether or not these sound close to each other or not, it’s hard to deny how wide spread it’s become. I saw a lot of posts on Instagram celebrating from many countries. It was fun to have an excuse to dig through my love songs and even pull up a few throwbacks, the last song being an OST from my early drama watching years. Youtube and Spotify 1. Psychic by Lay (Chinese version)
2. Side by Side by The8 (Chinese Version)
3. Stay by My Side by Waji
4. Fill Me in Love by Luhan
5. Forever Star by Zhang Yihao
6. Like a Sunny Day, Like a Rainy Day by Silence Wang
7. More than Friends by Andrew Tan
8. Unbreakable Love by Eric Chou
9. Dimples by JJ Lin and Charlene Choi
10. Personal Angel by Tank Wishing you good mornings this week,-Rei
8 Mystery Dramas for at Home Sleuths
Dear Jelly Squishes,I am a fan of mysteries, books, movies, dramas, shows, and even games. I’ve loved them since I was little reading Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew Books. I grew up watching Murder She Wrote, Miss Marple, Poirot, and other classic mysteries. Even now, Poirot is streaming on Hulu and it’s been playing in the background while I clean house or help my brother through his physical therapy. I’m going to share some of my favorite, most watched crime and mystery dramas. These are not in a specific order and all availability is based on where I found it in the US. Trigger Warnings: A lot of these shows deal with very dark themes/cases. Some of them it’s been a while since I watched them so I can’t give detailed warnings. If you’re a sensitive viewer make sure to be careful of potential triggers especially shows involving cases with sexual violence. 1. Signal - Korean Drama 2016 on Netflix - I remember the first time I watched this years ago I made a mental note to keep an eye out for more Lee Je Hoon dramas. It’s not a perfect drama, but I found it very compelling. This is a mystery involving communication between two detectives separated in time by fifteen years. An old walkie talkie helps them communicate as they work together to find answers to cases in both time lines. I feel like there’s a lot of important things discussed in this show, especially since it deals with older laws vs newer ones and statute of limitations issues. It is quite heart breaking at times the cases that went unsolved for so many years and the ways their family suffered. 2. Reset - Chinese Drama 2022 on Youtube (I hope Viki get’s it back)- This is a time loop mystery about a girl on a bus that explodes. Every time it happens she restarts the day after she is already on the bus. She and one other passenger try to figure out what happens and how to get the bus and its passengers safely to the end of the day. Each reset they try new methods, and investigations before time runs out. It’s got a solid cast and manage to avoid a few pitfalls that time loops dramas fall into. It sticking to a shorter 15 episodes keeps it from becoming too repetitive, and keeps it moving quickly. 3. Beyond Evil - Korean Drama 2021 on Viki and Netflix - For more sensitive watchers I will give a heads up that this one can be quite dark and the signature of the Serial Killer is gross. This has an excellent cast and they do a good job of making you question everything you know and everyone in the village. This is a cold case that has two detectives paired up one older who has a murky connection to the twenty year old case and the younger one who is determined to solve it. I think this is one that the cast added a lot to what made it compelling. 4. Maiden Holmes - Chinese Drama 2020 on Viki - Back during lock down I watched this drama twice. Once on my own and a second time alongside someone else at a distance. This is not a high budget production, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable. It’s also Zhang Ling He’s very first drama, for anyone who has seen any of his new and trending dramas. This is a historical mystery involving a group of five who through circumstances end up traveling together solving smaller mysteries while they try to solve a much larger conspiracy. The group, a prince undercover as a commoner, a government detective who is a woman disguised as a man (for reasons that are part of the big mystery), a martial artist that is all brawn and good intentions, and a headstrong woman with her own interesting poison knowledge. Their group is rounded out by a cutie chef who is an assistant to the prince and cooks them up delicious food to help them solve cases. This isn’t realism, or high quality, it’s entertainment. Trigger Warnings: Attempted Sexual Assault and this is a costume drama/mystery so blood, blood, blood, and death. 5. The Uncanny Counter - Korean Drama 2020 on Viki (Season One Only)- Supernatural mystery involving a group of noodle shop workers, whose real job is demon hunting. While their job is to get rid of supernatural evil, they start realizing the job's lines blur into dealing with human evil as well. I do get a bit frustrated with their heavenly supervisors, but over all I enjoyed it. This is also one of my Yagiya’s favorites of all time. This is a great option for fans of supernatural/superhero kinds of stories. Aside from the action/demon hunting it has a wonderful found family element to it. The drama is based on a webtoon and definitely gives that comic book action vibes.6. The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty - Chinese Drama 2020 on Viki and Iqiyi- 15th century China mystery involving a government official who is brilliant but has no ambition. He just wants to live his life and eat delicious food. Unfortunately his brains draw the attention of a uniform guard and an imperial eunuch who are on opposite sides of the palace politics. With the combination of delicious food prepped by the uniform guard and various threats/bribes prepared by the eunuch, our official/detective is dragged into case after case. I found the dynamic between the main detective and the two frenemies who tolerate each other for him, to be thoroughly entertaining. I also love the little family he manages to gather who always ends up eating together. Also for those who enjoy martial arts Jackie Chan was a producer and you can tell there was attention paid to the fight scenes. 7. Healer - Korean Drama 2014 on Viki- This is an older one and you will feels its age a bit while watching it. It’s a classic I’ve revisited multiple times and watched with my spouse and my sister, both who loved it. Healer follows our main character who works as a night courier, and he works with a hacker who helps him stay out of trouble. But his latest mission has him running into a less than successful journalist, and strange things seem to follow. He finds himself falsely accused of a crime and decides to solve who really did it and the larger conspiracy dating back to the previous generation. 8. Under the Skin - Chinese Drama 2022 on Viki and Iqiyi- The start of this one is a bit rough and quite honestly it took a long time for me to warm up to the detective. Start to finish it is the painter turned portrait artist that kept me tuned in. This is a mystery involving a lot of dark topics including sexual assault, domestic violence and trafficking. I found this one scratched a very particular itch in my brain. I love art history, and love to visit art museums. So when he gave his crime in art history lessons I was captivated. Honorable Mention:Don’t Call It Mystery - Japanese Drama 2022 - The reason I mention it is for anyone who might have access to this drama. I really loved watching this one but it’s no longer on Viki. This mystery follows a neurodivergent (my guess, I don’t know if the character is diagnosed), whose comfort food is curry, and spends most of his time alone reading. One day he is accused of a crime and reluctantly is forced to solve the mystery to keep himself out of jail. He is very observant of people and often wonders about things. The manga is being translated and I’ve read 1-4, I really want to catch up because I want to know what happens past what the show gave us. I find our begrudging detective with all his random questions, knowledge, and uncontrollable hair very endearing. What mysteries do you love? Do you have a preference between episodic mysteries where there’s several mysteries through out the show or do you like one big mystery?Happy drama watching,-ReiWaking Up Playlist #5
Greeting Jellies, I hope you’re staying healthy, eating well, and sleeping well. This weeks theme: Chicken Nugget’s Vibe listWe’ve been focusing on staying upbeat and positive, but also good music helps when working through physical therapy or trying to get some movement in. These are all songs from the list I’ve been making for Chicken Nugget, and he chose these songs himself. He was having a good time helping me make this weeks list. This is a combination of motivational, vibes, and a few video game themed songs. Did you know that video games can be good for your health? Several of his doctors have recommended that he play video games to help with hand mobility, coordination, and brain function. Thankfully everyone in this home likes video games so we already had a good set up. YouTube and Spotify 1. Fighting by BSS Feat. Lee Young Ji
2. Good & Great by KEY
3. HERO by MONSTA X
4. ITEM by Stray Kids
5. Unbelievable by LUCY
6. LOVE VIRUS by GIUK feat. SUNWOO
7. BOUNCY (K-HOT CHILLI PEPPERS) by ATEEZ
8. HARD by SHINee
9. Dum Dum by Jeff Satur
10. I Feel Good by BOYNEXTDOORWishing you good mornings this week, - Rei
Waking Up Playlist #4
Dear Jellies,
I hope you’re staying healthy, eating well, and sleeping well. This weeks theme is in honor of Brain Tumor awareness month (gray in May). I am doing this one in particular because that is what Chicken Nugget has(I have his permission to talk about it). Sometimes someone can look completely healthy and fine, and within a month's time everything changes. Kiddo went from sending me the full length Secret Tunnel from Avatar the Last Airbender to being in the hospital in a matter of days. Life can change that quickly. This playlist is approved by Chicken Nugget himself. The first half is fairly self explanatory with lyrics or titles relating to him. The second half is inspired by the awareness bracelet I have that says “No One Fights Alone”. Sending encouragement to everyone out there doing their best to fight this! Fighting! Hwaiting! Jiayou! Susu Na! Ganbatte!
Youtube playlist and Spotify playlist:1. Side Effects by Stray Kids
2. Brain by Yang Yoseop
3. Stuck in my Head by Waji
4. Pain by Isaac Hong
5. Not Okay by Ateez
6. Hug by Seventeen
7. Breathe by Leehi
8. Here for you by Cix
9. I’ll be there by D.O
10. Haze by LucyDo you have a favorite song for when you’re struggling?Wishing you good mornings this week, -Rei
Spotlight: In X! Hello, we are CIX!
Hello Jellies,It’s been rough year for Korean music lovers and we’re not even half way done. We’ve had legal disputes, hiatus’, restructurings, members leaving, and an unfortunate amount of disbanding. I bring you the unfortunate news of another group succumbing to the seven year curse. Unfortunately this groups story is a too frequent story in Kpop especially for those who’ve been listening for a long time. The monthly audience on YouTube music (at the time I write this) is sadly only 336K listeners, and Spotify lists 259K listeners. And while that feels like a large number to me who currently has 3 followers on Instagram (at the time I write this), Oneus a group that debuted the same year as CIX averages 1.06m listeners on YouTube music and 420k on Spotify. Even more popular group the same year Tomorrow x Together which averages 36.5m listeners on Youtube Music and 7m listeners on Spotify. I’ve been listening to CIX almost since their debut having followed a member from his previous group Wanna One. Over the years I’ve been doing waking up lists for my sister their music has been feature several times. With some of their songs being on my most played personal playlists, I am sad that there will be no more music from them as a group. With that being said I’d like to introduce you to the members of the group. CIX’s name is an acronym for Complete In X.
Their fans are known as FIX an acronym for Faith In X.
They debuted in July of 2019.
Members: Each name is a link to their personal Instagram
BX (Byounggon) - Leader, Main Rapper, Vocalist
Seunghun - Main Vocalist, Dancer
Yonghee - Vocalist, Visual
Bae Jinyoung - Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, Center
Hyunsuk - Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist, Maknae Narrowing down the list of songs to be included for introduction is always difficult. While going through my saved CIX songs, I was surprised how low the play count were for some of them on Youtube. I have decided to play the most played one off my saved list and then after that it's a selection of songs under 200k listens on Youtube. They're in descending order from most listens to least. I went off Youtube listens exclusively because the Spotify listens and Youtube listens numbers were vastly different sometimes. I'll include listen count for both on here in case there are any data/statistic fans. Jungle (2020) at 34M plays on Youtube and 17.7m plays on Spotify. Bad Dream (2021) at 171k listens on Youtube and almost 2.5 million listens on SpotifyMy Name is Shadow (2024) 161k listens on Youtube and 462k listens on Spotify. This song was released before Bae Jin Young left the group later that same year. My Everlasting Sun (2025) 127k Youtube listens and 286k listens on Spotify. This is from their first EP after Bae Jin Young's departure. S.O.S (2025) 122k listens on YouTube and 250k listens on Spotify Upstander (2025) 74k listens on Youtube and 177k listens on SpotifyLost (2021) 29k listens on YouTube and 589k listens on Spotify.Here For You (2021) 23k listens on Youtube and 597k listens on Spotify.While not all together unexpected, the group’s disbandment was a very sudden announcement. Currently here is what we know about the future for the members.
- Younghee is enlisting in the military May 10th as an active duty soldier.
- Hyunsuk is currently filming a drama, so we will be waiting for more news about that.
- BX hasn’t announced what’s next yet, but hopefully whether he goes solo, goes into acting, or decides to step away from the industry he finds what makes him happy.
- Seunghan is retiring from the music industry according to translations of his instagram post. I have seen some say that his post was misinterpreted and he isn’t officially retired. Whether he is retiring or just taking a break, I hope that he takes the time he needs.
- Former member Bae Jin Young is currently doing a small reunion with Wanna One his group before CIX, and released a solo album last year. If this was your first time listening to CIX, I recommend you explore some more of their back catalogue. I will continue to love the music we’ve already gotten from this group and look forward to whatever new music and dramas they release on their individual journeys. Thank you for reminiscing with me and listening to some of my favorite songs. Wishing the members of CIX all the best in this new phase.Happy listening,-ReiWaking Up Playlist #3
Greetings Jellies,I hope you’re staying healthy, eating well, and sleeping well. This weeks theme: Lixia (The Start of Summer)This year I decided to try and do something different. I’ve been making these lists for my sister for a few years, so for this year I decided to base holiday and observances off of the Chinese calendar. I'm trying to use these lists to add to my personal studies as I research about the holidays and their history. I read a post talking about Lixia and the sounds of summer being crickets and toads. When I went for my last hike, there were lots of toads along the path and the sound of them near the water was like a chorus. Though for me it’s the sounds of birds and cicadas, seeing wildflowers along the roads that is the ushering in of the summer season. I made this playlist after thinking about the feelings of Summer. For some it’s baseball season, for others it’s the sunshine, it’s freedom, it’s fireworks, and it’s being young or feeling young. I tried to encompass a lot of those feelings in this list. Youtube and Spotify playlists are the same this week:1. Home;Run by Seventeen
2. Mamma Mia by SF9
3. Kool by Forestella
4. Magic by Tomorrow x Together
5. Summer Poem by ONF
6. Some Things Never Change by Zoonizini (Astro Subunit)
7. Blueprint by Stray Kids
8. Eternal Sunshine by Ateez
9. Endless Summer by B.I
10. Firework by &TeamWishing you good mornings this week,
-ReiWaking Up Playlist #2
Hello Jelly Squishes, I hope you’re staying healthy, eating well, and sleeping well. This weeks theme: BeautifulSongs featuring the word beautiful. This past week was a long week, but we’re trying to find the beauty and stay positive. I hope you find beauty in the little things this week. Youtube and Spotify playlists are the same this week:1. Beautiful Beautiful by ONF
2. Beautiful Life by B.I feat. Crying Nut
3. Beautiful Strangers by Tomorrow x Together
4. Beautiful Monster by JxW (Seventeen Subunit)
5. You’re Beautiful by The Rose
6. Scars leave beautiful trace by Car, the garden
7. Beautiful by Gaho
8. So Beautiful by DPR IAN
9. Is it Still Beautiful by Seventeen
10. Beautiful Day by DoyoungWishing you good mornings this week,
Rei Spotlight: From East to World! Hello, we are DKZ!
Welcome to my very first spotlight post!I was trying to figure out who I wanted to introduce my readers to first when I saw the announcement that in a little over a month DKZ is going to disband. Though I’m really sad to see this news as I’ve always wanted them to get the funding and the attention they deserve. While we may not get any new music from them, I’d like to write up a brief introduction of the group and share some of my favorite songs by them. DKZ originally known as Dongkiz officially debuted in April of 2019. Their name meaning Kids from the East, and their fan group took on the name Dong-Ari. The Members at Debut:Jonghyeong (Now going by Juone) - Vocalist, Dancer (Original Maknae) Jaechan - Vocalist, Producer, Visual, Rapper Wondae - Leader, Lead Vocalist, Main Rapper Kyoungyoon - Main Vocalist Munik - Vocalist, Main Dancer In 2022 Dongkiz went through a lot of changes. In March Wondae announced he was leaving due to health issues and that they were being renamed. Shortly after that same month three new members officially joined the rebranded group DKZ. This was a big second chance for the group that had been struggling, aside from the rebrand one of the members had a hit drama. Jaechan was in a web drama called Semantic Error, this drama was a BL (boys love) and it’s success took Korea by surprise as they got nominated for awards and even won best couples for the APAN Star Awards. While this definitely brought attention to their music from a whole new group of fans, there was also a lot of negative attention too. The members at Rebrand (Names link to their instagrams if I found them)
Jonghyeong (Juone) - Leader, Vocalist, Main Dancer
Jaechan - Vocalist, Producer, Visual, Rapper
Sehyeon - Rapper, Vocalist, Dancer
Mingyu - Main Vocalist, Dancer
Giseok - Vocalist, Dancer, Maknae
Kyoungyoon - Main Vocalist (till he left in 2023)
Munik - Vocalist, Main Dancer (He was on hiatus during these changes and also left in 2023)Now that you’ve met all the members let me share probably the first song I ever heard of theirs back in 2020. I was 100% being annoying roaming my home during lockdown singing “Let me be your honey” and my pet bunbun was not amused.Another pre-rebrand song that was on repeat during covid era.Post rebrand group minus Munik who was on hiatus. Their song with the most views and a very different vibe from Cupid ( I personally like Cupid more)Then 2023 happened Munik officially left the group after being on hiatus more than a year. Later Kyoungyoon left the group due to health/personal reasons. We got only a couple songs from the group, a sub-unit with three songs and a Jaechan mini album. In 2024 we got a new mini album with the new 5 member line up. Then in 2025 we got another mini albumThis brings us to now, seven years after their initial debut. It’s sad to see another group fall to the seven year curse. I hope that the members all do very well in their solo activities. I will keep listening to their old music and keep my eyes open for solo releases. They have a lot of covers on their YouTube channel and I hope they continue to release those as well.If you’re new to the group I hope you enjoyed learning about them and experiencing a little bit of their music. Please look them up and listen to more of their music including sub units, OSTs, and solos. For those of you whom have been fan for a while, I hope you enjoyed this walk through memory lane and celebration of their time and music they have given us. - ReiWaking Up Playlist #1
Hello Jelly Squishes, While this blog is new, my “Waking Up” playlist isn’t. Technically I started doing these back in 2022, though only a few people knew about it. It was created as a way to help Chickadee (little sister) who struggled with mornings, getting up, and ready for the day. Each week I put together 10-15 songs with a theme. I try to go a long time between repeating songs and themes, but eventually things do cycle around. The more I did these lists, the more themes, and songs I collected. I also had more people who learned about the list and started following it. Up till recently the playlist was only shared, but I am officially launching it here. Every week when the playlist updates I’ll be posting the link and the list of songs played. I update the list on Tuesday afternoons so it's ready for the midweek slump on Wednesday morning. While the playlist was originally only on Youtube I have started doing it on Spotify too. Youtube allows me to mix in videos so it’s why I originally stuck to it, because there are so many amazing covers and YouTube exclusive I like to mix in. I will try to find fun replacement songs for the Spotify version of the list to replace any Youtube exclusive songs. This weeks theme: Floral Songs featuring words associated with flowers and the names of flowers. Everything around me is currently in bloom and during my nature walks I’ve been having fun identifying the flowers growing. While I know it’s not spring everywhere in the world, I do hope the weather allows for taking in nature for everyone. Youtube and Spotify Lists are the same this Week1. Daisy by Pentagon2. Last Flower by The Kingdom3. Sunflower by Unordinary Sunday feat. Kino and Yumin4. Camellia by Justb5. Dandelion by Chen6. Forget Me Not by Heize feat. Big Naughty7. Lisanthus by Lucy 8. Full Bloom by Maktub9. Blooming Just For You by Nunew and Paul Kim10. Rose by D.OWishing you good mornings this week, Rei