Interview with Orion Jai
by Jason Chu
Orion Jai is a singer-songwriter and model based in New York City. Taking cues from many iconic singers of our time, Orion Jai hopes to bring Asian mainstream pop music to the forefront. SFGAM’s Jason Chu interviews Orion Jai to get a closer look at the singer’s many inspirations and influences.
What is your musical background? Have you had formal musical training?
My music background is more in pop, dance, and a little R&B. I was in an award-winning choir while in school in England. I’ve had vocal training in New York City and England, but I learned how to write music on my own. I also hired a vocal coach when I moved to the US.
 In Hong Kong, there’s Aaron Kwok; in India, there’s Shahid Kapoor. To talk about Shahid and not mention his dancing is a grave omission. The way he danced at the 54th Annual Filmfare Awards impressed several big names in the audience. The legendary Amitabh Bachchan watched in awe. His son Abhishek and his wife Aishwarya grooved in their seats. John Abraham was fixated on the stage. Priyanka Chopra, Shahid’s rumored love interest was seemingly blown away. His ex-girlfriend, Kareena Kapoor curbed her enthusiasm next to her current beau, Saif Ali Khan. Indeed, that performance was spectacular. His dancing has always been enthralling – both live on the stage and in the music videos. A rave comment on Youtube claimed that “even Michael Jackson can’t dance like Shahid.”
Posted by SFGAM in Arts, Artists
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 Art has many definitions depending on who asks for its meaning. The experience of art, be it the creation of it or its viewing, is always personal. A piece of art may carry a specific meaning to the person who created it, but the meaning that it conveys to the person looking at it may be totally different. Art is the looking glass by which we see the world, both as the creator and as the viewer.
Jose Manuel Hortelano is one of the newest artists to emerge offering his take on how the world can be viewed. The view that he gives us is something that is bold, exciting and something to look forward to.
 Louboutins by Jennifer Lopez Epic Released December 21 2009 It has been more than two years since actress/singer Jennifer Lopez's last musical release, Brave, a cohesive effort that was ultimately a commercial disappointment. Now a mother of twins, Lopez is set to revitalize her music career with the debut of Louboutins, the lead single from her upcoming album, Love? Inspired by the famous brand of women's shoes with the signature red soles, Louboutins was written and produced by Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, and released in late December of 2009. Lyrically, the song, about a woman walking (or strutting, rather) away from an unfulfilling relationship is anything but profound, but it's the unforced frivolity and campiness of the single that makes the song a winner.
 Reservations are open again!
ifCON 2010 ( Annual gathering for Gay Asian Men and their Friends organized by International Friendship Allicances and Long Yang Club International ) is pleased to announce that their website is active and that they are again booking reservations for the ifCON 2010 Bahamas cruise.
They are also very pleased to be affiliated with Freedom Travel, a gay owned and operated full service travel agency, located in Wilton Manors, Florida. Freedom Travel recently booked a very successful "Bear Voyage" on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and ifCON is hard at work setting up thieir itinerary and agenda with Freedom Travel.
If you register before 15 January 2010, the $25.00 registration fee will be waived !
ifCON website is located at: www.ifcon2010.org
ifCON on Facebook.com
History of International Friendship Weekend
Watch 2009 ifCON Video
 In a fashion industry where the famous Gianni Versace, Louis Vuitton and Coco Chanel are famous names, how come the name Phillip Lim suddenly rings a bell? This fashion designer had humble beginnings that brought him to fame. Get to know him better through this piece of writing.
Phillip Lim was born in Cambodia in the year 1973. He was named Pheng Lim by his parents. Both his parents were Chinese whose family moved to Cambodia. But when the civil war broke in the said country, Phillip, together with his parents fled to Southern California. To earn money for a living, his mother became a seamstress while his father landed various odd jobs including being a professional poker player.
 Christmas Eve, 1992. After attending my aunt's wedding with family, I strolled back and forth along Nathan Road. I didn't want to hang out with my classmates because I was worried about 'acting' straight and having to talk about matters that I had no interests in. I felt extremely distressful being trapped in the "closet." When I saw straight couples on the street, I asked myself, "Do I have to keep this secret for the rest of my life ?"
Christmas Eve, 1993. Perhaps like an old Chinese saying "The bitterness has gone and the sweetness has arrived." Or, may be another the nightmare had begun. A young and talented graphic designer, Kevin, was madly in with love me and was treating me very well. He gave me the best gift I had ever received before age eighteen, a pair of fancy designer jeans. He even hand-made a beautiful gift-box for them.
 Some months later I stumbled across Gay Community News (GCN), for only fifty cents, which for a seventeen-year-old making due on scooping ice cream for money, was a killing of a savings. Devouring all I could, before returning to my parents’ home, I’d bury my back issues in a box in the back of the closet (how appropriate, eh?) that I’d asked my mother to dispose of before I left for college (but that’s another installment) GCN was published out of Boston, and I’d even gone to their offices and the gay bookstore next door. In the classifieds section of GCN was a tiny print ad for a “Gay Youth Group” which, as you might try to imagine for 1979, was something akin to Tom Cruise standing on the top of the coffee table on The View and screaming, “Yes, I really am a homosexual!” (Of course I hope he never does ‘cause who wants the little narcissistic whack-job in our camp?)
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