The latest music video from the Asian American supergroup is the butterflies-in-your-stomach inducing track featuring fellow Asian American singer/songwriter Heather Park. The “New Love” MV, directed by Nancy Shon, was released on Wednesday 05/16/12 right in time to welcome the summertime! This sweet tribute to New Love, composed and produced by Charles Kim, is cleverly crafted and so powerful with verses that will blow your mind or simply make you smile. It’s so honest and real accompanied with the right kind of music to make it possibly one of the best ballads I’ve heard.

The MV itself is symbolic of the adrenaline filled beginning of a new love and the distance you’re willing to run, and ends with a sweet moment captured as the sun sets on the Coney Island Pier. Perhaps a reminder that in the end of all the struggle, its worth it if you can make it through and be with the person.

This rap ballad definitely gives this “hopeless romantic hope.” We at FoundAsians are obsessed, spread the New Love and show some love by sharing the video.

On May 3rd, the 2nd Annual Verizon Visionaries Conference in NYC followed up the inaugural event with a dynamic ensemble that inspired the 300 attendees.

This year’s panelists was led by vibrant host XiXi Yang (TV Personality) and consisted of Joe Zee (Stylist and Creative Director at ELLE Magazine), Jamie Chung (Actress) and Mark Munoz (MMA Fighter).

Notable Quotes & Key Takeaways

Mark Munoz, nicknamed The Filipino Wrecking Machine, reiterated the five Ds to his success  – desire, direction, diligence, discipline and dedication. He added, “regardless of your socioeconomic status… if you’re too short, if you’re too skinny… just do it!”

Furthermore, Mark declared, “I do fight in the cage but I fight for everything I love: I fight for my family, I fight for my faith, and I fight for my friends.”

Jamie Chung, well-known for her role in The Hangover Part II, urged aspiring actors to be persistent despite all the rejections because “as soon as you’re about to quit, it’s when you’re just about to hit it.”

Joe Zee, who stars in his own Sundance show All on the Line with Joe Zee, recounted how he rebounded from his failed job interview. He eventually navigated his way to a much bigger role that he would not have landed had the initial rejection not happened.

Joe encouraged the crowd, “for every role you don’t get, the better role is coming around the corner.”

Xixi Yang, armed with a Mass Media Communications and Journalism degree from New York University, explained how she started her own media network PopStopTV.com. Through the online platform, she was able to ascend the social media ranks and interview a number of A-listers in entertainment.

The pioneers shared their early trials and tribulations before hard work and perseverance paved the way to their current successes. As Xixi noted, each is a beacon of success and a model by which the leaders of tomorrow should aspire for.

We are giving away 2 tickets to one lucky winner to see Jay Park kick off the Verizon APAHM Tour on Saturday 5/19 at the Fillmore Silver Spring in Washington, DC from 7-10pm.

Joining Jay on-stage will be Dumbfoundead and Viennie V. This is a concert you do not want to miss!

Each person can enter up to 3 times by telling us why you want to see Jay Park by:
(1) posting on our Facebook page
(2) tweeting us with the hashtag #jaypark
(3) sending us an email at info[at]foundasians.com with Jay Park Tickets in the subject line include your full name in the email

Sweepstakes will close on Thursday 5/17 at 12PM 5PM EST and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter.

UPDATE: We are happy to announce that Amy Kim is the winner of the two concert tickets. Thanks to everyone that participated!

2012 marks the 70th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, the order that unjustly removed over 110,000 Japanese Americans into concentration camps during WWII.

The Japanese American National Museum is launching Phase I of the Remembrance Project—a pioneering, three-year online initiative featuring the portraits and stories of those whose lives were affected by World War II and E.O. 9066.

George Takei, best known for his role in Star Trek, echoed the importance of the project:

[The Remembrance Project] allows individuals and families to remember and to pay tribute to the unique experiences, stories and accomplishments of family members, friends and other individuals impacted by WWII.

These are the stories that you won’t find in history books. But they are also the stories that should not be forgotten.

The Remembrance Project is an opportunity for these stories, not only to be told, but to live on forever.

Watch the Remembrance Project PSA feat. George Takei

Please support this initiative at www.remembrance-project.org by sharing a tribute story or making a monetary contribution directly via PayPal.

Jin Akanishi is a Japanese pop-star who recently finished his new U.S. debut album, “Japonicana,” as a solo artist. He was a member of KAT-TUN, a Japanese boy band until he decided to leave the group and pursue his own music. His two U.S. singles, “Test Drive feat. Jason Derulo” and “Sun Burns Sown,” both hit the #1 spot on the iTunes dance chart on the day of release. “Japonicana” will be released on March 6^th and then Jin will embark on his North American tour stopping in five cities: Los Angeles, Vancouver, Honolulu, New York City and San Francisco. I had the opportunity to catch Jin during his busy schedule to do a short interview.

Disclaimer: The following is a summary of the interview and not a word for word transcription of the conversation.

FA: Since your new album consists of different genres, how would you describe your style of music?

Jin:  It’s a bit of pop, dance and a little bit of hip-hop. I just want to do everything.

FA: What can we expect from you as you start out your career in the U.S?

Jin:  Right now, I’m just really focused on promoting and rehearsing for the upcoming album and the tour.

FA: What can people expect from your new album?

Jin:  People can expect dance music. It’s just a lot of energy and fun.

FA: Why did you decide to branch over to the United States and become a solo artist?

Jin: Hmm, my mom loves American music and she played it every day when I was growing up. So I guess you can say America shared its music when I was growing up and now I wanna share my music.

FA: What advice would you give to other aspiring artists?

Jin: Just to never give up—Work hard and believe in yourself.

FA:  Are you excited to kick off your “Japonicana” Tour?

Jin:  Yeah!

FA: Does the word “Japonicana” have a special meaning?

Jin: I mean I made that up. It combines the words Japan and America. You know in Spanish, they use ‘a’ to stand for female and ‘o’ for male—like ‘amiga’ and ‘amigo’. So the album is a girl.  Plus, I wanted it to be international.

“Japonicana” will be released on iTunes and in stores on March 6^th. Don’t forget to get your tickets if you haven’t already for his North American tour.

FoundAsian caught up with Jin Akanishi while he was rehearsing for his Japonicana Tour. Here are some interesting facts about Jin.

What’s your most memorable moment?

Well, right now I just got married.

What’s your favorite dessert that you can’t live without?

Umm, Matcha Ice Cream!

If you had any super power, what would you like it to be?

I wanna fly.

If it was your last day on earth—what would you do?

Well, I would spend time with my family and loved ones.

Top 3 books you like: 

I read manga so my favorite is One Piece. Then, Dragon Ball and lastly, Naruto.

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Be on the lookout for Jin’s Japonicana tour in NYC on March 15 at Best Buy Theater! Also check out our interview with Jin Akanishi.

For now: Check out Jin Akanishi’s latest hit–> Sun Burns Down

Twitter | YouTube | Official Website

Lin, the former Harvard standout, has been putting on a show the last three games with an All-Star caliber stat line: 25.3 pts, 8.3 ast, 3.7 reb, 1.7 stl, 58% FG and 77% FT.

Here are seven key factors the Taiwanese-American from Palo Alto, California has been able to lead his team to three straight victories despite the absence of the team’s top two scorers, Stoudemire and Melo, for two of those games.

1) Pass-First Mentality
As a point guard, Lin possesses a pass-first mentality and one in which the Knicks has been lacking all season. His great on-the-court vision in setting up his teammates off his penetration has led to many wide open threes (the primary beneficiary being Steve Novak) and dunks (the main recipient of the lobs and dishes being Tyson Chandler).

2) Floor General
With Lin directing plays on the offensive end, the Knicks has some semblance to D’Antoni’s former team, the Phoenix Suns, which also exhibited great floor spacing and executed the pick-n-roll to perfection with Nash and Stoudemire. While Nash is one of the best shooters coming off of the pick, the fleet-footed Lin is a much better attacker at the rim.

The upstart floor general has ignited a resurgent Knicks squad that looks more energized on the court. Lin’s unselfish play has swept through the team with everyone moving the ball around and looking for the open man. He is simply making everyone around him better, which is what a true point guard should be.

3) Liberal Offense
D’Antoni’s liberal offensive sets is predicated on spreading the floor and fully exploiting the pick-n-roll. This up-tempo style of play is perfectly suited for Lin who is always pressing on offense, getting into the lane and keeping defenders on their heels.

When defenders don’t close out hard on him off the pick, Lin is quick enough to dribble through open seems and get to the rack. When defenders collapse on him, Lin is also very good at finding cutters going into the lane for easy buckets.

4) Patience
Teams are going to try and play Lin below the pick-n-roll and dare him to take the perimeter jumper. However, he has shown great poise in not just settling with that outside shot. On several possessions, Lin reset the offense and called Chandler for another pick-n-roll; Numerous times they were finally able to break down the defense with a high percentage shot either for his teammate or himself at the rim.

Over the last three games, Lin is averaging 8.3 assists while shooting 58% from the floor where the bulk of his scoring is inside the paint. He is simply picking apart what the defense gives him and not forcing any bad shots. This is a veteran quality that you don’t often see with younger PGs like Jeremy who is only 23 years old.

5) Defense
Lin has great lateral quickness that makes him a good on-the-ball defender. He often beats the offensive player to the spot and always has his hands straight up on shots not picking up any silly fouls. Another strong trait is his instincts in help defense and active hands that lead to many deflections and strips. This has contributed to several fast break layups that energize both the crowd and the team.

6) Defined Roles
With Lin dictating play at the point, the rotational players have all settled into more natural positions and defined roles: Shumpert sliding over to the more natural 2-spot as a slashing scorer; Novak is finding his place as the spot-up three point specialist; Chandler running the lion’s share of the pick-n-rolls and finishing strong at the rim.

Lin’s play will continue to improve as he gels with his teammates through more game time and the Knicks offense will be much more potent when they are at full strength with the return of Amare and Carmelo.

7) Crafty Finishes
Despite the early scouting reports to force Lin to his weak hand, the 6’3” guard is quite comfortable attacking to the left and can finish with crafty layups using either hand (or with authority like this dunk below).

Although my words of advice to Jeremy last year never materialized since he rarely got off the bench with Golden State, I am glad to see D’Antoni giving Lin a chance to lead this Knicks team. Jeremy Lin certainly has a bright future ahead in basketball’s biggest stage – MSG!

Some of the highlights include devouring the best buffalo wings in Jersey, breaking in Times Square, tasting the famous chicken and rice, and capping the night with a late meal at Shake Shack. Other memorable shenanigans include playing in the snow and singing karaoke.

Check out what the boys had to say was their best and worst experiences of the trip with clips from their Rutgers TASA Freestyle performance and their pavement session in Times Square.

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Part 1 with Rob Tsai, Charles Lee, Mike Yang and Arthur Lien

Part 2 with Geo Lee, Chris Kuo and Chuck Maa (don’t miss the magic trick by Chuck)

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Make sure you hit up the Instant Noodles Road Manager Sylvia G, who is also a Los Angeles based photographer specializing in fashion and portrait photography.

Stay Connected to INC: Website | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr

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Find some good hotel coupons and find some East Coast fun.

August Rigo © Michael Zhu Photography 2012 for FoundAsians All Rights Reserved

August Rigo, the 25-year-old Toronto-bred singer, songwriter, and producer has made a lot of headway the last two years on the writing and production side of things: penning three songs (“U Smile,” “Stuck In A Moment” and “Kiss and Tell”) on Justin Bieber’s double platinum studio album My World 2.0, writing Iyaz’s RIAA Gold certified single “Solo” and taking the helm on Musiq Soulchild’s latest album Musiqinthemagiq as the executive producer. In 2010, August also linked up with Eric Nicks — former Senior VP of A&R at Universal Motown Records — in establishing production and publishing company Alpine Music Group.

On top of his impeccable talent in songwriting and production — which has made August one of the most sought after musicians in the industry — August possesses an unparalleled work ethic, dedication, passion, drive and resilience. With a background in opera and jazz, the R&B crooner is ready to make his U.S. debut as a solo artist.

AUGUST 25-SONG MIX | DL MIXTAPE

August has been working with a number of heavy hitter producers (Stargate, Boi1da, The Runners and Stereotypes) for his Planes, Trains and Automobiles studio album. The project will be released under Alpine Music and Island Def Jam after former Chairman, Grammy-winning music mogul and current X Factor judge, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, signed August to a recording contract last year.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, FoundAsians caught up with August to discuss his come up, debut album, family and how Kanye was a chief source of inspiration.

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AugustRigo.com | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | AlpineMusicGroup

Stay tuned for more exclusives with the musical genius.

Instant Noodles Crew unveil their latest project entitled “TAIPEI-2-LA”.

The seamless transitions from scene to scene is quite impressive as the boys teleport from one location to another. I especially like Chuck’s part in the hallway with the lockers. Great work filming and editing Rob and Tom!

The Taiwanese bboys has been on a tear lately with several notable appearances since coming off of their East Coast tour. Rest assured that this isn’t their last foray to the East Coast.

Geo Lee and Chuck Maa make a cameo in DANakaDAN x afterschoolspecial’s video “Dreamers”. This massive undertaking, which stars numerous YouTube pioneers, has been months in the making and is a Dreamlapse Project production by Daniel Seo and Scott Yoshimoto.

Rob Tsai, Geo Lee, Chuck Maa, Mike Yang and Arthur Lien are featured in Jennifer Chung’s latest MV “Your Year + Happiness.” This uplifting piece really makes one want to “fly up to the sky” and pursue their dreams.

Chuck Maa stars in a Monster Energy video directed by Steven Butler.

Instant Noodles Crew: Website | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr