•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

He goes by the name of Rain, and he is one of the hottest stars Asia currently has to offer — a singer, actor, dancer, designer, model and style icon all at once.

The celebrity status of Jeong Ji Hoon, better known as Rain, was more than obvious during a news conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Kuningan on Tuesday afternoon, where the South Korean entertainer was scheduled to appear and talk about tonight’s concert in Jakarta, part of an Asian tour that has already taken him to Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

The ballroom was filled with the excited chattering of mostly female reporters who discussed Rain’s music and his new movie, “Ninja Assassin,” which is currently playing in local theaters. A large poster depicting Rain wearing an unbuttoned black jacket that revealed his six-pack abs dominated the ballroom, and had to serve as eye candy for most of the afternoon, as the star took his time to appear in front of the media.

After a wait of more than an hour, a female MC finally stepped up to the podium, giggling like a schoolgirl as she announced that she would love to wear clothes from Rain’s fashion line, and then rattled off the entertainer’s CV, adding “that’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” at the end of almost every sentence.

Then, finally: enter Rain. The reporters who grabbed seats at the back were the unfortunate losers, as they had to get out of their seats so they could rush to the front for a better view of the 27-year-old star.

Dressed in an elegant suit and sporting a trendy hairstyle, Rain stood still for a couple of minutes, enduring the flurry of camera flashes with a boyish smile, before sitting down to answer questions.

It took a while before anybody asked anything, as most of the women in the room were still trying to deal with the fact that he was actually sitting in front of them – “Oh my God, I can’t believe he’s so close,” was the most heard exclamation of the day.

It didn’t get any better when the heartthrob said, with a low, soft voice: “Hello everybody. This is Rain. I am so happy to be here. Apa kabar?” Those few words were enough to fill the room with heart-wrenching sighs and numerous “aaaahs” and “ooooohs.”

Rain released his first album in 2002 to great success and, almost at the same time, started an acting career. He has recorded five Korean albums and one in Japanese, and has starred in several TV series, as well as three feature films.

Many questions centered on his role in “Ninja Assassin” — and yes, he worked out on a daily basis and followed a tight program to get in shape, and yes, of course, he’d liked to keep that condition, but wasn’t quite able to after the movie wrapped. Then Rain, who starred in the popular South Korean TV drama “Full House” in 2004, which was a big hit in Indonesia, eventually had the chance to talk about his concert.

“I came to Indonesia to give the best possible performance to my fans,” he said, politely and appearing almost shy. “It took me one year to prepare this tour, so I am sure you won’t be disappointed.”

He assured the crowd that he would do his very best to entertain and that he felt very blessed to be in Indonesia, and to have a successful career as both a singer and actor.

The concert tonight in Jakarta is the last stop on his Asian tour and as of Wednesday there were only standing room tickets still available.

“We had planned to bring Rain to Indonesia since last year,” said Sean Sudwikatmono, the managing director of promoter W Productions.

“But he was still busy shooting ‘Ninja Assassin’ at the time, so we had to wait until now, and of course we’re very happy to have him here.”

If Wednesday’s news conference was any indication of how the concert might be, expect a loud, smitten crowd, consisting mainly of female fans, and a focused Rain, eager to entertain and performing songs from his new album as well as favorites from previous ones, and smiling relentlessly to make the girls’ hearts race.

Rain Asia Tour 2009 ‘Legend of Rainism’
Thursday, Dec. 3, from 8 p.m.
Tickets Rp 750,000 to Rp 3 million
Gd. Mangga 2 Square,Lt.2 – Blok A No.45
Jalan Gunung Sahari Raya No.1
North Jakarta
Tel. 021 6231 1377