Dream High (2011)

Photo source: http://aik-pianoscores.blogspot.com.au/

Dream High ohhhhhhhhhhh ma goodness. I was so excited to watch this show! A romantic kdrama full of singing? Sign me up! All the main cast, coming from successful kpop careers (except Kim Soo-Hyun, who should have totally picked up singing irl) guaranteed amazing performances each episode.

Go Hye-Mi (Suzy) aspires to become an opera singer, and she shows great promise. Unfortunately, her father has racked up debts with a gangster, thus forcing Hye-Mi to take up mainstream kpop to pay him back. The show revolves around Hye-Mi and her friends who all aspire to become successful kpop stars in the future.

SPOILER ALERT BELOW

Alright, now I'm gonna get real. It took me a while to actually warm up to Hye-Mi. I know she's the main but she was my least favourite character for the first few episodes. The way she thought she was better than everyone and how she treated her classmates, especially her "best friend" Yoon Baek-Hee (Eunjung) had me yelling profanities at my computer more often than not. Enter Jin-Guk (Taecyeon), hotter than the sun, he was so kind to her when she just treated him terribly. Enter Kim Pil-Sook (IU), the chubby girl with the voice of an angel. She has such an adorable personality, you would become besties with her in an instant. Enter Song Sam-Dong (Kim Soo-Hyun), drop dead gorgeous (thank god for the makeover), with an incredible voice and so much innocence you just wanted to protect him from the evils in the world (namely Hye-Mi's bitchiness). These characters were the ones who helped me through those first few episodes before I grew to like Hye-Mi and focused my hate on Baek-Hee.

This show was really amazing with the character development. Every character went through major personality alterations during the show. You would find yourself rooting for one person and then completely changing your mind later on. Did I mention the singing was amazing? It was amazing. I wish they recorded their rendition of SNSD's Genie so I could listen to it on repeat.

There were many cute romantic stoy lines during the drama, but of course they all progressed very slowly. I'm still torn on who I wanted Hye-Mi to end up with. I suppose in the end she eneded up alone but when she was getting with Jin-Guk, and Sam-Dong just looked on all sad oh I cried for that man to find happiness. Then when Hye-Mi was obviously in love with Sam-Dong, I felt so sad for Jin-Guk. He really was given the short end of the straw. Okay, Hye-Mi can pick one and I'll take the other. Deal.

Pil-Sook's storyline with Jason (Wooyoung) was so incredibly cute. Those two were just made for each other. I love that he liked her from the start, while all the teachers frowned upon her weight. Even though he was just flirtatious most of the time he really did only have her in his heart. When their kissing scene came up I was literally standing on my bed, clutching my face ready to squeal when their lips made contact. Sadly we didn't get to see that impact (damn backpack!) but luckily imagination can fill in those blanks.

I would recommend this show for anyone who loves musicals. Or kpop. Or any fans of these idols. It's got a really nice blend of romance and drama while not being unbearably over the top with the latter. I will say that the first few episodes might be tough because of Hye-Mi's personality, but if you stick to it you will definitely come to love her and the rest of the cast.

7 stars out of 10.

If you've checked out this drama let me know your thoughts!

Until next time my drama queens and kings,
Sarah