G-Dragon designs limited-edition pendant with avant-garde watchmaker Jacob & Co
G-Dragon is expanding his creative universe. The K-pop idol and style icon has teamed up with avant-garde watchmaker Jacob & Co to release the limited-edition Jacob & Co x Peaceminusone Pendant.
The pendant draws inspiration from G-Dragon's 'peace minus one' philosophy, which emphasises creativity and self-expression. It features a reinterpretation of G-Dragon's signature daisy motif with one missing petal and comes in two editions – in silver with yellow sapphires and green-tsavorites (S$1,800) or 18k white gold with full pave diamonds with a central fancy vivid yellow diamond and green tsavorites (S$16,800).
Both pendants are suspended from a 20-inch chain, with an adjustable loop at 18 inches. They are limited in number and individually numbered, presented in custom packaging with a signed Certificate of Authenticity.
The pendant is meant to be unisex. "My wish for my fans is, without regards to being a man or woman, I just wanted a lot of people to wear my jewellery," G-Dragon said in a video. "Working on this project with Jacob was new and fun to me," he added.
The launch of the pendant follows the debut of the 2025 Jacob & Co Astronomia Solar G-Dragon, a US$1 million (S$1.3 million) bespoke timepiece featuring a rotating Earth in turquoise wrapped in a rose gold dragon, made specially for the star. Other highlights of the watch included a daisy-shaped dial with a missing petal, set with 193 baguette-cut white diamonds and 152 rainbow-coloured sapphires.
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
After winning fans on international boy band reality show, singer-songwriter WhyLucas aims to blaze a solo trail
In the quiet of his grey-toned childhood bedroom, 22-year-old Lucas Wang tinkered with original music on his laptop then paused to translate in Hokkien as he introduced me to his grandmother. The second-year business student at the National University of Singapore has slipped back into a familiar rhythm – balancing school and home life with being a singer-songwriter under his stage name, WhyLucas, which is derived from his Chinese name's initials. Just a few months ago, his days were a blur of cameras and choreography under blinding stage lights as a finalist on Chuang Asia, a reality competition show filmed in Thailand where he vied for a spot in an international boy group. Mr Wang competed on the Chinese-Thai show's second season, which follows the 'idol survival show' format popularised by K-Pop. In such shows trainees mostly in their teens and early twenties battle it out in front of celebrity judges and global audiences. Their rankings shift each week based on performance and popularity. One episode of Chuang Asia 2 drew more than 700,000 viewers on a livestream and videos of Mr Wang's performances with fellow contestants have since racked up close to 800,000 views on social media. Mr Wang, the only Singaporean contestant on the show, did not end up debuting in the seven-member group after ranking 18th out of 21 finalists in the final episode, but said the experience has changed his life. The show began with 60 trainees mostly from China, Thailand and Japan. 'Before going to Chuang, I would (always think), 'Can I do this?' But now the way I approach things is, 'Do I want to do this?' And if I want to do this, I'm not going to stop until I get something out of it,' said Mr Wang. Since returning from Thailand, Mr Wang has picked up new fans from around the region, acquired a management team and has been approached to perform at music festivals because of the added exposure. Being on a reality competition show taught him to push himself musically, after being exposed to the 'amazing amount of talent from the world'. Mr Wang grew up loving 2010s pop music, including the likes of Shawn Mendes, Taylor Swift and Adele. After coming across singer-songwriter John Mayer's music in 2020, Mr Wang took influence from a more guitar forward, self-produced style of music and wanted to bring a 'bluesy rock guitar style' to his own songs. 'I would say the music I'm creating now is still pop. But the kind of pop that feels so experimental but you would still add to your playlist not just because it's trending, but because of its ageless, catchy melodies, production and guitar-playing,' he said. Part of training to be a global idol includes learning to greet fans in multiple languages and Mr Wang's self-introduction in Thai, Malay, Mandarin and English still rolls off his tongue with the ease of muscle memory. During our interview, he gamely attempted a more localised version in the Hokkien. Perhaps most Singaporean of all is the way he fumbles with the translation in the Chinese variety before popping out of the room to consult his parents and grandmother. Moments later, he returns with a big smile and a bit more confidence in his greeting of 'Dai gei ho', saying in Hokkien, 'Hi everyone, I'm WhyLucas'. STANDING OUT SOLO Having watched a few such shows, I always thought it would be my worst nightmare having to endure being openly ranked against other talented contestants day in and out. When I saw WhyLucas' first solo performance on the show, I pegged him as someone who must be my polar opposite, or at the very least not nearly as self-conscious or anxious about public critique. After all, there he stood in a muscle tank, playing electric guitar and singing his original song to a pool of professional singers and celebrity judges – a clip of which has 44,000 views on YouTube. It turned out that Mr Wang has plenty of doubts of his own. During our weekday afternoon chat at his home, he said he was conflicted after receiving a direct message from the show's casting agency in June last year, given that the opportunity was far out of his comfort zone. A friend told him that the programme was 'really famous' in China and convinced him to audition for it. Following an online then offline audition, Mr Wang flew to Thailand to prepare for filming by November, which lasted till April this year. Mr Wang is no stranger to being in the limelight as he has spent two years busking at the most lucrative corners of Orchard Road. Aided by that experience, he quickly immersed himself in the competition process which included almost 24/7 filming of his daily life. Each day included round-the-clock filming of their living quarters via CCTV, plus six to eight hours of practice with the remaining hours packed with filming of reality content, advertisements and marketing for the programme. He also had to work in a multilingual environment, though his fluency in Mandarin and English enabled him to play translator in group projects with other contestants. 'When I first came in the programme, I was definitely a little bit intimidated, because I saw a lot of China trainees who felt very professional, and they looked like they knew how to dance, but I just didn't know,' said Mr Wang. Besides being able to dance, some trainees were also familiar with the reality competition format, including how to circumvent filming restrictions such as having to surrender one's mobile phone, he said. 'Most people brought extra phones. But for me, I was actually very naive. I was like, I'm not gonna bring my phone, I got to focus. Then when I went there, everybody brought phones. Some people brought tablets, someone even brought five phones,' he said with a laugh. Unlike other contestants, Mr Wang did not have a management team helping him garner votes but became popular among other contestants and drew fans from all around Asia. One highlight was the first meeting between contestants, where each trainee got three stickers to place on other contestants with whom they would like to work. Mr Wang, the only Singaporean, managed to get the most stickers from the other trainees after his solo performance. 'Along the way, I felt like because I came from a busking and singer-songwriter background, I stood out a bit more and that let me be a bit more confident in being the person I am,' he said. Scattered around his room are souvenirs from the show, including a box filled with handwritten notes and pinned up banners from fans who would swarm the hotel entrances where contestants were housed. Despite not making it to debut in the group, he models the custom bedazzled jacket he received for being a finalist with no small amount of pride. 'So amazing, look at the details. It feels like an army jacket, but only finalists get this detailing,' said Mr Wang. Besides the memorabilia, one important takeaway he got from the show was his confidence in his future as a solo performing artist. 'The last performance was just a tear jerker, it was the last performance that I'd do in Chuang and probably in a boy band, because at heart, I am a solo artist, so I'm not sure if I'm ever gonna dabble in that ever again.' But to his fans who knew him from the show, he promised to have a lot more up his sleeve: 'That was pre-season WhyLucas. This is now WhyLucas WhyLucas.' MAKING GRANDMA PROUD His introduction to music at six years old happened when his father brought a guitar home from a work trip to the Philippines. Sensing his interest, his parents enrolled him in guitar lessons but it was only years later during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he was 17, that he took a serious interest in music and started to produce music on Garageband, an online music platform. 'I started busking in 2022 and busked for about two years. Deep down, I probably realised it's not going anywhere, but I always thought that maybe busking could be my route to fulfilling my dream of becoming Ed Sheeran, who started as a busker.'' He joined Chuang Asia 2 at a time when he felt like his music career was 'stagnating', but the show has given him a newfound confidence in treading the less-conventional path of a musician. Mr Wang said his parents had been somewhat sceptical about him pursuing music, but became more open after seeing their son hold his own among the pool of trainees on the reality competition show. In the months since the competition, he has been working on new music, with an upbeat single called 'Tiara' launched on Friday (Jun 27). All his songs are produced in his bedroom. 'I always start out with a guitar, then I'll track my guitars. A lot of things go into the production, like guitar loops, then I'll do my own drums, though I can't really play drums,' said Mr Wang. Perhaps inevitably, school is on the back burner as he prioritises a career in music. He took a leave of absence to attend the competition and is looking to extend his leave of absence again to be around for upcoming or potential gigs. In early July, he will be on the lineup for the Sundown Festival, and he is set to perform at another music festival Waterbomb Singapore in August. Even though it has been a while since he has set foot in a classroom or lecture hall, Mr Wang said a Chinese professor from his university saw his appearance on Chuang Asia 2 and messaged him over his school email to connect. 'We ended up having lunch and I learnt so much from him although we're both in different fields. I guess it's also times like this that really warm my heart and keep me going because the professor said 'I believe in you' and it really affirms my work,' said Mr Wang. When I ask what's next for him, it seems there are so many possibilities: completing his degree, launching new music, gigs that are lined up and even the potential of joining a competition show again. 'I'm not closed off to any of it. Ultimately I want to be the best, be it in Asia or internationally in a few years' time. I just want to be recognised as someone who's really good at what he's doing,' said Mr Wang. He has also participated in two Mediacorp shows, The Battle of the Buskers and I Can See Your Voice – filming an episode of the latter one day before flying to Thailand to take part in Chuang Asia. 'I think being in a creative industry, really, I've got to be my own boss, so you can't really sit on your laurels and be like, 'Oh my god, is this gonna work'? I mean, doubt is important, but I think I am still trying to forget that side of me,' said Mr Wang. Career ambitions aside, his music is clearly personal and rooted in experiences close to his heart. When asked if this personal approach means his musical output might offer hints at someone special in his life right now, Mr Wang playfully laughed it off. But he suggested that his upcoming music releases might provide an answer to that question. Even as life is not quite as hectic as when throngs of fans would swarm around him on the street, Mr Wang said the highlight of the experience was realising that he had the strong support of friends and family to rely on. 'I definitely wanted to talk to my family, my grandma. If you asked me who I missed the most out of those four months, it's probably my grandma,' he said. Mr Wang's grandma, who is 90 years old and lives in a flat next door to his childhood home, is very supportive of his singer-songwriter career and even occasionally features in his TikTok content. He even teased a 'Grandma Version' of an upcoming song that is more in the vein of Mandopop, which he said will be a version she can 'understand better'.
CNA
17 hours ago
- CNA
Must-see sights, street food tours and fine dining: How to spend 72 hours in Da Nang, Vietnam
The late, great chef, traveller and raconteur Anthony Bourdain loved Vietnam like few other destinations. He filmed eight programmes there and memorably said of the country: 'Vietnam. It grabs you and doesn't let go. Once you love it, you love it forever.' It's impossible to disagree with his much-missed wisdom and a 72-hour hop to the central coastal city of Da Nang, the country's third largest just a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Singapore, showcases how Vietnam blends food, culture, landscapes and history to such dazzling effect. WHERE TO STAY During the Vietnam War – or the American War, as locals understandably call it – Son Tra Mountain was known as Monkey Mountain thanks to residents including red-shanked douc langurs. Today these beautiful primates, who look like they're wearing knee-high red socks, enjoy the peaceful surrounds of their mountainside nature reserve that is also home to one of southeast Asia's most spectacular resorts, Intercontinental DaNang Sun Peninsula Resort. It's the only resort in Vietnam with its own funicular tram. The Nam Tram lets guests glide effortlessly from the perfect curving arc of a private beach up to the elegant, expansive main building with all the hallmarks of starchitect Bill Bensley's quirky design motifs blending Vietnamese and French colonial era influences. If the resort has shades of the most recent series of White Lotus, that's because Bensley also designed the hillside Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, which features in the show, along very similar lines. Heaven, Sky, Earth and Sea are the four levels across 39 hectares, home to 189 expansive rooms, villas and suites with gorgeous sea views and colourful interiors. There are several large infinity pools, including one which is adults-only, a sublime spa, nature walks and other experiences to keep guests of all ages entertained. STREET FOOD A brilliant way to get a real feel for Da Nang comes with a small group guided food tour led by bilingual young Vietnamese who are thrilled to share their region's dishes with international visitors. The excellent Helen from @danangcuisine led ours, taking us to four spots serving up local classics, starting with the iconic Da Nang noodle dish, mi quang. The genius comes in the layers of textures and flavours as fresh greens, banana blossom, herbs, rice noodles and shrimp all vie for your palate's attention in a slow-boiled broth made of pork, beef, fish and chicken bones, finished with turmeric. You're not done yet, however, as a squeeze of lime for acidity, the optional zing of coriander and crunchy peanuts and rice crackers complete the sensory journey. Banh xeo was the other standout in the two-and-a-half-hour tour, enjoyed at what many consider the city's best, Banh Xeo Ba Duong. Savoury crispy pancakes – the Vietnamese name comes from the sizzle or "xeo" as they cook – are layered in rice paper with options including smoky grilled pork skewers and fresh herbs. Then dunk them in an addictive brown sauce made from pig liver, peanuts, chili, garlic, shrimp paste and more. There are, naturally, countless other places to choose from for local dishes at scarcely believable prices, so the tried and trusted mantra of simply looking where there are plenty of customers invariably does the trick. EXPERIENCES AND EXCURSIONS Da Nang is a large port city with an impressive tree lined boulevard along its substantial main beach, My Khe, which offers dozens of places to kick back, chill, or eat and drink. As with so many destinations, simply getting lost amongst the maze of streets is a huge draw, watching daily life and the quirks of local culture play out. Dragon Bridge in the centre of the city is unmissable, especially when illuminated at night, and also allows for a visit to Son Tra Da Nang Night Market which features street food and trinket vendors. Another bridge, Golden Bridge, has also become a hugely popular draw, thanks to a 500m span seemingly held aloft by two vast stone hands. Sitting west of Da Nang, it's a slightly surreal experience as it lies within an amusement park called Ba Na Hills which also features the world's longest cable car, amongst many other attractions. Above all, no visit to Da Nang is complete without heading 35 minutes down the coast to the ancient merchant town of Hoi An. It's rightly one of central Vietnam's most iconic sights and well worth a day of your time to explore its beguiling lantern-filled laneways, waterways, seventeenth century Japanese bridge, pagodas and French colonial mansions. SHOPPING Hoi An is where you'll want to indulge in retail therapy as it's especially well known for dozens of tailors offering off-the-rail or bespoke garments which are usually turned around and ready to pick up in less than 24 hours. They're happy to make copies of your favourite designs, or let you craft your own from seemingly endless swathes of materials. I avoided the main tourist heart of Hoi An, instead choosing a random shop called Simon the Tailor a couple of doors down from one of the town's most famous banh mi vendors, The Banh Mi Queen. The young team helped me choose a cut, fabric and finishes, and less than 24 hours later I had a beautifully tailored blazer delivered to my hotel, all for under US$70 (S$90). Galleries also abound, offering works of vastly differing quality, but there's sure to be something for every taste and price point. Lanterns and lights are another very popular draw, while for foodies a jar of Tuong Ot sticky chilli jam, unique to Hoi An, is a must. It's the perfect addition to the beloved local noodle dish, cao lau, of smoky pork and noodles, fresh herbs and bean sprouts. FINE DINING Dining in Vietnam simply doesn't get any finer than at the one-starred Maison 1888 at Intercontinental DaNang Sun Peninsula Resort. That's the case now more than ever as culinary legend Christian le Squer, from the three Michelin-starred Le Cinq in Paris, oversees the tasting menus which are beautifully crafted by Chef Florian Stein and his team. Stunning French dishes with Vietnamese accents included Japanese turbot cooked in brown butter, with grated pear. Gnocchi with saffron, black olives and basil broth was also sublime, especially paired with a Laurent Perrier Grande Cuvee from one of the country's finest wine cellars, awarded by Wine Spectator and led by a seriously impressive young Vietnamese sommelier, Toan Nguyen. Other high-end dining options include classic French with a seafood emphasis at Cabanon Palace, Cantonese at The Golden Dragon and Italian with Vietnamese twists at Si Dining. Then for those seeking Japanese, the brand new Tingara from Japanese chef Junichi Yoshida features a circular dining space overlooking the ocean, home to flawless teppanyaki and sushi omakase, paired with an enviable sake collection. GENERAL ADVICE Da Nang's climate ranges from a low of around 18 degrees Celsius in January to highs of 35 degrees Celsius in the peak of a sweltering summer. The dry season runs from January to August, while the wet season extends from September to December, with heaviest rainfall typically in October and November. Getting around is easiest via Grab which offers very reasonable fares, but if you're feeling more adventurous, rent a moped from a reputable company – and ensure you have good insurance.
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
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