From The Straits Times    |

He may have been out of the spotlight for a while ‒ if not out of the headlines thanks to a few scandals ‒ but his pulling power remains; Rain is still a K-Pop superstar.

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In Singapore on October 11, 2013, for the grand opening, runway show and gala dinner for German-Korean fashion label MCM, Rain ‒ real name Jung Ji-Hoon, also known as Bi (비) ‒ appeared little changed from the singer and actor known best outside of Korea for his starring role in 2009 American martial arts film Ninja Assassin and as Taejo Togokahn in Speed Racer (2008).

Here in Asia, however, Rain is better known as the uber-sexy singer and dancer who really brought “sexy back” to the K-Pop scene and arguably launched the first of the Hallyu wave; his albums It’s Raining, Rain’s World and 2008’s Rainism were all mega hits.

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So it wasn’t surprising that his dedicated fans were lined up for hours awaiting his appearance the the MCM store opening; what was more surprising, however, was that unlike the more rapid fans of recent Korean stars Big Bang, Girl’s Generation and Infinite, Rain’s “Clouds” (the name of his fan club is Cloud, obviously) were very well behaved.

But as soon as the superstar arrived they suddenly appeared from all over, snapping away on everything from mobile phones to super-professional looking cameras with massive zoom lenses.

Looking no where near his actual age of 31, Rain retains his cherubic charm; even the hard-core leather trench coat he was wearing despite Singapore’s heat, didn’t stop him from being consummate K-Pop professional as he smiled, posed for photos with the MCM bosses and eventually cut the official opening ribbon.

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With barely a chance to even visit the new store, Rain was off to get ready for the MCM fashion show and gala dinner; and as the clouds pass on a sunny day, just as suddenly his fans were gone too.

But they weren’t giving up; the venue for the runway show and gala dinner in the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre suddening became home to a long line of, once again, very well behaved Clouds. It was obvious they were there for the star ‒ as the gala was a formal event the difference between couture gowns, black tie and jeans ‘n’ tees was obvious.

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So, when Rain was slipped in through the back door to take his seat for the show, the sun was surely not shining for his fans. Still the superstar appeared to enjoy being back in the limelight, happily smiling for his fellow guests at the gala dinner.

Check out our story on the MCM Spring Summer 2014 collection: MCM’s Flower Boys in Paradise: Bling, prints & K-Pop in Singapore and our pics of Rain from the MCM store opening and the gala dinner.

And for a complete insider’s guide of behind-the-scenes at the MCM runway show with hot Korean actor Sung Hoon and just-as-hot Korean model Shin-woo, check out Singapore’s godfather of fashion Daniel Boey’s backstage blog: fashion week insider : mcm

Stay tuned to herworldPLUS over the next few days as we bring you more K-Pop news from the G-Dragon show and Girl’s Generation concert, plus lots of fashion highlights from Fashion Week 2013 too.

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