WHAT A TREAT FOR K-POP FANS!
The K-Wave 2 Music Festival was a satisfying treat for fans, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli
K-POP may not be every Malaysian’s cup of tea but the turnout at the K-Wave 2 Music Festival held at Stadium Merdeka recently proved that the genre has won the hearts of many. It certainly was no ordinary concert as it saw more than 20,000 fans filling the venue. It is very likely that most of them had come to see Super Junior, as cheers for the boy group were the loudest. After all, the group, which celebrated its 12th anniversary last November, remains one of the most prominent K-Pop groups to date.
Seven members performed that night — the rest were either on military service or taking time off for personal matters. Despite being short of four members, Leeteuk, Heechul, Siwon, Shindong, Yesung, Eunhyuk and Donghae held the audience’s attention.
They began their set with Sorry, Sorry, their most iconic song ever, complete with its iconic choreography, followed by the Bonamana remix, which saw the crowd going wild with its heavy rock melody.
Super Junior members are also known for their clowning around, so fans were tickled whenever the guys spoke to them. “Apa khabar? Saya dari Korea (How are you? I’m from Korea),” leader Leeteuk began before randomly coming out with Malay phrases. “Di mana tandas (Where’s the toilet)?” “Sudah makan (Have you eaten)?
“Saya senang bertemu dengan anda. Jumpa lagi. (I am free to meet with you. See you again).”
The last time Super Junior performed in Malaysia was in 2013 for its concert tour Super Show 5.
“Adakah kau rindu padaku? Aku rindu padamu (Do you miss me? I miss you). Do you want to ‘chiuu’ (kissing sound)?” Eunhyuk asked so cutely, sending fans into laughter.
Their performance continued with the group’s sub-unit D&E (made up of Donghae and Eunhyuk) who performed Growing Pains and Oppa, Oppa.
POPULAR ACT
Balladeer Yesung took the stage to beautifully belt out his solo single, Here I Am, before the rest of the members gathered to finish off with Mamacita and Black Suit.
“How do you feel seeing us after so long?” Leeteuk asked the crowd. “We’ll make sure to return soon for (our current world tour) Super Show 7.” The crowd cheered louder than ever especially since this is the first time Malaysia has been announced as one of the tour stops.
The second most popular act of the night was Girls’ Generation’s vocalist Taeyeon, who performed her solo hits I, 11:11, Fine, Make Me Love You and Hands On Me.
I had never paid much attention to her music, but listening to her sing live instantly made me a fan.
Her songs are mostly soft moderate ballads and her sweet vocals made her performance a heavenly presentation of music and pure talent.
Taeyeon, a close friend of SHINee’s Kim Jong-hyun who died last month, said she thought it’d be difficult for her to perform. “But seeing you tonight has made me feel so much better. This is great! I might hold my own concert here next time,” she said with a grin.
Meanwhile, boy group Nu’est W performed Hello, Just One Day, Overcome, Love Paint, Where You At and Look.
Their songs were mostly slow pop ballads, but they made up for it by showcasing a wide range of vocals and smart dance moves.
This is the third time the band is performing in Malaysia, the previous being in 2012 and 2013. “It’s wonderful to see that we still have fans here. It makes us want to keep coming back,” said member Baekho.
DELICIOUS STREET FOOD
Girl group Tahiti performed Phone Number, Oppa You’re Mine and Skip with cutesy choreography. It didn’t leave a strong impression on me, performance-wise, but the members’ talk segment was interesting!
“My brother works as a tour guide in Malaysia,” said member Ari. “We went around town and had delicious street food. I’ll definitely come back. In fact, I want to live here!”
Miso said she went shopping and bought AliCafe coffee and Boh tea. Of all things! Minjae, on the other hand, admitted that she remained at the hotel and ordered room service.
Meanwhile, the younger groups of the bunch, Mamamoo, Halo and A.C.E, also thrilled fans with their own respective performances.
The most notable among the three was girl group Mamamoo, who performed Yes I Am, Decalcomani, Love Lane, Girl Crush, You’re The Best and Um Oh Ah Yeh. Their sexy vocals and personas had male fans going wild.
Boy groups A.C.E and Halo each delivered slick choreography with upbeat songs. They may be rookies but they were just as good as the more experienced acts.
Halo performed Fever, I’m Scared, While You’re Sleeping and Here I Am, while A.C.E sang Cactus, Callin’ and a cover of BlackPink’s Playing With Fire.
One of the many things I love about going to K-Pop concerts is listening to fans singing along to the Korean lyrics.
They may not understand their meaning but it goes to show that music is indeed universal.
K-Wave 2’s organiser, MacpiePro, made the experience even better by employing a high quality sound system and LED screens that provided stunning back drops to the stage space.
Although each of the acts’ had limited time on stage, K-Wave 2 was definitely worth attending. Fans got to see the performances of many artistes all in one sitting. Here’s to more K-Waves!