Thumbs-up! K-pop idols at SMTown gig give stellar performance despite rain
Photos: Zinkie Aw for STOMP & Running Into The Sun, Text: Jeslyn Tan for STOMP
At the first-ever SMTown concert staged in Singapore, it had to rain. And boy did it pour, but the 24,000 fans took out their ponchos provided by the concert organiser and continued to cheer for their K-pop idols yesterday (Nov 23) at The Float @ Marina Bay.
The concert started at 7.10pm, 40 minutes after it was scheduled to begin. The crowd that had gathered at the entrance of the float was massive and moving through them seemed almost impossible.
F(x) kicked off the much-awaited gig with 'Hot Summer', which set the atmosphere for the rest of the hot performances by the K-pop idols, who even told the audience they were literally feeling 'hot'.
Somehow, SMTown managed to jam-pack 50 back-to-back performances in just four hours, while 4,000 fans went crazy in the mosh pit, some who had queued for a week just to grab a choice spot -- just three metres from the large floating stage in its first commercial concert.
Over 96 man hours had been spent constructing the stage, with 100-200 crew allocated just for set up. It is no surprise that a concert that featured big names like Super Junior, TVXQ, Girls Generation, f(x), Kangta (from H.O.T.), EXO, SHINee and BoA cost more than $5 million to produce.
K-pop fans were delighted by remixed performances by their favourite SM Entertainment artistes. The songs were remixed with new choreography, which made one feel like they were attending a rock concert at times. Of course, who could forget the classic dance moves of 'Sorry, sorry' and 'Lucifer'.
The idols also worked hard despite the downpour, which almost caused some of them to slip. They effectively worked the crowd by asking them to follow their moves i.e. jumping, clapping of hands.
One lucky fan was even serenaded with the song ¡®Just the way you are¡¯ by Kyu Hyun (Super Junior) & Changmin (TVXQ) on stage. Much to the envy of other fans, the heartthrobs even held her hand and hugged the lucky girl.
Jonghyun from SHINee also teased the crowd with his muscular body when he went topless during the performance of ¡®Internet War¡¯ with group mate, Taemin.
Despite the absence of Lee Teuk and Siwon, Super Junior entertained the audience with their banter. Eunhyuk said since Lee Teuk is now in military, he would like to take over his position as the leader of Super Junior. He even asked the audience, ¡°Can I?". Eunhyuk also showed off his command of the local slang, Singlish, by saying, ¡°I miss you lar.¡±
The finale of the concert was heartwarming with all the SM artistes gathered to perform the song, 'Hope'. Few people might remember the song, but it was one of the hit songs by pioneer K-pop group, H.O.T.
The concert literally ended with a bang, as the backdrop exploded with the scheduled laser show at Marina Bay Sands. The boys from Super Junior were the last to leave, standing in a row and giving the audience a thumbs-up.
View the pics from the press conference and the concert in the gallery below. Stay tuned as we upload more photos.
