By Lyn Chu and Amily Soh
Ampang : Once again, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (“DiGi”) collaborated with Universal Music Malaysia to bring K-pop (Korean entertainment) to Malaysia. Their previous collaboration in January 2011 proved to be a huge success in Malaysia (they had successfully brought famous Korean bands of 4Minute, Beast and G.Na), and 4 months later, introduced Korean boy band 2AM to perform in Malaysia. 2AM is a South Korean 4 member ballad boy band under JYP Entertainment. Debuted in 2008, 2AM consists of Jo Kwon (22), Im Seulong (25), Lee Changmin (26) and Jung Jinwoon (21) and began to gain worldwide interest with their focus on ballad songs. With hit songs such as You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls and Like Crazy from their Saint o’Clock album, they managed to capture and melt the hearts of many I Am (2AM fans) all over the world, including Malaysia.
Therefore, it comes to no surprise that on the day of the showcase, many fans started queuing up as early as 10am for the showcase in Wisma MCA, Jalan Ampang (the showcase was to start at 6pm). The venue was divided into three zones, namely Zone A, Zone B and Zone C. The fans, which consists mostly teen girls, did not mind sitting in line for hours and gushing on about the dashing 4 idols who would later be serenading to them.
To keep their enthusiasm level up, Digi wasted no time in preparing simple games and prizes for the devoted fans. Emcee Jinn kept the crowd hyped up with some Q & A sessions on 2AM and the lucky winners received 2AM caller ringtones, autographed posters by 2AM and even 4 teddy bears. 1 lucky winner even received a birthday song sang to her by all the fans after she told the emcee that it was her birthday that day.
Finally it was time to enter the auditorium at 5pm. Fans were given yellow pong bong sticks sponsored by Digi to cheer on. To tease the fans further, 2 large screens located on each end of the stage began showing music videos of 2AM latest hit songs, Digi promotional videos and even fan’s tweets to 2AM via Digi’s Twitter. Clearly, the mere image of the boys immediately sent the crowd buzzing and screaming with excitement.
Half an hour before the showcase starts, Emcee Jinn started a short game and picked 8 lucky fans to play. They were to guess 2AM’s songs based on a short clip. 4 participants received an autographed poster of 2AM, while the other 4 received some goodie bags from Digi. The crowd also managed to get some T-shirts from the emcee. A local band warmed up the scene playing an instrumental rendition of 2AM’s songs. After that, a birthday song rehearsal was conducted by the emcee in lieu of 3 of the 4 2AM member’s birthday happening in May.
Finally the boys appear on the stage and started their rendition of “Never Let You Go”. It was one of their chart topping songs and all the fans screamed in delight at the mere presence of them. They also enthusiastically joined in in singing the songs.
A short greeting by the members got the fans excited as they greeted in 3 language : Bahasa Malaysia , English and also Hangul (Korean language). After that, the four of them proceeded backstage and prepared for next song. During the break, the emcee invited four lucky fans to sit on the stage. To their utter surprised, the 2AM members suddenly emerged and sang “Confession Of A Friend” which got the crowd squirming with jealousy as the members even held the fan’s hands. The boys continued to charm their fans by singing another ballad favourite “You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls”.
Another fan interaction session began after that. This time the the 2AM members were to sing part of their song, and the fan have to continue from where they left off. Since all of 2AM songs were in Hangul, the fans managed to impress 2AM on their perfect rendition of the songs. Next, another 4 lucky fans were picked to play a mimic game with the boys, which garnered a lot of funny and memorable moments.
It was then time to surprise the 2AM members! A specially designed Twin Towers cake was presented to the 2AM members on stage to commenmorate Changmin, Seulong and Jinwoon’s birthday. All the fans sang the birthday songs in both the Korean and Malay version to much of the boy’s delight. Besides that, the boys also received presents from their Malaysian fans which was collected from the fans from the previous day’s autograph session. To thank their fans, 2AM sang a song and thanked the fans for the wonderful surprise.
The showcase draws to a close with a short photography session. Before making their exit, the boys sang their last song “Like Crazy”. The enthusiastic fans again chimed in to their song and were also entertained by 2AM’s impromptu dance skills.
The fans were requesting for an encore when 2AM left the stage. They were rewarded later with a video showing the pre-debut story of 2AM. Later, the boys appeared again and sang their last song titled “This Song”. The boys then waved goodbye to the fans and the fans unwillingly trickled out of the auditorium, filled with fun memories of having “met” and interacted with their idols. The showcase officially ended at 7.30pm.
Overall, it was a short but sweet showcase. The most commendable part was that of the many fan interaction moments with the idols during the showcase which brought the fans closer to the idols. Besides that, the fans also managed to have an opportunity to present their idols gifts in which promotes our Malaysian hospitality. In all, this showcase was an utter success, and we hope that more K-pop groups would continue visiting Malaysia.
K-Gen is a non-profit club set up in Taylors University, Lakeside Campus, aiming at providing a platform for youths in Malaysia to gather and share their interest in Korean culture and entertainment. They can be contacted through Facebook at K- Generation(K-Gen) @Taylor’s University, or email kgen.tlc@gmail.com. 2 members of K-Gen were sponsored by Digi Telecommunications to attend the showcase.
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