The SBS K-POP Super Concert was held November 10, 2012 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA. As with most K-Pop concerts that come to the states, fans who pay for VIP tickets or win contests also experience the rehearsal and/or some type of fan meet or autograph session. On this occasion, VIP fans had to decide if they would attend the 1pm rehearsal or wait in line for one fan meet in the afternoon. Decisions decisions! 3 Members of CN Blue walking to their fan meet. Yong Hwa was busy with his emcee rehearsal duties so was not able to participate at the fan meet.
At each fan meet the K-Pop idols briefly greeted their excited fans. The stars thanked the fan who traveled the farthest and watched five chosen ones dance. All six participants received a signed CD and the lucky dance winner won a photo opp! Then all of the fans turned around for a group photo and left the tents in an orderly fashion. CN Blue leaving their BOICES.
Red Carpet
SNSD was the last group to have their fan meet. After entertaining their packed out tent, they walked directly to the second tent for the Press Red Carpet. Originally all 7 groups were scheduled to walk the Red Carpet for the media, however, due to the delayed schedule, SNSD was the only K-Pop group to enamor the press. And that they did!
Girl’s Generation, aka Sonyeo Shidae (SNSD), on the Red Carpet just moments after leaving their S♥NE fans.
Seven of the most popular, chart-topping K-Pop idol groups from South Korea dazzled U.S. fans at the SBS K-Pop Super Concert last Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA. Although the concert had been previously postponed, and despite the two prior days of rain, nothing stopped thousands of excited fans from experiencing the Korean Wave that chilly November evening! (It was a cccold 48 degrees F at the outdoor amphitheater!)
Introduction (x2)
SNSD’s Tiffany, CN Blue’s Yong Hwa, and Beasts’ Kikwang were the lovely emcees for the night. In typical fashion, the three read from their queue cards and excited fans with their eloquent speaking and beauty. Our only wish was that Tiffany, whose English is flawless of course, would have translated more of the Korean dialogue for the non-Korean speaking fans. (And maybe a special YongSeo stage for our Goguma friends!)
Also of special note, the live audience experienced the introduction twice. The second time, the emcees were raised from a platform in the middle of the stage to make a grand entrance for the SBS Recording.
The Show
4Minute, SISTAR, CN Blue, KARA, BEAST, 2NE1, and SNSD all performed four songs each. And even though they entertained fans with over 30 songs, including Karmin’s, the concert seemed to pass by in a blink of an eye. If only the K-Pop groups performed their numbers a second time for SBS filming, right?
4Minute (Photos)
Performed: Volume Up, Mirror Mirror, Heart to Heart, and Hot Issue. Just like at KCON several weeks earlier at the same venue, lead singer Ga-In was M.I.A.
SISTAR (Photos)
Performed: Alone, Ma Boy, Loving U, and So Cool. SISTAR oozed sexiness!
Karmin
The YouTube pop stars were invited as special guest performers.
CN Blue (Photos)
Performed: I’m A Loner, Love, Intuition, and Hey You. These guys rocked out band style and stole our hearts with their original style! FYI: CN=Code Name BLUE=Burning Jong-hyun, Lovely Min-hyuk, Untouchable Jung Shin & Emotional Yong-hwa.
KARA (Photos)
Performed: Pandora, Step, Lupin, and Mister. Lalalalala! <333 them.
B2ST / BEAST (Photos)
Performed: Shock, Fiction, Beautiful, and Beautiful Night. We last saw these boys at the MBC Music Wave in Google last May. All we can say is “Uyu beet gall Beas-s-t!
2NE1 (Photos)
Performed: Fire, Can’t Nobody, I Am the Best, and I Love You. These fashion & beauty icons gave a perfect performance on the tail of their 2NE1 2012 New Evolution First World Tour in Los Angeles AND New Jersey this past August. We want to know, “how did they change their hairstyles so quickly?”
SNSD / Girl’s Generation (Photos)
Performed: Lullaby, Mr. Taxi, Run Devil Run, and The Boys. We also saw these nine girls at the MBC Concert. But tonight they were responsible for closing out the night, and they did so on a high note!
Finale
We have to admit that we were a little spoiled with several encore performances after attending BIGBANG’s concert the week before. However, since our fingers and toes had little feeling left, and most fans had screamed so much that they lost their voices, we all willingly left the amphitheater extremely satisfied.
Specials Thanks
SBS Broadcasting System Inc., JAU Entertainment Inc., and Zion Live Inc.
Heart Hallyu SBS Team ~ Sharon Tam & Yung Kim
Additional Photos by Johnny Au (AU Review), Candice Yeb, & Klarisse Gepilano
Last Friday and Saturday night, South Korean K-pop group BIGBANG dazzled their fans at their first-ever full concert in the U.S.
The popular K-Pop band, made up of G-Dragon (GD), T.O.P., Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri, performed to a super excited crowd on Friday and a sold out house on Saturday.
Before the Show
Video: VIP Line and Fan Interview
BIGBANG VIPs were advised to arrive at the venue by 3pm on the show day for a 4pm sound check entrance. Some showed up as early as 4:30am on Friday and waited 12 hours (with the 30 minute technical delay). In an effort to maintain fairness, the venue handed out colored wristbands so that VIPs could get back in line in a similar grouping after the sound check.
Once inside, VIPs rushed in to find a spot around the stage, while Samsung rehearsal pass winners were seated in the front row seats next to the stage around 3pm.
BIGBANG played around half a dozen songs, including Feeling, Fantastic Baby, and part of CRAYON. Some members of the band interacted playfully with the fans by sitting down on the stage, speaking in English, and receiving a few presents.
After the sound check, VIPs waited in line to pick up their special gift (a specially designed gift bag, an official light stick, tour shirt, and laminated pass). Then they went back outside and lined up for the doors to reopen around 6:30pm for the 8pm show.
The day of the first concert, YG announced online that no cameras would be allowed in the sound check or the concert. Although fans did manage to sneak in a few photos and videos, the rule was strictly enforced by Honda Center staff. (Allegedly, some fans were kicked out after receiving at least one warning.)
Video: Samsung Galaxy Studio Experience
Samsung, the official sponsor of the BIGBANG Alive “Galaxy” Tour, set up a fun interactive studio to help promote their products and also to give fans something worthwhile to do while waiting for the concert.
After listening to a quick demo on the Samsung Galaxy S III and Note, fans were given a ticket for a free blue blinking wrist-band. They then queued up to have their photo taken via the featured camera phone in front of a black BIGBANG logo. This image was used to make a personalized photo button as a free keepsake.
While waiting for the buttons to be assembled, fans could wait in a different line for another photo opp. This time in their very own capsule with all five BIGBANG members! (Well, images of all five anyway.) A nice employee was there to take the backdrop photo with each fan’s personal camera or camera phone.
To top it all off, the emcee, BIGBANG Frank, would announce contests and give away cool prizes (see video ^^) for BIGBANG knowledge, dancing, or singing.
Video: Official BIGBANG Merchandise
Check out the video to see which items sold out as well as some of the prices.
YG wisely hired a company to sell official BIGBANG merchandise on this tour. The merchandise booth was set up outside the venue so fans could purchase items well ahead of the concert. Some crafty fans who were attending the show on Saturday, showed up on Friday to buy their merchandise to make sure they got exactly what they wanted and also to store it all safely in their hotels or homes. (You K-pop fans think of everything!)
Video: Fan Reactions Before and After the Concert
We interviewed so many amazing K-pop fans before and after the concert and will post those videos as soon as they are complete.
The BIGBANG Show
And along with the fan reaction videos, we have more fun updates on the BIGBANG concert experience, including the differences from Friday to Saturday night. So please check back!
The SBS K-POP Super Concert is back on Saturday, November 10, 2012 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA. With a new date and location, the postponed concert has made good on its word to return and host the K-pop concert now with seven of the most popular, chart-topping K-pop idol groups from South Korea.
The concert will be broadcasted on SBS, documenting K-Pop fans in America coming together to celebrate the emerging Korean Wave with the world. And Heart Hallyu (aka ❤ The Korean Wave), will be there to capture the best moments from the Red Carpet, Fan Meet, and Concert. So make sure to come back for videos and photos of your fave K-Pop groups!
For those of you who have been sitting on the fence, great seats are still available and parking is free! Up-to-date concert-related news and information can be found on www.absolutekpop.com or at www.facebook.com/AbsoluteKpop.
And if you attend the SBS K-POP Super Concert, Lisa Oh will be sharing a limited number of pink I ❤ K-pop wrist bands with our @HeartHallyu Twitter followers. If you want one, retweet our SBS post, find Lisa, and tell her “I Heart Hallyu!”
Special thanks to the event hosts Southern Korean television station, SBS Broadcasting System Inc., JAU Entertainment Inc., and Zion Live Inc.
Last Saturday, I woke up super excited to attend the first-ever convention in the U.S. for “All Things Hallyu”. To be honest, I was wondering how MNET was going to pull off such an epic event at an outdoor amphitheatre, but more importantly, I wanted to know “how does a girl pack for a 12-hour day and still look her best for Kris, Lay, Chen, Tao,…Zelo, G.NA, (insert your bias here)?” Omona!!
After checking in, our team made our way to the Green/Press room for VIPs, Special Guests, and Media. There was a shaded pavilion, bar, Craft Services, restrooms, and seating. As nice as it sounds, this was unfortunately where we spent most of the next nine hours. I had hoped to interview EXO-M, B.A.P., 4Minute, G.NA, NU’EST and VIXX, run around and visit all of the fan club booths (SNSD, SHINee, SISTAR, Beast, SECRET, TVXQ, 2AM and 2PM), vendors (BB Cream!!!), food trucks (Seoul Sausage, Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go…), Artist Signings + Q&A’s, and most importantly, hang out with other K-pop fans. The few times I made it out from interviewing the Special Guests, I was able to hand out our pink I ❤ K-pop wrist bands. Those were the moments that gave me renewed energy to work hard for the rest of the day! Thanks to all of you who were so sweet and tracked me down!
Interview with Simon & Martina from EatYourKimchi.com
“YouTube Idols: Up Close and Personal” Panel with Special guests: David So, Eat Your Kimchi, Just Kidding Films, Jeff Yang
> Most surprising and noteworthy were my interactions with Simon & Martina from Eat Your Kimchi. Surprising because they were just as nice in person as they appear in their vlogs! They wrote about their experience at KCON here, but not once did they mention how they were also swarmed by the media requesting interviews in between their two panels and autograph signings. They were funny and sharp in spite of the jet lag, pinkeye, and having to be “on” all day. Although I had many “Nasty” questions for the two K-pop vloggers, I kept the interview short and tried to spare Simon from too much coughing. If you are reading this, thank you Simon & Martina for being so gracious in giving me an interview and not giving me pinkeye! (And for the rest of you EYK fans, in case you were wondering, Spudgy was with a friend, but Dr. Meemmersworth was at a cat hotel, much to Martina’s dismay).
Interview with Beauty Blogger Jen of FrmHeadtoToe.com
“K-Pop Style Guide” workshop with Special Guests: Sena Yang, David Yi, and Jen
> Any Asian American girl out there who cares even the slightest about beauty knows how hard it is to find really helpful makeup tips, especially if you were born without an eyelid crease (a.k.a. monolids). So when I found out I would be interviewing Jen From Head To Toe at KCON my immediate reaction was to go online and BUY ALL THE MAKEUPS! But so you don’t have to buy every makeup product, here is some advice from the knowledgeable, fashionable, and adorable YouTube beauty blogger, Jen! For tips on false eyelashes, check out Jen’s recent post.
Interview with Stephanie Parker from Viki.com
“Inside Look – K-Dramas” panel with Special Guests: Jee-Young Park (a producer of CJ Entertainment), Stephanie Parker (Viki.com), and Monica Macer (scriptwriter behind the hit American TV series Lost and Prison Break).
> If ever you wanted to have an intelligent, in-depth conversation about Korean dramas then Stephanie Parker is your girl! I had so much I wanted to talk to her about but sooo little time. Such dwama, right? We briefly touched on a few current and all-time favorites K-dramas before Simon & Martina’s dramatic entrance. Okay, they just casually walked in, but the crowd reaction was totally Nasty. The good news is that I plan to visit Stephanie at the Viki.com offices for a sequel. And we’re going to be giving away– (TO BE CONTINUED…)
Interview with David So from YouTube.com/DavidSoComedy
“YouTube Idols: Up Close and Personal” Panel with Special guests: David So, Eat Your Kimchi, Just Kidding Films, Jeff Yang
> Interviewing David So was sew mach fun! I had seen a few of his YouTube videos and heard him speak at his panel and thought, “David would be a perfect candidate to play the Heart Hallyu game!” Yup, this panda-wearing comedian will make you laugh your “k*nd*ng*” off! Ummm, not to blow his tough-guy-weave-selling cover, but David is the nicest guy with tons and tons of heart! Mature audiences should check out David’s Gagnam Style spoof called Byuntae Style.
The Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre lit up for the star-studded K-pop concert just after sunset. Press photographers and videographers were escorted behind the orchestra seat railing shortly after 7:30pm. While there were quite a few open seats in front of us, behind us was a packed house. (We heard that KCON had sold over 9000 tickets including some very affordable seats on GROUPON). One thing was very apparent. If there had been any convention frustrations, they had been replaced by concert excitement as evidenced by the number of fans happily waving their multi-setting KCON light sticks.
Note: MNET addressed convention complaints on their Facebook page! Well-played MNET! Well-played.
Opening Acts
AJ Rafael, Dumbfoundead, and Daze 47 in collaboration with BWB kicked off the concert. And then, the moment everyone had been waiting for happened: four rookie boy bands, solo artist G.NA and veteran girl-group 4Minute dazzled U.S. K-Pop fans with their singing, dancing and audience addresses.
K-Pop Performers – Photos
B.A.P. rose from below the stage and immediately began singing “No Mercy,” followed by their ballad, “What My Heart Tells Me To Do,” and ending with “Crash”. They addressed the fans in Korean and English and even introduced Danny Im, one of the co-emcees for the night.
G.NA sang “2Hot”, the English version of her ballad “I’ll Back Off So You Can Live Better” and “Black & White” before joining Danny as co-host for the rest of the show.
VIXX performed their 3 songs: “Rock Ur Body”, “UUUUU” and “Super Hero”.
NU’EST kicked it off with their “Face” chair-dancing, “Not Over You,” and “Action.” This rookie group also prepared a speech in English much to their screaming fans’ delight!
Exo-M, the Mandarin speaking subgroup of Exo, sang all three of their songs+: History, Angel, an additional duet by Lu Han and Chen “What Is Love”, aegyo, aegyo & more aegyo and then Mama.
4Minute closed out the concert with “Volume Up”, “HUH”, “Mirror Mirror”, “Heart 2 Heart” and “Hot Issue”. We were impressed that superstar Hyun-a, Ji-hyun, Ji-yoon, and So-hyun were able to pull off their performance so well sans lead singer Gayoon who was allegedly sick.
On perfect cue the concert came to an end with a huge blast of confetti showering the fans in the VIP PIT. The groups came out one more time and, led by G.NA, made a final bow in unison.
We couldn’t end our KCON coverage without a fan reaction interview. These six girls from Southern California are representative of the majority of K-pop fans that make it possible for K-pop groups, concerts and conventions to exist. And why I ❤ what I do!
We’ve also included around the first minute of each K-pop group’s performance interspersed throughout the interview (press-approved). It was a great concert and we cannot express how much we appreciate MNET for all of their hard work in pulling it together and for inviting Heart Hallyu to participate. Cheers to 2013!
VIDEO: Kpop Fan Reaction Interview + Concert Peek
Special thanks to Pam, Ricky, Jen, Stephanie, David, Simon, Martina, Monique, Lillian, Nina, Felene, Kavia, Viviana, Mary, Meera, Maria, Megan and Jewell!
Mnet’s K-pop Convention at the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine, CA
On Friday, Mnet released a super cute illustration of the official map and autograph schedule for KCON, set to happen Saturday, October 13th, 2012.
And while we’ve enjoyed many great anime and pop-culture conventions before, we are definitely looking forward to a convention about All Things Hallyu!
We’ve never attended a convention without in & out entry, held outside and with restrictions on bringing in your own food or water though. So to make sure attendees are ready for the 12 hour day, we’ve put together a few KCON Survival Tips.
Convention Tips
1. Before you go, drink plenty of water and eat a big healthy breakfast.
2. Wear comfortable shoes & clothes. +Pack a few layers in case it cools off in the evening.
3. Wear sunblock and remember to reapply it a few times throughout the day.
4. Budget enough money for liquids, lunch, dinner and merchandise.
5. Be prepared to stand in line for the autographs, panels, restrooms, food and concert.
6. Bring a bag or backpack to hold everything you bring and buy, but don’t over pack.
Partial Packing List:
-A 24oz sealed water bottle (save the bottle to refill if you don’t plan on buying water)
-Hand sanitizer or wipes
-Sunblock
-Hat or umbrella for shade
-Gum/mints/deodorant
-Something for headaches
-Extra batteries for your phone/camera
More Fun!
For those of you who can’t make it to Irvine, CA, KCON will be live streaming worldwide on MNET’s new digital platform “MCUBE”! Yay!
For those of you attending KCON, Lisa Oh will be sharing a limited number of pink I ❤ K-pop wrist bands with our @HeartHallyu Twitter followers. If you want one, retweet one of our KCON posts, find Lisa and tell her you Heart Hallyu!
According to Rich Best, Executive Vice President of Booking for Live Nation/Southern California “For a group to sell out their first-ever U.S. shows is fantastic, and to do so in major arenas such as Honda Center and the Prudential Center is a tremendous accomplishment. But to do it this quickly, that’s simply unheard of.”
To address the demand from loyal fans, YG Entertainment did their due-diligence and tonight announced two additional shows on the official BIGBANG Facebook page.
NEW DATES
Friday, November 2, 2012 8pm @ the Honda Center in Anaheim, California
Thursday, November 8, 2012 8pm @ the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
*Additional tickets go on sale at 10:00 am (ET/PT) Saturday, October 6th, 2012
UPDATE: VIP tickets for the LA concert on 11/2 sold out immediately while VIP tickets for NJ may still be available. At the time of this update, PowerhouseLive had tickets for both NJ & LA concerts with a lesser fee of $3.79 added per ticket!
AND NOW…
For the important question: Who is going to see BIGBANG in concert TWO days in a row? *Fighting!*
WHAT THEY DID RIGHT
1. YG announced BIGBANG’s global tour months in advance, allowing fans to mark their calendars and set aside funds.
2. Because they booked their venues in advance, they had the option of having their concert on Saturday in Los Angeles which makes it easier for those traveling from Northern California and other states.
3. They offered tickets at all prices ranging from $50 to $300 (with the most expensive tickets, the VIP Package, clearly defined before tickets went on sale.)
2. Bring plenty of merchandise, YG. To continue with their excellent choices, we hope BIGBANG brings more official light sticks than they think they can sell.
*And why not try something innovative and fan-friendly. Set up merchandise booths or handheld credit card machines outside the venue for the queued up fans before the concert. They won’t have to wait in another line once they get in and they can have something to do while they wait.
3. Have Lisa Oh ♥ from HeartHallyu.com interview BIGBANG for a fun interview all VIP’s can enjoy! (Thanks for supporting our shameless plug! We promise to work harder in the future!)
