[FAN ACCOUNT] 130627 - AIA K-pop Concert in Malaysia

[FAN ACCOUNT] 130627 - AIA K-pop Concert in Malaysia

I went to K-pop Dream Concert Live in Malaysia in the month of May and I enjoyed it.  One month later, I went to yet another concert!  This time, it was AIA K-pop Concert in Malaysia.  What made this concert extra special was the three performing acts who all came from the same company, Cube Entertainment.  My favourite K-pop company!  The three acts were 4Minute, BEAST, and G.NA.  In January 2011, the same lineups came to Malaysia for DiGi Live K-pop Party and I attended that one too with my dad and younger sister.  This time for AIA K-pop Concert, my dad tagged along again.

My dad and I took a flight to Kuala Lumpur on the same day of the concert.  We arrived at Kuala Lumpur about four hours before the tentative time of the concert.  We made our way to the stadium where the concert was held via Light Rail Transit (LRT).  The concert venue was only two stations away.  When we arrived at the stadium, we wandered around the stadium, which was already filled with fans and AIA (M) Berhad's agents, staffers, policyholders, and family members.  The concert was initially planned as a private concert for those related to AIA (M) Berhad only.  After discussing with Malaysian fanclubs and K-pop concert-goers, the company decided to make the concert open to public.  *cough* /Extra revenue/ *cough*  *cough again* /Nothing wrong with that/ *cough again*  I bought the concert tickets for my dad and I through Malaysian BEAST's fanclub, MYB2UTY.  About fifteen minutes before the concert started, we entered the concert area.  Upon hearing songs (which turned out to be music videos) by the Cube artists being played in the concert area, I felt excited and could not wait to see the performing artists live again, especially BEAST!

G.NA was the first performer.  Even as a solo singer, she did not fail to capture the audience's attention with her powerful yet sweet vocal and her friendly greetings.  Her first song for that evening was 'Supa Solo', one of my all-time favourite songs of hers!  G.NA also performed '2Hot', 'Bananas', and the English version of 'I'll Back Off, So Live Well' (in which, B2UTY went wild when BEAST's Jun Hyung came out to perform his rapping part) before performing a two-song medley of Rihanna's songs, 'Take a Bow' and 'Rude Boy'.  Her remaining performances of 'First Kiss', 'Top Girl', and 'Black and White' kept the crowd cheering.  I especially liked it when G.NA mentioned during her talk time that Malaysian fans have been doing great at supporting the United Cube family and asked for continuous interest and support.

The audience continued to gleefully scream, shout, and sing when 4Minute came on stage.  The girls appeared on the stage with their stylishly sassy performance of 'What's Your Name'.  They also performed 'Mirror Mirror', 'I'm Okay', 'HUH', and 'Muzik'.  I enjoyed every performance but I particularly liked their emotional balladry song 'Pretend'.  Before stepping out of the stage, the girls performed the bubbly 'Heart to Heart' and the catchy 'Hot Issue'.

Then...the most anticipated (for me, personally) act of the evening...the one, the only, the amazing BEAST!  As expected, the audience, including me, went wild when an introductory snippet featuring BEAST's members was played.  The next thing that came up was Gi Kwang's "Byeol-i bit na neun areumdawoon bam-iya-iya~".  The BEAST's members appeared on stage to perform their upbeat 'It's a Beautiful Night'.  What made the audience (at my area) even more hyped up was the members running towards the front part of the stage from the beginning of the song.  So, my eyes were pleasantly treated to the up close view of real life BEAST's members!  Dear God, thank you very much!  I frantically waved my rose-shaped lightstick and sang along while smiling ear-to-ear.  BEAST is known as one of the groups with outstanding fan-service.  That fact was really shown that evening even from their first performance.  The group performed 'Bad Girl' and 'Shock'.  These two songs are their first two title songs.  So, being able to see them perform those songs and dance the choreography meant so much to their B2UTY fans, trust me.  The other songs that BEAST performed so marvelously were 'Special', 'Fiction', 'On Rainy Days', 'I Knew It', and 'Freeze'.  Right after that, a new but familiar tune was played.  I immediately screamed joyfully when I heard the introduction music of one of BEAST's new songs, 'Will You Be Alright'.  I could tell that a few of the audience members who were near me turned their heads to look at me.  They must be wondering why I suddenly shrieked.  It was another special treat for B2UTY in Malaysia because that was the first time the song was performed overseas, and the second time it was ever performed live.  The first time the movingly sad song was performed was during B2UTY Party event at Maru Park, Seoul, South Korea.  Oh yea, now I remember something!  During 'Will You Be Alright', Jun Hyung missed a tempo and ended up giggling while doing his "Stay with me babe, stay with me babe.. Don't go, don't leave me babe.." part.  It was so cute!  Their last performances were 'Beautiful' and the encore song 'VIU'.  The members had lots of fun on stage, running around and making each other wet by splashing drinking water from bottles.  In fact, the members seemed to be in a very good mood from the beginning of their appearance on stage.  That made fans extra happy.  One of the things that the members said that I particularly remember is Dong Woon's "[Translated] Now I know why Malaysia is so hot.  It's because of your passion."  *o*  Smooth move, Son-Nam-Shin!  Another one is in Yo Seob's advice for everyone to take extra care of their health because of the haze, "[Translated] Please stay healthy.  Because you exist, I exist." *o*  Very sleek, Yang-Yo!

That evening is definitely a memorable evening for me.  I am sure many fans think so too.

We will continue to stand by your side, United Cube!

[FAN ACCOUNT] 130524 - K-pop Dream Concert Live in Malaysia (Cube Entertainment's Fan's POV)

[FAN ACCOUNT] 130524 - K-pop Dream Concert Live in Malaysia

(Cube Entertainment's Fan's POV)

The Evening Before (May 23rd)

My family and I arrived at Genting Highlands, Pahang on May 23rd.  Our flight was delayed for about an hour, so my energy was mostly drained by the time we arrived at the lobby of our hotel.  Before entering our hotel room, I had to first meet up with a few Melodies (Melody = Fan Name of BTOB's fan) to pass them their slogan towels and lightsticks.  (For those who did not know, the slogan towels and lightsticks that I am referring to are the official support merchandise produced and sold by the talent management company.)  The first day of the concert was happening on that evening.  The tickets that I bought for my family and I were for the second day. 

From our hotel room, we could hear the songs that the artists were performing.  Our hotel was right next to the main entrance of the concert venue.  I could particularly hear BTOB's 'I Stole Those Lips (Irresistible Lips)', 'Wow', 'Second Confession', and G.NA's 'Oops!' because when those songs were performed, my family and I were walking somewhere outside, looking for a place to eat. 

It was about half an hour past midnight and my family members were already sound asleep but I was still up, watching TV.  I then received a text message from a fellow Melody-and-K-popper.  I was supposed to pass her some slogan towels too but we could not meet up before the concert that evening because of my delay in arrival.  We then made a quick appointment to meet up outside of a coffee house near the lobby of the hotel where the artists were staying at.  There are a number of different hotels at Genting Highlands and those hotels are connected by walking paths and buildings.  So, I just followed the sign boards and some directions from that Melody friend of mine to get to our meet up place.  I finally reached the place and I knew that I was at the right place because I could see a number of people gathering and waiting outside of a coffee shop.  At that time, the artists were having a break after the first day of concert at the coffee house.  I met my Melody friend there and passed the slogan towels to her.  We had a little chat and I met some other K-pop fans.  I was told that BTOB, my favourite group out of the performing line-ups, had already gone back to their rooms.  I decided to wait with the other fans to try my luck at catching a glimpse of the other artists who were going to come out of the coffee house sooner or later.  BTOB's senior label-mate, G.NA (pronounced as "Ji-Na"), came out of the coffee house with a manager from Cube Entertainment and  some security guards.  They walked towards my direction, making me feel more excited but I tried to contain my excitement and I took a step back to give way.  G.NA was literally about one metre away from me.  I blurted out "Hi, G.NA~" and she looked at me while smiling, waving, and saying "Hi!" back.  That made me feel so happy and thankful!  She is not only a very beautiful woman, but she is also kind and genuine towards her fans and others.  Not long after that, 4Minute, also BTOB's senior label-mates, made their way out of the coffee house.  A manager went out first with a cake from 4Minute's fanclub.  The girls followed after that, surrounded by security guards.  The girls were all-smiles as they walked pass fans.  Like G.NA, they really looked like porcelain dolls up close.  Apart from BTOB, G.NA, and 4Minute, the other artists in the line-ups of K-pop Dream Concert Live in Malaysia were Sistar and Brown Eyed Girls.  I was not sure if Sistar and Brown Eyed Girls had already gone back to their rooms earlier on or not, but I decided not to wait any longer and walked back to my room. 

G.NA coming out of the coffee house and walking towards my direction(!)

4Minute coming out of the coffee house and walking towards my direction too(!)

The Concert Day (May 24th)

From the afternoon, I joined the other fans lobby-stanning (Lobby-stanning, a.k.a. hotel-stanning, is a term used to refer to fans waiting at the hotel lobby where their favourite artists are staying at, hoping for a chance to see the artists with their own eyes when the artists go out to have a meal, walk somewhere else, or off to a rehearsal or show.)  Of course, security guards were there to make sure that fans did not go overboard and that the other guests of the hotel would not go through too much of a difficult time because of the hoarding of fans.  I felt bad for the other guests because there were times when they had to squeeze their way through the fans to get to the hotel lobby.  Fans were kind enough to make way when necessary but still, the overwhelming number of gathered fans at a hotel lobby can be quite frightening to anyone who is not used to that.  Nobody got hurt, though.  We patiently waited and queued at the hotel lobby for hours.  Our biggest 'enemy' at that time was not the long hours of standing but the cold highland wind that occasionally blew in from the front entrance of the hotel. 

The concert was about to start in a couple of hours, so G.NA walked out to the hotel lobby first, surrounded by an entourage of staff members and security guards.  Sistar and 4Minute then came out one after the other.  My Melody friends and I were anticipating BTOB the most.  We kept waiting.  The authority at the hotel lobby announced that BTOB (and Brown Eyed Girls) would not be coming out soon.  Some even claimed that they were already at the concert venue since rehearsal, but fans knew better that they were not at the venue yet because some fans really waited at the hotel lobby since morning.  Nice try but you cannot easily fool fans, okay?  Fans are extra alert, extra attentive, and extra informative.  Most fans were already on their way back or to the concert venue but a number of fans remained at the hotel lobby area.  I even had some time to briefly followed and 'stalked' managers from the talent management companies, especially Cube Entertainment, when they wandered at the lobby area.  My Melody friends and I wanted to stay at the hotel lobby until BTOB came out but it was already ten minutes before showtime.  We did not want to miss the start of the concert, so we decided to make our way to the concert venue, which was about fifteen minutes away by foot.

The managers

On the first day, the order of performing artists was BTOB-G.NA-4Minute-Brown Eyed Girls-Sistar.  I expected the order to be the same for the second day but it turned out that Sistar was the first performing act.  My seat was at the front row and the two seats on my right as well as the two seats on my left belonged to fanboys.  So, I was surrounded by fanboys!  I enjoyed Sistar's performances since I knew some of their songs.  In fact, I was familiar with all of the songs that the group performed that evening.  After Sistar, it was G.NA's turn to perform.  I screamed my lungs out especially when BTOB's Il Hoon came out to perform his part in G.NA's 'Oops!'.  G.NA also performed the English version of her debut song, 'I'll Back Off, So Live Well', among other songs.  Then, 4Minute went on stage to perform their songs.  4Minute is one of my top K-pop acts.  The second last performing act was BTOB!  Woohoo~~!  As expected, I went insane when BTOB came out.  From the first song, 'I Only Know Love', to 'Secret (Insane)', to 'Second Confession', to 'Wow', I gleefully sang along and followed some of the dance moves.  The guy sitting next to me was surprised and asked me, "Waa... You even know all their dance moves?".  I smilingly nodded and continued cheering.  Brown Eyed Girls was the last performing act.  I was not very familiar with some of their songs but I still enjoyed their performances.  During Brown Eyed Girl's turn to perform, the group's manager came to the front of the stage area among the security guards and stood near my seating area.  At one point, he briefly scanned the seating audience area and I happily waved at him.  He saw me and nodded.  

Sistar

G.NA

4Minute

BTOB

Brown Eyed Girls

When the concert was over, I walked to my hotel room, feeling tired but happy.  I simply love it when I can smile after a concert no matter how exhausting the day has been. 

Lucky Lucky Me!

BEAST is currently having their 1st Asia Fanmeet Tour. their first destination was KL, Malaysia. the Malaysia fanmeet was held on July 1st at Sunway Lagoon's Surf Beach. the organisers for the fanmeet in Malaysia were Star Planet & FlyerVision. Imagine TV Network (ITVN) was the official online TV for this fanmeet tour. just like any other events, contests were carried out with tickets to the fanmeet as the prizes. ITVN divided the contest into 3 parts. for each part, participants were required to answer 3 questions & send in their particulars through e-mail to ITVN. according to ITVN, winners were chosen daily based on who had answered correctly AND sent in their particulars. so, i assumed that everyday, for as long as the contest period was on, they selected the first 2 or first 3 who fulfilled the simple requirements. so, i tried my luck & took part in all 3 parts of the contest. hold on...let me copy my e-mail entries for every part.

-----
'Win tickets to meet Beast in KL! (Part 1)' contest

01) How many members are in the band Beast?

- Six

02) On which day will the fan meeting in Kuala Lumpur be held?

- Friday

03) Is Imagine TV Network the Official Online TV for the event?

- Yes

-----
Part 2 – “Win Tickets To Meet Beast in KL!”

Question 1 – What is the standing sequence (from left to right) of Beast’s band members on the red carpet?

Jang Hyun Seung, Yong Jun Hyung, Lee Gi Kwang, Yang Yo Seop, Son Dong Woon, Yoon Du Jun

Question 2 – How many times did the pyrotechnics flash throughout the video?

27 times

-----
Win Tickets to meet BEAST in KL (Part 3)

Question 1:
What 3 words (English words) did Jun Hyung use to describe the song, "Fiction"?

sorrowful, very good

Question 2:
What 2 words (English words) did Yo Seob use describe their feelings of going on a Fan Meeting Asia Tour in July?

excited, nervous

Question 3:
What 2 things (use the English subtitle) did Doo Joon ask BEAST fans to give them?

support, love

-----

i didn't win the 1st part...no biggie...didn't win the 2nd part...fair enough.....couldn't care less about the 3rd part ('cos it was to be announced on June 13th, which happened to be my first day of working at Hilton Kuching's Waterfront Cafe as a part-timer. i need to post another blog entry about this one. later. maybe.).....but as i got back home from a tiring yet interesting day, i found out that i was one of the winners for Part 3 contest! only God & i know how mixed up my emotions were. exhausted + confused + motivated + shocked + in pain (of aching arms & legs..hihi...) + grateful = ??? somebody, tell me!




i didn't get to go to the fanmeet in KL, though. i cancelled my trip at the last minute. don't ask why...don't want to talk about it. but life goes on~ ^^v


now...
there's another contest for another event. this time, the event is MTV World Stage 2011, scheduled to be held at i-City, Shah Alam, Malaysia on July 24th. Twisties is one of the sponsors. Twisties Malaysia on Facebook posted the question of the contest on their wall on July 4th. i happened to be online that afternoon. it was a few hours before my work shift started & i was just chilling in front of the laptop.

Twisties Contest : Yooo Irretwistable-lites.... The moment you have been waiting for starts NOW!!! Try to name FOUR of Twisties "IRRETWISTIBLE" flavours - the first 20 people to correctly answer this shall win a pair of MWS passes. Please ensure that your account is viewable by the public. Thank you!

when i saw the question, i thought "what the heck...why not give it a try?" so, i went to Twisties' official website to search for the answer. i typed out the answer as quickly & as accurately as i could. i wasn't being so hopeful 'cos many had already answered by the time i gave out my answers. but what i learned is, when you've got nothing to lose, just go on & spare that few minutes to try your luck. no pressure.



after i submitted my answer, i went to the kitchen to make myself some Maggi (too bad there was only chicken flavour left) as i was hungry. i cooked 2 packets of that instant noodle. =p it was A LOT. my youngest sis was startled to see my plate. xD i got back to the laptop & refreshed the page, only to find out this:



it...felt.....wow..~ i know this sounds like a cliche, but i couldn't believe that i had won. :') i'm so thankful. very very thankful..

we'll see what happens next. peace~

Fan Account: Digi Live K-pop Party 2011

 [a/n - VERY sorry for the delay in posting this]

My flight to Kuala Lumpur from Kuching with my family was set to depart in the afternoon of January 12^th.  I was actually tired even before we reached the airport since I had a class in the morning.  Driving a 30-minute journey to campus and another 30-minute journey back home can be draining.  At the same time, I had to keep reminding myself not to forget the important things that I should pack along.  It would be very troublesome if I didn’t remember to bring my K-pop Party passes and identity card, among other things.  I had a clear and simple mission for that particular trip: to attend the Live K-pop Party.

So, we arrived at KL and commuted to our hotel by taxi.  The CUBE family hadn’t arrived yet at that time.  I kept checking updates (on Facebook and Twitter) to know if they had arrived safely.  When I found out that they had arrived, it was thrilling, but the sad news was that Kiki (Lee Gi Kwang) wasn’t with them. It was reported that his schedule for “My Princess” drama recording clashed with CUBE’s pre-planned schedule of coming to Malaysia.  It was a last minute thingy, so he couldn't join the others for the K-pop Party in KL.  How sad~  I felt a little down because BEAST, after all, consists of 6 members and they’re amazing as a 6-member group.  However, Kiki’s absence shouldn’t keep any B2UTY down.  At least the rest of BEAST had safely arrived, together with 4Minute, G.Na, and CUBE managers, staff, and dancers.  The CUBE family was really in Malaysia!  Gratitude, B2UTY, gratitude.  My excitement kind of overshadowed my exhaustion.  I even skipped my dinner.  I was hungry but was also too tired by the end of the day to even eat.

Then, it was January 13^th, the day of the Digi Live K-pop Party.  Dad, younger sis, and I figured out how to get to the venue of the event by using LRT (Light Rail Transit).  So, we bought our LRT tickets and roamed around the area near our hotel with mom and youngest sis for some time before lunch.  We went karaoke-ing for a while but I remembered that I needed to keep my throat safe and okay till the performances later that evening.  So, I sang just a couple of songs.  I had chicken pasta for lunch.  Yummy!  It was delicious (and expensive). After lunch, we went back to the hotel to get whatever we would need for the Live K-pop Party.  Then, off we went to the LRT station.  Just a quick note here: we were not yet used to using the LRT as a mean of transportation but we knew that we would be alright.  Just after two stations, we got off the LRT and walked the rest of our way to Stadium Negara.  We kept walking and didn’t even stop to rest till we reached the venue.  And there we were!   I got the B2ST lightstick that I pre-ordered weeks before the K-pop Party through JC (Iza Yanti) of MyB2UTY.  My sis and I didn’t miss the chance to take some photos.  There were 4Minute’s, G.Na’s, and BEAST’s life-size cardboards.  I even had a duet photo with ‘cardboard Seungie’.   ;)  Then, we started lining up in front of the entrance.  It was around 1.30 PM.   We just sat there on the ground, chilling and preparing to get in for the event.  We had Mentos (one of my usual sources of glucose), drank mineral water, bought souvenirs, and chattered. There was a Meet and Greet session at the same venue before the K-pop Party started. However, I didn't get to go for lucky draws or join any contest that would entitle me to one of the Meet and Greet passes.  There was  going to be a private TV Show recording the next day as well.  Again, I didn't have a pass for that.  I was grateful that I could at least go to the K-pop Party.  :)   Maybe I’ll get to go to the other extra events next time.  So, no point pouting forlornly for what I didn’t get.

The stadium doors were opened about an hour and a half before 8 PM.  As expected, people were pushing in the line, not wanting to wait another minute longer.  I was prepared for that and it actually felt pretty comfortable (?), strangely.  My sis got in before me and we got pretty good seats.  Let me tell you, just sitting there in the indoor stadium made me feel pumped up already.  MVs by the CUBE artistes were being played.  Then I remembered that I should at least inform dad, who was still lining up outside, that the two of us were already in.  So, I sent him an SMS, which was rather a tricky thing to do at that time due to all the distractions, excitement and anticipation.  Some fans screamed out of the blue.  It turned out that they saw BEAST members walking at the upper level of the stadium.  O..M..G..!  They walked from one room to another probably for touch ups or something else.  Minutes later, they walked out of the room.  Fans screamed again.  I did too!  ^^  Two of the members waved at the fans from afar.  Fans went crazy!  One of those two was Yoon Leader (Yoon Du Jun).  I could recognise him because he was wearing a sleeveless black shirt.  I couldn't tell who the other one was.  Who was it?

When it was already 8 PM, the event started.  The MC greeted the audience.  The opening act was a performance by a singer, whose name I didn’t quite catch, sorry.  Then, G.Na performed “I’ll Back Off, So You Live Better”.  Pretty G.Na eonnie sang the song beautifully, causing fans (including me) to cheer so loudly and energetically.  I partially lost my voice and it was only the first song by the CUBE family!  At that time, I didn’t care much about the after-effects of all the screaming.  When Joker (Yong Jun Hyung) went on stage for his cameo in the song, I screamed even more (as expected).  G.Na also performed Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” and her own single, “Supa Solo”.  Gosh, she was great!  The next performance was by the 4Minute girls.  ^-^  All the way throughout 4Minute’s "Muzik", “HuH”, “I, My, Me, Mine”, “Highlight”, and “Hot Issue”, the girls wow-ed fans with their charm and talents.  Cheering and chanting for them contributed to me having a sore throat later. But whatever, right?  ^o^  Two CUBE acts were done with their performances, and there was only one act left to go.   The excitement while anticipating for BEAST was….beyond words.  I couldn't wait to see them perform but at the same time, I was a little worried of the possibility for me to not be able to speak anymore later if I were to really lose my voice.  xD  BEAST appeared on stage with the song “Special”.  Kyaaa~~~!  It felt almost surreal for me to see them perform in front of my own eyes.  Kiki wasn’t with them but they were great, nevertheless.  Go BEAST!  I wanted to cherish every moment.  The moments really were "special", just as the song title suggests.   :)  When the intro music of the song “Oasis” was heard, I cheered in joy.  Omo…  That song is one of BEAST’s songs, which lyrics I’ve really memorised and understood.  Other songs performed by BEAST were “Shock”, “Breath”, “Beautiful”, and lastly, “V.I.U.”.  Their list of performances was perfect for me but I felt like I wanted some more.  :D  The event ended after the CUBE family bid goodnight and goodbye to the audience.

Dad, sis, and I made our way back to the hotel by walking, getting on an LRT, and some more walking. To feel exhausted after the event was inevitable.  It was a worthwhile exhaustion, though.  Absolutely!  :)  I had a wonderful evening, thanks to the CUBE family.  I’m very much sure that everyone who was present at the event had a great time too.  So, please come back to Malaysia when you get the chance in the future.  We love you, CUBE family!