KPOP Festival: Music Bank in Hong Kong 2012

Runner-up titles for this blog post include:

•      Happy But Broke
•      The 8-year-old Dream, Finally Realized
•      My First Date with ChangMin
•      The First of Many Meetings With ChangMin
•      The Night I Cried in Public and Didn’t Care

But alas, I decided that a simple one will do, because a long and passionate rant of the most emotional night of my life will make up for it.

On June 22, I made my first overseas flight without my sister. It was exciting but a bit nerve-wracking as well. I had the entire trip planned out. Go watch the concert, and  get as close to DBSK as possible to give them my letters. I didn’t go to Hong Kong just to see them live. I went to Hong Kong to let them know I exist okay! /spoken like a true delusional fangirl

But seriously, when we arrived at the airport, the only thing on my mind was to look for a group of fans going crazy and follow the crowd. If a Korean celebrity (anyone of the artists performing for Music Bank) is nearby, then it’s definite that fans will be there. Sadly, the airport was so quiet and there’s not a single oppa in sight. As much as I wanted to stay in the airport and spend the entire day waiting, I couldn’t. Hehe.

We had the entire day to spend whatever way we like since the concert still the next day. So we roam around the tourist spots in and near Tsim Sha Tsui and be the best fangirls in the world. Hong Kong Records was our primary destination and hoarded DVDs and CDs! Hehe. Hey, shipping is expensive and it’s not always easy to buy KPOP and JPOP DVDs!

After our tiring first day in HK, June 23 finally arrived! But we didn’t directly head to the Asia World Expo because what were we going to do there anyway? We have reserved seats so we didn’t have to line up to have better seats. While waiting for the concert, we took a cable car ride to see go to Ngong Ping Village. And finally after lunch, we went to the bus station near the cable car terminal. From there, we took a bus to Asia World Expo. My heart went thump thump when I finally saw the arena! OMG THAT’S WHERE I’LL SEE MY CHANGMIN, my heart cried.

When we reached the arena, there were already tons of fans wearing fashion blogger outfits. There were multiple lines and Haszelle and I were so confused! Why are these so many lines? There weren’t any sign, indicating if the fans lined according to their seat number. So we approached one fan and I have NOOOOO idea how we understood each other. But it turns out that different fanbases were giving away freebies! Rich fans are rich, okay.

And you know me, whenever I hear the word “free” I rush to the nearest line and eagerly wait for my turn. Haszelle and I saw fans carrying the same DBSK banners so we knew Hong Kong Cassies were giving away something, too. But we couldn’t see any DBSK line so we lined for the CNBLUE freebies instead. But that’s perfectly okay with me because CNBLUE is my second bias! I am forever baffled at how rich the fans are. In my pack, I received a CNBLUE banner, CNBLUE photocards, candies, a Yong Choding sticker, and a guitar pick with a CNBLUE silhouette! I was a happy camper.

After lining up for CNBLUE goodies, somebody finally raised a DBSK banner and fans flocked to form a line. I am happy to see so many DBSK fans in the place. There were so many artists performing that day, and I’m incredibly happy to say that the Cassies were strong in showing their support for the boys. It may be because of our pearl red color or I’m biased (most probably) but Cassies were a standout! We were so many that day. Hee.

After lining up for so long for that much coveted DBSK banner, we learned that not everyone could have one. Haha. But we did get a DBSK wrist band and a glowing headband! So our efforts in lining up weren’t wasted. And it’s better than nothing. I also enjoyed people-watching! Do you know that in Hong Kong (I’m not sure in other countries!), it’s perfectly normal to attend concerts wearing flatforms or even sky-high heels? Wearing tight short skirts is also okay. (They proved their uncanny ability to fangirl when I ended up running next to them during a quite chaotic sighting of an oppa, which is a story for later. Heels and all, they ran as fast as anyone. *slow clap*) Because of course, it’s important to look good in front of our oppas! I would have worn my best clothes, too, if only I could.

It was starting to get gloomy so we decided to finally go inside and see what’s there for us. Apparently, what awaited us were hours of waiting and waiting and screaming. After a quick bathroom break (where I changed into my beaded ChangMin shirt LOL), we heard screaming. And being paranoid fangirls, Haszelle and I ran as fast as we could. We thought there were oppas! But apparently, there’s a screen showing various music videos and messages of participating artists.

Besides DBSK and CNBLUE, I don’t know much about other KPOP artists. That day, I had a basic rundown of some of the active boy and girl groups these days. Haszelle briefed me on the names of some of them but she doesn’t follow all of them, too. Whenever a music video would start, their supporters would scream. It was crazy! But fun, and I’d love to be there again. But it was annoying how they would never show DBSK’s Keep Your Head Down and cut the message of Homin. Whenever they’d cut the message, fans would shout with anger. Including me and Haszelle of course! Hehe.

We looked around the expo, too, and learned that it’s pretty big! And new. Also, if you’re in the standing section, you wouldn’t have to stand in line the entire time. You just need to get a number and line up when it’s time to enter the expo.

In our hours and hours of waiting, we met some people from China! Coincidentally, they were Cassies, too! The one I talked to said they’re from Guangzhou. She’s also a fan of CNBLUE so we had plenty to talk about. Heehee. But we didn’t talk too long because people were restless. And people started screaming again! This time, there’s really some celebrity sighting!

The peace was broken when fans saw some artists walking on the next floor. We could only sight them through the elevators but the fans weren’t allowed to go up. I think IU was there but I couldn’t see! But I saw Infinite! I couldn’t see them properly, though, since it was quite chaotic. Also, at that time the only Infinite member I know was L (MyungSoo) since he’s in Shut Up! Flower Boy Band. But I screamed along with the fans anyway because it’s difficult to not get carried away.

Then from the elevators, we moved to a different spot where we could see the balcony from the upper level. This time, we had a clear view of the artists passing by. We just made an inference that the restroom was probably located there. Heehee. We saw Luna from F(X) and she was so pretty! I didn’t really find her pretty before but she was so pretty in person. She also smiled and waved to the fans and that’s enough to make me a fan! Some Infinite members passed, too, but I don’t know them. Hee. One member even teased the fans by walking slowly and waving and making aegyo. It was cute. Spotted no member from TVXQ and CNBLUE, though. /cries

Then it’s finally time to enter the arena! And that’s when hell broke loose, really. There were no lines which is quite weird. But it’s not like it would matter if we end up lining first since we had seat numbers anyway. But that doesn’t stop us from running. Even when we got inside the arena, we still ran as if the seats would ran out. Heh. Fans were carrying banners and posters and stuff and it’s sad that Haszelle and I didn’t have anything.

I was so excited at that point that I could pretty much scream for the littlest reason. When they started showing music videos of the performing artists, the audience went wild! And to think that’s it not even the concert yet. They finally showed the music video of Keep Your Head Down and of course, we were happy! Cassies represent!

When they finally turned off the lights, WAAAAAAAH. My heart couldn’t be still, of course. I was too excited to see the loves of my life. It was a pretty big deal. Then the artists appear one by one. IT WAS FINALLY STARTING!!!!!! *wails*

The artists appeared in the order that they’ll be performing. We were pretty far from the stage so I couldn’t take decent photos. But we could still see them pretty well! As the appear one by one, my heart went dugeun dugeun. O M G.

MBLAQ

F(X)

IU!

THE BLUE BOYS!!!! CNBLUE <3

When CNBLUE appeared, you can just guess what happened to me. YONG CHODING! So I kept shouting and shouting “Yoooooong!!!” hoping that he’d notice me but I had tons of competitions that night. Haha. JungShin’s hair was flawless of course. He owned that stage like a runway! But I was just really happy to see the Blue boys. I’ve been a fan for less than a year and I consider myself lucky and blessed to see them this early in my fandom.

Infinite

Beast / B2ST

Dong Bang Shin Ki! Tohoshinki, DBSK, DBSG, THSK, Dong Bang, TVXQ, TVfXQ! In short, my boys ❤

I’m so sorry for the very blurred photo of Dong Bang Shin Ki. Suffice to say, I was so emotional when they went on stage that the tears just started flowing. I told myself before the concert that I shouldn’t cry so I could take good photos. But there I was sobbing because this is CHANGMIN and this is YUNHO and they’re two of the boys that I watched grow and conquer Asia over the past 8 years. There were my life when I was in high school, and I grew up and they took less of my time but that doesn’t make me love me any less. That time, I was actually so addicted to CNBLUE that I though they’re replacing DBSK in my heart. But that concert proved me wrong. I love CNBLUE but my fangirl heart will always be dominated by DBSK. That’s final.

Anyway, I could only take one photo because the tears stopped me from seeing where they went. I wiped my tears and they were gone. I hate myself. Hahaha.

The host for the night was UEE of After School and the I Do, I Do lead actor but I don’t his name. And there’s a host from Hong Kong, too, and I forgot her name, too. Hee. I couldn’t focus, okay, and I couldn’t understand what they’re saying anyway. So as much I focused, I wouldn’t understand a thing.

The first to perform was MBLAQ and the only member I know was G.O. and Thunder, Sandara’s brother! I didn’t take much photos and didn’t even film them. I was saving my battery for CNBLUE and DBSK’s numbers! Hee. Also, I was in a concert and I know that to fully be there, you just have to enjoy the performances.

Then f(x) performed and they were so flawless and attractive on stage and I just had to take photos, you know. I don’t really follow them but they were so good on stage. They didn’t have backup dancers but they owned that stage. That night, they were my third favorite performers! They were just incredible on stage. I was also happy to see Victoria since I was watching her We Got Married episodes that time. HUHUHU. Vic umma, why so pretty? But Krystal, OMG Krystal. I don’t really find her pretty in photos but that night, she just looked so gorgeous! Long hair and rosy cheeks and all. Surprisingly, of all the photos I took that night only the f(x) photos turned out well.

Up next was IU! I don’t listen to her music but I loved her in Dream High! She was so cute. So so so cute, okay. I have no idea how she managed to dance in those heels but she was pretty amazing.

There were also special performances by the artists performing. Most of them collaborated, and it was pretty good to see. I didn’t take note of the order of performances so I couldn’t say much. Hehe.

Finally, it’s CNBLUE‘s turn! I think their timing was perfect. They performed in the middle of the concert and raised up the energy of the entire arena!

Yong Choding seriously knows how to entertain the crowd. I said I wouldn’t shout so much since DBSK would be last to perform but I couldn’t stop myself from shouting when the performers were that good! Also, it’s not everyday that I’d see CNBLUE perform live so I might as well enjoy the entire thing. How I wish I filmed their entire performance, though. Huhu.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XnObjjzvfQ]

     I just have to say this but they’re really good performers. I think one of the reason why I love CNBLUE so much is because they are true artists. They just don’t follow the trend in KPOP but creates music that they enjoy and their fans will enjoy. I would love to attend their own concert because I’m pretty sure that they could sustain that high energy during the entire thing. They sound amazing in their albums but they sound even better live. I’ll always be a fan of the blue boys.

Wonder Girls was also there but I failed to take a photo of them during their entrance in the beginning. Wonder Girls was good but I was surprised that I don’t really feel that much energy from them. I don’t know. I think F(X) set the bar so high that it was hard for me to not compare Wonder Girls to them. But I still enjoyed the performance, okay. 🙂

Speaking of F(X), they went back on stage to have a special number! But the special number I enjoyed the most was Jung YongHwa‘s rendition of Try to Remember.

Of course, Yong Choding was amazing. Haszelle said that she wasn’t a fan of Yong’s voice before but she was quite impressed to hear him live. Because he sounds really good!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CIJw1D1DWc] – Try to Remember

But aside from his song number, what highly entertained the audience was the mechanical mishap that happened on stage. Heehee. You see, he was in a lift the entire time. When he was going down, he got stuck!  The lights were off but we could still see perfectly well that Yong couldn’t get off the stage. Hahahaha. I can just imagine his cheek-bursting smile when it happened! So what they did was raise him up on stage again. For the second time, Yong performed the song Try to Remember. I think he should have just played the Banmal Song acoustic, you know.  I know there were tons of Goguma fans that day. Haha!

One of the stages I enjoyed that night was Infinite‘s. I never knew they were incredibly good! Their synchronized dancing was 100% precise. (Well, you can’t really see it then but I watched their other performances in Youtube, okay! Haha.) The band definitely gained two new admirers (Admirers atalaga?) that night: Haszelle and I. We said we’d stop shouting and preserve our voices instead but they were just so incredible. The stage presence was there and I loved that.

B2ST was the second to the last performer, and I didn’t really know any member that time. I wish I knew DooJoon back then since I’m now incredibly infatuated with him. Haha!

And finally, it’s the turn of my loves! I waited hours for this but it’s not just hours, if you think about it. I waited to see them in person from the very first time I saw them in JK Non-Stop on MTV China. I waited for them since the moment I watched them perform Hug in a music show in Arirang, every thursday for the entire summer of 2004. And it hurts that now there were only two of them and not five, but they’re still TVXQ for me, and they’ll always be precious.

This time, I made sure not to cry so I could focus on their performance. If you know me, you know that crying is something I do once in a blue moon. My mother claims she never saw me cry. That’s how hard-hearted I am. But when it comes to  DBSK, I’ve been crying over them since I was 14. I am not ashamed. Haha! I also decided to film their performance to have something to look back to, and only take photos during their talk. I’m not sure if it was wise. I got so distracted with their performance that the videos turned out blurred and shaky and ugly! But I still watch it to remember how happy and high I was that night. And to remind me that I have seen my ChangMin in person. FINALLY.

Their first performance was Keep Your Head Down, and I went crazy. This reminds me why they’ll always be the King of KPOP for me. My friends asked me if it’s possible for any other person to replace ChangMin in my heart and I told them that the only one who can replace him (and has already replaced him, sorry Haszelle. Haha!) is Alex. XD Anyway, I’m positive that DBSK will be the last band that I’ll love. I doubt it’s possible to love any other band with this much passion and devotion, no matter how good you are, no one can beat DBSK for me. If DBSK retired, I’d retire from KPOP as well. Haha!

To witness my crazy fangirl side, here are some videos. But I highly advice that you lower your volume. I screamed “CHANGMIN!” a million times. The one sitting behind me also happened to be a ChangMin bias. When I screamed, she screamed louder. So I screamed even louder. Then she screamed louder again. And I, of course screamed louder. And so on and so forth. If ChangMin heard a single fan’s scream that night, I wish it’s either one of us. We screamed our best, okay! It was a pretty intense competition.

So yeah, it would be better if you won’t watch the videos to protect your eardrums.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agsvR7wnLpI]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62ev27J4uOE]

 They only performed three numbers and it definitely wasn’t enough! But they had a TVXQ medley and my heart broke into thousands of pieces. They performed songs from back when they were five, and it’s just sad. But what can they do, right? During the concert they had only released one album as a duo. Rising Sun is one of my favorite DBSK title tracks and I’m just glad to see it performed live! (But they just released a new album and I think it’s even better than KYHD! If you haven’t listened to the Catch Me album, go and listen! I love Catch Me, Getaway, Good Night, I Swear, and Gorgeous. Hehe.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgRhGi8nKXw]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riFxPEAOwRs]

They ended their performance with Maximum, and ASDFGHJKL. MORE PLEASE! ENCORE ENCORE ENCORE! But no, none of that. </3 I said that after this concert, I’d focus in my life and tone down my fangirling. But I think it did the opposite! I now want to see a DBSK concert! And I will make that happen, okay.

It’s frustrating that we were far from the stage! Thanks to my zoom lens for the photos, but I still wish we were seated nearer the stage! But it’s still not a waste because I don’t know if a situation like that would happen again.

All the artists went back to the stage to sing South Korea’s and Hong Kong’s national anthem. I begged Haszelle to go nearer the stage with me but she said it’s probably not allowed. But when we saw other fans leaving their seats and rushing forward, we raced to the front. Sadly, Hong Kong fans are tall, and I’m cursed with a short height so I had to squeeze myself and to tiptoe just to see a glimpse of them!

I didn’t know where to look because CNBLUE’s on this side and DBSK’s on this side and I just want to see them both! YunHo was the one holding the microphone and saying the closing words and talking to the fans. And I don’t know but it seems as if ChangMin was so aloof. He wouldn’t even leave his hyung’s side, while YunHo’s being a social butterfly and talking to everyone. The artists were going to different sides of the stage to properly wave to the fans.

*sighs*

I said goodbye to them with a heavy heart. I could probably watch a two-hour long DBSK concert and I’d still have a hard time leaving. It’s like South Korea trip all over again. I was so happy for everything that happened, but I had a hard time accepting that everything’s over. I want to see them again! I am getting greedy, I know. But DBSK is DBSK and I will always be hoping to see them live again and again.

Would I do something like this again? Yes. Would I do it again anytime in the near future? Maybe. But right now, I’m just wishing with all my might that DBSK would go to the Philippines instead. They’re going on a world tour starting this November, so I, along with other Filipino Cassies, pray that Philippines would be included in their itinerary.

I used to wonder how some fans could always, always go overseas just to watch their concerts. Haszelle tell me stories about other Cassies who regularly watch their concerts overseas and I am baffled at how they can leisurely spend their money for it. And I now understand. Even though this fangirling thing depletes your hard-earned savings, it’s all worth it just to see them perform live. I understand now.

And that ends my novel-like account of the Music Bank in Hong Kong. I am not sorry for the extremely long fangirl rant and the emotional drivel that I wrote. It has been 3 months and I still have a hangover. I miss DBSK, and whenever I watch any of their stuff, I still cannot believe that I’ve seen them in person already. I guess when you’re only seeing them in your screen, you start to put them in a different level as you, as if they’re not real people but only people you see on TV or in your computer screen. Argh. I’m going on and on again. I should stop writing now before this becomes too long. Well, it’s incredibly long already, and congrats to anyone who’d finish reading this. Haha.