K-pop fans wear their hearts on their sleeves, or most of the time, have it scribbled in bold, Hangeul letters on banners.
K-pop fandom is unique that people aren’t called out for being biased. In fact, being biased is an essential part of your identity as a fan. So, please do excuse this Shawol of a writer for being all-out biased in this K-pop article.
Before the first beat of their live performance finally dropped, we got to hear it again: SHINee’s back.
It’s been four years since their last visit and this was the first time all the members of the group, namely Onew, Jonghyun, Key, Taemin and Minho, were in the country for a one-night show.
And the Shawols were quick to acknowledge it as a milestone. Even if it wasn’t a solo show for the contemporary idol group, their fans sure made it feel like one. Shawols arranged themselves in block sections among the audience and when you saw mint-colored lights shining in the dark, you immediately knew where the SHINee fans were at.
SHINee’s set came so slowly, their fans containing their excitement to see their idols after seven other acts. But when SHINee finally took the stage, their performance felt painfully short as they only sang four songs which included the hits “View,” “1 of 1” and “Everybody.”
Key gave Shawols a whiff of his fabulous confidence, with the multilingual member always making fans from all over understand the group’s gratitude toward their undying support. Minho was all-out during their short performance, and we’ve honestly never seen him this bibo.
Taemin—sporting a bowl cut yet again—hasn’t changed his timid maknae ways, while Jonghyun hasn’t stopped with his teasing of the youngster being a heartthrob. SHINee’s leader, Onew, was a quiet and shy presence, until he belted out the songs Shawols love.
SHINee with six other artists performing live definitely made the “One K” concert feel exactly like an “M Countdown” episode (sans the comebacks). Here are 10 Super moments we loved:
1. The faces of SHINee and AOA delighted the audience with their hosting skills (and gave Shawols more chances to see Minho!). It didn’t even matter if we weren’t able to understand half of what they were saying as we had our focus on their gorgeous faces rather than the subtitles of their spiels on the screens.
2. Songs from our favorite K-dramas “Boys Over Flowers,” “Descendants of the Sun” and “Love in the Moonlight” were performed live, and we have to admit most of us wished one of its top Korean love teams would just pop on the stage, surprising Manila with their presence.
3. Seeing the singers-turned-actors Jinyoung of B1A4 (“Love in the Moonlight”), Sungjae of BTOB (“Goblin”), and Onew (“Descendants of the Sun”) and Minho (“Hwarang”) of SHINee doing what made us fall in love with them in the first place: performing music.
4. Fans madly cheered on BTOB’s Eunkwang and Hyunsik as they finished singing each line of Freddie Aguilar’s “Anak.”
5. AOA’s time on the stage was a complete aegyo treat, but we have to give the most credit to Choa, who mimicked a plush toy saying “I love you.” How are people even allowed to be this gorgeous?
6. B.A.P’s newest single is titled “Rose,” so their fans initiated the #RoseProject to express their support during the concert. B.A.P fans gave away rose-shaped pastillas during the event and how do we know the fans accomplished their mission? Zelo of B.A.P picked one up from a fan and smiled immediately after he saw it.
7. CNBlue’s set put the crowd in a more festive mood and just proved how much of a “trash” we all were. Anything they do makes the crowd go wild, even if it’s just catching Jung Shin sneak a lip balm retouch on stage.
8. Fans threw a lot of gifts on the stage (thank goodness the idols had the ninja skills to dodge them) and never have we envied a stuffed toy until Jinyoung of B1A4 excitedly snatched one from the floor and then playfully grinned like a child.
9. The energy level of Psy’s performance was off the roof, making everyone dance more than they should. But Psy also took things slow with his newest and heartwarming rap song about fathers, which totally reminded us of the show “Return of Superman.”
10. Sungjae of BTOB said the Philippines was one of the countries he really likes. Man, we really like you too.
Korean artists B1A4, B.A.P, BTOB, AOA, CNBlue SHINee and Psy used the power of music to unite people together as the carry one powerful message: The dream of having One Korea, where the Korean nation that our idols love, and a nation that people from all over the globe has come to discover and appreciate, would cease to be divided.
This is a dream they wish to share not only with their fans, but with everyone around the globe. Bringing North and South Korea together is a dream they keep, so that, one day, they’ll wake up to it as a reality.
