Supersized ‘SuJu’ show thrills diehards

THE K-POP boys were greeted by deafening shrieks when they appeared. photos courtesy of globe

On Thursday night, thousands of fans of the wildly popular Korean pop group Super Junior trooped to the SM Mall of Asia Arena wearing blue.

But not just any shade of blue, a zealous fan insisted before the start of the concert. It was “pearl sapphire blue”—the official color of the 12-member boy band who visited Manila as part of the “Super Show 5” world tour.

Fondly called “SuJu” by fans, the group previously performed in the country in 2010 and 2011.

The diehards—almost all of them teenage girls—call themselves “ELF,” short for “everlasting friends.” Only nine of the original 12 members would be performing (Siwon, Shindong, Sungmin, Heechul, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Ryeowook, Kangin and Kyuhyun); Kibum is inactive, while Leeteuk and Yesung are currently completing their two-year mandatory military service in the Korean army.

But this didn’t seem to make any of the ELFs any less excited; the members would be joined by Chinese performers Henry and Zhou Mi of Super Junior-M, the Mandarin subgroup of Super Junior.

While waiting for the show to start, the ELFs went about their ways, taking selfies, memorizing lyrics, handing out homemade banners with messages scrawled in Hangul.

SuJu addict

With her infectious laughter, it was hard not to notice 18-year-old nursing student Louise Cabigon, who was animatedly chatting with her fellow SuJu supporters a few feet away from us. Emblazoned on her shirt was an emphatic “I bleed sapphire blue.” On her head rested a white and blue wreath. It was her third time attending a SuJu concert, she told the Inquirer.

Louise is a “borderline SuJu addict.” Her obsession with SuJu started when she was in third year high school.  Discovering the “Sorry, Sorry” music video while channel-surfing, she

SUPER Junior roamed around and interacted with ecstatic fans.

spotted Shindong—hefty,  but one heck of a dancer.

“I was inspired—it made me think that if he can dance that well, maybe I can, too,” related Louise, a member of Shindong’s fan club, Shinsfriends, and Super Junior United Philippines.

Tickets to the VIP section cost a little over P9,000—rather steep for someone still in school. Asked if she dutifully saved money for the show, Louise said that her mom simply promised the best tickets, as long as she got good grades. Louise did. And so there she was at the VIP area, only a metal barricade standing between her and the main stage.

At that point, about 20 minutes past 7 p.m., the lights dimmed, eliciting a salvo of high-pitched squeals and deafening shrieks. One by one, the crowd chanted each of the boys’ names while waving their blue glow sticks, and holding banners aloft.

The huge LED screen sprang to life and showed a lengthy cinematic video clip featuring the boys in high-octane set pieces a la James Bond, complete with fight and chase scenes involving helicopters and planes. After that intro, SuJu, at long last, took the stage and opened with the hit “Mr. Simple,” sending everyone to hysterics.

One word came to mind, looking at the stage and production value: extravagant. Humongous LED screens displayed a sequence of patterns, shapes and splashes of neon colors. The main stage was equipped with rotating walls and lifts. Long runways were mounted at the middle and around the stage floor. Laser lights darted in all directions, and there was no shortage of pyrotechnics.

The girl-heavy crowd increased the decibels further as SuJu continued to perform hits such as “Bonamana,” “It’s You” and “Super Girl.” The music—catchy and danceable and with dashes of rock and synthpop—was heavily influenced by Western sounds, and usually delivered with equally captivating choreography. The group’s dancing as a whole could use a bit more power, but was nonetheless precise, and at times, almost mechanical.

From time to time, the group of 11 would be divided into smaller sub-units to showcase their different strengths. SuJu’s better vocalists Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, Sungmin and Zhou Mi performed Michael Bolton’s power ballad “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” which was the only English number in the band’s set list of almost 30 songs.

The more explosive dancers showed their wares in a dance sequence, which included the “Harlem Shake.”

But from the get-go, it was apparent that the concert wasn’t exactly meant to be a grand showcase of extraordinary talent, but a well-thought out show designed to thrill and titillate the fans. And SuJu went the extra mile in delivering fan service.

Sungmin, Ryeowook, Kangin and Siwon had the crowd laughing their heads off when they came out as garishly-dressed girls. Video clips showed the boys in fun, silly skits—most notable of which was one that had them in superhero costumes.

Birthday boy Donghae was doused in water by his group mates. As if looking pretty weren’t enough for the already delirious fan girls, Eunhyuk showed off his abs, Siwon his ripped arms. And when they started saying how much they loved the Philippines, the crowd roared in approval.

Other songs performed in their three-hour concert—mounted with the help of Globe Telecom and its Prepaid GoUNLI30 promo—included “Break Down,” “Rockstar,” “Sunny” and arguably their biggest hit, “Sorry, Sorry.”

The boys roamed around the elaborately set-up stage, interacting with fans dying to get close. And amid the swirling chaos of jostling fans on the floor, we spotted Louise, agog with excitement. Turned out, Zhou Mi had made her into one very happy fan. “He used my Polaroid to take a selfie!”

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