K-Pop rocks colossal Philippine Arena
BTOB projects a more rugged vibe and does hip-hop with the occasional rap breaks. jasper lucena
BOCAUE, BULACAN—“This is a reserved-seating concert; please check your tickets for the assigned seats. We will not start the show until everyone settles down,” a female voice blared from the speakers as throngs of giddy fans scurried around the stands of the colossal Philippine Arena hoping to find unoccupied areas that offered a better view of the stage.
The warning was repeated a couple more times, with mild success. The fans could not contain themselves— and how could they, having traveled all the way to the venue and waited in the oppressive heat, just to see their favorite K-Pop stars?
Sunday evening’s concert was called “Best of Best in the Philippines 2015” and featured four bands: BtoB, Red Velvet, Girls’ Generation and Super Junior.
Expectedly, the restless audience dutifully applauded each act. But it was clear, from the hoisted banners and the shirts they wore, that the majority was there mainly for the latter two groups.
In the highly competitive and unforgivingly fickle world of K-Pop, spanking new groups sprout like mushrooms and then fizzle out, in some cases, just as suddenly. The average life span of a band is about three to five years; less fortunate ones have ended up with careers shorter than their training.
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GIRLS’ Generation: They smiled, tilting their heads ever so slightly; strutted and shimmied across the stage—every move executed with startling precision. magic liwanag
Super Junior and Girls’ Generation, having stayed active in the cutthroat industry for the past 10 and eight years, respectively, are more exceptions than the norm. While both bands have lost members along the way and are arguably past their peaks, the atmosphere in this recent show wasn’t any less vibrant than in their previous outings in the country.
Article continues after this advertisementStartling precision
Girls’ Generation, which originally had nine members, emerged onstage with only eight: Taeyeon, Yuri, Tiffany, Sunny, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun. Jessica, one of the main singers, was dismissed in 2014. Looking like living mannequins in white-and-pink ensembles that looked like a tuxedo-skirt hybrid, the girls kicked off their set with “Mr. Taxi.”
They smiled, tilting their heads ever so slightly; strutted and shimmied across the stage; played it coy and sweet and then flirty and sexy. The music was catchy, sometimes jittery, electronic-dance pop performed with little dance moves and adorable poses, which the ladies carried out with an almost-startling precision.
SUPER Junior performs new songs for an adoring crowd. jasper lucena
“Genie,” for instance, had the girls shuffling in and out of different configurations, then thrusting their left leg in unison—a sight rather peculiar, and yet curiously hypnotic. There was quite a large number of men at the concert; it goes without saying that this moment was one of the reasons.
Heftier punch
Super Junior relied just as heavily on image and fan service, but their music packed a heftier punch, with more rumbling bass, sturdy and chunkier beats and discernible rock and hip-hop elements. Unlike Girls’ Generation, which dished out a greatest hits-like set, the boy band performed their more recent singles, such as “Oppa, Oppa,” “Mr. Simple” and “Mamacita.”
But like Girls’ Generation, Super Junior wasn’t complete. Of the original 13 members, only Heechul, Leeteuk, Kangin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun were present at the concert. Yesung, Shindong and Sungmin had enlisted for compulsory military service; Kibum is focusing on acting; Hankyung left the group in 2010.
RED VELVET debuted only last year. magic liwanag
The remaining members, outfitted in black and white, seemed more than enough to keep the thousands of fan girls—they call themselves ELFs—on their toes. They waved blue light sticks and yelled a formulated series of chants as the group raced through the set. Kyuhyun, the most proficient singer of the bunch, provided one of few quiet moments that whole night, with a solo performance of “At Gwanghwamun.”
Sappy balladry
When the boys weren’t showing off their wares, they were professing love for the fans with their limited English and bits of Tagalog. From time to time, they goofed and joked around—for an outsider, it was almost impossible to follow; like not getting a joke shared by thousands.
The opening acts—the all-girl, five-piece group Red Velvet and the seven-member boy band BtoB—were rookies in comparison, more so the former, which debuted only last year. Red Velvet reveled in the excesses of bubblegum pop—sentimental tunes and perky ditties set to a dizzying flurry of colorful graphics.
BtoB projected a more rugged vibe, singing hip-hop-infused bangers with the occasional rap breaks. That didn’t mean the band was beneath the occasional sappy balladry. While the two rising groups roused considerable enthusiasm among the fans, Red Velvet and BtoB didn’t quite have the spark of their predecessors—not yet.
