From Emo Rock, to Glam Pop, to Korean Pop. Getting soft?

I remember my first concert (By first I mean the first I actually wanted to go to -the Riverdance and Emil Chau ones our parents brought us for don't count although they were good) like it was five years ago. Because it WAS five years ago.

the Black Parade

3rd December 2007 - My Chemical Romance's 'the Black Parade is Dead' tour finally made their stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My cousins, Charmaine and Sherman, sister, Jenny and I have been faithfully listening to 'the Black Parade' since its debut in 2006 and squealed the second we heard that the awesome five-piece were coming to our country of all places -Malaysia wasn't exactly crawling with awesome international acts then.

My parents decided we were too young to go on our own (I, the oldest among the kids, was only 15) so they chaperoned, even though the idea of being smack in the middle of dark clothed teens headbanging to loud, theatrical rock music wasn't very appealing. Jenny didn't go because she didn't think she would be missing out on much although she loved their music. Then again, she WAS only 11. Charmaine, then 14 and Sherman, then 12 were as psyched as I was.

We got tickets to the Rock Pit, the nearest zone to the stage. But we got there pretty late (first time concert goers think going on time -7,8pm- should be alright) and so had to stand at the end of that rock zone. The stage must've been five tennis courts' sizes away and we weren't the tallest there, being only recently hit by puberty but all was forgotten the second MCR took to the stage.

I remember they opened with my favourite in the album, 'This Is How I Disappear'. The crowd was cheering at a billion decibels as Gerard Way (frontman) greeted Kuala Lumpur and the band started playing. I felt pretty much like a helium balloon, high from excitement, seeing such an awesome band in its prime in the flesh. The atmosphere did not die for a second, not even when it started to rain.

The concert was full of youthful, loud and rebellious energy from start to finish and I relished every second. For those of you who're unfamiliar with MCR, Gerard Way, the singer, is a man of quirky, demented and lovable energy. You'd know from the way he strutted on stage like a chicken during 'Teenagers' that he was a born entertainer, even if his live vocals may leave something to be desired. Mikey Way, his younger brother plays bass and plays it coolly. He's like that cute, social outcast you can't help but have a crush on, silently rocking out on the bass in the background. Then there's Frank Iero, the tattoo laden bad boy on rhythm guitar and Ray Toro, the amazing afro guy with crazy skills on lead guitar. Drummer Bob Bryar wasn't there that day, and he's not in the band anymore now.

For a first concert, it was more than I could hope for, though some imbecils yelled 'boo' after the encore and asked for their money back because MCR wouldn't come out to give us some more of that sick talent of theirs.

I went home tired and hoarse from screaming but deliriously contented after cleaning up. I believed I slept with a smile on my face. My Chemical Romance. For sure the best damn band ever.

Glamnation

October 14th 2010 was smack in the middle of my A-levels examination but nothing could've stopped me from going to watch the boy with legendary vocals perform in KL. Adam Mitchel Lambert and his glittery crew came to town and I am a big ass Glambert/Lambskank. I've religiously watched every song he's sung on American Idol repetitively and almost cried when I heard he lost the title to Kris Allen. Anyway, he was coming, and I made sure I would be part of his Glamnation tour.

I wanted to look the part too, so I carefully picked out the most shiny, pretty, black pieces from my wardrobe and did not hold back on eyeliner. This time round, I got there pretty early -4pm- with my friend Annie and when the gates to the arena opened, I dashed into the Rock Zone and although I wasn't standing in the absolute first row, I was in the third and I got to be about 5m from the Glam God.

Before Adam appeared, the crowd sang and danced along to the pop tunes they played and I recall clearly and very amusingly, every time an ad or video with Adam in it played on the screens at both sides of the stage, this tall Chinese guy beside me would yell 'Adaaaaaaaaaaaaam!' at the top of his lungs at a pitch so high I would only dream of reaching.

When Adam finally took to the stage, the stadium filled with more than 10,000 fans was filled with screams, squeals and crying. I thought I would have cried too, but when I laid eyes on him walking towards us on stage in his glitter eyeliner and dark get up, I was mesmerised by how beautiful he was. And I don't say that only because he's gay. He really looked seraphic, contrary to his getup and when he started singing in that signature thick, unabashed and commanding voice, the audience went berserk. Well, berserk-er.

I knew all the songs by heart except for a few covers he did and I had an amazing time even though I lost my friend in the sardine-packed crowd. Adam loves his band and dancers and introduced every single one in the middle of the concert. Each wore more lace and leather than the last, and everyone was awfully talented. And to think the PAS representatives outside the stadium tried to refuse us Glamberts that amazing moment in our lives on the grounds that he is homosexual and so somehow we all will follow suit. Because for some reason, they think being LGBT is contagious.

Anyway, another highlight of my life was seeing this gifted human being do what he was born to, even if that cost me my then iPhone :( Yeah it got stolen in the crowd.

MTV World Stage 2011

I already blogged about MTV World Stage -which was top notch- a few posts ago so here're just some pictures of the talented acts who visited Malaysia in 2011.

Rex!dove <3
My favourite people

 First Act
Pop Shuvit (Malaysia)

Second Act
Beast (Korea)

Third Act
Neon Trees (USA)

Finale
30 Seconds to Mars (USA)

SMtown Singapore 2012

There seems to be a trend in my taste of music as I aged. I still love MCR, Adam Lambert's still my favourite artiste, but I've ventured into a genre I never thought I would listen to. Voluntarily.

Korean pop.

It was like a resistant strain of bateria, constantly finding its way into my music preference system and for a long time, my music antibody kept it at bay, but before long, just a year ago, that defence would collapse and K-pop took over my musical innards very effortlessly. I've never been one to criticise people's taste in music and just really didn't pay attention to what didn't appeal to me. But on my own accord, I've drowned in the Hallyu wave without putting up much of a fight.

November 23rd 2012 - I attended my first k-pop concert; SMtown Singapore. SM Entertainment is a company to which most of the K-pop pioneer groups belong to, e.g. Super Junior, SHINee, Girls Generation, TVXQ and BoA. Many of whom my sisters, Jenny, Janet and I have come to obsess over, the most recent culprits being EXO, a group of 12 fresh young boys SM dished out early this year.

After securing our tickets, (I queued online at 12am just for them, which turned out to be miles away from the stage, sadly) Jenny, Janet and I were buzzing with thoughts on what to wear, what fanboard to make and how to make the experience most memorable.

Daddy and mummy would enjoy their time alone in the Lion City while we screamed ourselves hoarse at the concert on that Friday night. Daddy drove from KL but when we reached Singapore, it was pouring heavily; you couldn't see the buildings right next to our hotel through the sheets of rain. The concert was an outdoors one with an amazing view of the Singapore city skyline, Marina Bay Sands and Art Science Museum in the background and the concert was a 'rain or shine' event. We were pretty worried but prayed silently for fairer weather and quickly put on our outfits and makeup.

From left to right: Myself, Jenny and Janet in our best K-pop worthy outfits and makeup.
The gesture is that of EXO's greeting; 'We are one!'

Fortunately, the rain let up and we could get to our seats (literally the furthest from the stage T.T) which were wet. But we wouldn't let that get us down; no! We paid good money and travelled a good distance to support our favourite Korean artistes and we will be giving them our full support -even if it meant screaming like maniacs way at the back of the crowd, where no one really screams. And that was pretty much what happened.

Although we complained and were pretty upset about seeing our idols in the size of rice grains -the stage was THAT far away because the capacity of the arena was ridiculously huge-, we screamed and shouted when the acts started their energetic dancing to the loud infectious pop music and near impeccable vocals filled the air.

Naysayers may say what they like about the culture of K-pop; that they're not real artistes, they lipsync all the time, they're all plastics and fakes and of course, gay because of the makeup and dances etc. But if you could, without bias, watch them perform just one song live, you'll know how real their talent is. I'll bet moving the way they do on stage will already leave you panting, that is, if you can catch the moves in the first place, but doing that while hitting the right notes is another ballgame altogether. And let me tell you, the Koreans are not shy on range or vocal prowess either.

Most of these artistes can also play instruments and write songs even if their companies deprive them of the opportunity to do so publicly. And they do all this while looking pretty damn good; and really, why should the fact that they have gone through plastic surgery cloud your judgement on how talented they are?

Yes. So, SMtown concert. The stage was dangerously slippery after the rain but this was unknown to me till I looked for photos from the concert afterwards. And because I could barely see what happened on stage, I only found out that quite a few of the performers had slipped on stage -especially my bias from EXO-M, Lay, the lead dancer. He sustained some injuries from his fall and I felt especially upset. Here is an example of how SM lives up to its reputation of suppressing and not taking enough precautionary care of the artistes. Hope you recover quickly, Yixing <3

We remained passionate and loud throughout the almost 5 hour long concert -I started losing my voice already halfway through the show. Every act was deserving of applause and cheers and that's the least us fans could do for them in return.

The current group that is pulling at our heart strings is rookie group EXO. When a teaser video of theirs started playing on the big screens, the crowd went wild -Jenny who sat on my left made me temporarily deaf when Sehun's (her favourite member) picture came up with a scream at a pitch so high, bats must've heard it. If it was even possible, the screams got louder when they boys appeared on stage and the familiar Gregorian chanting from 'MAMA' began. Just like so many of the live videos I've watched on Youtube, the boys executed the dance routines effortlessly. Unfortunately, because of their newbie status, they only lip sync at SMtown concerts, but the fans lapped it all up. The one other song they performed was 'History'after their introduction and interaction with the crowd. Then EXO's time in the spotlight would be over until the finale.

Towards the end of the concert, before the finale which involves all of SM's artistes walking around on stage and putting on a show for the fans, the top five groups from SM performed their biggest hits in this order: f(x) - Electric Shock, SHINee - Sherlock, SNSD - the Boys, Super Junior - Sexy, Free and Single and TVXQ - Rising Sun.

Just as f(x) got into position one of the stages exposed to the elements, it started to drizzle. Fans started taking out umbrellas and ponchos as the into to 'Electric Shock' blared from the speakers. As I put my poncho on, I worried for the girls in f(x). Were they really going to do the whole song in the rain? Rainfall got heavier and it wasn't a drizzle anymore. The flashes of lighting and sonorous thunder filled the air but f(x) soldiered on. If anything, the rain gave f(x) more power in their performance. I remember seeing Luna, the petite but vocally very powerful lead singer, slicking back her long brown hair, her made up face wet but defiant against the rain as she hit the high notes spot on. The crowd, especially my sisters and myself screamed at the top of our lungs in support of the girls.

We especially love 'Sherlock' by SHINee and when they also took to a stage exposed to the rain, we were ready to give them auditory support at the expense of our voice boxes. At the end of the song their hair, face and clothes were drenched, much to the delight of the female fans which made up the majority of the audience.

For the top three prized groups, their performances were in the shelter; this could go 2 ways, one being that SM did not want to risk any more falls on the wet platforms or the other being the sunbaenims (seniors) get higher preference.

Then it was the finale. Miraculously, the rain stopped completely, allowing the artistes to bound cheerily onto the platforms to get closer to the fans. Balloons and fireworks completed the experience as the performers took their bows.

The young, multi-talented boys of EXO performing 'MAMA'
From left: Kai, Lay, not sure who's behind Lay, Kris, Sehun and Luhan

f(x) powerfully performed 'Electric Shock' in the rain
From left: Amber, Sulli, Krystal, Victoria and Luna



SHINee kicking up a storm
From left: Jonghyun, Onew, Taemin, Minho and Key

K-pop giants Super Junior in their full glory
There are too many to name and I can't tell who's who clearly heh

So far, all the concerts I've been to have been memorable and amazing, but there are many other musical greats I haven't seen live which I hope I get to in the future. I just missed another k-pop favourite of mine, Big Bang's Alive tour in Malaysia because the tickets were just snapped up so fast. Also, I don't know why I didn't take up my friends' offers to go watch Bruno Mars live in KL. Hopefully he comes back.

Anyway, this has been my recount of my experience with a few of my favourite artistes in the world :)
Thanks for reading !

Never Me by Jessie Lim (original song, acoustic)

My first original song upload :)

I Don't Wanna Know by Mario Winans (Acoustic Cover by Jessie Lim)

Fiction by B2ST - Cover by Jessie + Jenny Lim

A Rant : In the Defence of K-Pop + Other Artistes Who Have Been Subjected to Uncalled-For Trashing

As some of you may know, I have recently taken a liking to some of the fastest rising acts that hail from South Korea, and they are –say it with me- Big Bang, 2NE1 and B2ST to name a few. Talk to me about K-Pop a few months ago and you’d have been greeted by a smirk, as if I  knew better.

Honestly, I wasn’t always so accepting of their music which is pretty much all it is hyped up to be. There was a time when I -gulp- would not even cast them a second glance or listen. Why though? Why was it that before I even really knew what they were about, I had shut them out? Maybe it was the matching costumes which I found cringingly cliché, maybe it was the unfamiliar way they choreographed each move before a show, leaving no space for mistakes which is quite the opposite of the way western artistes –who I’m so used to- roll, maybe it was the unmistakable way their melodies sounded like each other’s. But funnily enough, now, I find their complementing outfits adorable –even when Seungri had a blue little cape in ‘Lollipop’-, I’m trying to learn their dances –B2ST’s are real b*tches even in slow motion- and I sing along to every catchy melody now –think ‘I Am the Best by 2NE1-.

Just a few days ago, I had the misfortune of coming across an article in the Star2 section of the Star newspaper titled ‘The K-Pop Cult’. Hoping that Big Bang or B2ST would be mentioned in the article, I proceeded to read it. I was not prepared for its contents. I should’ve seen it coming, with the line underneath the header reading ‘The Hallyu wave seems no more than clone-like stars, manufactured sounds and weepy fans’. But the two pictures illustrated by the article were deceiving, as were their captions –one was of K-Pop giants Super Junior and the other of the then five-membered TVXQ. The more of the article I read, the more I felt irked. I guess it’s safe to say that I’ve become big enough a K-Pop fan to have felt defensive of the genre.

Anyways, I strongly feel that the way in which the writer had described K-Pop was very much injected with prejudice and little knowledge, enough to set a permanently bad impression of the genre in the minds of those who have yet to experience the Hallyu wave themselves. Now, I believe that one has to keep one’s mind open when accepting something new and otherworldly; I’m not sure how the writer had first approached K-Pop but even if the experience was nothing to shout about for her, was it really necessary to write about it in such negative fashion? I imagine K-Pop fans everywhere utter a cry of unfairness after reading her article, as I had. But instead of just letting my emotions toil inside me, I’m spilling them out in words, hoping that it might just do K-Pop a little bit of justice.

The writer had called the K-Pop perpetrators out on a few issues and one of them was how they look. Sure she’d been right about the girls being figure-perfect and the boys lookin’ a little like their female counterparts but hey, if they can deliver in terms of vocals, stage presence and other qualities an artiste should possess, why should they get flak for what they look like? Besides, infatuation is not the case for real fans; we appreciate their music and the dedication they churn out for their work. Of course, looking good while doing so never hurt anybody.

Alright, when you live to be near the end of your adolescent years and have been living as a normal teen, you must’ve come across at least thousands of songs in your current lifetime. The radio, TV and internet have made that possible. Now, can you tell me honestly that songs in the same genre do not sound alike? Sure K-Pop songs generally have elements of electropop and hip-hop beats in it and melodies may sound similar at the first listen but the latter is also true for pretty much all other genres out there so why single K-Pop out? Just because you don’t understand the language and Korean songs sound like a bunch of sounds to you doesn’t mean you write a hater-like article about it for the eyes of the public. Wow, I will never let that go.

As for autotune, not all K-Pop groups use it and even if they do, it is for added effect, not to enhance their vocals. On top of that, where would T-Pain be if not for autotune at the beginning of his career?

I’m not really sure what goes on between the music companies and their starlets and if the exploiting bit is true. Yeah I’m aware that the stars are not as affluent as their western counterparts and they must be exhausted all the time especially if you think about how much they’d have to practice to get their shows perfect like they do. But after watching their documented band moments, you’ll realize these boys and girls are exactly like us –albeit better looking and more talented- when they’re together. They love, support, respect and look like they have a whole lot of fun when with each other, exploited or not.

Anti-fans. Is there a reason they should even exist? Yeah, their main goal in life is to tear down the image of the stars they hate and fuel the fire between themselves and the fans. Every time I see people writing negative comments about the artiste on the artiste’s video itself, I resist the urge to let them know that their idols would probably not commend such behavior. Just the other day an SNSD fan dissed Ke$ha and called her version of ‘Run Devil Run’ something I will not post here. The same fan added that Ke$ha’d better know that SNSD out-famouses her by miles too. I tsk-ed to myself, SNSD would surely not advocate this kind of behavior, even if it were in their favor.

Of course, K-Pop hasn’t been the only victim of trashing; I find a lot of the artistes I root for constantly subjected to literal forms of bashing. And why. Adam Lambert –notorious for the plain fact that he’s gay-, Taylor Momsen –alright she’s make-up leaves a lot to be desired and outfits leave little to the imagination but a good performer, nonetheless- and My Chemical Romance –more so in their Black Parade days- are a few that have been criticized for their music being too shallow and a lot of other blah. I just don’t get why people take the time to all-out hate them if they don’t fancy what they do. Sure, Justin Bieber has probably been the biggest victim and I’ll say I’m not a huge fan of what he does and how he does it either but you won’t see me writing about him in a literally sneering way or commenting on his videos negatively. If you ask me, anti-fans should just really be non-fans instead, and non-fans and fans should co-exist in the same environment.

I think what hurt the most was when the write kept referring to the Korean starlets as fabricants. Clones, literally. That’s not nice. That’s how the Korean pop culture is. Okay, you don’t find American boybands in matching outfits who dance in sync; but that’s the beauty of K-Pop. Not only do they do a good job with the music live, they serve as eye-candy too, all while making sure they don’t smudge their make-up. Haha. Dear writer of the article ‘The K-Pop Cult’ who I will not mention by name, you’ve hurt me and I imagine, many other K-Pop fans. I hope you give it a second chance and even then, if it still isn’t your cup of tea, please don’t write another article confirming your hate for them. Don’t be a jerk. I end my rant here, hoping that I’d been a bit of a saving grace for K-Pop.

V. I. <3