The promotions aren't concerts though; they're tapings for music performance shows. When a Korean artist/group has a new single, they perform it on these music countdown type shows for a while. The interesting thing is, you don't have to pay to attend the taping...you just have to be a REALLY devoted fan. Essentially, it's first come, first served, and the fans run everything. The day of the taping, you have to go to the venue with the artist's newest album and find the fan who got there first. This person is in charge and will put your name on a list. They only allow a certain number of people in, so if you get there early enough, you're in.
The show I wanted to see (Mnet Countdown) was the day after the album released. I was a little worried that they'd be sold out, but there were plenty.
I painted my nails the night before. It says 소녀시대, which is Girls' Generation in Korean.
The day of the show, I got to the venue around 5:30am, which seems unnecessarily early but I knew it wouldn't be. It took me a while to figure out what to do. I met three people from Finland (Sarah, Freddie, and...I can't remember the other guy's name). Eventually we figured out (with the help of some Korean girls) that the first fan for Girls' Generation had posted a sign on a lamp post. It said to take a picture next to the sign, text it to him, and he would tell us what numbers we were on the list.
As I feared, we ended up being numbers 113-116. Girls' Generation were actually performing two songs that day: "Dancing Queen", which they had recorded in 2008 but never released, and "I Got a Boy", which was brand new. We were told by another girl that the first 50 people would get to see "I Got a Boy" and the first 150 would see "Dancing Queen". We were pretty bummed because we really wanted to see "I Got a Boy" but we also just glad to be able to see them at all.
The text said to meet outside at noon, so we sat around waiting for a while. Finally, we went outside and the first fan was there calling out names and lining us up. They checked to see that we had the album and then wrote numbers on our wrists. I guess the numbers were meant to tell which performances you could see/what order you would be allowed in. I think the people farther ahead of us were told a different meeting time but they told the four of us to meet back again at 2.
The guy who's name I can't remember went back to their hostel for a bit to rest and Sarah, Freddie and I just waited around again. Probably about an hour later, we were approached by another fan who said something along the lines of "Hey they're doing performances up there now if you want to try to go check it out." We decided we might as well give it a try, so we took the elevator (Freddie is in a wheelchair) up to the next floor. Here's where the miracle starts. Everyone was lined up like sitting on the floor and then the line continued up the stairs. Well, obviously, we couldn't take Freddie up the stairs, so the employees just pointed like off to the side and had us wait there. They also gave us the fanchant (small sheet of paper with the lyrics, along with things you're supposed to yell in bold). Then, when they were ready to start the performances again, they opened the door, pointed to us, and said "first". It was the absolute best possible scenario. We weren't even supposed to see that performance, and we got to be right up against the ropes. When I walked in, I was stunned. The girls were just hanging out on the stage right in front of us. They're much smaller in person and even more beautiful. We saw them perform the full song twice and then they did it once like from the middle. Between performances, they'd wave to us and talk a little. It was better than an actual concert in some ways-much more intimate.
When we walked out, we discovered that No-Name guy had also somehow made it in, although he was toward the back. Then it was time to wait again, until 2. This time, Sarah and I actually did end up having to line up on the stairs. No Name guy made a fuss about pushing the wheelchair this time because he thought he'd be able to go in first that way. In my opinion, it was kind of a shitty way to act. Anyway, the setup for "Dancing Queen" was a little different. The fans were able to get closer to the stage (for "I Got a Boy" there were cameras separating us). They performed the song twice and the second time, they dropped confetti. (Side note- because of the different set up, Freddie and No-Name guy actually ended up going in last, behind the camera equipment. I felt bad for Freddie but serves No-Name right for trying to use his friend's disability to his own advantage.)
So, in the end, it was pretty much a day-long ordeal but it was 100% worth it!
Here are the performances I saw. The way they edited it, "Dancing Queen" is first.
Artist: Girls' Generation
Songs: "Dancing Queen" and "I Got a Boy"
Album: I Got a Boy
Released: January 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment