As someone who's new to the world of K-pop, I walked into Seventeen's concert at the Singapore National Stadium on Saturday (Jan 25) with an open mind but, admittedly, little knowledge of what to expect.
My only other K-pop experience was Blackpink's show in May 2023, so I was curious to see how the popular boy band's style and energy would compare.
Expectations were certainly high. After all, these idols are known to produce their own music and for their performance powerhouses and fun audience engagement.
What's more, the group is also the first-ever K-pop band to perform on the iconic Pyramid Stage at the renowned Glastonbury Festival in England last year, and they were recently named UNESCO’s first-ever Goodwill Ambassador For Youth.
(Photo: Lucy Chia)
For some Singapore and regional Carats (the fandom's name is inspired by Seventeen's debut EP, Shining Diamonds) who made their way to the show, their three-year wait finally came to an end when the stars took to the stage on Saturday.
For the rest of the fans, that magic moment will take place on Sunday as the group will perform its second show then.
The two concerts in Singapore are part of the band's fourth world tour, Seventeen Right Here World Tour, which also includes regional stops in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
As the audience caught a glimpse of the 13 members slowly appearing during the group's grand entrance, cheers erupted among the excited fans – proving that the wait was definitely worthwhile.
With their energetic, synchronised performances, the 13-man band sent ripples of Kallang waves – and waves of excitement – in a sea of Carats.
But wait, shouldn't there be 17 members because of the group's name? Not at all. The group's moniker is actually derived from adding up "13" (the number of members) and "3" (the group is divided into three sub-units consisting of hip-hop, performance and vocal) and "1" (as in one cohesive group).
(Photo: Lucy Chia)
The concert was a visual feast with the night's stage production, which included multiple confetti drops from the ceiling and pyrotechnics illuminating the stadium. The group also surprised fans when the platform they were on circled around the stadium for closer interactions.
Despite some concert-goers (myself included) not truly understanding the words to the songs, the idols' contagious energy spread throughout the crowd, especially during hits such as Darl+ing and Adore U. The members' charismatic banter more than made up for the language barrier.
I relied largely on the crowd's reaction when the idols spoke, so I felt quite lost in translation when the fans' response was delayed. But it was still a good experience as the members dabbled in Singlish to fire up the audience.
DK brought the house down when he said, "Thank you for filling up such a large concert hall. Love you lah! When I first came to Singapore, I was shioked when I tasted chilli crab, it was very delicious. It was so shocking."
The crowd was more than ready to get fierce with Hoshi's signature paw wave and self-coined term horangehae (it means "I tiger you”) when he asked, "Singapore, are you ready?".
(Photo: Live Nation)
A newbie Carat I spoke with, Elizabeth, enjoyed these types of fan chants and gestures like “17 right here”, while Sahed, a devoted fan, loved the entire performance, especially the carts.
Momo, a Japanese fan of four years, enjoyed the entire performance and even attended their previous concert in Singapore in 2022.
Mother-daughter duo, Rina and Suliana, found this “very wholesome” concert to be much better with a bigger venue and more engagement with the moving carts.
So, did Seventeen surpass my expectations for my second-ever K-pop concert experience? Despite K-pop not being something that I'm familiar with, it was definitely a memorable evening.
The Right Here concerts will probably continue to spark joy, and although I can't consider myself a full-fledged Carat yet, the concert was definitely Very Nice.
(Photo: Lucy Chia)
Continue reading...
My only other K-pop experience was Blackpink's show in May 2023, so I was curious to see how the popular boy band's style and energy would compare.
Expectations were certainly high. After all, these idols are known to produce their own music and for their performance powerhouses and fun audience engagement.
What's more, the group is also the first-ever K-pop band to perform on the iconic Pyramid Stage at the renowned Glastonbury Festival in England last year, and they were recently named UNESCO’s first-ever Goodwill Ambassador For Youth.
(Photo: Lucy Chia)
FANS SHONE BRIGHT
For some Singapore and regional Carats (the fandom's name is inspired by Seventeen's debut EP, Shining Diamonds) who made their way to the show, their three-year wait finally came to an end when the stars took to the stage on Saturday.
For the rest of the fans, that magic moment will take place on Sunday as the group will perform its second show then.
The two concerts in Singapore are part of the band's fourth world tour, Seventeen Right Here World Tour, which also includes regional stops in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
As the audience caught a glimpse of the 13 members slowly appearing during the group's grand entrance, cheers erupted among the excited fans – proving that the wait was definitely worthwhile.
With their energetic, synchronised performances, the 13-man band sent ripples of Kallang waves – and waves of excitement – in a sea of Carats.
But wait, shouldn't there be 17 members because of the group's name? Not at all. The group's moniker is actually derived from adding up "13" (the number of members) and "3" (the group is divided into three sub-units consisting of hip-hop, performance and vocal) and "1" (as in one cohesive group).
(Photo: Lucy Chia)
"I TIGER YOU"
The concert was a visual feast with the night's stage production, which included multiple confetti drops from the ceiling and pyrotechnics illuminating the stadium. The group also surprised fans when the platform they were on circled around the stadium for closer interactions.
Despite some concert-goers (myself included) not truly understanding the words to the songs, the idols' contagious energy spread throughout the crowd, especially during hits such as Darl+ing and Adore U. The members' charismatic banter more than made up for the language barrier.
I relied largely on the crowd's reaction when the idols spoke, so I felt quite lost in translation when the fans' response was delayed. But it was still a good experience as the members dabbled in Singlish to fire up the audience.
DK brought the house down when he said, "Thank you for filling up such a large concert hall. Love you lah! When I first came to Singapore, I was shioked when I tasted chilli crab, it was very delicious. It was so shocking."
The crowd was more than ready to get fierce with Hoshi's signature paw wave and self-coined term horangehae (it means "I tiger you”) when he asked, "Singapore, are you ready?".
(Photo: Live Nation)
FANS' REACTIONS
A newbie Carat I spoke with, Elizabeth, enjoyed these types of fan chants and gestures like “17 right here”, while Sahed, a devoted fan, loved the entire performance, especially the carts.
Momo, a Japanese fan of four years, enjoyed the entire performance and even attended their previous concert in Singapore in 2022.
Mother-daughter duo, Rina and Suliana, found this “very wholesome” concert to be much better with a bigger venue and more engagement with the moving carts.
So, did Seventeen surpass my expectations for my second-ever K-pop concert experience? Despite K-pop not being something that I'm familiar with, it was definitely a memorable evening.
The Right Here concerts will probably continue to spark joy, and although I can't consider myself a full-fledged Carat yet, the concert was definitely Very Nice.
(Photo: Lucy Chia)
Continue reading...