Multi-act
concerts serve many purposes for K-pop lovers. They help introduce
rookie acts to the crowd and allow slightly established acts to hold
mini-concerts without needing too much of a back catalogue. To cap it
all off, the event will always be highlighted by a really big name, thus
helping to ensure the crowds and that the event would be worth
watching.
A good example of the above
would have to be the “Boyz Nite Out” mini-concert held in Singapore.
For me, it was a good chance to get acquainted with 7942, check out B1A4 and Teen Top in a live setting, and appreciate a SHINee live performance again. That 
Jay Park
was also in certainly did not hurt. Putting aside slightly lacking
attendance (there were distinct empty sections in the stadium) and a
hopelessly boomy sound system, here were my takes on the performances.
Jay Park
was also in certainly did not hurt. Putting aside slightly lacking
attendance (there were distinct empty sections in the stadium) and a
hopelessly boomy sound system, here were my takes on the performances.
Teen
Top started off the night with their latest single To You, before
moving on to a few interactions with the crowd, not going much beyond
the usual “I Love Yous” and “Singapore is really nice” statements. They
however did manage to excite the crowd by the time they got to their
more popular songs like “No More Perfume On You” (which they billed as
their sexy song) and “Crazy,” in which they moved around the stage to
move closer to fans. Despite that, they still came across as about
average, partly due to their group dynamic, where it always appeared Niel was dominating proceedings.
For
fun factor though, B1A4 definitely turned things up a notch, beginning
with that guilty pleasure of mine, “Beautiful Target,” before moving on
to “Baby I’m Sorry,” which they did not need to apologise for, and
completing their first half with their ballad “Only Learned The Bad
Things.” The highlight of their appearance though, was a special
birthday celebration for CNU, where 
he crowd sang a birthday song for him, with his fan club preparing him a self-made scrapbook with quotes and photos.
he crowd sang a birthday song for him, with his fan club preparing him a self-made scrapbook with quotes and photos.
Visibly
touched, CNU then proceeded to thank the crowds for their gesture, and
made a few wishes, including to marry a Singaporean as well as for
lasting fan support. As corny as the lines were, they did get the crowds
cheering again, before they ended on a high note with their newest song
“Baby Good Night,” as well as the old favourite “OK Go,” complete with
whoops and cheers to pump up the crowd. Then as a final flourish, as
they left the stage, they sang a little ditty to express their love for
the crowd.
I would admit to not having heard much of 7942, and the
crowd probably had not either, but still it was very nice of them to
show their support for them. Dressed in simpler shirt-trouser outfits,
they gave off more of a ballad-esque, 2AM feel, and certainly did the
part with their debut song “I’ll Be Famous,” as well as a drama OST
called (the) “More I See You.” Being new though, they struggled a
little with fan interactions, not saying much beyond being happy to 
have Singapore as their first ever foreign stop.
have Singapore as their first ever foreign stop.
To
their credit though, they did try to show a versatile approach to
singing, as well as overcome the issue of having a limited back
catalogue, with a medley of ballads and up tempo tracks. The medley also
served as a nice opportunity for them to move about the stage and
increase fan interactions, given how some of the songs were recognisable
hits from SG Wannabe and Kim Tae Woo.
Once the event passed its
mid-point though, it was when the bigger acts began coming out, with Jay
Park performing his latest hit “Know Your Name” right off the bat,
complete with his crew of back up dancers, before acknowledging the
crowd and talking about his recent activities. He then followed up with
another song off the same album, “Got Your Back.”
Jay Park was one
of the better acts at fan interactions, and coupled with his fluent
English, he certainly did well to work up the crowd further. From witty
introductions to his songs (a good example would be “I traveled a lot
looking for Beautiful Girls”) to
actively moving toward the front of the stage and posing for fans, there was not much he did not do to please concert-goers.
actively moving toward the front of the stage and posing for fans, there was not much he did not do to please concert-goers.
The
highlight was probably the later parts, where he performed a few songs
off his English mixtape. Despite my reservations about the lyrical quality of the mixtape, and yes he did self-censor some of the more explicit bits, his final performance of BODY2BODY
was certainly interesting to watch, given how the song played to his
strengths and let him indulge in a bit more fan service, with him taking
off his t-shirt and giving fans some eye-candy to check out.
The
last act, and undoubtedly the one most had been waiting for, was SHINee,
and they certainly wasted little time in giving the fans what they
wanted, launching straight into a medley of fan favourites including
“Replay,” “Ring Ding Dong” and “Lucifer.” Not only were they able to get
a quick (and resounding) response, the fan favourites also showed off
their strong showmanship nicely, with them executing the complicated
choreography pretty well and making the best out of the poor sound
system.
They then took a short pause to acknowledge the crowd and reminisced about their own concert held in the same, as well as 
explain Minho’s
absence from the event (other commitments was the reason given), before
an interlude which helped introduce their newer, more electronic sounds
from their latest album, Sherlock. And then as a swansong for the
night, they performed two singles off that album, the title track and
“Stranger.”
explain Minho’s
absence from the event (other commitments was the reason given), before
an interlude which helped introduce their newer, more electronic sounds
from their latest album, Sherlock. And then as a swansong for the
night, they performed two singles off that album, the title track and
“Stranger.”
The event then rounded off to a very low key ending,
with every performer called back to the stage to say a final round of
thanks and acknowledgement to the crowd.
Summing up, despite the
event being marred by weak attendance (there definitely could not have
been more than two thousand people in the crowd) and a sound system that
did few performers justice, with them being forced to sing above the
backing track, I did come out of the event with some positive
impressions. There were enjoyable acts at the end of the day, and there
too were those that impressed in spite of the conditions.
(Launch Entertainment)
