BAP Concert: Live on Earth London 2014 #LOE2014

Hi Guys!

A fortnight ago I went to my third KPOP concert :)

BAP (Best Absolute Perfect) came to London and wowed at the Brixton Academy. 

I didn't get many pictures at all but was just enjoying it in real time.

I had a fantastic night. The boys were just amazing. Their stage was full of energy and love and the crowd were just out of their minds excited.

The atmosphere was electric.

It was pricey (cheapest seats were £89) but it was worth every penny. Kpop groups/artists don't come to the UK too often so I think that one concert once a year is ok. Its so nice to be in a space full of people who share the same passion as you. And its all a bit surreal too but in the best way possible.

I do feel really emotional going to these concerts. Who would have thought that I would ever go to 3 concerts in 3 different locations?! My weird kpop obsession has given me joy and a passion which helps me to conquer my fears and for that I'll always be grateful 

Concert: Jay Park in London

Hi Guys!

Not sure if I mentioned this but one of my favourite Kpop singers came to London and I'm so happy I got to go and see him last week :) If you've been a reader of my blog or know me IRL then you know what a big deal this was for me - and I can't beleive that in the last year I have now gone to two concerts (well, two concerts in my whole life lol).

The concert took place last Saturday 21/9/2013 in the Hammersmith Apollo. In total with admin and card fees my ticket cost me £35. I'll compare value for money with the Big Bang concert in a bit. 

The show started at 8pm with a rookie group called Victor. Until the Jay Park concert was announced I had never heard of Victor but it took about 30 seconds of them on stage for me to realise that I really liked them. They sang and danced well - it was fun. I was worried that I'd hate the opening act or it would destroy my experience but I honetly could have watched Victor for the entire show! I think going to a concert and especially a kpop concert you just have to get into the swing of things. You can't go to one of these things and complain about it being cheesy or hating on the funky outfits. If you're too cool for a bit of cheese, go watch Kanye. 

And then........Jay Park woo hoo

He opened with the youtube performance that got him back into the limelight, BOB's Nothin' on You  English/Korean mix. He performed Star my favourite song, which I was really happy about because it's quite an old song and I was worried that he was too cool for it but he did it and my heart was doing backflips throughout :) Jay Park also did a few backflips as would be expected. He didn't sing Welcome so there weren't as many boby rolls as I would have wanted - but he did take his top off so all in all I was happy ;)

He did a lot of his Cha Cha Malone collabs and I surprised myself and N (my date for the night cos A couldn't make it) by knowing quite a bit of the lyrics. I really like his rapping stuff and listening to him live in that venue you can't but help to admire his pure skill.

Best part of the night for me was Star and just being able to experience it all live. Now I know what people mean about loving live performances. He did dance a bit and there were a random bunchof backing dancers but all in all the performance was just a dude on a stage with a  microphone. And I thought he was amazing. I only have one other concert to compare it to and they were like chalkand cheese so I'll just say the concerts I have been to are amazing in their own ways.

The thing that I can compare though is value for money. Prior to the tickets going on sale I looked at the Apollo and sussed out where I wanted to sit - when the ticket prices were released the seats I had my eyes on were £88!!! So I did a quick reassessment and decided the £35 seats were more then good enough (and they were - loved my seat so much lol). So now you're thinking, hhhmmm  8-10pm , same period as Big Bang (paid £71) and only £35 - bargain - well, you're sadly wrong.

With Big Bang, they came on at 8pm, no opening act, no official breaks, no lull in the performance (yeah they did a bit of fan service chat but that is what we're paying for too), a few encores and they left at 10pm. With Jay Park, the opening act performed 8-8.30 and then there was a half an hour break, Jay came on stage at 9pm and left the stage by 9:48. So I paid £35 for 48 mins of a bit of singing, a bit of wiggling around and some rapping. In my mind, Big Bang was definitely more worth it in terms of 'bang' for your buck ;)

But anyway, I'm really happy I went, and I guess i can tick this off my bucket list twice now lol

Kpop Challenge

Hello and a Happy Songkran (Thai new year) to you :)

Here with my answers to one of the many Kpop Challenges floating around the Internet. It's suppose to be one of those 15 day tags but I'm going to try and keep it shortish in one post.

I don't imagine I have any kpop fangirl readers but if you're interested in checking out the people/groups/songs google/YouTube are your best friends :)

Please remember that these answers are based on my very limited knowledge of kpop!

1. What got you into kpop? And 2. Your first kpop song?

This very blog charts day 1 of my kpop journey. The MV for Big Bang and 2ne1's Lollipop was on youtube's most watched homepage. I saw yellow people and bright colours and clicked on it and bam! I was addicted. Well, not quite. In the recommended videos was another MV, Taeyang's Where U at? I watched that and I was addicted. Loved the song and loved the singer. That discovery was also excitedly shared on this blog about 2-3 years ago! I got a bit obsessed with Taeyang but then I lost interest.....for a while...

3. Fav Kpop male group

Big Bang. Love that they're a bit less cookie cutter than the other kpop boybands. Love their sound and of course I love Taeyang!

4. Fav kpop female group

I'm going to have to say 2ne1, just cos I'm not really a major fan of any girl group. 2ne1 are with the same company as big bang and are often thought of as the girl version of big bang.

5. Fav kpop solo artist

Ok this challenge is going to lack variety but stick with what you love right?! Lol When Taeyang is not jiggling around with big bang he also does solo stuff and I love him as a solo artist. He's right up my street musically (and the toplessness) with his r'n'b swag. Yeah I said swag.

6. Top 5 favourite Kpop songs

In no particular order-
Taeyang - where u at
Jay Park - Star
Jay Park - Appetizer
Big bang - bad boy
Nu'est - Hello

[Edit: I can't believe I forgot, ultimate fav kpop song is SHINee's Ring Ding Ding!!! Epically embarrassing but I luuuurve it!]

7. Top 5 favourite kpop music videos

In no particular order:

Taeyang - where u at and prayer
G Dragon - one of a kind
B.A.P - one shot
GLAM - I like that

For me, a great vid needs to have at least one of the following: beautiful people; naked people; amazing styling; bright colours (no flashing is preferable) or a wicked dance scene.

8. Catchiest kpop song

Erm, Psy's Gamgnam style?! Lol Big Bang's fantastic baby and SHINee's ring ding dong.

9. Ultimate male bias

Taeyang. His only flaw is his height. And he's taller than me so that's fine! Ok he's a bit young but they're all babies in kpop land! He's talented and handsome and he doesn't seem like a douche.

10. Ultimate female bias

Ooooooooo. Hhhhhhmmmmm I guess Park Bom from 2ne1. I find her kinda fascinating. And she's shipped with my 2nd bigbang bias TOP so I was crazily obsessed for a while. Her plastic face and long legs are just wow. And whenever I'm tempted to add an extra shovel of eye make up I think of her. And she can sing.

11. Best Male Dancer

Taeyang. I swear to god! When I went to the big bang concert with my friend who knows absolutely nothing about kpop she chose him as her bias and now refers to him as 'the little dancer'. Boy can move. And apart from gyrating he can actually properly dance.

12. Best female dancer

I don't know! I've seen a lot of good dancers but don't know their names. The girls from SNSD are really good dancers in my opinion but I can't pick one. And their choreography is always really good so YouTube SNSD MV and you won't be disappointed.

13. Best Male vocalist.

Now this is a hard one. Because there
are many great vocalists. I think the level of talent in kpop shocked me when I started getting into it. They are not just a bunch of pretty boys. And even the cheesy novelty groups are...ok. Anyway! Erm...Taeyang! Lol I really like his voice. He is not the best vocalist for sure, but he's my best vocalist. Aaaaaw :) lol listen to his English covers of please don't judge me, and I miss you.

14. Best female vocalist

One month ago I would have struggled. But without a doubt the best female vocalist is Lee Hi. She's only 16 but her voice is amazing. And shocking. Does not sound like a voice like that could come out of someone so young, or from a kpop idol! Listen to Special, or to her cover of pussycat dolls Sway. Breath taking.

15. Best male rapper

Ooooh. I like a lot of rappers. What do we base this on? I can't pick one so I'm going to name a few. Sorry for cheating! TOP is a good rapper (mainly because of his sexy voice) but he definitely isn't the best, especially these days since he spends more time posing than rapping. G Dragon? Love his flow and his words. Bang and Zelo from B.A.P (listen to warrior) - they are newer versions of GD&TOP (listen to knock out). And i think a lot of people will be like wtf?! But I really
like Jay Park. Listen to Appetizer and tell me he can't rap.

16. Best female rapper

Obvious choice - CL from 2ne1. Tbh I'm not blown away when I hear her rap but I respect that she is actually a rapper and she is good no doubt.

17. Best Male leader

G Dragon. Despite not being the oldest member of the group (big bang) and despite his scandals I think he an inhuman level of skill, passion and drive. G by name G by nature!

18. Best female leader.

I'll be honest, don't know and don't care. I think it's harder to lead a girl group cos it's just take off your clothes and wiggle. There's not much room to prove yourself tbh. Sorry girl power!