The Saddest Day

I had always thought I would grow old with Shinee. Even if they were not together making music or still a complete group, at least I will draw comfort knowing that they were still on this earth - eating delicious foods, traveling, working a different career, having girlfriends, getting married, starting a family and perhaps getting together with their bandmates to reminisce about old times. Never would I have thought that I would have to mourn the death of one of the members. Someone that was still at the peak of his life. What were the pressures and the amount of pain that he had to endure for him to end it? Jonghyun - I wish someone - anyone - could have helped you see hope.

Shinee was always my go-to for instant happiness. Their music has an incredible uplifting quality. Their voices in beautiful harmony and their precise dance moves executed to perfection made me want to work hard and strive - knowing that such excellence was possible.  They gave me so much joy - at the end of a hard day, I would catch up with Shinee. Listen to their music on the commute, find the latest news, spazz with fellow Shawols, watch and re-watch their concerts and variety show segments where their natural humor and chemistry was on full display.

How I loved them together as a group! Five different personalities that just worked so well together. It was the cohesion, the easy camaraderie and respect that resonated so deeply with me . When I saw them live in Shinee World V in Seoul, I thought my heart was going to burst with happiness. It was literally hurting - and at the same time, I felt guilty for feeling such incredible happiness at that moment when others in the world were suffering. It hurts all the more to know that while you were giving happiness to fans, you yourself could not find it.

I know I would never love another group as much as Shinee. I shall cherish, love and support the others as much as I can.  Jonghyun - your incredible voice and music will be missed. You did so well. Rest in peace.

Colors cafe in Osaka

Fun cafe in Osaka that does special kpop branded brunch and latte art. Pick your bias and they will custom accordingly!

First Impressions: Shinee 5* Kyocera Osaka Dome* Sept 23

It wasn't the most auspicious beginning. My pre-ordered merchandise seemed to have been lost in a Paypal maze. My ticket from the draw didn't seem that good - section I8, row 12, seat 4.  The hotel room was the tiniest shoebox room I have ever stayed in. But it all worked out!

I got a phone call 40 minutes later from the global package coordinator that she had found my merchandise. The hotel was located a stone's throw from Dotonbori so I was close to all the eateries, bars and duty-free shops I could ever want. And the seats turned out to be incredible - on the dome floor, in one of the central sections. When I turned around, there was no one in front of me! That meant I was front row, when looking at the "crossroads" where Shinee spent a fair amount of time roaming around.

And importantly, it was the most incredible concert - the graphics, moving stage with transparent floor, fire bursts, live band, whole troupe of dancers, playing card confetti, fireworks, synchronized fanlights, birthday song and cake for Key....

Highlights:

- I loved the opening. With Gentlemen starting, a laser effect 'cut a line" across the 3 screens and Shinee emerged as if coming through from a parallel dimension. They stood there on an elevated platform for a while as we soaked in their presence. I also loved how the show ended as they went back the same way - through the same opening in the middle of the screen, gradually fading into shadows - disappearing back into a different dimension from us mortals.

- Onew was sorely missed. I appreciated how they kept him in the graphics and VCRs; how they retained his "guide" voice in his singing parts (no one sang his part) and there were times they shone a spotlight on an empty spot as if to say this is the part where Onew would have done his dance solo. OT4 were energetic but they were so respectful of his place in the choreo - in many songs, they just left that spot empty. They only brought in a dancer for the choreos where it was really needed - Get the Treasure, Sherlock etc.

- That moving stage! Shaped like a spaceship/aeroplane wings, when the stage started to move and we realized it was going to "fly" over us, we went crazy! Plus, the stage floor was transparent so literally Shinee were on top of us or we were under Shinee?! When the choreo started for Tell Me Your Name, we went insane. Literally, we could not decide what to look at!? Do we look at them in person with our unique vantage point? Or do we look at the screen where they were dancing to the camera on the floor? Choices, choices...

- The graphics were beautiful! More refined than Tokyo, I was especially impressed with Picasso. Splashes of Jackson Pollock in color, line drawings of the member's faces being gradually filled in with color. The members were going all out in the choreo - it was one of those moments where all aspects of their performance from their dancing, music and the background visuals combined together for an artistic tour de force.

-  I also loved their London musical style set-up for Your Number and Married to the Music. Dancers were dressed in a variety of costumes, it was a burst of color and activity. Phone boxes, outside of a shop. The members took it in turns to woo their female dancer Eri, we all started chanting "Kim Ki Bum, Kim Ki Bum" just as Key was about to step on his chair and flip it during his solo dance.

- Let's talk about the fanlights! Honestly, I was not going to get one at first but was persuaded it would be a great experience. Also, there was no line at the merchandise stalls 20 mins before the concert. We scanned our lights with our seat tickets before the concert and our lights did incredible things during different songs! It produced a whole spectrum of colors I did not know existed - orange, pink, blue, purple...different effects were created by timed sequencing, including the "Happy Birthday" for Key. It's a little sad to know that my fan light will never produce those colors again...

Shinee World IV cosplayers!

- Kiddie Shinee for Lucifer! This was genius. After so many reiterations, how do you make Lucifer interesting!? It was such a great idea to find the "next gen" and have them do that iconic Lucifer dance. It was super cute to watch and played with the idea that Shinee are the seniors in an industry where younger and younger performers are coming up. But with songs like Lucifer, Shinee's reputation is assured in kpop canon and they can kindly mentor the newbies.

- So the extras for Key's birthday - it did not disappoint. The members teased that they had something special planned in the first talk segment. They wheeled out the cake, we sang the birthday song. Minho and Taemin kept switching the "26" candles to "62". The fanlights flashed HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEY in bright colors agains the sea of pearl aqua. Key looked teary-eyed at one point but then Minho started "fake crying" dramatically on his shoulder.

*DRAFT - I'm still pulling together my thoughts but wanted to share what I had for now..*

SMTown Special Stage - Hong Kong

Shinee back in Hong Kong after 3 months! The HK tourism board had partnered with SM Entertainment for a special concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 1997 handover. Tickets were expensive - HK$1580 for the best spots and HK$1380 for second-best. Original venue was an outdoor park but due to weather concerns (summer is notorious for torrential downpours, cyclones, 100% humidity), it was moved to the indoor Coliseum.

I dithered a bit about whether to attend - that is, I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the money to see Shinee perform only 5 songs. A lot of other acts were also due to appear - NCT, Luna, Exo, Red Velvet, D&E and that meant less Shinee-time. In the end, I decided I had no excuse not to go since it was in Hong Kong. I also had very fond memories of SMTown New York in 2011 which was my very first K-pop concert. SMTown in NYC totally exceeded my expectations - it was a 4.5 hour concert and although I was a Super Junior stan in those days (cough), Shinee totally stole the show. Green lasers, wire work and fire during Lucifer? Check. Massive Key neon sign in the audience? Check. Pink jacket and Key attitude during "My First Kiss"? Check. Clumsy Onew pizza boy during Kangta's song? Check. I mean they sang "Stand By Me"! They totally blew away their label mates.

6 years on...SMTown in Hong Kong showcased the new generation of SM artists and I didn't like it. The music from newer bands like NCT was chaotic EDM, jarring as opposed to melodious. EXO performed their newer songs, no crowd favorites such as Growl, Call Me Baby or Love Me Right. Red Velvet sounded very shrill.  D&E were really fun though - great stage presence and songs were party-pleasing and easy to sing along too. Perhaps it was the incredibly loud sound system that made my ears hurt during the louder tracks. Or maybe I am just showing my old age!

As I suspected, Shinee only performed 4.5 songs - a remix of 1 of 1 that blended into Replay, Sherlock, Everybody and View. Taemin performed a slower remix of Press Your Number and Jonghyun sang Deja Boo. There were no special stages nor collaborations and just a short speaking segment where they introduced themselves in Mandarin. Their time with us was so short. Indeed, the whole concert only lasted 2 hours! We joked that the HK tourism board couldn't afford the SM artists for any longer than that. When the concert abruptly finished, I don't think the crowd could quite believe it. There were screams for an encore but when the lights came on, we all knew it was over. There wasn't even the obligatory "SMTown" closing song when all the artists appear on stage...

Tokyo or Osaka dome?

Next on my bucket list - going to Tokyo Dome for a Shinee concert! With Onew's enlistment coming up next year, there may not be many more opportunities... So it was great to hear that Shinee will be performing Tokyo Dome on Sept 2/3 and Kyocera Dome in Osaka on Sept 23/24.

Tokyo Dome is the big kahuna - imagine squealing and swaying in motion with 55,000 Shawols and being part of that aqua green ocean of lights. Plus, I have a soft spot for Shinee's Japanese discography. Some of my favorites include Breaking News, Colors of the Season and Lucky Star which may not be sung anywhere else aside from their concerts in Japan.

I fully intended to go to Tokyo Dome via the SMTravel package. Unfortunately, the release of the travel packages came when I was on vacation in Scotland. Which meant I had to wake up at 3am in the morning to make the online purchase. In my blurry half-sleep state, I couldn't complete the transaction fast enough to get the Tokyo Dome package. Of course, if I was calm, logical and read the fine print carefully, I would have realized that many potential buyers went ahead and reserved a spot when the buying window opened, only to drop them 2 hours later as they could not finish the purchase via Paypal. I'm not sure everyone would have had the immediate means to drop US$800+ on the package. But of course, I panicked and the Tokyo Dome package seemed "unavailable" one hour after the window opened. So I went ahead and purchased the Osaka Dome package instead. Of course, a few days later, it seemed as if a few spaces were still available for Tokyo Dome.

Actually, when the dates came out, I did actually contemplate Osaka. Although I lived in Tokyo for 2 years and travelled around a bit, I actually never visited Osaka. I could make a weekend of it, get some shopping, eating and sightseeing done.  Plus, Sept 23 happens to be Key's birthday so it should be a bit special and add an extra "oomph" to the proceedings. So perhaps it was all meant to be. I've made my peace with it and can look forward to Shinee ~FIVE ~ at Kyocera Dome on Sept 23!

Shinee World V - second time round

I was at SW5 last night in Hong Kong and I can confirm OT5 was looking mighty fine!!! The concert was about 2.5 hours in total - definitely shorter than SW5 in Seoul. There were a few songs I definitely missed such as Chocolate (I missed the hip rolls in the choreography ), Lucky Star and Picasso. The venue capacity was less than Seoul - I would guess maybe 10,000 compared to Seoul's 30,000 at Olympic Gymnastics arena. 

The great thing about the Hong Kong concert though was that they had these standing areas along the stage - Block A and Block B. The seats were further away from the stage so I had taken the plunge and selected a Block B standing area ticket.  These standing areas gave you the ability to see everything on the main stage, albeit at a slight angle. You also get to see a close side view profile when Shinee walked down the "runway" or performed some of their songs in the smaller stage at the front. When that happens, you don't get the front view of the choreography but can appreciate the choreography from another angle. For example, during "Feel Good", I never appreciated how sensual the choreo was, all butts and legs in tight trousers....or maybe that was just where my eyes were!

There were only 200 tickets for Block B but it was actually a sizable area. So unless you wanted to be smushed right up at the front of the railing, you can hang around in the middle of the block; see perfectly well everything that was going on but dance and jump to your heart's content!! You can move around the block depending on where Shinee was - so of course, during the moving cart/ball toss segment during "So Amazing", you move away from the stage and to the corridor - hoping to get as close to Shinee as possible... 

The other thing is that the standing areas are great places to meet new Shawol friends and although I went by myself, I met, danced and screamed with Shawols from Australia, Japan and China last night! I'm so thankful that I could meet others that stan Shinee HARD and their level of commitment put me to shame. They fly around Asia attending ALL the concerts. What surprised me too was that some of these fans have only recently got into Shinee - maybe in the last 2 years. It's so encouraging to see Shinee are still winning new fans!

As this is my second time watching SW5, I was able to stay calmer and really absorb the fineness that was Shinee live on stage. It was the closest I have ever viewed Shinee - so I had to drink in all the visual beauty and capture the moments in my memory! 

Some observations to share:

- 1 of 1 had not been released when SW5 launched in Seoul and they just played a little music spoiler and bopped around. This time, they came out in the 1 of 1 suits and did the full song and choreo

- Key had some problems with his mic pack and he kept adjusting it in the opening segment so unfortunately, he couldn't dance too well to Hitchhiking, Married to the Music, Why So Serious etc. Luckily, they sorted this out before Juliette so he was able to do his dance solo to full effect. I noticed that Key conserves his energy and doesn't dance "full-on" at times so when he does give it his all, the contrast is more surprising and exciting! 

- Key also took off his "hard" white/black jacket last night and danced to Lucifer in just a sleeveless t-shirt and his gold trousers. Later during a talk segment, Jonghyun brought this up and said "Why did you do that?" Key said he was a bit uncomfortable and he would look cooler dancing without it! When you look at Key's arms, they were glistening with sweat so I can imagine it must have been so sticky with a leather jacket on..

- I loved Key's Gucci gingham suit which got burned by a lamp back-stage in LA! Although it was replaced by another Gucci suit, it wasn't quite as pretty.

- Onew had great energy last night and danced HARD to everything! Luckily this time, he wasn't so modest and did not zip up the jacket during Trigger all the way to the top. We could see some bare collarbone! I was probably only about a meter away from him during the ball toss which is the closest I have ever been to a Shinee member. I could see the white tips of his nails, his black shoes were a bit scuffed and his make-up was pretty thick! No wonder their faces look so flawless on stage!

- During the talk segments, they mostly spoke in Korean with a little Mandarin. It was all translated into Cantonese. They talked about the  individual projects they were working on i.e. Key's new drama Lookout which Minho recommended we watch, Hwarang for Minho, solo concert for Jonghyun, solo work for Taemin and the new drama for Onew. When Key and Minho were changing, the talk segment was just Onew, Taemin and Jonghyun and I guess Minho & Key took longer than usual, so they were running out of things to say. Jonghyun actually said "I wonder why Minho & Key are taking so long...maybe they are eating something. Yes, they sometimes do that..."

In summary, I have to say that once again, I was floored by Shinee and the concert was AH-MAZING. The work ethic, their easy camaraderie, effortless vocals and super-slick dance ability was in full display and I enjoyed every moment of it. 

Shinee World in Hong Kong - Buying the ticket

I was beyond excited when I heard Shinee World 5 was coming to Hong Kong! This was the concert I saw last year in Seoul but having another opportunity to see Shinee in my backyard was not to be missed. My first mission was to get the best tickets I could - which meant getting as close to the stage as possible. When the seating maps was released, I wavered back and forth between getting seated tickets close to the front or try the standing "mosh pit" for the first time. In the end, I figured that the seated tickets were much further away from the stage than any standing ticket. Plus, I had seen the concert before so if I got any limited views, it wouldn't be so much of an issue. 

In my haste to buy tickets, I even called the HK ticketing hotline one week too early! HAHA! It was not so much of a laughing matter though on the real 1st day of ticket release. Despite being on the website at 10am on the dot, the website froze. I kept refreshing and at one point, I got through to the seat selection page - only to have the payment page freeze on me. Calling the hotline was not successful either and all I got was the busy tone. Eventually, about 40 mins past 10, I got through to the hotline holding message and was eventually able to get a ticket in one of the standing areas - by the side of the stage, as opposed to being in the front. It was good enough for me and I happily put down HK$1500 for the privilege of seeing Shinee again.