cyworld's blog

(from KoreaHerald)

Jamsil Indoor Stadium was all aglow as the top artists of East Asia came together for the MTV Buzz Asia Concert, turning the event into one of the hottest parties ever.

The concert was organized by MTV Korea and the MP3 company iRiver, both to promote the "Korean Wave" in Asia and to jump-start unifying the world of Asian music.

Fans had been disappointed when a planned joint performance by Korea and Japan's top divas BoA and Amuro Namie, respectrively, failed to materialize with BoA canceling her appearance a few weeks earlier. However, the concert still turned out to be an enormous gift, packed with something for everyone.

 

 

Korea's Shinhwa, Jaurim and jtL; Japan's Amuro Namie and AI; and Taiwan's Vanness Wu, MACHI and Wang Lee Hom performed for more than 15,000 people, including 2,000 fans who flew to Korea from Japan and Taiwan to see their idols.

Middle-school student Ha Song-hee said she stood in line for six hours to get her place right in front of the stage. "I'm so glad that I will be able to see Shinhwa up close. Not to mention all the other famous singers from other countries," she exclaimed. "I'm so excited that I could just burst!"

The concert began with the powerful voice of Kim Yoon-a, lead singer of Korea's fusion-rock band Jaurim.

Kim had been working on her own promoting her solo album for the last year and a half, giving concerts in Tokyo. Although the members of Jaurim reunited for the first time in many days, according to Kim, the group was certainly in top form.

When Jaurim performed "Hey Hey Hey" the song that launched the group to stardom in Korea, the crowd erupted.

As Taiwan's No. 1 hip hop dance group MACHI and the beloved icon Vanness Wu, a member of F4, gave a joint performance, the cheers of Taiwan fans who were seated at the front left of the stadium were quickly joined by loud cheers from Koreans.

MACHI members filled the stage with powerful dances while shouting "Dae-han-min-guk," arousing a heated crowd response. The whole Korean nation resonated with that famous chant when cheering on the Korean soccer team during the 2002 World Cup.

Fans' bodies swayed as one when Vanness Wu and Jay Chung, a member of Korean R&B vocal group Solid and also the producer of MACHI, came together and sang, "Holding the Last of This Night."

"I cannot believe that I got the chance to see Vanness this close up. I don't think I will be able to sleep for nights," said a woman in her 20s who introduced herself as a big fan of F4 and Vanness Wu.

Fans swirled ballons of orange and white when two of Korea's most popular male vocal groups, Shinhwa and jtL, performed. The orange balloons stood for Shinhwa fans and the white for jtL. Shinhwa gave one of its best performances.

"Shortly after this concert, our new album will be released. We will use this concert as a starting point for promoting our album to the whole of Asia," Shin Hae-sung, Shinhwa's lead vocalist, had said.

When jtL sprang onto the stage, a huge dragon floated out from the right side. Fans from Korea, Taiwan and Japan all sang along to "Another Day," jtL's debut song.

jtL, who said they were very flattered to be on stage with all the other top Asian artists, definitely did their best to fill the void left by the absence of BoA and Dongbangshingi, also known as Tong Vfang Xien Qi, who had cancelled.

The stadium's half-roof was almost blown off by the fans' response when Japan's sweetheart Amuro Namie adorned the stage. The doll-like diva seduced the crowd in a slinky miniskirt, showing off her beautiful figure.

Amuro said she had been moved by the overwhelming response of Korean fans at her May concert in Korea. To show her gratitude, she sang "All for You," the title song of her new album, for the first time at the Buzz Asia Concert. The album was released simultaneously in Japan and Korea.

"Because of my self-consciousness, I wasn't able to fully enjoy myself when I performed with the top artists from other countries in the past. But this time I intend to have a blast," she told an earlier news conference.

True to her words, Amuro and the fans became one as she filled the stadium with a breath-taking performance.

AI, another Japanese diva who debuted last year, left the crowd gaping in amazement at her striking performance. She said she was overcome with happiness to be performing outside of Japan for the first time. The neophyte diva sang everything from hip hop to rap music to R&B, and won Koreans' hearts with her stage manner as well. Before singing "My Friend," she shouted "This is for you guys, my chingu!" using the Korean word for friend.

Taiwan's young prince Wang Lee Hom brought out an electronic violin as his hidden tool. The versatile and talented artist, who is famous for the wide range of instruments he plays, filled the stadium with melodious music, both vocal and instrumental.

HK Choi, general manager of MTV Korea, had hoped the concert would work as a springboard to unify the Asian music market. "Artists should perform targeting the whole Asian market, not just the markets of their home grounds. We pursue that and I hope everyone will follow our lead," he said.

The Buzz Asia Concert showed that that market is indeed being unified, with stars connecting with many Asian fans outside their homelands.

By Shin Hae-in

2004.09.04