everyday that i loved you ♥ [sjm in putrajaya ; 110528]
(disclaimer: all fancams and images do not belong to me.) the only decent fancams i got from any of them were henry's solo and destiny, omg. ;________; i didn't snap pictures either because i was too busy screaming and whatnot. my apologies! /bows deeply ;;;;
(all credit is in the pictures & videos themselves. links to fancams are attached to the performance titles. drag & drop the pictures into a new tab to view them full-size. :>)
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So I've been really, really busy with school for the past couple of months because of school, then there was midterms and I was stressed out for the most part of March, April and May because of it. ;o; I'm finally on break for two weeks, but I still have some assignments due after break is over. I was really just expecting a boring holiday where I'll do my schoolwork and flail about fandom and finally just get back to writing, but then a friend gave me a call and she was spazzing so hard it took me a while to figure out what she was really saying. *v* And it turns out SJM was having a free concert in Malaysia in conjunction of our annual Youth & Sports Day (Hari Belia & Sukan)?
SJM.
Super Junior-M.
SUPER JUNIOR-M. ;_____________;
I admit that throughout these past months, I've been somewhat neglecting? it really isn't as bad as it sounds; i wasn't NEGLECTING them per se, just been paying less attention to them? ;; these lovely boys; I got their album and I replayed their new music video time and time again, but I didn't keep up with their promotional activities and more or less just watching Golden Stage & Yu Le Bai Fen Bai, out of all their shows. ;o;
But there was no way on earth I would be missing this for anything, and I think that was more or less my motivation to study during midterms. ;w; My mom had set the condition that my results had to be really good to even have her consider letting me go, but thankfully they were really happy with my results, and so we got packing and headed south to the capital for the free concert! *u* I might not talk about them a lot, but these boys have their own special places in my heart (especially Zhou Mi and Henry because all the hate they got from some completely direspectful people was so undeserved -o-), and now that I've got a sparkling chance to go there and support them, I wouldn't miss it for the world. ♥
I was still a bit nervous around the week before the event, because it seemed so unreal and whatnot - free, public, etc.? ;o; I mean, there was always this nagging part of my brain that kept asking what if it was a hoax, and although I tried not to think about it, it was always there! My qualms were all pretty much washed away though, when the official organizers uploaded an adorable promo video of the boys saying they'll be in Malaysia on the 28th and to tell everyone to come. ;w; (In three different languages, mind you, oh these boys. ♥)
So we arrived in Kuala Lumpur and headed straight for Putrajaya - I think you could call it the country's administrative district? - where the concert was being held. It's hard enough to navigate through Putrajaya as it is because the target turnout for this year's Youth & Sports Day was 1 million people, and the whole place was chock-full of cars and just outright congested. D: It doesn't help that there were lots of precincts and they don't go in order, lol! Precinct 18 could be next to Precinct 3 and whatnot, plus there were lots of really tall government buildings that made identifying the buildings really hard. One skyscraper was blocking the other and the towers were huge, plus all we were looking for was a huuuuuuuuge cross-junction where there was a stage set-up for the night. ;o;
It was still a bit cloudy because it'd rained about two hours ago, so my mom kept telling us to pray to the skies so it wouldn't rain that night. ;w; We walked about half the area and we still hadn't found it, so I got a little nervous, but in the end, I caught sight of this huge black thing - which later turned out to be the stage \*^*/ - squished in between four different buildings. And there was a sea of blue that I could immediately tell were ELFs. *v* It was about 3pm then, so there was still some space left in the open standing area (kind of like a rock pitt in an official concert), so we just rushed in and crammed ourselves there, which was towards the left corner of the stage! From that angle, I had a clear view of inner part of the stage as well as the front - the stage was shaped like a T - so I was a happy little birdie then! ;w;
This was taken a couple of days before the event, when the stage was still being set up! *v*
Oh, OHHHHHHH, and on the way into the seating area, ah, even if I call it a seating area, there weren't really any seats; it was just sitting on the road ;o; I glimpsed the small makeshift house-like structure which was more or less a waiting room for SJM, and the boys so thoughtfully left the windows open~ ;w; AND THEY WAAAAAAAAVED, RYEOWOOK AND SUNGMIN WAVED AT US, FOREVER THE ANGELS *u* ♥♥♥ They weren't wearing their stage outfits then, so they had this natural charm that I'm grateful I got to see! i wonder if they'd close it while changing /bricked Their smiles were gorgeous, idk *v* /flails
With the stuff we brought along, it was almost like we were going camping overnight or something, we brought so much food and just ate, lol, because the concert was due to start at 10pm and we were just going to have buns for dinner. :P There was a really nice B2uty-ELF sitting next to us, and she talked about her experience at BEAST's previous fanmeets in Malaysia (she even met Junhyung and Doojoon on her way to the toilet once? ;w;); she was comforting compared to a group of, um... let's just say, unpleasant girls screaming about how they wanted Sungmin to notice them while painting their nails. ;________;
About 20 minutes or so after I arrived, there were lots of stage checks and Henry's dancers even came out to practice a bit! Some observant ELFs down front (I hear they waited since 8am, the amazing people ;o;) noticed Henry thanks to doumyoujitsukas, I now have to retype his name because I keep misspelling it as Herny squished against the back panelling just watching them and we started screaming like crazy since it was our first sighting of the boys on stage. *v* I didn't get too good a look at him because there were lots of cameramen in front of me ;~; but then Zhou Mi came out to take a look at the set and it was just crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! He was such a sweetheart and HE WAS SO /TALL/ SHDJSHDJKAHKJSHKJAHJKSA. I heard Kyuhyun had hung around at the back for a little stage rehearsal, but I wasn't there yet, siiiiiiiigh~
This was Kyuhyun rehearsing (feat. Eunhyuk's leopard print! 8D); I wish I'd arrived earlier!
At around 5.30pm or so, the area around the stage where we were was already packed and everyone was squished like sardines! One of the biggest obstructions I thought they could've done without was a traffic light somewhere to the right of the stage though; I'm sure the fans there wouldn't have been too happy about that… There were still a lot of ELFs coming in with food and all though, so they had to be pushed to the real seating area (with seats and everything) under a ginormous canopy that was originally constructed for the morning events.
There was a small unfortunate commotion when the Prime Minister arrived to officiate the event though; the political supporters blocked ELFs from coming in on the pretence of the area being full although all they really wanted was space for themselves to watch the Minister's speech and leave soon after. >o> The organizers soon came and took care of that though, thankfully. :'> There was even a cute cultural show that I think the families enjoyed a lot.
(And thankfully after that, the cameramen in front of me cleared out! *v* It turns out all they wanted was to film the Minister's speech for local TV, and off they went and I was so happy~)
Night came, but the stage lights were enough to keep the place as bright as ever, and during random intermissions, they'd play videos of SJ (... which I don't quite get because SJM is present, not SJ, but nevermind) and the whole crowd of ELFs would just sing along! I really do hope the boys could hear us from back there, that would be great! ^o^ And local forum managers went around selling official merchandise like lightsticks and placards to wave around during the real concert too! Thankfully, it wasn't as bright or sunny or hot as I'd expected because it rained earlier in the morning. By the time the starting line of local artists came out to perform, it was about 7pm, almost? I've never had a case of being claustrophobic, but I did feel like passing out somewhere after the 4th artist because there were just so many people. ;o; There was fencing behind me though, so I propped myself up on it, somewhat (it's a bit hard to describe? ;;;;), to get a fresh layer of air from slightly above all the other jumping people. ;~; Even the local artists seemed to be extra-excited by the blue crowd; they were a very high-energy lineup and it was nice to see the ELFs cheering for them during their performances. c:
When the set ended, it was about 8.40pm or so, and the MC - a lovely multi-lingual radio announcer by the name of Serena C - started teasing us by asking us things like "MALAYSIA, WHO ARE YOU HERE TO SEE?" or "PUTRAJAYA, WHO ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" and the crowd would just scream mindlessly because we thought the boys were coming out, lmao. ;w; Although the official itinery said SJM's performance would start at 10pm, a lot of us didn't think they'd really wait that long because the gap would be too big, and I think a lot of ELFs got really agitated then because it was such a long wait and the people who were checking the stage didn't look like they were doing their job, just more like walking around the stage? Malaysia's humid no matter what time of the day, so I think that got to a lot of us too. There were people who really did pass out because of the stuffiness and the youth voluntary team kept having to come in with lights to find them and take them to waiting ambulances. :< I really do hope nothing happened to them, though...? Some of the more impatient ELFs even started chanting for SJM to come out. ^^;
There was even this small session where Serena C called out the names of each member to gauge the response, lol. All of them got just about the same amount of screams, all except Kyuhyun! ;o; I think about 70% of the crowd were screaming and pulling at their hair; he's really popular among Malaysian ELFs, it seems!
★
By 10pm, I think the crowd was getting demented or something, lol, everyone was anxious to have SJM come out after such a long day of waiting. Then the lights dimmed and the screen went blank, but that'd happened a couple of times throughout the evening so the random cheers were there, just a little more sober because some ELFs stopped caring and were just waiting for the intro music, hehe.
Then all of a sudden the stage was alight with blue and a familiar electric guitar intro started playing and the crowd just went insaaaaaaaaaaane! There were lightsticks and placards and cameras and cellphones and just deafening screaming everywhere; I was near the stage which was near the speakers too, so. @~@ When the boys finally sashayed down the stairs in their gorgeous beige suits and began singing Perfection, the screams got even louder, if that was possible, and I couldn't even hear myself anymore, so I just jumped and screamed without a care in the world! *v* (And I was still on that fence thing from earlier, so I was about a head taller than everyone else and got a crystal clear view of the stage! I WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO SEE THEIR HAIR FLICK ;o; ♥ but unfortunately not close enough to touch them D:)
It was an explosive opening number and sighhhh it was just amazing~~~! And it was lovely to see all the ELFs that didn't speak Chinese singing along to the song as well~ ♥ They didn't come out to the front for this number, but I could still see that they put so much heart and power into the entire performance - each and every one of them danced with all their might! But then I realized there was only 6 of them, Siwon and Donghae really couldn't make it because they were filming Extravagant Challenge back in Taiwan. ;_________;
(I had the huge screen behind them to look at, but I just watched the boys themselves instead, hahah; the real thing is better than a screen any day, after all!)
After Perfection ended, the boys scurried backstage without a word and some people were wondering if that was it, lol, since all the other artists had only one number. ;w; But then Serena C came out to the center of the stage and called all the boys out, and they came running out again like adorable little children, ohhhhh ♥ They were all so sharply dressed and they looked like perfection okay excuse the bad pun ;;; they didn't even look like they broke a sweat there! ZHOU MIMI WAS WEARING GLASSES /SOBS HAPPILY
This was when I really got to get a good look at them because they weren't running all over the place like in Perfection, and I really didn't know where to look, if that was possible! *a* They're all as stunning in person as they are through desktop monitors and TV screens ♥
Super Junior-M looking fine and crisp (minus SiHae :<) ♥ The ladies in the middle were Sally (dressed in black), the boys' translator, and the MC of the night, Serena C.
They introduced themselves with an 'Apa khabar?' (which means 'How are you?' in Malay) and then '我们是 (We are) Super Junior-M!' *v* Then came the individual introductions - Ryeowook introduced himself in both Chinese and Korean (and oh he was just an adorable ball of cuuuuute *_____*); Henry in flawless English that sent the crowd into a frenzy; Eunhyuk, Sungmin and Kyuhyun in short, stumbly but adorableeeeeee *v* Chinese, and Zhou Mi in his perfect Chinese. ♥ If anything at all, these boys absolutely knew how to get the Malaysian crowd worked up; they kept teasing each other and making cute little remarks here and there! Serena C then whispered something to Eunhyuk and subsequently it passed down to the rest of the boys - she was teaching them how to say 'dear' in Malay! Then Eunhyuk just said, 'Sayang, aku cinta padamu~' (which means 'Darling, I love you ♥) out loud and it was like a long-sealed dam to Screamland burst open!
The MC then asked the boys to give a few short words about how they felt about Malaysia so far - Sungmin said that Malaysia was beautiful and that the people were really welcoming. Henry was a smooth player for the night too, omg *o* He said, "Well, Malaysia's hot! And I'm not talking about the weather," and he gestures around the area, "I'm talking about the giiiiirls~!" ASHAKJHSKJAHSJH I KNOW IT WASN'T A REFERENCE IN ANYONE IN PARTICULAR BUT I JUST SCREAMED MY LUNGS OUT THERE *___________* ♥ Everyone thought he was talking about the weather at first, lolololol! Zhou Mi asked if he could reply in Cantonese which he did, and I think that impressed a lot of people who didn't know he could - my parents in particular! *v* Then a little moment that made me (and lots of others!) scream like crazy, when Kyuhyun answered in his adorable, accented Chinese about Malaysia being really hot - and this time he really was talking about the weather :P - Zhou Mi reached out and kept dabbing at his neck! ;;;;;;;; ♥♥♥ QMI MOMENT IN MALAYSIA, AND THE FANGIRLS KNEW IT, AND IT WAS SO LOUD AND QMI JUST LET OUT LITTLE GIGGLES /SOBS HAPPILY
Serena C then asked SJM who the baby of the group was, and there was a little scuffle onstage about how it was either Ryeowook, Henry or Kyuhyun, but then Sungmin just grabbed the mike and said in English, "HE IS OUR BABY!" while pointing to Henry, and Henry just jumped out and did a short part of Justin Bieber's Baby? ;w; That drove the crowd crazy too (lol, it felt like we were screaming for anything they did!). Kyuhyun admitted that he was the shyest among the members when asked, and the members unanimously voted for Sungmin as most responsible member. C:
SJM then belted out Blue Tomorrow; I haven't heard the song in so long, so it was a nice refresh? ;u; It sounded absolutely amazing live, it was just so so beautiful ♥ You could hear each member's individual voices clearly and it was so pretty to hear them harmonizing in the chorus (although there is an apparent lack of something because SiHae weren't there to complete the parts ;o;), it was just a gorgeous and well-performed song. Zhou Mi's high note at the end /resonated/ throughout the whole open area, and a lot of fans - including me ;;;; - were all just really amazed by that powerful note.
Then there was a break for another Q&A session, this time with 6 lucky fans! ;_____________; Luck is never on my side with these things, so I didn't get chosen, of course, and the ELFs in the crowd were screaming louder than ever, keke ♥ AND THE GIRLS GET HUGS AFTER THEIR QUESTIONS GET ANSWERED AHSJKHAJSKAJKS CRIES
While Zhou Mi was talking about how much he loved the placards ELFs made, Kyuhyun was having his own little conversation with a fan with Sally's help, it seems! ;w;
Henry was up first, and he was asked what he liked about Malaysian ELFs. He replied that he liked how full of energy and youth we were, and that he was really, really grateful we were willing to wait so long and be out so late just to see them. Henry also said he loved how there was Youth & Sports Day and that the day really wasn't about them - it was about the ELFs. ;u; AND SHE GOT A HUG.
The next girl - to everyone's & the boys' surprise - was a Japanese girl who happened to be on vacation in Malaysia! *v* Ryeowook was such a sweetheart and greeted her in Japanese, and it was so cute to watch ♥ ELFs know Wookie cooks a lot, so she asked him what he would make for the girl he loves. He seemed to think for a moment, then answered shyly in Chinese that he'd make whatever she wants to eat! ;u; AND SHE GOT A HUG TOO.
… keke, then things got a bit awkward because Sungmin's fan was a boyyyy, not a girl! *w* The boy actually looked kind of in awe and didn't know what to ask him, which was really cute to watch, lol! In the end, he ended up asking Sungmin what he liked about Malaysia, to which he said the scenery was pretty and welcoming, that the people were really friendly and that the ELFs were really supportive. The boy didn't quite know what to say next and murmured something which Sungmin didn't catch - he was actually telling him to come back to Malaysia more often - which caused him to lean in and practically whisper in his ear and all the girls went crazy, hehe~! And he got this really awkward half-hug-half-handshake *v* ♥
D'aww, this was just super-cute, oh Min~ *u* ♥
(Then I noticed something cute along the side; I think Ryeowook felt bad because Sungmin didn't get a proper hug, so I saw them whispering and Wookie let out a cute laugh and pulled Min into a huuuug ♥)
THEN IT WAS ZHOU MI SHDJKSHJKDHSDJSKDDS! ;o; The fangirl asked which place he liked most in Malaysia among those he'd visited, but he said he liked them all. She didn't know what to say next, so simply proceeded to step forward to hug him like all the rest, but he pulled away and she got so confused that she asked him in Chinese, "Oh, I can't hug you?" He playfully replied in his cute singsong voice, "不可以 (No, you can't)~~~" and she got kind of disappointed, lol. She thought she had to settle for a handshake and Zhou Mi did, BUT THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN HE GOT DOWN ON ONE KNEE AND KISSED HER HAND AND THE WHOLE CROWD WAS LIKE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~
YES SEE MY FACE WAS LIKE ;____________; ZHOU MI WHY WON'T YOU KISS MY HAND TOO
Kyuhyun was next and the girl asked the most intelligent question ever: "Oppa, do you like games better or fans better?" LOL KYU WAS ACTUALLY TAKEN ABACK. :P Then he tried to say 'tak payah tanya, tentulah fans' (which means 'you don't need to ask, of course it's the fans'), but he failed miserably and ended up saying the sentence in Chinese with Zhou Mi's help, lmaooooo ♥ She got a hug, and I think the girl was a serious Kyuhyun stan because she ended up bursting into tears on stage, and she got a second hug from him. AND MIND YOU, THE SECOND HUG WAS LONGER AND HE STROKED HER HAIR OKAY. ;____________;
And I swear I caught Zhou Mi leaning over and just glaring at them both. I kid you not. 8D
Eunhyuk's was particularly funny to recap! A daring girl asked him if he still wore his member's underwear, and Serena C was like o_________O YOU WEAR YOUR MEMBERS' UNDERWEAR? Then she sneakily asked in a slower way, "So how long have you been stealing their underwear? Do you wear them for real? …. DO YOU WASH IT FIRST?" LOLLLLLL THE WHOLE CROWD JUST BURST INTO A FRENZY! Eunhyuk was fumbling with his words because he didn't know if he should reply in Chinese or English or just go with Korean and let the translator do the job. :P Then he just said the only logical thing, "IT'S MINE.", referring to the fact that he only wears his own undergarments. XD I thought that'd be case closed, but then Sungmin bounced out and suddenly said, "HE… NO UNDERWEAR!" Then Eunhyuk caught on and said in English, "I can show you if you want! ;D" And I swear those were the loudest screams of the day, lol. So the girl leaned in for a hug and he tried to do the same thing as Mi did - pull away and kiss her hand, but then at the last minute before his lips touched her hand, he flipped it around and ended up kissing his own, oh the boy ♥ He let go and she thought that was it, but then he stood behind her and gave her a looooooooooooooooooooooong back hug. AND THE CROWD. THE CROWD WAS MORE DEAFENING THAN THE SPEAKERS AT THAT POINT.
Zhou Mi wrapped it up by making an announcement that took all of us by surprise - he said, "Let's go for some solos now, shall we?" in Chinese, and I don't think anyone was expecting solos at all, really, so everyone just started screaming!
They disappeared for about 10 seconds and then Henry just bounced out, along with his dancers, and they performed Off My Mind, his solo off their newest EP. I'm admittedly Henry-biased, but all that bias aside, I can't explain how much I loved his solo. ;;;; Maybe it's because of how bad I feel for him because of all the hate he got when he first made an appearance in Don't Don, but I just felt so elated when all the ELFs started singing and chanting along to the song instead of booing him or something. He even made extra effort to reach all parts of the stage to interact with the fans~ I feared the worst, but I guess I worried for nothing? *v* For a choreography that required him to move around the stage so much, Henry pulled off the song very well and his voice was really stable. He had this cap with a little H on it and that was so adorable; he even came all the way out front to the T part of the stage and I was screaming like there was no tomorrow. ;~; HE WAS SO CLOSE TO ME AHSKJHHJSHDKJSDSJDS I COULD SEE HIM SO CLEARLY /CRYING
Zhou Mi then came out in a crisp grey suit and said that he had a lot of Malaysian artists as friends - he named Fish Leong as one of his best buddies, then said he knew Z-Chen (張智成), another local artists and liked one song in particular, 凌晨三點鐘 (Ling Chen San Dian Zhong / Three In the Morning). His rendition was gorgeous and so, so beautiful; it's every bit the emotional singing you see him do on TV, except it sounded even better live. ♥ He came out front to sing too, and getting a super close-up look at him practically sent stars through my head. His skin was so smooth and he looked so perfect? ;____________;
Kyuhyun chose an amazing song - which coincidentally happened to be my first A-mei song - 如果你也聽說 (If You've Also Heard). This shy little boy didn't come down to the front, but his performance was just as emotional as Mi's, and it was just such a blessing to have been able to hear his singing live. His voice was just so… full and rich, and it just blew me away ♥ I lack words to describe his performance. ;;;;
Ryeowook continued the line of ballads with Teresa Teng's 我只在乎你 (I Only Care About You), a new song to me, but a real throwback for my parents. *v* I'm sure they loved the performance as much as I did; they always paid more attention if anything idols did could relate to what they know and all. ;w; I've always really liked Ryeowook's voice in songs but never quite imagined how it was like to hear him live; it was like… stars and tinkling windchimes, as cheesy as that sounds? ;;;; Really, I mean, it was high but very clear, and he came out front to sing and in that moment, he just looked so delicate and gentle and the emotion he put into the song was very poignant. c:
(Truth be told, I expected KyuMiWook to do 西风的话 (Whisper of the West Wind) off their new album, but individual solos are fine by me too ♥)
Things picked up a bit when Eunhyuk appeared with a bright red shirt! *v* ♥ He looked so charming he must've swept everyone off their feet~ There was a table with headphones set out for him, and he put it on, then pressed something and Justin Bieber's Baby played! He pressed it again, and Eminem's Love the Way You Lie played, then Sorry Sorry. It was like he was dissatisfied with each song; I leave it to you to imagine because this is pretty hard to describe. ;o; Then finally, Michael Jackson's songs started playing, and it was like a grand mash-up of all his hits!
There was Beat It and Dangerous and all his classic songs, and Eunhyuk even had the gloves and hat to match! *u* He did a fantastic job impersonating Michael Jackson; his hip thrusts and moonwalks and all his fanservice; he knows best how to make these girls scream! ;w; I've always known Eunhyuk was a great dancer, but I've never felt there was anything really special until I saw him live now? ;;;; Every move was so effortless, it was as if he wasn't even really trying to make it look pretty! Even my dad was impressed, and mind you, he doesn't get impressed by k-idols too easily. ;D
I was expecting something different from Sungmin because he isn't normally stereotyped as a dancer or a rapper or a vocalist in particular, maybe a martial arts show or whatnot, but sadly, he didn't get a solo. ;_______; I think a lot of his fans were upset, but it was probably due to time constraints. I wish he did get to share a stage with one of the other members, at least? :<
W-Well, here's a picture of an adorable Sungmin just to cheer you Min fans up, I hope? ;o;
SJM all came out for the final talk session then, and they thanked everyone for their amazing support and that they were so grateful to see so much support for SJM because this was the first time promoting in Malaysia as a sub-unit. Sungmin and Henry promised they would be back because they couldn't get enough, and I'm hoping that's true! C: The boys were generally all such wonderful sweethearts and they were very polite throughout the whole event, they were such a joy to watch ♥
After their final words to Malaysia, they stood right in the front of the stage and waved to all parts of the audience, from where I was to the right side and even to the ones riiiiiiight at the back, then the familiar opening of Destiny played and the whole crowd just waved their lightsticks (or arms, if we didn't have one?) and just enjoyed their gorgeous harmonization.
Off their new EP, Destiny was my favourite track - it had this beautiful mellow feel that was very calming, and the chorus where they all sing together was arranged and harmonized in such a way that everytime I listened to it, it felt like it was enveloping me, in some way? The orchestra accompaniment in the background and the electric guitar middle-8 and the high notes KyuMiWook had to hit were so, so beautiful to hear. If this song was a treat to listen to on the album, then it was absolutely fantastic live. Even if they were missing SiHae, they performed this number so, so well. ♥ Maybe it was the beauty of a closing number, I don't really know, but I loved it, and the boys kept interacting with the fans while singing - it was just such a beautiful sight, y'know? ;a;
They rushed backstage without a word again, and I think the lack of a goodbye made us realize that wasn't it or something? Everyone was screaming, "ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!" We could hear Serena C laughing, then she asked, "Haven't got enough, Putrajaya? What's the one song you've been wanting to hear?" And like brainwashed zombies, the whole sea of ELFs screamed, "SUPER GIRL!"
And of course, the gentlemen that they were, SJM obliged to an encore; the electronic intro of Super Girl began playing and the whole crowd dived right back into their mad frenzy again. ;v; It was a power-packed dance performance very much like Perfection, and the audience sang along to every word too! ♥
When the performance ended, they got into formation, held hands and bowed a full 90-degrees as a sign of respect towards everyone who attended the event, and that was just such a sweet ending to an already amazing concert. :'>
★
Being at this concert was an unexpected privilege; it was my first time seeing any idol of mine live, and somehow it seems apt, y'know? My first kpop group ever was SJ, but the first music video I ever watched for real was Super Girl. I think… it only seems right that they were the first idols I would ever see in concert. c:
Now that I think about it, I wish we could've planned something special like a lightstick sea or something, but it was too disorderly and everyone was all over the place, so that plan was a no-go. ;;;; B-But I'm sure the boys enjoyed themselves nevertheless, or at least, that's what I hope!
It might have only been a couple of songs with breaks for interaction with fans, but each and every single one of the boys tried their very best in everything, and it was really nice to see that. The way they carried themselves and the way they talked - it wasn't like meeting idols, it was more like… a celebratory session for a state talent competition winner or something, if that makes sense? I mean, they made the atmosphere so comfortable that you'd laugh along or sing along out of impulse, regardless of whether you're an ELF or not. They didn't have any air to them and they were really sweet and polite ♥ It must've been really hectic for them, with all their schedules in Taiwan and flying in just that morning, but if they were tired at all, they didn't show it. They responded to everything with curiosity and enthusiasm, and it was like watching adorable children you'd never get enough of. :3
Their sincerity and… idk how to put it, purity? was enough to mesmerise even non-ELFs, I'd think! Even my parents - trust me, if anyone would win an award for kpop sceptics, they would - have begun to acknowledge them for real and are starting to show interest in SJM, SJ and kpop in general! (I once caught my dad listening to Bonamana and it was on so loud that he didn't hear us call him for dinner, lololol? ;w;) I'm really glad that these boys have managed to bridge the gap between generations like this; it was such a wonderful feeling, y'know? *u*
SJM still has a ways to go before they can call themselves artists because they're still in a saturated idol market, but with each and every album, I can see a lot of improvement and I think that showed during Saturday night's concert. They are amazing performers that know what the crowd wants, and I think the ELFs really appreciated the fact that everyone tried to speak either Chinese or English just so the fans could understand and minimise the use of a translator. There really was only minimal use of Korean, really!
So to each and every one of you boys present - to Eunhyuk, Sungmin (who really has endeared himself to me through this!), Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, Zhou Mi and Henry: thank you so, so much for a wonderful night that I would always remember as the first concert I attended. ♥ You were all very endearing and I hope you enjoyed performing for us as much as we enjoyed watching you! I'd love to see you all again someday (hopefully with Siwon & Donghae next!), so please do come back to Malaysia more often? c:
Thank you for everything and have strength during your promotional cycle!
This Malaysian sea of blue will always, always be here for you. :'>
★
I wish I'd taken my own photos and fancams, so I'm really sorry about that. ;~; I was contemplating just putting up mine, but for those of you who didn't get to attend, I figured you'd want better, clearer fancams instead. ;w; But hopefully this fanaccount wasn't too messy or disorganized, and I hope it was detailed enough for you to get a feel of how the concert was really like!
Other than sharing it with you, I'm hoping that by writing this fanaccount, I'll be able to remember these moments forever and ever and smile to myself when I do come back and read this in the future. It's been four days since the concert, but I can still remember everything as vividly as when I was there, and my heart still skips a beat when I recall them coming out to the front of the stage and whatnot. ;w;
Thank you for reading! c: ♥♥♥
(all credit is in the pictures & videos themselves. links to fancams are attached to the performance titles. drag & drop the pictures into a new tab to view them full-size. :>)
★
So I've been really, really busy with school for the past couple of months because of school, then there was midterms and I was stressed out for the most part of March, April and May because of it. ;o; I'm finally on break for two weeks, but I still have some assignments due after break is over. I was really just expecting a boring holiday where I'll do my schoolwork and flail about fandom and finally just get back to writing, but then a friend gave me a call and she was spazzing so hard it took me a while to figure out what she was really saying. *v* And it turns out SJM was having a free concert in Malaysia in conjunction of our annual Youth & Sports Day (Hari Belia & Sukan)?
SJM.
Super Junior-M.
SUPER JUNIOR-M. ;_____________;
I admit that throughout these past months, I've been somewhat neglecting? it really isn't as bad as it sounds; i wasn't NEGLECTING them per se, just been paying less attention to them? ;; these lovely boys; I got their album and I replayed their new music video time and time again, but I didn't keep up with their promotional activities and more or less just watching Golden Stage & Yu Le Bai Fen Bai, out of all their shows. ;o;
But there was no way on earth I would be missing this for anything, and I think that was more or less my motivation to study during midterms. ;w; My mom had set the condition that my results had to be really good to even have her consider letting me go, but thankfully they were really happy with my results, and so we got packing and headed south to the capital for the free concert! *u* I might not talk about them a lot, but these boys have their own special places in my heart (especially Zhou Mi and Henry because all the hate they got from some completely direspectful people was so undeserved -o-), and now that I've got a sparkling chance to go there and support them, I wouldn't miss it for the world. ♥
I was still a bit nervous around the week before the event, because it seemed so unreal and whatnot - free, public, etc.? ;o; I mean, there was always this nagging part of my brain that kept asking what if it was a hoax, and although I tried not to think about it, it was always there! My qualms were all pretty much washed away though, when the official organizers uploaded an adorable promo video of the boys saying they'll be in Malaysia on the 28th and to tell everyone to come. ;w; (In three different languages, mind you, oh these boys. ♥)
So we arrived in Kuala Lumpur and headed straight for Putrajaya - I think you could call it the country's administrative district? - where the concert was being held. It's hard enough to navigate through Putrajaya as it is because the target turnout for this year's Youth & Sports Day was 1 million people, and the whole place was chock-full of cars and just outright congested. D: It doesn't help that there were lots of precincts and they don't go in order, lol! Precinct 18 could be next to Precinct 3 and whatnot, plus there were lots of really tall government buildings that made identifying the buildings really hard. One skyscraper was blocking the other and the towers were huge, plus all we were looking for was a huuuuuuuuge cross-junction where there was a stage set-up for the night. ;o;
It was still a bit cloudy because it'd rained about two hours ago, so my mom kept telling us to pray to the skies so it wouldn't rain that night. ;w; We walked about half the area and we still hadn't found it, so I got a little nervous, but in the end, I caught sight of this huge black thing - which later turned out to be the stage \*^*/ - squished in between four different buildings. And there was a sea of blue that I could immediately tell were ELFs. *v* It was about 3pm then, so there was still some space left in the open standing area (kind of like a rock pitt in an official concert), so we just rushed in and crammed ourselves there, which was towards the left corner of the stage! From that angle, I had a clear view of inner part of the stage as well as the front - the stage was shaped like a T - so I was a happy little birdie then! ;w;
This was taken a couple of days before the event, when the stage was still being set up! *v*
Oh, OHHHHHHH, and on the way into the seating area, ah, even if I call it a seating area, there weren't really any seats; it was just sitting on the road ;o; I glimpsed the small makeshift house-like structure which was more or less a waiting room for SJM, and the boys so thoughtfully left the windows open~ ;w; AND THEY WAAAAAAAAVED, RYEOWOOK AND SUNGMIN WAVED AT US, FOREVER THE ANGELS *u* ♥♥♥ They weren't wearing their stage outfits then, so they had this natural charm that I'm grateful I got to see! i wonder if they'd close it while changing /bricked Their smiles were gorgeous, idk *v* /flails
With the stuff we brought along, it was almost like we were going camping overnight or something, we brought so much food and just ate, lol, because the concert was due to start at 10pm and we were just going to have buns for dinner. :P There was a really nice B2uty-ELF sitting next to us, and she talked about her experience at BEAST's previous fanmeets in Malaysia (she even met Junhyung and Doojoon on her way to the toilet once? ;w;); she was comforting compared to a group of, um... let's just say, unpleasant girls screaming about how they wanted Sungmin to notice them while painting their nails. ;________;
About 20 minutes or so after I arrived, there were lots of stage checks and Henry's dancers even came out to practice a bit! Some observant ELFs down front (I hear they waited since 8am, the amazing people ;o;) noticed Henry thanks to doumyoujitsukas, I now have to retype his name because I keep misspelling it as Herny squished against the back panelling just watching them and we started screaming like crazy since it was our first sighting of the boys on stage. *v* I didn't get too good a look at him because there were lots of cameramen in front of me ;~; but then Zhou Mi came out to take a look at the set and it was just crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! He was such a sweetheart and HE WAS SO /TALL/ SHDJSHDJKAHKJSHKJAHJKSA. I heard Kyuhyun had hung around at the back for a little stage rehearsal, but I wasn't there yet, siiiiiiiigh~
This was Kyuhyun rehearsing (feat. Eunhyuk's leopard print! 8D); I wish I'd arrived earlier!
At around 5.30pm or so, the area around the stage where we were was already packed and everyone was squished like sardines! One of the biggest obstructions I thought they could've done without was a traffic light somewhere to the right of the stage though; I'm sure the fans there wouldn't have been too happy about that… There were still a lot of ELFs coming in with food and all though, so they had to be pushed to the real seating area (with seats and everything) under a ginormous canopy that was originally constructed for the morning events.
There was a small unfortunate commotion when the Prime Minister arrived to officiate the event though; the political supporters blocked ELFs from coming in on the pretence of the area being full although all they really wanted was space for themselves to watch the Minister's speech and leave soon after. >o> The organizers soon came and took care of that though, thankfully. :'> There was even a cute cultural show that I think the families enjoyed a lot.
(And thankfully after that, the cameramen in front of me cleared out! *v* It turns out all they wanted was to film the Minister's speech for local TV, and off they went and I was so happy~)
Night came, but the stage lights were enough to keep the place as bright as ever, and during random intermissions, they'd play videos of SJ (... which I don't quite get because SJM is present, not SJ, but nevermind) and the whole crowd of ELFs would just sing along! I really do hope the boys could hear us from back there, that would be great! ^o^ And local forum managers went around selling official merchandise like lightsticks and placards to wave around during the real concert too! Thankfully, it wasn't as bright or sunny or hot as I'd expected because it rained earlier in the morning. By the time the starting line of local artists came out to perform, it was about 7pm, almost? I've never had a case of being claustrophobic, but I did feel like passing out somewhere after the 4th artist because there were just so many people. ;o; There was fencing behind me though, so I propped myself up on it, somewhat (it's a bit hard to describe? ;;;;), to get a fresh layer of air from slightly above all the other jumping people. ;~; Even the local artists seemed to be extra-excited by the blue crowd; they were a very high-energy lineup and it was nice to see the ELFs cheering for them during their performances. c:
When the set ended, it was about 8.40pm or so, and the MC - a lovely multi-lingual radio announcer by the name of Serena C - started teasing us by asking us things like "MALAYSIA, WHO ARE YOU HERE TO SEE?" or "PUTRAJAYA, WHO ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" and the crowd would just scream mindlessly because we thought the boys were coming out, lmao. ;w; Although the official itinery said SJM's performance would start at 10pm, a lot of us didn't think they'd really wait that long because the gap would be too big, and I think a lot of ELFs got really agitated then because it was such a long wait and the people who were checking the stage didn't look like they were doing their job, just more like walking around the stage? Malaysia's humid no matter what time of the day, so I think that got to a lot of us too. There were people who really did pass out because of the stuffiness and the youth voluntary team kept having to come in with lights to find them and take them to waiting ambulances. :< I really do hope nothing happened to them, though...? Some of the more impatient ELFs even started chanting for SJM to come out. ^^;
There was even this small session where Serena C called out the names of each member to gauge the response, lol. All of them got just about the same amount of screams, all except Kyuhyun! ;o; I think about 70% of the crowd were screaming and pulling at their hair; he's really popular among Malaysian ELFs, it seems!
★
By 10pm, I think the crowd was getting demented or something, lol, everyone was anxious to have SJM come out after such a long day of waiting. Then the lights dimmed and the screen went blank, but that'd happened a couple of times throughout the evening so the random cheers were there, just a little more sober because some ELFs stopped caring and were just waiting for the intro music, hehe.
Then all of a sudden the stage was alight with blue and a familiar electric guitar intro started playing and the crowd just went insaaaaaaaaaaane! There were lightsticks and placards and cameras and cellphones and just deafening screaming everywhere; I was near the stage which was near the speakers too, so. @~@ When the boys finally sashayed down the stairs in their gorgeous beige suits and began singing Perfection, the screams got even louder, if that was possible, and I couldn't even hear myself anymore, so I just jumped and screamed without a care in the world! *v* (And I was still on that fence thing from earlier, so I was about a head taller than everyone else and got a crystal clear view of the stage! I WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO SEE THEIR HAIR FLICK ;o; ♥ but unfortunately not close enough to touch them D:)
It was an explosive opening number and sighhhh it was just amazing~~~! And it was lovely to see all the ELFs that didn't speak Chinese singing along to the song as well~ ♥ They didn't come out to the front for this number, but I could still see that they put so much heart and power into the entire performance - each and every one of them danced with all their might! But then I realized there was only 6 of them, Siwon and Donghae really couldn't make it because they were filming Extravagant Challenge back in Taiwan. ;_________;
(I had the huge screen behind them to look at, but I just watched the boys themselves instead, hahah; the real thing is better than a screen any day, after all!)
After Perfection ended, the boys scurried backstage without a word and some people were wondering if that was it, lol, since all the other artists had only one number. ;w; But then Serena C came out to the center of the stage and called all the boys out, and they came running out again like adorable little children, ohhhhh ♥ They were all so sharply dressed and they looked like perfection okay excuse the bad pun ;;; they didn't even look like they broke a sweat there! ZHOU MIMI WAS WEARING GLASSES /SOBS HAPPILY
This was when I really got to get a good look at them because they weren't running all over the place like in Perfection, and I really didn't know where to look, if that was possible! *a* They're all as stunning in person as they are through desktop monitors and TV screens ♥
Super Junior-M looking fine and crisp (minus SiHae :<) ♥ The ladies in the middle were Sally (dressed in black), the boys' translator, and the MC of the night, Serena C.
They introduced themselves with an 'Apa khabar?' (which means 'How are you?' in Malay) and then '我们是 (We are) Super Junior-M!' *v* Then came the individual introductions - Ryeowook introduced himself in both Chinese and Korean (and oh he was just an adorable ball of cuuuuute *_____*); Henry in flawless English that sent the crowd into a frenzy; Eunhyuk, Sungmin and Kyuhyun in short, stumbly but adorableeeeeee *v* Chinese, and Zhou Mi in his perfect Chinese. ♥ If anything at all, these boys absolutely knew how to get the Malaysian crowd worked up; they kept teasing each other and making cute little remarks here and there! Serena C then whispered something to Eunhyuk and subsequently it passed down to the rest of the boys - she was teaching them how to say 'dear' in Malay! Then Eunhyuk just said, 'Sayang, aku cinta padamu~' (which means 'Darling, I love you ♥) out loud and it was like a long-sealed dam to Screamland burst open!
The MC then asked the boys to give a few short words about how they felt about Malaysia so far - Sungmin said that Malaysia was beautiful and that the people were really welcoming. Henry was a smooth player for the night too, omg *o* He said, "Well, Malaysia's hot! And I'm not talking about the weather," and he gestures around the area, "I'm talking about the giiiiirls~!" ASHAKJHSKJAHSJH I KNOW IT WASN'T A REFERENCE IN ANYONE IN PARTICULAR BUT I JUST SCREAMED MY LUNGS OUT THERE *___________* ♥ Everyone thought he was talking about the weather at first, lolololol! Zhou Mi asked if he could reply in Cantonese which he did, and I think that impressed a lot of people who didn't know he could - my parents in particular! *v* Then a little moment that made me (and lots of others!) scream like crazy, when Kyuhyun answered in his adorable, accented Chinese about Malaysia being really hot - and this time he really was talking about the weather :P - Zhou Mi reached out and kept dabbing at his neck! ;;;;;;;; ♥♥♥ QMI MOMENT IN MALAYSIA, AND THE FANGIRLS KNEW IT, AND IT WAS SO LOUD AND QMI JUST LET OUT LITTLE GIGGLES /SOBS HAPPILY
Serena C then asked SJM who the baby of the group was, and there was a little scuffle onstage about how it was either Ryeowook, Henry or Kyuhyun, but then Sungmin just grabbed the mike and said in English, "HE IS OUR BABY!" while pointing to Henry, and Henry just jumped out and did a short part of Justin Bieber's Baby? ;w; That drove the crowd crazy too (lol, it felt like we were screaming for anything they did!). Kyuhyun admitted that he was the shyest among the members when asked, and the members unanimously voted for Sungmin as most responsible member. C:
SJM then belted out Blue Tomorrow; I haven't heard the song in so long, so it was a nice refresh? ;u; It sounded absolutely amazing live, it was just so so beautiful ♥ You could hear each member's individual voices clearly and it was so pretty to hear them harmonizing in the chorus (although there is an apparent lack of something because SiHae weren't there to complete the parts ;o;), it was just a gorgeous and well-performed song. Zhou Mi's high note at the end /resonated/ throughout the whole open area, and a lot of fans - including me ;;;; - were all just really amazed by that powerful note.
Then there was a break for another Q&A session, this time with 6 lucky fans! ;_____________; Luck is never on my side with these things, so I didn't get chosen, of course, and the ELFs in the crowd were screaming louder than ever, keke ♥ AND THE GIRLS GET HUGS AFTER THEIR QUESTIONS GET ANSWERED AHSJKHAJSKAJKS CRIES
While Zhou Mi was talking about how much he loved the placards ELFs made, Kyuhyun was having his own little conversation with a fan with Sally's help, it seems! ;w;
Henry was up first, and he was asked what he liked about Malaysian ELFs. He replied that he liked how full of energy and youth we were, and that he was really, really grateful we were willing to wait so long and be out so late just to see them. Henry also said he loved how there was Youth & Sports Day and that the day really wasn't about them - it was about the ELFs. ;u; AND SHE GOT A HUG.
The next girl - to everyone's & the boys' surprise - was a Japanese girl who happened to be on vacation in Malaysia! *v* Ryeowook was such a sweetheart and greeted her in Japanese, and it was so cute to watch ♥ ELFs know Wookie cooks a lot, so she asked him what he would make for the girl he loves. He seemed to think for a moment, then answered shyly in Chinese that he'd make whatever she wants to eat! ;u; AND SHE GOT A HUG TOO.
… keke, then things got a bit awkward because Sungmin's fan was a boyyyy, not a girl! *w* The boy actually looked kind of in awe and didn't know what to ask him, which was really cute to watch, lol! In the end, he ended up asking Sungmin what he liked about Malaysia, to which he said the scenery was pretty and welcoming, that the people were really friendly and that the ELFs were really supportive. The boy didn't quite know what to say next and murmured something which Sungmin didn't catch - he was actually telling him to come back to Malaysia more often - which caused him to lean in and practically whisper in his ear and all the girls went crazy, hehe~! And he got this really awkward half-hug-half-handshake *v* ♥
D'aww, this was just super-cute, oh Min~ *u* ♥
(Then I noticed something cute along the side; I think Ryeowook felt bad because Sungmin didn't get a proper hug, so I saw them whispering and Wookie let out a cute laugh and pulled Min into a huuuug ♥)
THEN IT WAS ZHOU MI SHDJKSHJKDHSDJSKDDS! ;o; The fangirl asked which place he liked most in Malaysia among those he'd visited, but he said he liked them all. She didn't know what to say next, so simply proceeded to step forward to hug him like all the rest, but he pulled away and she got so confused that she asked him in Chinese, "Oh, I can't hug you?" He playfully replied in his cute singsong voice, "不可以 (No, you can't)~~~" and she got kind of disappointed, lol. She thought she had to settle for a handshake and Zhou Mi did, BUT THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN HE GOT DOWN ON ONE KNEE AND KISSED HER HAND AND THE WHOLE CROWD WAS LIKE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~
YES SEE MY FACE WAS LIKE ;____________; ZHOU MI WHY WON'T YOU KISS MY HAND TOO
Kyuhyun was next and the girl asked the most intelligent question ever: "Oppa, do you like games better or fans better?" LOL KYU WAS ACTUALLY TAKEN ABACK. :P Then he tried to say 'tak payah tanya, tentulah fans' (which means 'you don't need to ask, of course it's the fans'), but he failed miserably and ended up saying the sentence in Chinese with Zhou Mi's help, lmaooooo ♥ She got a hug, and I think the girl was a serious Kyuhyun stan because she ended up bursting into tears on stage, and she got a second hug from him. AND MIND YOU, THE SECOND HUG WAS LONGER AND HE STROKED HER HAIR OKAY. ;____________;
And I swear I caught Zhou Mi leaning over and just glaring at them both. I kid you not. 8D
Eunhyuk's was particularly funny to recap! A daring girl asked him if he still wore his member's underwear, and Serena C was like o_________O YOU WEAR YOUR MEMBERS' UNDERWEAR? Then she sneakily asked in a slower way, "So how long have you been stealing their underwear? Do you wear them for real? …. DO YOU WASH IT FIRST?" LOLLLLLL THE WHOLE CROWD JUST BURST INTO A FRENZY! Eunhyuk was fumbling with his words because he didn't know if he should reply in Chinese or English or just go with Korean and let the translator do the job. :P Then he just said the only logical thing, "IT'S MINE.", referring to the fact that he only wears his own undergarments. XD I thought that'd be case closed, but then Sungmin bounced out and suddenly said, "HE… NO UNDERWEAR!" Then Eunhyuk caught on and said in English, "I can show you if you want! ;D" And I swear those were the loudest screams of the day, lol. So the girl leaned in for a hug and he tried to do the same thing as Mi did - pull away and kiss her hand, but then at the last minute before his lips touched her hand, he flipped it around and ended up kissing his own, oh the boy ♥ He let go and she thought that was it, but then he stood behind her and gave her a looooooooooooooooooooooong back hug. AND THE CROWD. THE CROWD WAS MORE DEAFENING THAN THE SPEAKERS AT THAT POINT.
Zhou Mi wrapped it up by making an announcement that took all of us by surprise - he said, "Let's go for some solos now, shall we?" in Chinese, and I don't think anyone was expecting solos at all, really, so everyone just started screaming!
They disappeared for about 10 seconds and then Henry just bounced out, along with his dancers, and they performed Off My Mind, his solo off their newest EP. I'm admittedly Henry-biased, but all that bias aside, I can't explain how much I loved his solo. ;;;; Maybe it's because of how bad I feel for him because of all the hate he got when he first made an appearance in Don't Don, but I just felt so elated when all the ELFs started singing and chanting along to the song instead of booing him or something. He even made extra effort to reach all parts of the stage to interact with the fans~ I feared the worst, but I guess I worried for nothing? *v* For a choreography that required him to move around the stage so much, Henry pulled off the song very well and his voice was really stable. He had this cap with a little H on it and that was so adorable; he even came all the way out front to the T part of the stage and I was screaming like there was no tomorrow. ;~; HE WAS SO CLOSE TO ME AHSKJHHJSHDKJSDSJDS I COULD SEE HIM SO CLEARLY /CRYING
Zhou Mi then came out in a crisp grey suit and said that he had a lot of Malaysian artists as friends - he named Fish Leong as one of his best buddies, then said he knew Z-Chen (張智成), another local artists and liked one song in particular, 凌晨三點鐘 (Ling Chen San Dian Zhong / Three In the Morning). His rendition was gorgeous and so, so beautiful; it's every bit the emotional singing you see him do on TV, except it sounded even better live. ♥ He came out front to sing too, and getting a super close-up look at him practically sent stars through my head. His skin was so smooth and he looked so perfect? ;____________;
Kyuhyun chose an amazing song - which coincidentally happened to be my first A-mei song - 如果你也聽說 (If You've Also Heard). This shy little boy didn't come down to the front, but his performance was just as emotional as Mi's, and it was just such a blessing to have been able to hear his singing live. His voice was just so… full and rich, and it just blew me away ♥ I lack words to describe his performance. ;;;;
Ryeowook continued the line of ballads with Teresa Teng's 我只在乎你 (I Only Care About You), a new song to me, but a real throwback for my parents. *v* I'm sure they loved the performance as much as I did; they always paid more attention if anything idols did could relate to what they know and all. ;w; I've always really liked Ryeowook's voice in songs but never quite imagined how it was like to hear him live; it was like… stars and tinkling windchimes, as cheesy as that sounds? ;;;; Really, I mean, it was high but very clear, and he came out front to sing and in that moment, he just looked so delicate and gentle and the emotion he put into the song was very poignant. c:
(Truth be told, I expected KyuMiWook to do 西风的话 (Whisper of the West Wind) off their new album, but individual solos are fine by me too ♥)
Things picked up a bit when Eunhyuk appeared with a bright red shirt! *v* ♥ He looked so charming he must've swept everyone off their feet~ There was a table with headphones set out for him, and he put it on, then pressed something and Justin Bieber's Baby played! He pressed it again, and Eminem's Love the Way You Lie played, then Sorry Sorry. It was like he was dissatisfied with each song; I leave it to you to imagine because this is pretty hard to describe. ;o; Then finally, Michael Jackson's songs started playing, and it was like a grand mash-up of all his hits!
There was Beat It and Dangerous and all his classic songs, and Eunhyuk even had the gloves and hat to match! *u* He did a fantastic job impersonating Michael Jackson; his hip thrusts and moonwalks and all his fanservice; he knows best how to make these girls scream! ;w; I've always known Eunhyuk was a great dancer, but I've never felt there was anything really special until I saw him live now? ;;;; Every move was so effortless, it was as if he wasn't even really trying to make it look pretty! Even my dad was impressed, and mind you, he doesn't get impressed by k-idols too easily. ;D
I was expecting something different from Sungmin because he isn't normally stereotyped as a dancer or a rapper or a vocalist in particular, maybe a martial arts show or whatnot, but sadly, he didn't get a solo. ;_______; I think a lot of his fans were upset, but it was probably due to time constraints. I wish he did get to share a stage with one of the other members, at least? :<
W-Well, here's a picture of an adorable Sungmin just to cheer you Min fans up, I hope? ;o;
SJM all came out for the final talk session then, and they thanked everyone for their amazing support and that they were so grateful to see so much support for SJM because this was the first time promoting in Malaysia as a sub-unit. Sungmin and Henry promised they would be back because they couldn't get enough, and I'm hoping that's true! C: The boys were generally all such wonderful sweethearts and they were very polite throughout the whole event, they were such a joy to watch ♥
After their final words to Malaysia, they stood right in the front of the stage and waved to all parts of the audience, from where I was to the right side and even to the ones riiiiiiight at the back, then the familiar opening of Destiny played and the whole crowd just waved their lightsticks (or arms, if we didn't have one?) and just enjoyed their gorgeous harmonization.
Off their new EP, Destiny was my favourite track - it had this beautiful mellow feel that was very calming, and the chorus where they all sing together was arranged and harmonized in such a way that everytime I listened to it, it felt like it was enveloping me, in some way? The orchestra accompaniment in the background and the electric guitar middle-8 and the high notes KyuMiWook had to hit were so, so beautiful to hear. If this song was a treat to listen to on the album, then it was absolutely fantastic live. Even if they were missing SiHae, they performed this number so, so well. ♥ Maybe it was the beauty of a closing number, I don't really know, but I loved it, and the boys kept interacting with the fans while singing - it was just such a beautiful sight, y'know? ;a;
They rushed backstage without a word again, and I think the lack of a goodbye made us realize that wasn't it or something? Everyone was screaming, "ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!" We could hear Serena C laughing, then she asked, "Haven't got enough, Putrajaya? What's the one song you've been wanting to hear?" And like brainwashed zombies, the whole sea of ELFs screamed, "SUPER GIRL!"
And of course, the gentlemen that they were, SJM obliged to an encore; the electronic intro of Super Girl began playing and the whole crowd dived right back into their mad frenzy again. ;v; It was a power-packed dance performance very much like Perfection, and the audience sang along to every word too! ♥
When the performance ended, they got into formation, held hands and bowed a full 90-degrees as a sign of respect towards everyone who attended the event, and that was just such a sweet ending to an already amazing concert. :'>
★
Being at this concert was an unexpected privilege; it was my first time seeing any idol of mine live, and somehow it seems apt, y'know? My first kpop group ever was SJ, but the first music video I ever watched for real was Super Girl. I think… it only seems right that they were the first idols I would ever see in concert. c:
Now that I think about it, I wish we could've planned something special like a lightstick sea or something, but it was too disorderly and everyone was all over the place, so that plan was a no-go. ;;;; B-But I'm sure the boys enjoyed themselves nevertheless, or at least, that's what I hope!
It might have only been a couple of songs with breaks for interaction with fans, but each and every single one of the boys tried their very best in everything, and it was really nice to see that. The way they carried themselves and the way they talked - it wasn't like meeting idols, it was more like… a celebratory session for a state talent competition winner or something, if that makes sense? I mean, they made the atmosphere so comfortable that you'd laugh along or sing along out of impulse, regardless of whether you're an ELF or not. They didn't have any air to them and they were really sweet and polite ♥ It must've been really hectic for them, with all their schedules in Taiwan and flying in just that morning, but if they were tired at all, they didn't show it. They responded to everything with curiosity and enthusiasm, and it was like watching adorable children you'd never get enough of. :3
Their sincerity and… idk how to put it, purity? was enough to mesmerise even non-ELFs, I'd think! Even my parents - trust me, if anyone would win an award for kpop sceptics, they would - have begun to acknowledge them for real and are starting to show interest in SJM, SJ and kpop in general! (I once caught my dad listening to Bonamana and it was on so loud that he didn't hear us call him for dinner, lololol? ;w;) I'm really glad that these boys have managed to bridge the gap between generations like this; it was such a wonderful feeling, y'know? *u*
SJM still has a ways to go before they can call themselves artists because they're still in a saturated idol market, but with each and every album, I can see a lot of improvement and I think that showed during Saturday night's concert. They are amazing performers that know what the crowd wants, and I think the ELFs really appreciated the fact that everyone tried to speak either Chinese or English just so the fans could understand and minimise the use of a translator. There really was only minimal use of Korean, really!
So to each and every one of you boys present - to Eunhyuk, Sungmin (who really has endeared himself to me through this!), Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, Zhou Mi and Henry: thank you so, so much for a wonderful night that I would always remember as the first concert I attended. ♥ You were all very endearing and I hope you enjoyed performing for us as much as we enjoyed watching you! I'd love to see you all again someday (hopefully with Siwon & Donghae next!), so please do come back to Malaysia more often? c:
Thank you for everything and have strength during your promotional cycle!
This Malaysian sea of blue will always, always be here for you. :'>
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I wish I'd taken my own photos and fancams, so I'm really sorry about that. ;~; I was contemplating just putting up mine, but for those of you who didn't get to attend, I figured you'd want better, clearer fancams instead. ;w; But hopefully this fanaccount wasn't too messy or disorganized, and I hope it was detailed enough for you to get a feel of how the concert was really like!
Other than sharing it with you, I'm hoping that by writing this fanaccount, I'll be able to remember these moments forever and ever and smile to myself when I do come back and read this in the future. It's been four days since the concert, but I can still remember everything as vividly as when I was there, and my heart still skips a beat when I recall them coming out to the front of the stage and whatnot. ;w;
Thank you for reading! c: ♥♥♥