I have to preface this review with one thing. I was not a 2AM fan before I went. Of course, I knew who they were and some of their songs. But ballads were never really my thing.
That being said, I am a fan now.
This was 2AM’s first solo concert series in Korea. And while it almost took a miracle for us to find the venue on the campus of Korea University, it was well worth the walking around in the freezing weather to get there.
I’m not going to lie, things started off a little slow. Most of their songs are ballads and the show started off with their hits ‘You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls’ and ‘There’s None’. The boys were basically stationary for the first few sets, but the fans loved it and they gave their all. I couldn’t help but find myself wishing I was curled up with a boyfriend. Since I couldn’t do that, I started wishing the excitement would amp up a bit. After the drama of JYP Nation and JYP Bad Party just two nights before, I wanted more energy. And of course, 2AM delivered.
After the first few songs, they took a break and started commenting on how there were more girls than guys in the audience and how the guys that were there were probably dragged there by their girlfriends. Or had made their girlfriends angry and were trying to make it up to them. They then invited a couple on stage and proceeded to play matchmaker by allowing the guy to profess his love to his girlfriend, since it was their 100-day anniversary, a very big deal in the Korean culture. It was cute, and showed that 2AM really could relate to their fans.
After that, things really began picking up. They did remixes to a few of their favorite pop songs, including ‘So Hot’, ‘Hot Issue’ and ‘Bad Girl Good Girl’. However, the crowd favorite was most definitely their rendition of After School’s ‘Bang’ which involved mini skirts and tights. And dancing. It was obvious which 2AM member really got into the dance routine on that one…
After the special guests, T-ARA and 8eight, the boys came back with their solo stages. Every girl swooned when Changmin channeled Tom Jones for ‘Sex Bomb’, and then proceeded to rip his shirt off. The swooning continued with Seulong and his dance performance to ‘Beautiful Monster’ which got so intense, he lost his earpiece during a flying kick. My personal favorite was Jin-woon, who is a man after my own heart. He pulled out an amazing guitar solo while performing ‘Hysteria’ by Muse. Not an easy piece to play, but he definitely did it justice.
Though, Jo Kwon was again the crowd favorite with his Lady Gaga vs Jo Kwon. Personally, I think he gave the US pop star a run for her money. And other pop groups in Korea. And I think he knew it. Later on in the show, after a few dance numbers, he commented to the crowd that when it comes to dancing, 2PM, who was in attendance that night, had nothing on him.
The rest of the show continued with high energy dance numbers, including the house mix of ‘I Did Wrong’ which got the fans to their feet and kept them there, even when they ended with a two-song encore of ‘Like Crazy’ and ‘This Song’. Jo Kwon was moved to tears by the support shown from the audience, and soon, the rest of the group followed. They promised to hold another concert and thanked everyone for coming, including their special guests, 2PM, Wonder Girls and Jo Kwon’s mother.
All in all, the show was very enjoyable, even for a non-ballad-y person like me. It was a good mixture of slow and fast, with fan service and general shenanigans that had everyone laughing. Jo Kwon opened the show by saying they saved the best for last and that everyone would get their money’s worth. This was definitely true.
Thanks to for letting May Pang’s AMIN attend the show! It was a fabulous ending to a wonderful Christmas weekend.
Photography credits go to Big Hit Entertainment
