Music / Idols
20111025_seoulbeats_SMTown

Seoulbeats at SM Town in NYC

46
Written by On October 25, 2011

On October 23rd, 2011, the Seoulbeats crew were chillin’ like villains with SHINee, Dong Bang Shin Ki, and BoA, Super Junior, f(x) and So Nyeo Shi Dae.

While mere words cannot even begin to describe how fantastically elastic I thought the entire experience was, here is what made us laugh, cry, and in traditional Seoulbeats fashion.

Youngji:

  • I now have an appreciation for SHINee—I was put off by their rainbow-tight skinnies and never gave them a proper chance, but seeing them live makes me understand why they have a pretty big fan base.  The boys really know how to enjoy the stage and they are pretty good live as well.
  • I never understood the Amber craze and still don’t. The girl sings about 10 seconds per song and every time she started her lines, the girls were screaming louder than they were for Dong Bang Shin Ki.  Mystery.  Also, I was curious: what kind of value f(x) is providing SM?  With music sales where it is now and f(x) not really having all those CF deals, are they really profitable?
  • BoA was fierce live—the best performer out of the entire concert.
  • The ladies of Girls’ Generation aren’t synchronized and their performances were boring.  ”The Boys” is better live than listening to MV.
  • Super Junior—I did not see all 13 but really couldn’t tell what I was missing other than Siwon‘s face and Heechul‘s pretentiousness. Perhaps that was the intention.  Leeteuk can’t sing—good thing he’s exploring other options, Eunhyuk is a good dancer and I can’t take Shindong seriously no matter what he does.  They also engaged with the fans the most.  Also, what’s the name of the angst looking member?  He was good but way too angsty.
  • Kangta was pretty awesome—it would have been better if he sang one of the H.O.T. songs.
  • Dong Bang Shin Ki appeared as if they were like Jesus hanging on wires and all.  Impressed with the powerful performance but nothing that different from what I saw on YouTube. You would think concert performances would be better.
  • In total, I expected the concert to be a little bit more dynamic and innovative, in terms of collaboration and the performances.  It seemed like a Music Bank special of only SM artists and the dialogue between the acts and songs was very awkward — need to hone up on english skills, you SM Artists. The ending was a bit disappointing with H.O.T.’s “Hope” as the last song. Expected an encore stage with the amount of fans present.
  • In attendance, it was an interesting mix of fans, families, and dudes who drank during the boy band performances and roared only during Girls’ Generation.  Overall, SM Town in NYC was a pretty good experience and allowed me to appreciate some SM acts that I have ignored without too much thought.


Patricia:

  • I agree with Young-ji on almost everything, particularly with your comment about the concert being really ordinary, especially considering the fact that it’s effing Madison Square Garden and you would think that considering how much they like talking up the Hallyu thing, they’d be able to show for it in a Hallyu-defining concert performance. (On that note, you’d also think that they’d be able to hire a better translator for the concert. Seriously, what was up with that?)
  • The high wire thing seriously needs to stop. There was actually a technical difficulty when SHINee was performing “Lucifer” – they couldn’t attach Onew‘s harness on time so the lift was delayed by about 10 seconds, but I think the wires were on a timer so the boys were stuck up in the air until the very last beat of the song, at which time they just kind of plummeted back down to the ground at breakneck speed. Made me a liiiiitle nervous.
  • I had originally thought the opposite about SNSD and found them to be really show-stopping…but upon reconsideration, I’m beginning to think that that has more to do with the fact that I was standing next to a super loud SONE fanman throughout the whole concert. Conversely, I didn’t think SHINee was all that great. Their performance material/remixes were recycled from their Asia tour concert, which is a given, but so were their performance expressions….the fist-pumping, the jumping around stage, the random head-banging. It looked good the first time around when I saw them in Taipei, but after seeing it a second time, it seemed a bit disingenuous to me. Then again, maybe that’s just what happens when you’re forced to perform the same songs over and over again. ”Ready Or Not” was really great, though.
  • BoA…no words. She was fantastic. Everything was live, choreography was flawless and sharp, and just so energetic. Definitely one of the best (if not THE best) live performers I’ve ever seen.
  • Super Junior was cute, but pretty bleh. Needed more Zhou Mi/Henry. They were onstage for 1.5 songs!  Injustice, for reals.

Subi:

  • F(x): Of all the groups, they were definitely the most underwhelming. While their vocals and their dances were decent, nothing about it was particularly MSG worthy. It got the job done but the excitement wasn’t really there for me. And I did notice that Amber got a lot of lovin’ in NY. But you know what? Good for her. And out of all of them, she knew how to work the stage and the crowd the best so she deserved it. But their red scheme outfits were horrendous. Amber is not from the Scottish Highlands and Sulli is not the token Asian extra in Grease.
  • Kangta: For better or for worse, this guy is pretty irrelevant in KPOP these days. Harsh, but true. And unfortunately, I didn’t feel particularly excited by his performances either. Don’t get me wrong; he can sing like any other mofo out there but I just couldn’t bring myself to care for him. And his duet with Sulli? I was very impressed with Sulli. While it was nothing AMAZING, she sounded quite lovely. But for realz, she’s like 5,000,000 years younger than you, dude. Go pedo elsewhere. And his dancing is funny but I guess that’s the least of the FBI our problems.
  • Super Junior: KRY performing the Sorry, Sorry Answer song was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. But hey, is it me or does Kyuhyun look mad different in real life? His jaw looked less pointy. Speaking of, Wookie baby, I know I called you an evil, garden gnome once but you were a doll and a half. As a whole however, I thought Super Junior were the weakest performers. Even their best vocalists were making noticeable mistakes all over the place. They did however, make up for it with charisma. What I would have given to have been that girl whose camera was consenually molested by Leeteuk and Sungmin.
  • SHINee: These boys are always great live. No doubt. But I was really disappointed with Minho and Taemin. Taemin, as always your dancing was phenomenal. But after having seen evidence of your vocals improving, I was hoping that I would hear it. And I didn’t. Work on that stamina, energizer bunny. And Minho, banging your head and running around the stage like you’ve taken horse tranquilizers does not make up for anything. Just saying. And why oh why did they have to perform Get Down and Ready or Not? These boys have so many better songs I would have loved to have rather heard. So many singles, I would have rather heard. Oh well. Oh and Key, what a sport. Though I think your First Kiss duet with Krystal was obnoxious (the dancing and your duet partner. How can you expect me not to gag?), you did a very good job during all your performances, including holding your own against BoA. And Onew, pure perfection.
  • SNSD: Oh my ladies. Hyoyeon, I screamed hardcore for you. I hoped you heard. But anyway, I think all of you did a decent job. While I think your group is just inherently lacking talent, you did better than I expected. And you guys are great performers. But Jessica needs to GTFO. She’s a very pretty, talented girl but I just don’t understand why she was getting so much up and center time. And why oh why did you have to perform THAT version of Genie? Blargh. But nice job.
  • BoA: I want your career; give it to me now. Though I can’t stand the aesthetic quality of your voice, you’re an amazing performer and I cannot help but enjoy your performances. And your black hair and black sparkly outfit, 10 out of 10.
  • DBSK: Maybe I’m impatient but I thought it was BULLSHIT that every artist got to perform at least one song before their chunk came along and DBSK was left for the last 45 mins. Like really? And I know the wire thing was overplayed but let me tell you a little story: As soon as I knew that it was “U-Know Time,” I stood on my chair  and started jumping up and down. Yunho saw me, smirked, and pointed at me like the Rising Sex God of the East that he is. My life is complete. And they were amazing. It made me sad when Changmin did Yoochun‘s Mirotic rap. Chamingminnie, babe, you’re not as smooth. And also, no worries on that one note during Before U Go. But kudos for having the balls to tell fans to shut the duck up so you can finish your intro and carry on with the performing. But legit, even if they are just two of the original five, they are an indicator of how amazeballs Dong Bang Shin Ki is. Their performance was right off the track. It was amazing.
  • Other notes: What was up with those informercial-esque breaks? Not gonna lie, they were freaking me out. They sounded like those Christian infomercials and brainwashing psychological experiment videos had a baby. The translator? So ineffective. Be louder, you silly duck. And as for the lack of difference of MSG, in SM‘s defense, I think their main goal was to test the American water and bring American fans what they’ve been asking for. And we’re not necessarily looking for something interesting. While we may have access to these performances via Youtube but there is NOTHING like seeing them in person. NOTHING. And that’s what we’re looking for. I got interviewed by the SM Town staff a couple of times and the one thing they asked me was “Did you ever think you would be able to meet them here?” And I essentially said that I never dreamed of it. I expected my love of Korean entertainment to stay in Korea. But now, I can see them in person, hear them in person. It may have functioned like an SM only Music Bank but I just wanted to hear some of my favorite artists perform my favorite songs. SO SURREAL. Damn, people, I was in the same room with my future husband, Jung Yunho. We made eye contact. He pointed on me. I can die happy now.

Regardless of whether we loved or hated a certain moment, we thought it was a pretty great experience. These are people we watch on YouTube, people I listen to on my iPod. But here they were in the flesh, before us doing what they love to do and what we love to see and hear.

What did you guys think? Were any of you there?

(Images coutesy of SM Entertainment)

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  • Julili

    Aw lol, great recap you guys!
    And I couldn’t but lol at this bit: ” Yunho saw me, smirked, and pointed at me like the Rising Sex God of the East that he is. My life is complete.” same thing happened to me but in Paris. After the press conference DBSK had their sound check. I, like the opportunist I am, refused to move from my spot in the very front of the stage. So Yunho sees me and does the point and smirk as he sing Before U Go. I’m still quite not over it….. Ruined for life I tell u!

  • Gnattie

    I live in Washington state, so I wasn’t there. Circumstances permitting, I would’ve gone. But I’m glad that it was good! Standing in a sea of rampant Kpop fans would’ve probably killed me, though.

    I heard that SNSD lip synched “The Boys.” Is this true?

    • http://www.callmepatricia.com Patricia

      It’s true. Most of the concert was lipsynched, save for a few songs near the first half of the concert. I think the only person who performed all of her songs live was BoA.

      • Anonymous

        DBSK lipsyched?????????????

        • http://twitter.com/miss_subi Subashiny

          Definitely not during Before U Go and Mirotic. You could hear Changmin’s mistakes and the lilt in his voice during Mirotic. 

          • http://www.callmepatricia.com Patricia

            No, I’m pretty sure Mirotic was lipsynched; their mics were on and you could hear Yunho scream “SMTown New York” or something like that right before Changmin’s scream, but it was really faint compared to the actual vocals. They were also wearing those fake headmics that they use whenever they lipsynch. Here’s my fancam of the song (or part of it, anyway): http://bit.ly/ti0ycE

            But Before U Go was live.

        • maldita

          They lipsynced in “Rising Sun.” I don’t think they lipsynced anything else. I’ve watched fancams and I could hear a few deviations here and there, vocals-wise.

      • Gnattie

        Good for BoA! I can understand how it’s hard to dance and sing at the same time, but I still find lip-syncing very disappointing. I think having everything live, especially the singer and the band and the backup singers, is the best way to do live performances. How are we supposed to get a fair assessment of a performer’s talent if we can’t hear them live? Voices are digitally altered. I wanted to see if select SNSD members could actually sing by listening to their voices in English. It’s strange, but it can be hard to judge a person’s singing talent if they’re singing in a different language.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000733800778 Mary Noona

      Yes, and looking at my cams, I think the majority of their songs were. Most were, exception BoA and possibly Kangta (100% live), half and half or 80(live)/20 (SJ notably).

  • saylor

    “My future husband Jung Yunho”  Whoa thems fighting words. 

    • http://twitter.com/miss_subi Subashiny

      Get at me, bro, get at me :) 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000733800778 Mary Noona

    I disagree with a lot of what was said. I was with someone who was into K-Pop… for the sake of me not going alone and I needed a camera man, and he ended up an SJ and Kangta fan by the end. Really, I love both at this point, and will be gladly purchasing SS4 tickets when released. 

    BoA, disappointed us both. I’m almost sure it was her music. It became repetitive and at some point, we both wanted her to end her song line up. She is, however, an amazing performer live, which makes me believe it really was just the music… and the awkward talking.

    f(x) was really pushed aside here. Everyone else had aerials and fireworks and flames… and they had nothing. BUT, Amber knows how to work it and Luna was spectacular. Sulli was also a sweetie :] The others were forgettable, even with 2 duets (Krystal). Though, they were edgier than SNSD and for this, they won the heart of the man who came with me.

    Key and Minho… need to stop rapping. RDD was brilliant though.

    I know a lot of what was judged was based off musicality, so I will say this so my POVs (can’t say this for the poor BF who was forced to come), my perception of pop music is entertainment>music. Especially during concerts, where the majority of the time you can’t even hear what is being sung because of all the screaming. 

    Though, if vocals were bad, I would note it. Glad Yesung skipped on some of the higher octave notes, and Kyu slaughtered his, he was so good (Answer). 

    TL;DR

    Disagree with SB in that SJ and Kangta were the best of the night and that BoA and f(x) were the weakest, both for reasons due to personal preference/reasoning. Key and Minho, stop rapping. Onew, keep doing whatever the heck that perfection was during your solo. TVXQ, BoA, Kangta and SJ really were the veterans and you could just easily tell. I’m so glad I came.I loved every minute :]

    • Anonymous

      Music is entertainment too. What do you consider entertainment other than that? Being beautiful and acting cool or cute? It would be different if they showed something like a circus, but they are singers. I don’t know what to expect from them, other than singing (mainly). If you don’t do that, you have to show something really remarkable and I don’t think they did that.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000733800778 Mary Noona

        Dancing is a form of entertainment, an example. And yes, look good and acting is also a form of entertainment. Also, I never said music wasn’t part of the entertainment value. I mean that entertainment value as a whole over pure musicality is what I look for in pop music. They are idols, which means they’re suppose to be more than just singers. I could barely hear anything at times and still enjoyed the concert. If they did this, they fulfilled their job.

        • Anonymous

          They are singers above everything else. Singing is the most important thing.
          For me, they could be standing still and I would be entertained. Like this, they fulfill their job?
          Again, if you won’t sing you have to do something remarkable that prevents you to sing. And not singing when you want to.
          It’s just natural to assume the article will place more value on musicality. What did you expect? The article saying they were extremely beautiful?

          • tiffany

            I feel like I agree that singing is the most important thing for their careers. However, I also feel like I could have just enjoyed their singing from the comfort of my own home. The reason I went to and enjoyed the concert was because I got to watch exactly how beautiful they are in person. I didn’t expect them to pull off something spectacular with their singing, it is SM after all. Truthfully, I don’t think I enjoyed 70% of the music at the concert, but I had so much fun there. Since the article was discussing the authors’ overall impression of the concert, I think the personal non-musically related experiences are just as important such as the supposedly super coordinated and in sync dancing (and fanservice haha, what I would give to have a Leeteuk or Sungmin selca on my camera). 

            Also, I would also argue that these kpop stars are more IDOLs than singers. They’re meant to entertain and look “extremely beautiful”, and I think there’s many of them who can’t actually sing that well. They get love and success anyway from their looks and not their ability, so in that sense, I thought they fulfilled their jobs rather well.

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000733800778 Mary Noona

            Thank you for your response, as I don’t think my original point was being understood.

            For a concert, I am looking for more than just singing. (On a side note, considering they are pop stars, wouldn’t dancing be just as important?). And I never had an emphasis on beauty either, just said that on a technical, yes it does matter.Idols are suppose to be actors, comedians, dancers, singers, likable. It’s why each member of a group is usually given a role to play. I disagree that above all, singing matters most (this leans back to the dancing value more than anything), where it’s your job to be an entertainer above all. (Unless you’re promoting yourself as a singer ie, Ballad Singers, Classical Singers). I expected an article that concentrated on the dancing, the interactions, the styling, the presentation (they did touch on this). The concert was a lot more than just singing. Off the top of my head, I believe only two songs were singing-concentrated only (KRY’s Sorry Sorry Answer and Kangta’s Polaris). So the other 98% of the concert, made to express and do more than just singing… should those parts only be evaluated on singing?

          • Anonymous

            Maybe you should read the article again, because singing is not the only thing mentioned. And singing includes many things, it’s not just saying some words with rhythm. Singers are kind of actor too, even voice actors need to be kind of an actor.
            Musicality is the most important thing because this is what brings everything else to the performance.
            For me, if you are lipsynching, everything else you are doing is kind of fake. Well, more fake in this case, because most of them can’t really bring the feelings and the vibe of the song correctly with their 100%. LOL
            If you won’t sing at all, don’t try to trick us by lipsynching. Just do another dance battle or something like that. It will be more real and enjoyable.

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000733800778 Mary Noona

            I’m aware singing isn’t the only thing mentioned, but it’s also very concentrated in the article. 

            And I still disagree with you. Musicality when you’re anything but a pop singer is what I believe… an idol even more so. Why? Because that’s the genre. They aren’t suppose to be the best singers, they’re suppose to be the best performers. Why lipsync? Because it adds more power to the dance and charisma~ And tons of people enjoyed it WITH the lipsync, even people who refuted the K-Pop genre who attended the concert.

            I will also stand by my point, when you’re in a concert where everyone and their mom’s are screaming their lungs out, why are you going to focus your full energy on singing a tune correctly when almost no one can hear you clearly? My next route would be on what my audience can see, not what they can hear. And in that, they succeeded. If this were a concert where the audience weren’t as noisy, I would agree with you completely. But that isn’t the case. You can’t enjoy what you barely know of.

            At that, I think we can agree to disagree.

  • Anonymous

    Hmmm…I gotta say before the concert I was not a BoA or Kangta fan but after that’s changed. I thought Kangta was terrific and he’s really cute as well :).  I also downloaded BoA’s english album and really like it.  Loved Suju KRY singing Sorry, Sorry (R&B)!  I wish they could’ve sung more. Super Junior really got the crowd going and up, at least in my section. I hope we get a SS4 now.  I actually really like F(x) but thought they were pretty underwhelming.  
    I’m just really happy that I got to see 2/5 of freakin’ DBSK!  What I would give to see them all together :(.   Still wish they could’ve sung more songs from their KYHD and TONE albums. Yunho was adorable speaking English. I also loved Changmin for shushing the crowd when he spoke. 

  • tyounge1991

    People pay to go to concerts where 98% of the acts or songs are lip synched? srsly? lol

    I do hope this crap is free to be honest, is this that free concert thing they do every year?

    • Anon

      ia. i was really disappointed at the lack of singing and the lack of collabs. i wouldn’t pay full-price to watch them again. the yg fam concert i attended in korea last year had no lipsynching and had interesting collbas and i would watch that again in a heartbeat.

      • jolyn_nhy

        I acutally don’t think that they lipsync that much. I mean for some songs yes, but many were live.
        I went to Super Junior’s concerts before, and except for like 3 songs, the remaining 20 over songs were clearly live.

        • Anon

          i haven’t been to a super show but there was a lot of lipsynching at smtown nyc. too much. which is weird considering each group performs fewer songs.

  • Anon

    BoA is an amazing dancer but my ears were bleeding every time she opened her mouth (chipmunk voice).Same with all the girl groups. I felt that Shinee and Super Junior were the best acts and they got the crowd more hype than any performers at the concert. I couldn’t even properly hear Sorry Sorry Answer because the crowd was so loud (and it was a slow song! lol). The concert as a whole was amazing but the performances I clearly remember are SUJU and Shinee, even NY Times agrees with me http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/arts/music/shinee-and-south-korean-k-pop-groups-at-madison-square-garden-review.html Yay! Super Junior!

  • Anonymous

    My bias for BoA may blur my opinion but she’s really the queen <3

  • aznboy

    Damn Subi, you lucky whore! I can’t believe Yunho pointed at you and smiled. I am sooo jealous. Either we are going to share or him or we are having Bitch fight to the death for him. Did you notice him looking at the Yunjae signs?

    Was it just me or did all the girl’s voice sounded a little chipmunky? It was like they did something to it and it was not pretty. It was my first concert so I am not exactly sure what people are suppose to sound like. Also there seem to be a delay in sound coming from the speakers in the back, it was very noticeable.

    My favorites performances of the night were Boa, TVXQ, and Super Junior K.R.Y.

    I liked Shinee’s songs but I wasn’t a big fan of them. After watching them perform I thought they were really good. Specifically Jonghyun, he did got a little overboard at times though. Taemin and Minho were non-existent as far I was concerned.

    Can someone elaborate on the mistakes that were made vocally? I would like to hear more about them because I didn’t really notice them (probably because I am relatively new to music).

    • Gnattie

      There were YunJae signs?!? That’s so creepy and embarassing. No offense to any shippers on this blog, but I find shippings to be perverted. Maybe there are closeted Kpop stars but not every bromantic relation is true love. I’m tired of psycho Kpop fans insisting that their ship is real and that all Kpop stars are gay for each other.

      • aznboy

        While I agree the hardcore shippers can get annoying, I don’t really see anything wrong with regular shippers. Apparently there were some Yunjae signs in the general admissions, the only I saw was this sign that lit up, but that was in section 118. I am not a hardcore shipper and not going to try to shove anything down your throat, but I do think at some point before the split Yunho and Jaejoong were seeing each other.

        • Gnattie

          After seeing YunJae videos, it’s likely. Same with JongKey. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jonghyun and Key were, or still are, in a relationship. There probably are a lot of closeted people in Kpop, and some are really bad about hiding it. But a lot of fans take it overboard. Maybe I’ve only seen bad examples, but people can be so… gross and enthusiastic about it. I dunno, it just weirds me out personally. I don’t care if someone says, “They’re in love!” but I do mind it when they shove it down my throat on Tumblr or make suggestive pictures of the couples.

          Lol I would say that SeoulBeats should do an article on shippings in Kpop (not bromance but actual plausible relationships) but that’s more tabloid than anything.

        • anon

          There was a Yunjae sign in the front row. I don’t mind if the signs are way in the back or something, but I dislike it when fans are sitting right in front of the boys and waving it in their faces. :|

      • Atrapforfools

        I think it’s all in good fun when confined to the Internet and the fandom, but to bring it to a concert and wave it around is kind of creepy and overboard IMO. I know I would feel uncomfortable if I was an idol and saw that.

  • http://other-worldly.org Justine

    MEH REVIEW.

    BUT OMG YUNHO POINTED AT YOU. I. WOULD. HAVE. DIED. He is like, only my inspiration right at this very moment. ADKLAJDFKJA;LDKJF

  • jolyn_nhy

    “Also, what’s the name of the angst looking member?  He was good but way too angsty.”

    Ha. I was wondering who you are talking about. Someone enlighten me please?
    Is it like Yesung or something? :P Really can’t guess.

    And yes, Super Junior didn’t even perform Superman or A-CHA (If Im not wrong).
    Yea and they perform so little songs (As compared to the rest)

    Oh and Love boA! She is just great, experienced, someone I would pay so much to watch.

  • tegami

    WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

    Reading all of these first hand accounts just makes me froth at the mouth with pure, unadulterated jealousy.

    I want to make eye contact with my future husband(s) and see my idols live as well, dammit!

    TT__________________________________________TT

  • tiffany

    Kyuhyun waved at me <3!!!!!! 
    And at a gajillion other people too….I've never been to any concerts before this one, so I can't really make any comparisons. It's also sad that I can't tell which songs are lip-synched (even though I'm pretty sure of a few that definitely aren't) and I did not catch SuJu's vocal mistakes. I think I liked the concert, maybe. I feel like I was thinking the whole "I should be feeling super happy, my oppas are finally here in NYC" but I guess I was expecting to feel more mind-blown? The live performances didn't offer anything more interesting than all the videos I had already seen on youtube. It was still plenty of fun and I did lose my voice from cheering for all of them so much. My favorite performances were by SuJu (but I am a huge but hopefully not delusional SuJu fan so this is also probably biased). KRY was as amazing as everyone has already said, but even though the other performances were not perfect, I thought that they were the most fun to watch. They interacted the most with the fans and I, too, was green with envy of those general admission fans (especially whoever got Eunhyuk's shirt). SuJu performances always make me happy even though there definitely wasn't enough Henry. He didn't even get to speak much, although he actually speaks English. Also, it seemed like Zhou Mi really isn't that popular, because there were barely any cheers when he appeared, which made me feel really bad because I don't really care so much for him.

    TVXQ's appearance was cool. They just flew around on top of the stage for a few minutes, but it definitely was impressive. I never realized how hot Changmin was before. It was weird, though, because the whole time I was wondering when they were going to appear, and I didn't see tem until like the last hour and a half. I didn't really care for BoA even though it seems like she was fantastic. I really wanted to see if Taemin is as adorable and pretty in real life as he always seems in videos and pictures, but he barely got any attention. I did realize how awesome Key is though, and my sister (who I went with) kept commenting about how hot Jonghyun is (her bias). I didn't think that SNSD was that spectacularly pretty in person. They all seemed to blend into each other. I had all my guy friends tell me how jealous they were since they really wanted to see these "super hot girls" live, but they didn't really stand out in my opinion. Their voices also sounded REALLY chipmunk-y like I think someone has already mentioned. Amber is really cool, but I don't see her as hot. I don't see why everyone says that f(x) was the worst, because they seemed to perform at the same level as everyone else.

    The thing I hated the most though was the cover of Tik Tok. It was the second performance, and the opening with f(x) really had me excited. It was so unimpressive, it immediately killed my mood. I also did not understand Onew's chandelier song at all. Kangta's and Sulli's duet was cute if not cheesy. It had me smiling though. I honestly had no idea who Kangta was, though, before reading this article. The dance battle was also sort of really cool.

    Overall, it was still a great experience, and if they ever came back (they should!!!!!!!!) I would definitely buy tickets again.

    • Gnattie

      I think they’re overkilling Tik Tok. Seriously, how often have Kpop stars covered it? It’s getting old. It’s done trending. Pick out something new from the Top 40.

  • http://www.facebook.com/MatthewCosmo Matthew Eubanks

    SNSD fo sho did not lip sync Gee. I know this because Jessica was hard to hear. LOL But I think the others might have had backing tracks, not full on lip syncing. I agree they sounded too perfect. I heard a MR of The Boys from Korea and it was all live, and you could tell they all had improved on their vocals, so I was surprised about it in SM Town NYC. The only song I noticed their lack of them out of sync (dance wise) was Hoot. The rest seemed great. BoA’s use of backtracks was the most obvious. She was kinda screamed the lyrics at points. So while some say she didn’t lip-sync (true) she was still using backing-tracks (she just made hers obvious since she didn’t try to blend with the song like the others.) One thing I will say about the show is that if I wanted to hear completely live songs with deep lyrics I would go see Sade (whom I love as well.) But when I want to be entertained I’ll watch SM artist. 

  • tvxqfangirl85

    Girls thank you so much for your recaps and for the first hand accounts. I will forever live in regret for living in Orlando, FL and not having any money to go:(

    Subi, I’m so happy for you!!! Even though Yunniebear is my Dong Bang lover, I suppose you two can see each other on the side^^

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  • kakadu kakaduson

    f(x) was definitely better than snsd that evening!

  • http://twitter.com/ErikinaDaisy Erika Ward

    Ok. You have to give SuJu a break considering a month before one of their members went off to the military – from what I saw there weren’t any vocal mistakes. Sorry Sorry Answer was AMAZING~! I have to agree with everyone that in terms of ENTERTAINING – Super Junior, as always, does it the best! SUPER JUNIOR FIGHTING~

    SARANGHAEYO KIM HEECHUL~!

  • Anon

    could you possibly tell us during what part yunho smiled at you? i would like to see it…

  • chris

    - f(x) > SNSD…Victoria is beautiful, Luna is a honey voiced doll, Amber can dance – guurrrl. Krystal is a good looking kid too. All the girls were nice and thick (as in toned with meat on their bones) like active older teenage girls and young women should be. I have a feeling SMent made the whole of SMTown eat ample meals before flying them over to the states.
    - SNSD ladies were entertaining enough. I was just glad to hear Taeyeon live and to see: the beautiful Yuri rocking a sexy curvy healthy bod, sweet Sooyoung (I will forever mourn her old face, it was perfect), the adorable Sunny and Hyoyeon.
    - KANGTA – gah gah gah gorgeous. The singing was loverly. I was like yes children that is how it’s done. The Sulli duet with all the hidden mics was so adorable, I don’ even care. To me it’s comparable to when a seasoned performer does collabs with the young current stars of the era.
    - Krystal-Jessica duet; Krystal-Key duet: please keep it in your living room. We could trade at least one for the Luna-Zhou Mi duet.
    - SHINee boys were fun. Jonghyun’s face, his jawline, his little muscle man arms translate into Roman god in real life.  Minho was so attractive it confused me. He’s just a big goofy baby, right? (the ChangMinho hug at the end was priceless) Speaking of babies Taemin is tre skinny. Their set over used the wires. I was all no no SM must save for DBSK. But Yunho and Changmin on wires are untouchable; they reinvented the wheel.
    - Super Junior guys were a lot of fun too.”Angsty” Yesung had me flipping chairs every time he opened his mouth to sing A-MA-ZING. They needed to show more Donghae, for serious I was about to kill a derogatory word. At one point my sister asked who a certain precious looking boy was and I was like “That’s Henry mah bay-beh!”
    -The Michael Jackson dance break was a nice touch but it was missing some epic people. I wish there was more of a dance variety showcase.
    - BoA: so cute. She was obviously uncomfortable in the glittery black bustier (though she has some great thighs). Once she had on pants she was dancing like a G. I’m glad she performed “Energetic”, that’s mah jam. I wish she ditched the Brit Spears song for “Obsessed” or “Touched” and I was hoping for an old ballad or even “Don’t Know What to Say”. There were brief glimpses of her womanly singing voice a few times (it’s closer to her deep speaking voice), but she kept right on with the stupid whatever she does. Key made it clear that BoA is no 5’3″ and that she has the most petite frame ever.

    You go and save the best for last. Dong Bang Shin Ki. Are you even real? Their performance was so impressive, so professional, yet so fast. Yunho’s Matrix back bend and Changmin’s shush were all win. No I’m sorry I mean they were “All Kill!” Can we please get rid of the backup dancers in Before U Go? Yunho’s English shocked me I wasn’t expecting him to speak it nor for it to be so understandable – extremely clear and well pronounced. I was cracking-up though because his accent was out of nowhere – like Europe or South America or something.

    Disappointments of the night: NO TRAX NO CSJH NO Zhang Liyin, No Choi Siwon, No Kim Kibum…I kid I kid if he showed up heads would’ve exploded. J-min is essentially a Japanese solo artist and since this is a Korean concert, No J-min, No Jino. Listen SMent when you have a hyperbolic roster of 30 million peeps, you can afford to invite them all, start earlier and have a 6 hr show. There was definately no SuJu-Trax-Changmin Don’t Don remix. NO BIG TIME!  There was more live singing than lip-synching. Kangta 100% f(x), BoA, and DBSK stayed pretty live (Why, Maximum, B.U.G all live. DBSK medley I’m pretty sure was live, Rising Sun questionable). Super Junior really didn’t mime that much. They didn’t need to with the KRY boys doing most of the singing.  SHINee may have been 50% idk. Girl’s Generation if I recall was mostly playback. Tell me why SNSD’s music was turned up 3 times louder than everybody else, huh? The hyper songs that were lip synched were the worst because they were ultra chipmunked. And the volume for everything kept getting louder over the course of the concert. So, by the time TVXQ came on, my ears were so ravaged that Yunho sounded like an old lady (albeit talented and fione) when he spoke and sang. Looking back at fan cams I know for sure he was all man. I think he and Changmin spoke deeper in English compared to Korean, ‘Twas sexy. The attending Korean media coverage outside the venue was very selective about who they wanted to interview, to put it nicely. It was expected but nevertheless rather DISA-PPOINTING.

    Issues with the crowd: please be quiet when the performers
    and translators are saying greetings, introductions, and thank yous….and when
    Onew is singing opera.  And do a little
    research on all the acts that you’ll be seeing. I came prepared for what I
    would get out of the event and I came to have a care free experience. Counting
    only the concert ticket for 4 1/2 – 5 hrs of entertainment by 7 different acts
    and round trip transpo, it cost me about $130. Which is the cost of a dinner and gratuities at a
    steak house for my family. Music is much more digestible than beef.

    Dang I need to learn how to condense.

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