Wow it's been forever since I've written a post here.
I've been busy due to university and I also somewhat cut back on the makeup buying (due to realizing how much I actually have) so I didn't know what to post.
However, I did go to the first KCon in Australia (Sydney) and I had an enjoyable experience so I'd like to share it with you too!
Anyways as always, click click click the read more button to see my experience in KCon!
So first, I went to both days of KCon but since I have a lot to say I've decided to split each day into two posts.
Apologies for any possible inaccuracy in this post because when I went to KCon I was actually just running on an hour of sleep + lack of proper meals.
To start off, going to the Day 1 concert for KCon was a complete impulsive decision. At first we (my brother, his friend and I) just decided to check out the convention, but since my brother got himself a Girl's Day hi-touch ticket (which meant hours of waiting for him), we all decided to just go to the concert too.
What I didn't expect was that the convention line would be SO SO long. It took around at least an hour or more in order to actually get into the convention. I think what made it worse was that there were no signs so most people actually had no idea what they were lining up for, which made the lines even longer.
The rules for entering the convention was quite strict too, no backpacks (which was what I was using) and no unsealed bottles of water (which I also had). Luckily the security told us midway before entering and we sent my brother to the cloakroom (that had a huge line because a lot of people had no idea about the rules either) to cloak our items in.
There were also EXO fans giving out Chen banners because it turns out his birthday was a day before the event (the 21st of September) and they wanted people to wave it around at the concert to show him.
As soon as I entered the convention I was extremely disappointed. There were a small amount of booths and you could easily go through the whole thing within around six minutes. Sadly since my brother was at the Fan Engagement with Girl's Day it meant that I had to stay in the convention and just watch the stages unless I wanted to melt under the heat outside.
However some interesting things happened like seeing Kim Dao in real life (she was pretty and seemed to be quite friendly since she was taking pictures with fans), seeing Andy Trieu (host of PopAsia) and Kevin Kim (ex-Z:EA member).
Fun moment but I was actually very close to Andy Trieu and Kevin Kim as they were waiting to get inside the radio booth (which happened to be next to the make-up booth). But the previous girl was even luckier as they had a conversation with her!
However some interesting things happened like seeing Kim Dao in real life (she was pretty and seemed to be quite friendly since she was taking pictures with fans), seeing Andy Trieu (host of PopAsia) and Kevin Kim (ex-Z:EA member).
Fun moment but I was actually very close to Andy Trieu and Kevin Kim as they were waiting to get inside the radio booth (which happened to be next to the make-up booth). But the previous girl was even luckier as they had a conversation with her!
For the concert itself, we had gotten P5 tickets. The seats were certainly furthest away from stage but there was still a good view. There were quite a few empty spots in front of us and a pair of guys actually decided to jump a few rows forward.
Before the concert actually began, the screens were used to play MVs of the line-up that was there. As expected, EXO got the most screams whenever their MV popped up and many were excited to just watch the MV. Soon after there were also dance covers done by two dance cover groups, 6ixx and KCDC.
So for this KCon, Kevin Woo, former member of U-Kiss was the starting MC. Since KCon was sponsored by a company called 'HotelsCombined' (hard to forget when they play the ad plenty of times and try to brainwash you with it) there was a pre-activity to win a free stay in a hotel (sponsored by HotelsCombined!) and also a $300 voucher.
Now what happened was extremely awkward and possibly just strange as Kevin Woo instructed the audience to make a 'H' with their arms and make a dance move out of it. They mostly focused on the ground floor people and boy were they passionate.
The one after was combining your hands together ("because you know, HotelsCombined?") and making a dance move out of that. Once again the people on the ground floor were filmed and a passionate dancer had won the voucher.
Now what happened was extremely awkward and possibly just strange as Kevin Woo instructed the audience to make a 'H' with their arms and make a dance move out of it. They mostly focused on the ground floor people and boy were they passionate.
The one after was combining your hands together ("because you know, HotelsCombined?") and making a dance move out of that. Once again the people on the ground floor were filmed and a passionate dancer had won the voucher.
For the concert itself, the MCs of the day were actually Sehun and Suho! The fans went crazy and the screams were extremely loud. Suho's English was nice to listen to and Sehun mostly spoke in Korean.
So the concert began with SF9. The group that I was extremely unfamiliar with. The most knowledge of them I had was that they have a member called Rowoon and they're under FNC.
Fanfare: Most I remembered was that the member during the chorus (Think his name was Dawon?) had made quite a impact on me with his confident expressions. It was quite a catchy song and the choreography was cool too.
Introduction: They did a group introduction and then said their names individually. They didn't do much other than just talk about Sydney.
Jungle Game: This song had the feeling of SPEED's 'Don't Play Around' in the sense that the choreography was kind of like watching a circus show. It was really fascinating.
Easy Love: Probably the song I enjoyed most out of them. the blonde, who sang the chorus was really eye-catching with his blonde hair. The move where they open their jackets was great to watch too, since the inside of their suit jackets were orange, it was really flashy.
I was really blown away at how catchy their songs were, especially 'Easy Love' and the choreography for 'Jungle Game' was extremely fascinating. Watching stages in real life definitely adds onto the impact and I can easily say that I became a fan of their songs.
Fanfare: Most I remembered was that the member during the chorus (Think his name was Dawon?) had made quite a impact on me with his confident expressions. It was quite a catchy song and the choreography was cool too.
Introduction: They did a group introduction and then said their names individually. They didn't do much other than just talk about Sydney.
Jungle Game: This song had the feeling of SPEED's 'Don't Play Around' in the sense that the choreography was kind of like watching a circus show. It was really fascinating.
Easy Love: Probably the song I enjoyed most out of them. the blonde, who sang the chorus was really eye-catching with his blonde hair. The move where they open their jackets was great to watch too, since the inside of their suit jackets were orange, it was really flashy.
I was really blown away at how catchy their songs were, especially 'Easy Love' and the choreography for 'Jungle Game' was extremely fascinating. Watching stages in real life definitely adds onto the impact and I can easily say that I became a fan of their songs.
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| Can You Feel It - Pentagon |
As for Pentagon, I only knew Hui and E'Dawn (thanks Produce 101) and also Jinho (rip S.M. The Ballad). They were also a group that blew me away with their stage presence.
Like This: I wasn't a big fan of this song so I kind of zoned out during this performance. But I remember my brother saying that the choreography was really cool.
Introduction + Pinata Time: They all introduced themselves one by one and it seemed that one of them was really great at English (Hoseok? Hongseok? Couldn't hear his name properly) Their Pinata Time happened to be 'Random Play Dance' and E'Dawn absolutely killed it dancing to 'Single Ladies'. They were all great sports and looked like they had fun during the dance time.
Can You Feel It: When introducing the song, Jinho was like 'Kcon...can you feel it?' and I just thought it was super cute at how he managed to add in that reference. As for the performance itself I really liked it and my eyes were on Jinho all the time, especially when he's at the centre during the chorus.
Gorilla: In terms of performance it felt kind of similar to 'Can You Feel It'. Since I'm not extremely well-versed in music so it just seemed really similar to me, but it was a pleasant performance nonetheless.
Thanks to this I learnt the names of some more members and I hope that they'll have a comeback song that's similar to 'Can You Feel It' because it was just really catchy.
Suho and Sehun came out again this time to introduce a special stage. It was slightly easy to guess when they mentioned that one of their members would be performing. The screams were so so loud when Chanyeol appeared on stage, really showed EXO's popularity.
Like This: I wasn't a big fan of this song so I kind of zoned out during this performance. But I remember my brother saying that the choreography was really cool.
Introduction + Pinata Time: They all introduced themselves one by one and it seemed that one of them was really great at English (Hoseok? Hongseok? Couldn't hear his name properly) Their Pinata Time happened to be 'Random Play Dance' and E'Dawn absolutely killed it dancing to 'Single Ladies'. They were all great sports and looked like they had fun during the dance time.
Can You Feel It: When introducing the song, Jinho was like 'Kcon...can you feel it?' and I just thought it was super cute at how he managed to add in that reference. As for the performance itself I really liked it and my eyes were on Jinho all the time, especially when he's at the centre during the chorus.
Gorilla: In terms of performance it felt kind of similar to 'Can You Feel It'. Since I'm not extremely well-versed in music so it just seemed really similar to me, but it was a pleasant performance nonetheless.
Thanks to this I learnt the names of some more members and I hope that they'll have a comeback song that's similar to 'Can You Feel It' because it was just really catchy.
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| Stay With Me - Chanyeol & Seola |
Suho and Sehun came out again this time to introduce a special stage. It was slightly easy to guess when they mentioned that one of their members would be performing. The screams were so so loud when Chanyeol appeared on stage, really showed EXO's popularity.
Stay With Me: So my brother had mentioned beforehand that the stage would be Chanyeol and Minah, so it was a pleasant surprise seeing Seola (who would be in the Saturday line-up) appear instead of Minah. As expected Chanyeol was charismatic and managed to pull all the attention onto him during his parts and Seola also held up her own weight which was great.
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| Photo time with Victon |
Unbelievable: They began this song and were quite enthusiastic throughout the song so it was enjoyable to see and it was a nice touch having Sydney's famous place as their backdrop.
Introduction + Pinata Time: So during their introduction time they also mentioned how they enjoyed Sydney a lot and I felt like they were the most genuine in terms of delivering that. That was because they actually went around to the places they talked about and they just seemed to be very enthusiastic overall. For their Pinata Time, it was photo-time so basically it was fan service time where all the people could take photos of them while they posed.
Blank: This was my favourite song out of the three songs that they performed. Most likely due to how catchy it was and also the reference to 'It's Fine' was fun to pick out too.
Eyez Eyez: Wasn't a big fan of this song since it felt kind of basic? Or at least compared to all the other songs that were performed it just wasn't as catchy. But they still worked hard for the performance so I'd give them credit for that.
I think in comparison to SF9 and Victon their stages weren't as memorable. That might be also because I had an expectation they would sing their debut song (which I enjoyed a lot) so I was slightly disappointed they didn't perform it. Regardless they worked hard and the stages were nice to watch.
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| Expectation - Girl's Day |
This was the group that my brother and his friend was looking forward to the most. An absolute given since they were the only girl group on the night and their songs never failed to disappoint. Of course I was looking forward to them too as I enjoyed most of their songs.
I'll Be Yours: A good song to hype up the crowd. I had to admit that all the girls (especially Yura) were absolutely captivating and so I was just extremely charmed by the performance.
Introduction: Like the other groups, a basic introduction and also talking a bit about Sydney. Three words: Hyeri was adorable. All the other members were charming too but the way she introduced herself was just absolutely cute and as my brother said, "Ryu Junyeol's a lucky man".
Something: One of my favourite songs so was extremely excited for it. Also not to mention it was adorable seeing Hyeri look at the audience when she was singing her lines rather than at the camera, made things feel much more personal (hoped that the people who she made eye contact with made it through the whole night).
Expectation: Another jam that I enjoyed watching. Half way through the stage they came closer to to the audience so it was nice getting a better view of them. Also amazed at how well they could perform in those heels.
Ring My Bell: They had a lot of enthusiasm when they performed the song. Also think this was kind of the song where they gave a lot of attention to the fans on the ground floor. Was a good way to wrap it up.
As expected Girl's Day was amazing and they were all so so beautiful. My eyes were mostly on Yura as she just looked amazing but I think Hyeri's cuteness had snatched a spot in my heart too. Minah and Sojin looked amazing too and I was surprised at how mature Minah looked compared to the cute image I had remembered.
I'll Be Yours: A good song to hype up the crowd. I had to admit that all the girls (especially Yura) were absolutely captivating and so I was just extremely charmed by the performance.
Introduction: Like the other groups, a basic introduction and also talking a bit about Sydney. Three words: Hyeri was adorable. All the other members were charming too but the way she introduced herself was just absolutely cute and as my brother said, "Ryu Junyeol's a lucky man".
Something: One of my favourite songs so was extremely excited for it. Also not to mention it was adorable seeing Hyeri look at the audience when she was singing her lines rather than at the camera, made things feel much more personal (hoped that the people who she made eye contact with made it through the whole night).
Expectation: Another jam that I enjoyed watching. Half way through the stage they came closer to to the audience so it was nice getting a better view of them. Also amazed at how well they could perform in those heels.
Ring My Bell: They had a lot of enthusiasm when they performed the song. Also think this was kind of the song where they gave a lot of attention to the fans on the ground floor. Was a good way to wrap it up.
As expected Girl's Day was amazing and they were all so so beautiful. My eyes were mostly on Yura as she just looked amazing but I think Hyeri's cuteness had snatched a spot in my heart too. Minah and Sojin looked amazing too and I was surprised at how mature Minah looked compared to the cute image I had remembered.
There was a little break as two members of SF9 appeared and had an audience session where the audience did the 'Random Play Dance'. Could only vaguely remember TT, Growl and Gangnam Style along with other popular songs, but regardless it was enjoyable watching people dance to the songs.
So there were three special stages done by SF9, Pentagon and Victon:
Pentagon began with a cover of 'Hard Carry' which was a pretty hype start.
Then it was a cover of 'Fire' by Victon and I couldn't really see properly because the lights were so blinding so that was a shame.
Lastly, SF9 did a cover of 'Monster' and it was really awkward because everyone started screaming thinking it was EXO but it was actually SF9 so the screams faltered real quick. But either way it was enjoyable to watch.
So there were three special stages done by SF9, Pentagon and Victon:
Pentagon began with a cover of 'Hard Carry' which was a pretty hype start.
Then it was a cover of 'Fire' by Victon and I couldn't really see properly because the lights were so blinding so that was a shame.
Lastly, SF9 did a cover of 'Monster' and it was really awkward because everyone started screaming thinking it was EXO but it was actually SF9 so the screams faltered real quick. But either way it was enjoyable to watch.
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| Ko Ko Bop - EXO |
Note: D.O. wasn't at KCon apparently due to schedules so mostly Chen and Baekhyun took his parts.
Power: The screams were crazy when they came out. I personally don't really like the song but it was a cheerful stage. The near-end part was fun to watch and I had to admit that Kai was extremely charismatic.
Introductions + Photo time: So they all introduced themselves (Sehun was the only one that introduced himself in Korean haha) and they gave fans a special treat by having a photo-time! The theme for this was 'Power' and so they did poses that made them look powerful. A little funny moment was Chanyeol doing push-ups then just losing power after the whole thing haha.
Tender Love: This was kind of the 'fan-service' song where they could move around the stage a lot and deliver fan-service. Even though the birthday song wasn't delivered, a lot of people held up the birthday banners and Chen noticed them and pointed to it! Thought it was nice that he acknowledged them.
Heaven: Similar to Tender Love in which they move around the stage a lot and interact with the ground floor fans. It was nice watching them wave to the audience and having fun.
The Eve: Wow this stage I think earned the most screams. It was an extremely captivating stage and the song was great too. I think this song really showed off EXO's masculine charms and it was a nice contrast to the peppy songs that were performed previously.
Ko Ko Bop: A great way to tie up everything. The dance part after 'We going Ko Ko Bop' was really powerful and amazing to watch. They're really great at what they do.
After seeing EXO in person I can definitely see why so many people love them so much. They really know how to captivate you with their stages and they're just great performers overall. It definitely left me wanting to see them perform more of their hits.
Power: The screams were crazy when they came out. I personally don't really like the song but it was a cheerful stage. The near-end part was fun to watch and I had to admit that Kai was extremely charismatic.
Introductions + Photo time: So they all introduced themselves (Sehun was the only one that introduced himself in Korean haha) and they gave fans a special treat by having a photo-time! The theme for this was 'Power' and so they did poses that made them look powerful. A little funny moment was Chanyeol doing push-ups then just losing power after the whole thing haha.
Tender Love: This was kind of the 'fan-service' song where they could move around the stage a lot and deliver fan-service. Even though the birthday song wasn't delivered, a lot of people held up the birthday banners and Chen noticed them and pointed to it! Thought it was nice that he acknowledged them.
Heaven: Similar to Tender Love in which they move around the stage a lot and interact with the ground floor fans. It was nice watching them wave to the audience and having fun.
The Eve: Wow this stage I think earned the most screams. It was an extremely captivating stage and the song was great too. I think this song really showed off EXO's masculine charms and it was a nice contrast to the peppy songs that were performed previously.
Ko Ko Bop: A great way to tie up everything. The dance part after 'We going Ko Ko Bop' was really powerful and amazing to watch. They're really great at what they do.
After seeing EXO in person I can definitely see why so many people love them so much. They really know how to captivate you with their stages and they're just great performers overall. It definitely left me wanting to see them perform more of their hits.
As for the ending, the groups all came out one by one (from SF9 to EXO) to greet the audience. It seemed that this was the moment where most of the fan service happened as some group members sat on the edge of the stage and waved at the fans. The ending was done quickly as the groups were ushered back in and the voice announcement signaled that the concert was over.
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Day 1 wasn't really a great start as I wasn't prepared enough for what happened during the day. However the concert really made up for it and I learnt my lessons so I knew what to prep for Day 2.
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Day 1 wasn't really a great start as I wasn't prepared enough for what happened during the day. However the concert really made up for it and I learnt my lessons so I knew what to prep for Day 2.
POSITIVES:
- Concert was great and it's great that all the seats had a good view
- Brother apparently said that the hi-touch was amazing so I'll take his word for it
- Most of the staff were really friendly and kind
- Fans were also very kind and knowing that we all had something in common made it easy for conversation starters
- Concert was great and it's great that all the seats had a good view
- Brother apparently said that the hi-touch was amazing so I'll take his word for it
- Most of the staff were really friendly and kind
- Fans were also very kind and knowing that we all had something in common made it easy for conversation starters
NEGATIVES:
- Please have toilets outside of the convention so we don't have to line up for an hour or walk in the heat for more than five minutes to reach one
- More food trucks instead of having people walk for more than five minutes to reach a Maccas or something
- Should've given out a pamphlet of the rules because not everyone would have accessed the Facebook page to read the rules
- Cloakroom could've been planned better!
- Have signs so that no one is confused at whatever they heck they're lining up for
- Have more stalls in the convention
- Please stop trying to brainwash us with 'HotelsCombined' and 'CJ where you at?'
Hope you enjoyed this post and please look forward to my Day 2 post soon!
- More food trucks instead of having people walk for more than five minutes to reach a Maccas or something
- Should've given out a pamphlet of the rules because not everyone would have accessed the Facebook page to read the rules
- Cloakroom could've been planned better!
- Have signs so that no one is confused at whatever they heck they're lining up for
- Have more stalls in the convention
- Please stop trying to brainwash us with 'HotelsCombined' and 'CJ where you at?'
Hope you enjoyed this post and please look forward to my Day 2 post soon!
END OF DAY 1 RECAP
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