It is no secret that European k-pop fans seeing their favorite Korean artists perform in Europe is highly unlikey. That being said, one can say that since the beginning of February I am a truly lucky fan for having seen my all-time favorite Korean-American artist on stage. And that would be absolutely right!
2017 was really the year concerts held by Korean artists in Europe kicked off with shows by artists like G-Dragon, Zico, Zion T and Hyukoh among many others. But there is one thing that should be noticed – I am talking about the whole continent of Europe and not a single country. For people from smaller European countries like me – from Bulgaria – the chances of hosting a k-pop concert of a renowned artist are basically non excitant, so a visit to a concert would mean also travelling to another country. That is what held me from visiting any of the concerts held last year. Although I very much like the artists, the price for concert tickets, plane tickets and accommodation just didn`t add up. Then Cult of Ya announced that they are bringing Jay Park with the support of Hoody, Sik-K and DJ Wegunto London and I started making plans what I can do in London for one weekend.
All 3 100 ticketsfor the concert were sold out for just 2 minutes.The club Troxyis truly a great venue, but I believe it was rather small for a performer as Jay Park.The craze surrounding the concert was impressive -queuing from early morning was a thing I got to see for the first time –when I arrived at the venue an hour prior to the opening of the doors the queues were already blocks long and the people with blankets and pillows were a significant number. I know that is a usual sight at k-pop concerts, but considering Jay Park and his team are hip hop and R&B performers I wasn`t expecting it.
2017 was really the year concerts held by Korean artists in Europe kicked off with shows by artists like G-Dragon, Zico, Zion T and Hyukoh among many others. But there is one thing that should be noticed – I am talking about the whole continent of Europe and not a single country. For people from smaller European countries like me – from Bulgaria – the chances of hosting a k-pop concert of a renowned artist are basically non excitant, so a visit to a concert would mean also travelling to another country. That is what held me from visiting any of the concerts held last year. Although I very much like the artists, the price for concert tickets, plane tickets and accommodation just didn`t add up. Then Cult of Ya announced that they are bringing Jay Park with the support of Hoody, Sik-K and DJ Wegunto London and I started making plans what I can do in London for one weekend.
All 3 100 ticketsfor the concert were sold out for just 2 minutes.The club Troxyis truly a great venue, but I believe it was rather small for a performer as Jay Park.The craze surrounding the concert was impressive -queuing from early morning was a thing I got to see for the first time –when I arrived at the venue an hour prior to the opening of the doors the queues were already blocks long and the people with blankets and pillows were a significant number. I know that is a usual sight at k-pop concerts, but considering Jay Park and his team are hip hop and R&B performers I wasn`t expecting it.
After the long wait the entry went smoothly and as soon as the club filled up, the crowd was eager to get moving. DJ Wegun opened up the evening with a gradually building up selection of fast tracks. He was doing his craft with fluidity and mastery until the very end of the concert, as he was the constant presence at the stage supporting all performances. At a time or two he even cracked a smile at the positive reactions of the crowd that was clearly enjoying his mixing.
Second on the stage came Hoody – the only lady in the AOMG team. The night started with a bit of a technical difficulty for her as her microphone was off for the first verse of the song, but the crowd was very supportive and she seemed to overcome the issue quickly. She not only sang, but also participated in some parts of the choreography along with the backup dancers. Between songs she shared that this is her first time in London and that explained why she seemed a bit nervous. She asked the crowd a bit shy if they know her songs and was surprised and happy when the response was a loud cheer.
Next up was Sik-K who is no stranger to the London stage. Having performed in the city with his crew Yelow’s Mob two years ago he seemed to feel very comfortable with the crowd. He performed with no backup dancers at all, but filled the stage with his strong presence. He constantly turned to both sides of the stage and tried to connect with the whole crowd, having us sing some parts of the songs and encouraging everyone to dance along.Having not been very much familiar with his music before the concert, after it I listened to every single song and I must say I am a big fan now.
After Sik-K said his “thank you” to the crowd for the shower of applause the stage went silent. The moment had come, I could almost hear everybody holding their breath. Two backup dancers entered the stage, did a little part of a choreography, then stopped and stood still. And there he was, slowly emerging from one side of the stage, showered in a blue light under the beats of the song Replay. He stopped in the space in the middle of the backup dancers and immediately continued the choreography. The backupdancers followed along and under the loud cheering from the crowd Jay Park claimed the stage his.
One thing was clear for me from the moment he entered – he really enjoys what he does. I could feel how his own tracks pump him up and that is why it seems like he has endless energy to perform. His voice and dance moves were flowing so smoothly that it almost looked effortless – which I am sure is not the real case. Singing while spinning, standing on one hand, making the whole crowd scream with his movements – he did it all.
In the set list there were all time favorites like Joah, Me like Yuh, Aquaman and more recent tracks like Forget About Tomorrow and Birthday. He brought up Hoody again on the stage and together they performed All I Wanna Do and Solo, whereas Sik-K joined him for iffy and Yacht. I loved it all, but what left the biggest impression on me was actually when Jay was all alone on the stage, in a beanie and a big hoodie, not dancing but showing his powerful skills at raping in tracks like Put `em up, On It and Most Hated. He really needs no dance moves, a fancy outfit or crazy stage setting to make a performance memorable.
In-between songs he took the time to thank the audience for supporting his music and his team and said there is more music on the way. He also gave a shout-out to ph-1`s new single featuring Hoody and Sik-K and encouraged everybody to check it out. During his duets with Sik-K and Hoody he also didn`t miss the chance to talk to the crowd about their music – it seemed like he really watches out for his team and truly supports them.
The energy in the hall was so high it seemed like it can last forever, but of course nothing does. As the intro to Mommae started playing and Jay disposed of his shirt we knew it was soon about to end but it really didn`t matter. Everybody was screaming at the top of their lungs every single word of the lyrics as he danced showered in red light. After the song ended he got off the stage and it stood empty. But we were not done yet.
Jay and his whole crew came once again for the encore bouncing to the remix of Who You. The whole audience was also bouncing. Sik-K pulled a bottle of champagne and sprinkled it all over the crowd.
Lights out. Comprehending everything that just happened. I trevelled more than 2500 km to be here. My hair smells like champagne.
If he comes to Europe again I doubt I will resist the urge to pack my backpack and hop on a plane to the place I can experience this again.
Author: Emilia Kircheva
