May 4, 2012. I finally saw Jay Park in person for the very first time.
It was not his first time coming here in the Philippines. According to him, it's his third time and it was like he would visit every year. However, it was not my fate to meet my bias for his first two visits. In 2010, he was supposed to appear in a Kor-Phil friendship event but had a schedule in Korea. While In 2011, I did acquire tickets for MTV Exit wherein he was an exclusive guest but in the end, I wasn't able to go. Hoping that there will be a next time, I swore that I have to see him when that time comes.
(Actual fan account starts here)
Jay had a total of three mall shows here in the Philippines and I decided that it's best for me to the attend the first show which was in Eastwood. I came with a friend on that day and made sure that we would arrive there early. How early? Our original plan was to be there by 10am but knowing how we Filipinos are, we got there by 11am.
Being a veteran attendee to these mall shows, I expected a long line of fangirls. So the plan was to be there early if we wanted good seats (since it was the first time they offered seats for a mall show) but to my surprise, there was no line when we got there. I think my friend and I were the 8th and 9th to buy the album.Another surprise was that the album package we bought did not entitle us for an autograph signing. I really thought that everyone who bought the album would get Jay's sign, just like how it worked in the previous mall shows. However, Jay's event only allowed those who got VIP seats to have their album signed.
My friend and I initially bought the album package which gave us a regular seat and a baller which cost us around P750. We (or mostly I) were unsettled knowing that there were still a lot of VIP slots left and yet we only got the regular seats despite being early and we knew that we won't get Jay's sign in any way. It took us a while to rush to the nearest ATM machine and withdraw some money to upgrade our seats which cost us twice what we had originally purchased.
Although it was quite painful to spend a large sum of money for a short two-hour event, it proved to be the best decision I made on that day.
Oh the weather was really terrible on that day! It seems all the water accumulated from the past weeks were all poured down in that afternoon. It rained non-stop which caused great amounts of delay in the program. It was really unfortunate for those people who got the standing and regular seat packages because their area had no covering to protect them from the rain. It was only the stage and the VIP area which had a covering that's why I was really thankful at that moment.
Two hours before 7pm and the rain was still pouring, we finally got to our seats. The floor was really wet which eventually got my boots wet as well but I was glad that I was already on my seat. It's my first time acquiring a VIP ticket and I was just astonished by how close I was to the stage and thinking what more if Jay was actually there. Well, I was on the 8th row because the first five or six rows were reserved for staffs/ sponsors.
An hour before show time, I did not expect Jay to suddenly appeared on stage! At one point I asked myself, "is that really Jay Park?" lmao. Apparently, he was going to rehearse and the manager-nim (who looked like Taeil btw) asked everyone who were seated/ VIP people to not use our cameras while Jay was recording.
Of course, I had the urge to disobey but I thought that was the perfect moment to just stare and appreciate the perfection that is Jay Park. (Lol I did record some parts but my camera was just on my lap so only the audio can be heard.)
He came with a sleeveless white top, exposing his wonderful arms (everyone should know by now that I have an arm fetish lol) which was tucked over his sparkly silver belt buckle, paired with some regular pants and sneakers. He rehearsed the first few minutes of his songs and focused on how his live would sound. I can tell that he's such a perfectionist, always asking to raise the volume and do some adjustments here and there. He also greeted everyone and asked how we're doing in the middle of his rehearsal.There was a time when the mic worked perfectly and Jay's vocals just echoed throughout Eastwood and we could not help but cheer loudly. Once everything seemed to work just fine, he left the stage immediately and there was another long moment of waiting.
It was already around 7:30 when the program started and just like any other mall show, there was an opening act. I was really glad that Sabrina performed because K-pop fans like her! I think she looks like IU and sometimes, she sounds like her too. Even the Koreans who really flew to the Philippines just to watch Jay Park really liked her and clapped several times for her. She performed a total of four songs. Her last song was not planned but she said Jay needed more time, haha.
(No pictures for this part, sorry. Most of what I have are videos >_<)
Okay this is the best part of this whole experience. After waiting for 8 hours, it's finally Jay Park's time on stage. We welcomed him with nothing but loud screams. He did not change his outfit but his backup dancers from Prepix (one of them was a girl) did. Btw, all of them looked hot. One of them had Chanyeol's bushy hair. Even though there were just four of them, they really filled up that stage.
His first song was Nothing On You and at first, we (and even Jay) thought he was singing live until the first verse came in. Quickly, he changed his mic to that perfect mic he used earlier and boom! He got really excited and really delivered flawless vocals.It's quite funny because the audience would answer "hi!" and "hey!" since it was part of the lyrics. He was also pointing at everyone during the line "beautiful girls~ all over the world~" lol such a playboy! I think he got really excited because he raised his shirt quickly and just like that, I freakin' died.
Immediately after the song, he performed Up and Down with the Prepix crew. At the beginning of his rap, the music was playing and he was rapping flawlessly until it stopped at some time before the chorus! Amazingly, he continued to perform despite the absence of the background of the music. Prepix looked a bit lost at first but Jay just continued on singing each line while dancing. Since Prepix were pros, they continued to dance as well. Honestly, I didn't notice that the background music was gone and I didn't even see it as a problem since Jay's voice alone is enough to carry the song.
The next part was the obligatory interview wherein Jinri Park asked the questions. The questions were quite random but it was equally amusing for Jay and the audience. From what I remembered, the questions were:
- How many Filipino words do you know? Can you say what they are?
- What's your favorite Filipino food?
- What do you think of the weather here in the Philippines?
- What do you like/ think about Filipinas? or
The last question was really funny because his answer was like they're beautiful? (Not quite sure about this part lol) Then he started pointing at random girls while saying "like her... oh and that girl over there". What killed me was the part when he said "I'd like to get to know that girl over there" and pointed to my area but not directly at me 혈.
There was also a game which required three random fangirls to dance to the chorus of Know Your Name. I don't know how the hell they chose those three girls but they're damn lucky. Beforehand, Jay had to teach them the chorus and with the accompaniment of the music, Jay just showed his moves! My jaw literally dropped (I'm not even kidding, I couldn't even scream at that time) when he rolled his hips so smoothly/ loosely(?). His arms muscles were also popping. He did every move effortlessly and it really made me speechless.
The contestants were funny. One of them really knew the choreography while the other two just did the hip thing and a couple of chest pops. Jay was really appreciative of everyone's efforts, especially those who really tried hard to dance. Oh man, his smile and laugh are the most precious things ever <3 He was really nice to the girls and gave them all high-fives. The winner of the game had the privilege of taking a pic with Jay but I think she wanted a hug but did not push through. (Thank you, lol.)
The next song he performed was Star. It's funny how I initially thought he was going to perform "I Need A Girl" (the intro is similar!), I'd probably get stoned by those fangirls. This time, the background music worked just fine! I really love the ~smooth~ choreography and Prepix did great as well.
Finally it was time to perform his title track, Know Your Name, which I thought he'd perform last. As a transition from Star, he said "let me just put on my jacket for y'all" and wore a white leather-ish jacket with sparkly sequins on the shoulders over his sleeveless top. When the track started playing, he starts with the ooh's, yeah's and intros and just after a few seconds, the music stopped! Jay sang some lines in acapella but stopped and said he can't continue with the music LOL. I think he laughed too. I sooo agree with him because Know Your Name sounds more epic with the electronic sound and stuff.
He started the song for about three times and each time the music would stop, he would just laugh it off. <3 On the third time, he decided to buy some time to fix the technical difficulties and put on a small show for everyone (what a pro <3). He first asked the audience what he should do for them and went with beatboxing as the audience clapped for the beat. His talent was definitely impressive and everyone enjoyed it.
He left the stage momentarily and when he finally came back to perform Know Your Name again, everything went on smoothly! I also noticed that he removed his undershirt so his sleeveless top exposed his sides. In the second verse, there was a girl who appeared and danced with Jay. I think I've seen her before but she definitely got everything (pretty, sexy, tall, good at dancing ㅜㅜ). This performance was definitely my favorite of the day. It was quite memorable because of all the fail and it's also my favorite song from Jay ㅋ
Jay introduced his final song and also said his thanks to everyone who came. His last song was Girlfriend and he started off by rapping his heart out. At one point he was just blurting out all these words in just one breath with his eyes closed. He also removed his jacket in this performance which reveals his sleeveless top again but this time, I could really see his sides (arms, ribs, moobs, nipples LOL) and combined with his sexy dance moves-- I was in Jay's heaven. Going back to the song, I really like the line "my girlfriend~ my girlfriend~ my girl~" which is repeated throughout the song and it was funny that the fangirls beside me were shouting "you're my boyfriend~ my boyfriend~ my boyfriend~ my boy~" to Jay.
Although Girlfriend is a sweet song, the ending transitions to more of a hiphop, dance beat to it. It was at this part when Jay Park showcased his b-boying skills! Best part evarrr. It was quite short but it had everything from the handstand to the rolling-on-the-floor move... those b-boying moves. (I obviously lack knowledge in b-boying. Sorry ._.) Jay really did a great job! <3 After the performance, he went off stage and raised his shirt up to his chest asdfgh I guess he was feeling really hot and as expected, the fans screamed.
I was planning to record my conversation with Jay during the actual signing because I've already been plotting a conversation with Jay since the night before which goes something like this:
"Hey Jay! I love all your videos... especially those with you on tank tops. Please say hi to Dok2 for me! Thank you!"or
Me: "Hey Jay. Let me apologize"
Jay: "What?"
Me: "For murdering your beat!" (You won't get this unless you've listened to Level 1000)
Seeing how fast Jay signed the albums, I had to make another plan keeping in mind that part about saying hi to Dok2 (My friend and I are such stans lol). Just before I handed out my album, the
Jay: *signs my album cover*
Me: "Hi Jay! Happy Birthday! Can you please say hi to Dok2 for me?"
Jay: *glances at me* "Dok2? Okay"
Me: "Thank you! Congrats on your album~" *walks away*It's actually not much of a conversation but I'm glad he understood what I said! Though I doubt he would remember the part about Dok2. I was also stunned by Jay's looks. He's really one handsome namja ㅜㅜ
Those small monolid eyes, pale white skin, and red luscious lips. Even though he was really sweaty, those sweat drops looked more like crystals on his white flawless face. I felt ashamed even sharing the same spotlight with him during that time 혈 He looked really tired though but he still tried to attend to all his fans.
I went home happy~ tired~ and broke~ ㅋ I have yet to post a picture of my signed album. I'll try to put it up soon.
And that ends my
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