K-pop country

JYP stars hit the stage

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos courtesy of 4Nologue

JYP Nation in Bangkok 2014 (One Mic) was a highly anticipated concert for K-pop fans, since the show featured several popular groups from the JYP Entertainment label, including 2PM, 2AM, Got7 and Miss A.

On December 13 at Impact Arena, 28 singers met up with the Thai press before the concert. The founder of the label and the man behind the success of the stars, 42-year-old Park Jin Young (J.Y. Park) said that he felt great to be back in Thailand.

The kingdom has always been important to JYP because Thais have supported their artists since the early days of Rain and Wonder Girls. There are also Thai members in the JYP boy bands 2PM and Got7.

STARS UNITED

Unlike other music label executives, J.Y. Park is also a performing artist. For the concert’s opening song, “Don’t Leave Me,” J.Y. Park played keyboard and sang while dressed in a white shirt and black suit. During the song, all the other singers gradually walked onto the stage and started to sing together beautifully. The fans screamed and sang along when the performers started singing 2PM’s hit “Come Back When You Hear This Song,” complete with some adorable dance moves.

BOSS PERFORMANCE

After the introduction, J.Y. Park gave a laid-back solo performance. He sang the dance song “Only One,” then made the crowd smile by introducing himself as “uncle vegetable,” his nickname among Thai fans. Once again, he thanked the Thai fans for supporting JYP since 2002.

Before singing his hit song, “Honey,” J.Y. Park gave a guarantee that all the JYP artists were quality performers who can sing and dance well. The label boss also proved to be an impressive performer. Though many in the audience were unfamiliar with his catchy songs, J.Y. Park’s great energy made the crowd cheer enthusiastically throughout his set.

HITS IN HARMONY

Former Wonder Girls member Sunmi said at the press conference that the concert highlights would be the collaborations between different groups and performers.

One of the most captivating collaborations was a version of the song “That’s What Friends Are For,” performed by J.Y. Park and powerhouse singers Jun. K from 2PM, Ye-Eun from Wonder Girls and Yerin from 15&. Their beautiful singing together blew audience away.

GOOD BOYS

As expected, the songs that featured members of 2PM and Got7 made the Thai fans go wild, especially when the guys performed with female singers. “A Good Boy” was sung by sweet singer Baek Ayeon, while Mark, Jackson and Bam Bam from Got7 came on to rap, dance and act like they wanted to win Ayeon’s heart. The fans screamed at the guys’ every move.

SOLO SINGERS

Aside from the great collaborations, there were also many awesome solo performances during the concert, especially from members of the groups 2AM and Miss A. These two groups impressed the crowd in different ways. While 2AM mesmerised the fans with their mellow singing on soothing ballads like “Can’t Let You Go” and “This Song,” girl group Miss A stunned the crowd with jaw-dropping dance tracks and sexy moves during “Hush” and “Bad Girl, Good Girl.”

THAI TEAM

The performance that received the loudest screams and singing along from the fans was a version of Bird Thongchai’s hit “Too Much, So Much, Very Much,” sung by Thai singers Nickhun from 2PM and Bam Bam from Got7. The Thai duo didn’t sing perfectly, but their performance was lovely enough to make the crowd happy.

After the song, Bam Bam divided the fans into two groups to compete in a screaming competition for him and Nickhun. Every fan screamed loudly for their favourite singers, and Nickhun joked that the other singers backstage must think that he and Bam Bam were extremely popular.

GRAND FINALE

During the finale of the concert, all the singers sang the hits “10 Out of 10,” “Nobody” and “Hands Up” together. Just as the performers were about to leave the stage, everybody in the hall surprised J.Y. Park by singing “Happy Birthday” and holding up cards that read, “HBD Park PD.” The JYP boss was touched that everybody remembered his birthday.

Looking surprised and happy with a big smile and sparkling eyes, J.Y. Park waved, bowed and thanked the Thai fans. The show ended like a warm family party after J.Y. Park cut his birthday cake and made a wish.

 

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