A better Exo

K-pop stars make improvements

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos courtesy of SM True

Due to their huge achievements, the members of K-pop sensation Exo were ranked as Korea's most powerful celebrities in 2015 by the business magazine Forbes Korea.

Since their chart-topping and award-winning 2013 album Growl, the nine-member boy band has released hit albums including Overdose (2014) and Exodus (2015). Recently, the guys repackaged Exodus and renamed the album as Love Me Right. The album’s new single, “Love Me Right,” topped major music charts for several months.

SELL OUT

While promoting Love Me Right, the guys have toured in many countries. In Thailand, they held the concert EXO Planet #2: The EXO’luXion in Bangkok on June 20 and 21 at Impact Arena. The tickets sold out in a few minutes and could be found on the black market at double the price. Exo members — leader Suho, 24, Xiumin, 25, dancers Lay, 23, and Kai, 21, vocalists Baekhyun, 23, Chen, 22, and D.O., 22, rapper Chanyeol, 22, and Sehun, 21 — opened the show with three dance songs “Overdose,” “History” and Eldorado” before greeting the Thai fans.

Student Weekly attended the concert on the second day to see how the boys have improved since their previous tour.

BETTER PERFORMERS

During the three hour show, the guys sang 28 songs and showed their strong teamwork. Although their dance moves weren’t perfectly synchronized compared to their first concert, they all showed development. Lay sang the Chinese version of “Miracle in December” beautifully. The two main vocalists Baekhyun and Chen had also made obvious progress. Baekhyun’s singing was more powerful and his piano skills much improved, while Chen’s dance moves looked sharper and had greater energy than before.

SCREAMING TEENS

The only flaw of the show was the sound system. The backing tracks were too loud to hear Exo’s singing clearly. However, a lot of fans enjoyed the show and screamed non-stop. Besides the group’s singing skills, they delighted the fans with sexy choreography. A highlight was the dancing of Kai and Sehun in the song “Baby Don’t Cry.” Kai’s effortless moves were breathtaking and it was hard to take our eyes off him.

PLAYFUL GUYS

Exo were playful performers. They liked to interact with their fans as well as play around with their bandmates. In the song “Playboy,” the guys paired up to dance with each other. They fooled around by making funny faces and creating amusing dance moves together. At the end of concert, the group played a prank on their leader Suho by pouring water on him while he was bowing to thank the fans. The leader was soaked and pretended to be mad. He ran after the guys to get revenge and soaked Baekhyun and Sehun.

NON-STOP DANCE

The Thai fan club, Exo-L, gave full support to their beloved group. When the guys sang their upbeat dance songs, “Full Moon,” “Machine,” “Drop That,” “Let Out the Beast” and “Run,” everybody turned on colourful light sticks, making the arena look like a huge discotheque. The fans also sang, danced and jumped up and down with the guys, making the group really happy. Chen said that because everyone sang along with him, he felt like he was closer to them.

MEMORABLE MESSAGE

During the encore, after singing “Promise,” the guys took time to thank the Exo-L fans. The Chinese member Lay appreciated two big signs in the arena that said “Exo-L will always be by your side,” written in both Chinese and Korean. He repeatedly thanked the fans for the Chinese sign and said that their beautiful and warm affections would be in his memory forever.

PROTECTIVE PROMISE

Aside from the messages on the big signs, every Exo-L fan held up cards that said “Exo-L will protect Exo.” While talking to the fans, Chanyeol took one of the cards. He sat down onstage and changed the message. He showed the card that now said, “Exo will protect Exo-L,” making the fans very happy.

LATE NIGHT MEAL

Before the concert ended, D.O. said that the fans must be very tired because they gave their all at the concert. He asked everyone to go back home, take a shower and eat som tam. Baekhyun made fun of D.O. by saying that som tam was the only Thai dish D.O. knew. D.O. fought back, saying that he also knew tom yam koong. Then they sang the final song, “Angel,” and said goodbye.

 

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