B.A.P beguile Baby in Bangkok
By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos courtesy of The Lime Thailand
Did you know
B.A.P won the Mnet Producer’s Choice Award in 2012.
Back in 2012, Korean boy band B.A.P caught the attention of K-pop fans with their blond hair and bad boy image in the music video for their powerful debut single, “Warrior.” With their fierce performances, raw rapping skills and sublime singing, the guys have become heart-throb heroes for K-pop listeners locally and internationally.
B.A.P have released seven EPs in two years, along with several chart-topping singles including “Warrior,” “Power,” “One Shot” and their latest single, “1004 (Angel),” which is taken from their debut full-length album, First Sensibility.
Since March, the guys have been meeting their Baby fan club around the world during their B.A.P Live on Earth 2014 Continent Tour, which has included stops in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Sydney, Taipei, Nagoya and their final destination, Bangkok.
ALIEN INVASION
At Paragon Hall on June 28, B.A.P’s Live on Earth Bangkok concert had an overall theme called Earth Needs. The concert was divided into six sections, titled justice, love, passion, emotion, happiness and you.
The event kicked off with a video of a fictional news report about a UFO landing on earth. The six members of B.A.P — leader, songwriter and rapper Yongguk, 24, vocalist and dancer Himchan, 24, vocalist Daehyun, 21, vocalist Youngjae, 20, dancer Jongup, 19, and dancer and rapper Zelo, 17— appeared as good-looking aliens who wanted to make the world a better place.
HOT SHOT
As the guys belted out their first dynamic dance song, “One Shot,” Thai Baby welcomed them warmly by screaming crazily and waving green, bunny-shaped light sticks, which is the symbol of the group.
B.A.P then claimed that the world had no love, respect or justice, before launching into their dance songs “Badman” and “Power.” The fans eagerly got on their feet to sing out loud and dance along with the music.
COFFEE BREAK
During the love session, the mood of the concert cooled down as the guys appeared in grey suits on a stage set up to look like a coffee shop. They sang their adorable track, “Love Sick,” then took a short break to have some iced drinks at the shop. Jongup and Zelo signed autographs on their cups and gave them to two lucky female fans in the front row, who screamed with joy. They then sang their smooth, chilled-out song, “Coffee Shop.”
The fans suddenly gave up their seats and screamed when the group performed their famous R&B song, “Body & Soul,” which featured lots of sexy dance moves.
RAIN DANCE
One of the concert highlights was Jongup’s solo dance performance. The setting was beautiful, with the stage set up to look like it was raining. The lead dancer, dressed in a white shirt and black suit, moved smoothly to the music. It looked like he was dancing in the rain. Jongup displayed his great dance skills effortlessly, from popping moves to acrobatic flips. He finished his performance by unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his masculine body. As expected, Thai Baby responded with wild screams.
BIRTHDAY BOY
B.A.P performed 21 songs at the concert, and they proved that they could sing and rap equally well on slow, heartfelt ballads and powerful songs. Their choreography was always energetic and perfectly in sync.
The fans at the concert were extremely enthusiastic, giving B.A.P great support throughout. After the song “Stop It,” Thai Baby sang Happy Birthday and held up cards for Daehyun, who was born on the same date as the concert. Daehyun was touched as he looked at the cards with sparkling eyes and a big smile. His eyes later filled with tears as he thanked the fans.
SPECIAL GIFT
The last song of the encore was their debut single, “Warrior.” Baby loved the song and held up another card that read, “Thai Baby 4Ever with B.A.P.” The guys were so surprised and impressed with Thai Baby that they were reluctant to leave the stage.
Daehyun then said that they had special gift for Thai Baby, and the guys launched into the meaningful ballad “With You,” which wasn’t on the list of songs they had planned to perform. The fans sang along with the group.
POPULAR PROMISE
At the end of the show, Daehyun said that he was happy to perform the final concert of B.A.P’s world tour on his birthday. He promised he wouldn’t forget everybody in the hall and said that he loved the fans. Yongguk then made the Thai fans very happy by promising that B.A.P would come back to Thailand again.
Vocabulary
- unearthly (adj): very strange and mysterious
beguile (v): to attract or interest somebody
fierce (adj): very strong and powerful
sublime (adj): of very high quality
fictional (adj): not real or true
eagerly (adv): in a way that shows great interest and excitement about something that is going to happen
effortlessly (adv): in a way that seems easy and requires little effort
acrobatic (adj): involving or performing difficult acts or movements with the body
touched (adj): feeling happy and grateful because of something kind that somebody has done
sparkling (adj): shining and flashing with light
reluctant (adj): hesitating before doing something because you do not want to do it
Idiom
in sync: moving or working at exactly the same time and speed as somebody or something else
