Kim Jaejoong, a South Korean singer who debuted in TVXQ and is now a member of JYJ, is holding a concert tour in Asia for his first full length solo album, titled WWW.
I went to South Korea in October to attend his very first concerts of the tour in Seoul. He performed at Yokohama Stadium last month and now he's back in Japan to give two concerts in Osaka. I went to both concerts in Seoul and this week I went to both concerts in Osaka.
I didn't blog about my trip to Korea or the concerts in Seoul because this is my Japan blog, so I don't plan on covering any trips I take abroad during my time living in Japan.
I'm not going to write much about the concerts this time either. I figure that those who are really interested in what the concerts were like have already found info about them online. I'm not going to list a lot of details here.
This was my first time attending a concert in Japan. I feel lucky because I'm an international fan and I know many fans who can't attend any concerts, yet I am fortunate enough to see Jaejoong four times on this tour.
Jaejoong speaks Japanese because he debuted in Japan in 2005 as a member of Tohoshinki. Therefore he always talks in Japanese at Japanese events.
I noticed several differences between the Seoul concerts and the Osaka concerts, namely
- the band members are Japanese
- most of his outfits were different. regardless of that, he still rarely wears a shirt
- he sang more songs in Japanese (covers)
- the ending credits were different (particularly the video clips playing in the background)
- there were two guests each day in Seoul. on the second day in Seoul one of the guests was Gummy. this time in Osaka, Gummy was the only guest for both days
- in Seoul he entered in the beginning and exited at the very end by standing in a cage thing that came from the ceiling. they didn't have anything to lift him away in Osaka so he slowly disappeared into the ground
- there were several merchandise items that were only sold at the concerts in Osaka
- during the concerts in Seoul he left stage to stand on a big thing that moves around the venue, circling around near the back
- he sets so-called dress codes for every city on this tour. they usually differ
- the concerts in Osaka were longer! They each lasted for more than three hours
- this is just me, but in Seoul I was sweating a lot the whole time and in Osaka I found the venue to be comfortably cool (except for when there are fire blasts. then I feel heat for a second)
Since it's the same Asia tour there were many similarities between the concerts in Seoul and Osaka!
- the opening video was the same. it's awesome
- the song line up was much the same
- the first outfit was the same
- he has different tattoos drawn onto his stomach. in Seoul they were different on each day and in Osaka he had the same one for both days
- he does a lot of fan service. he changes shirts on stage, usually wears fancy coats that are open without any shirt, makes cute faces, blows kisses into the camera, lifts his shirt up and the camera closes in on his stomach, does gwiyomi (elaborately) when fans ask him to, and so on
- the VCR (video clip played while he's backstage during the concert) was the same
- he has the camera follow him backstage at some point, where he has a bunch of drinks, and during this time the camera person picks people in the audience to film and Jaejoong interacts with them (through camera)
- when he leaves after the encore, his back faces the audience
Similarities between the two concerts in Osaka
- Jaejoong and Gummy start laughing during a song they sing together. it's towards the end
- there was a fan project! everyone prepared green glow sticks to use during the encore
- he talks a lot at the end
- he seemed to start crying a little at the end
- he was lying down on the stage while singing the last song
Differences between the two Osaka concerts include
- Jaejoong and Gummy briefly held hands on the second day
- Gummy sang one of her Japanese songs on both days, but on the second day it was preceded by one of her Korean songs
- he did gwiyomi on the first day
- he threw three towels into the crowd on the first day. I think it was fewer on the second
- an extra video was shown after the credits on the second day, where Jaejoong thanks the audience and wishes us a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
- I was lucky and got good seats on both days, and I was really close on the second day ^_^
- one major difference was that he made a surprise appearance once the concert ended! This was on the second day. As far as I was concerned, the concert was over. This is how it had ended every time. Jaejoong sings the last song and leaves slowly with his back to the audience. The credits come on and then it's over and time to leave. On the last day, however, the audience was shouting his name really loudly. My friend guessed that he would appear again but I was doubtful. However, we realized that the lights hadn't turned back on yet, and the audience kept shouting. I was wrong. I can't believe he came out once more! He walked onto the stage. He bowed in all three directions, and then in Japanese (of course) and without a microphone, he shouted "thank you" so loudly that everyone could hear.
I said I wouldn't go into many details but I kind of did after all...
Anyway, the concerts were so much fun! Each day was great. Jaejoong's solo songs are mostly rock and he's a fantastic performer. The atmosphere is great and I think he's quite impressive. His voice is absolutely incredible. My fandom likes to brag that the TVXQ and JYJ members sound better live than on the CD recording. I won't argue with that.
I was never really into any Western music, but the few times I saw artists like Shakira or Fergie or Avril Lavigne perform live on TV at some event when I was younger, I always noticed that they sounded different from the CD. I always found it a bit awkward because they weren't that good live. The thing about Jaejoong is that that is totally not the case! He sounds amazing when he's singing live. I already know he's talented but I'm sure other people would be blown away. I'm not just saying that because I'm a fan. He has an extraordinary voice and he's a remarkable performer. No wonder every seat was filled.
Ok enough of all my typing. Here are some pictures! Unsurprisingly, photography and recording are not allowed at concerts. I didn't want to take a risk by breaking the rules, and I was happy to enjoy the concert in the moment rather than being preoccupied with my camera.
I will say that it would have been nice to capture the audience. TVXQ's (and now JYJ's too) fan club color is red. At concerts every person in the audience has a pen light or light stick that is red. Everyone has to buy them themselves and there are different designs for different tours and events. We call the audience a red ocean. It's so pretty seeing thousands of red lights in the arena. It's special.
Merchandise stands! People arrive early in the morning to wait in line for hours so they can buy merchandise before it sells out. I didn't do this in Osaka because I already bought all the merchandise I wanted in Seoul. Also, I didn't feel like standing outside in the cold and in the rain all day.
I ran around to take pictures of the venue as people were filing in
I don't have that much info or pictures of merchandise because I'm already familiar with these things, due to having seen them in South Korea early last month. I did take extra pictures of my light stick (the official light stick created for this tour that's sold at the merchandise stands) so I could show what it looks like
I'm happy I could go to Jaejoong's concerts!
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