Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 03/30/2012 10:31 AM
When they debuted in 2009, people dubbed them “leftovers”, but Bonsang awards at the 2011 and 2012 Seoul Music Awards silenced critics.
Since then, the six-member South Korean boyband called BEAST or B2ST has been standing tall and has become one of the most recognized boybands, following in the footsteps of senior bands such as DBSK, JYJ, Super Junior and Big Bang.
“Well, if we were not in BEAST, we might still be training to be singers because we were born to be singers and we will focus our efforts on that,” the group’s magnae (youngest member) Son Dong-woon told The Jakarta Post prior to their recent concert in the capital.
Established in 2009 by Cube Entertainment, BEAST — which stands for Boys of EAst Standing Tall — indeed was comprised of those who had been turned down by other agencies.
Leader Yoon Doo-joon had been eliminated from the popular group 2PM, while Jang Hyun-seung had been ousted from Big Bang. The other four —Yong Jun-hyung, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Gi-kwang and Dong-woon — had been picked by Cube to form BEAST. The six of them were later recognized for their singing ability as their album Fiction and Fact became a hit and won many awards. They have also been described as “one of the most vocally talented idol pop bands in Korea”.
BEAST seemed to easily achieve fame in two years. However, the members struggled before achieving success.
“We had been trained for years and we had participated in various music programs, TV shows and dramas prior to our debut [as BEAST]. We are still working hard to become more well known,” said Jun-hyung.
During their Jakarta Beautiful Show at the JITEC Mangga Dua Hall in North Jakarta, the packed hall of 4,000, mostly young girls, screamed their lungs out for the entire show. The fans, even with many not speaking Korean, sang along with the group, chanting the group’s hits like “Special”, “Fiction”, “Easy” and “Thanks to”.
Distance and ticket prices were not problems for their fans. Naura, 16, and Khalisa, 14, had to travel for 400 kilometers from their hometown in Semarang, Central Java, just to be able to witness BEAST’s performance.
“I’ve waited for this concert since my first encounter with BEAST around two years ago,” Naura said. She did not hesitate to pay Rp 1.75 million (US$187) for a diamond ticket, which offered her the opportunity to high-five all six band members.
The fatigue shown by some members during the press conference prior to the concert vanished the moment the six members appeared on stage.
“A concert is the most important thing for singers. We have always been prepared for this moment since the day we debuted,” Dong-woon said.
Yo-seob added that all members should give their best performance to appreciate their B2UTY fans, as BEAST’s fans are known, since they are the reason BEAST exists today.
In the concert, the six members did not only sing their hits as a group. Each performed solo pieces and even a duet. They also interacted with their fans despite the language barrier thanks to the presence of an interpreter.
Doo-joon, Hyun-seung, Jun-hyung, Yo-seob, Gi-kwang and Dong-woon did not hesitate to bring one of the girls up on stage, giving her a bouquet of flowers and a big teddy bear. They then rode a bicycle together as if on an ideal date. Of course, thousands of onlookers screamed in jealousy.
However, not all fans were so lucky. One who had to bear disappointment was 19-year-old Ciza Alfira of Lampung. She had written a song to cheer up Yo-seob, who had to close his Twitter account nearly two months ago as he no longer felt comfortable on social media.
“I was hoping the song could be sung by all B2UTYs at the end of the show, hence I made hundreds of copies of the song’s lyrics and distributed them to the crowd and taught them how to sing it,” she said.
Unfortunately, many of the fans were too shy to sing and she could not reach the boyband’s manager to explain her plan. “I was really disappointed. After all the effort I made to be in Jakarta,” Ciza said.
Yo-seob was startled when he learned that one of their fans had actually written a song for them.
“We didn’t know about it yet. Maybe we can sing it once we have heard the song,” he said.
BEAST is only one of many South Korean boybands invading the globe, including Indonesia, in the past few years. The presence of K-pop, as Korean pop culture is better known, has spread to many countries, including those thousands of miles from Seoul.
One example is the trio JYJ, who performed before world leaders at the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit in South Korea’s capital. Due to high demand, JYJ earlier this month performed in Santiago, Chile, and Lima, Peru.
The spread of K-pop was eminent after Big Bang, representing Asia and the Pacific, won last year’s MTV European Music Awards held in Dublin.
Commenting on the popularity of K-pop across the world, Jun-hyun acknowledged that boybands and girlbands were not a new thing in the music industry.
“However, K-pop offers various types of groups with their own unique concept and dynamic dance movements. It’s up to the public which group they will be a fan of,” he said.
With their age ranges between 20 and 22, BEAST members are more than ready to embrace more fame and fortune.
We are really glad to be what we are now and we have many young fans as well. We know that it all comes with consequences, because it is not easy being an idol, but I think we are ready,” Yo-seob said.
With a schedule of concerts in 17 cities in 12 countries in Asia, Europe and North and South America and a second full album to be released some time this year, BEAST is prepared to please the B2UTYs.
- Photos by Courtesy of Image Dynamics
Since then, the six-member South Korean boyband called BEAST or B2ST has been standing tall and has become one of the most recognized boybands, following in the footsteps of senior bands such as DBSK, JYJ, Super Junior and Big Bang.
“Well, if we were not in BEAST, we might still be training to be singers because we were born to be singers and we will focus our efforts on that,” the group’s magnae (youngest member) Son Dong-woon told The Jakarta Post prior to their recent concert in the capital.
Established in 2009 by Cube Entertainment, BEAST — which stands for Boys of EAst Standing Tall — indeed was comprised of those who had been turned down by other agencies.
Leader Yoon Doo-joon had been eliminated from the popular group 2PM, while Jang Hyun-seung had been ousted from Big Bang. The other four —Yong Jun-hyung, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Gi-kwang and Dong-woon — had been picked by Cube to form BEAST. The six of them were later recognized for their singing ability as their album Fiction and Fact became a hit and won many awards. They have also been described as “one of the most vocally talented idol pop bands in Korea”.
BEAST seemed to easily achieve fame in two years. However, the members struggled before achieving success.
“We had been trained for years and we had participated in various music programs, TV shows and dramas prior to our debut [as BEAST]. We are still working hard to become more well known,” said Jun-hyung.
During their Jakarta Beautiful Show at the JITEC Mangga Dua Hall in North Jakarta, the packed hall of 4,000, mostly young girls, screamed their lungs out for the entire show. The fans, even with many not speaking Korean, sang along with the group, chanting the group’s hits like “Special”, “Fiction”, “Easy” and “Thanks to”.
Distance and ticket prices were not problems for their fans. Naura, 16, and Khalisa, 14, had to travel for 400 kilometers from their hometown in Semarang, Central Java, just to be able to witness BEAST’s performance.
“I’ve waited for this concert since my first encounter with BEAST around two years ago,” Naura said. She did not hesitate to pay Rp 1.75 million (US$187) for a diamond ticket, which offered her the opportunity to high-five all six band members.
The fatigue shown by some members during the press conference prior to the concert vanished the moment the six members appeared on stage.
“A concert is the most important thing for singers. We have always been prepared for this moment since the day we debuted,” Dong-woon said.
Yo-seob added that all members should give their best performance to appreciate their B2UTY fans, as BEAST’s fans are known, since they are the reason BEAST exists today.
In the concert, the six members did not only sing their hits as a group. Each performed solo pieces and even a duet. They also interacted with their fans despite the language barrier thanks to the presence of an interpreter.
Doo-joon, Hyun-seung, Jun-hyung, Yo-seob, Gi-kwang and Dong-woon did not hesitate to bring one of the girls up on stage, giving her a bouquet of flowers and a big teddy bear. They then rode a bicycle together as if on an ideal date. Of course, thousands of onlookers screamed in jealousy.
However, not all fans were so lucky. One who had to bear disappointment was 19-year-old Ciza Alfira of Lampung. She had written a song to cheer up Yo-seob, who had to close his Twitter account nearly two months ago as he no longer felt comfortable on social media.
“I was hoping the song could be sung by all B2UTYs at the end of the show, hence I made hundreds of copies of the song’s lyrics and distributed them to the crowd and taught them how to sing it,” she said.
Unfortunately, many of the fans were too shy to sing and she could not reach the boyband’s manager to explain her plan. “I was really disappointed. After all the effort I made to be in Jakarta,” Ciza said.
Yo-seob was startled when he learned that one of their fans had actually written a song for them.
“We didn’t know about it yet. Maybe we can sing it once we have heard the song,” he said.
BEAST is only one of many South Korean boybands invading the globe, including Indonesia, in the past few years. The presence of K-pop, as Korean pop culture is better known, has spread to many countries, including those thousands of miles from Seoul.
One example is the trio JYJ, who performed before world leaders at the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit in South Korea’s capital. Due to high demand, JYJ earlier this month performed in Santiago, Chile, and Lima, Peru.
The spread of K-pop was eminent after Big Bang, representing Asia and the Pacific, won last year’s MTV European Music Awards held in Dublin.
Commenting on the popularity of K-pop across the world, Jun-hyun acknowledged that boybands and girlbands were not a new thing in the music industry.
“However, K-pop offers various types of groups with their own unique concept and dynamic dance movements. It’s up to the public which group they will be a fan of,” he said.
With their age ranges between 20 and 22, BEAST members are more than ready to embrace more fame and fortune.
We are really glad to be what we are now and we have many young fans as well. We know that it all comes with consequences, because it is not easy being an idol, but I think we are ready,” Yo-seob said.
With a schedule of concerts in 17 cities in 12 countries in Asia, Europe and North and South America and a second full album to be released some time this year, BEAST is prepared to please the B2UTYs.
- Photos by Courtesy of Image Dynamics
