On June 8th, the “2013 SHINHWA GRAND TOUR THE CLASSIC IN HONG KONG” concert concluded successfully. They brought on their Asia-Tour heat to Hong Kong fans for the very first time that night and have Hong Kong Shinhwa Changjos mesmerized in the superb performance they brought on stage!
This concert, which Hong Kong fans have been waiting for 15 years, started off at 8:00pm in Asia-World Expo in Hong Kong. The well-made opening video with an eagle bringing audiences through animated scenes showing Shinhwa’s history captivated the audiences’ full attention right from the beginning. The six members of Shinhwa then rose to our sight alongside with the screaming orange sea and made their glorious entrance to the stage and started their show with the first song, “Only One”.
The audiences were hyped up by this familiar song that they knew from long ago. “Only One” is just the right song to heat up the arena and the dazzling background lights aided their remarkably uniform and organized dance steps. The audiences’ cheered with their souls welcoming their dream men to Hong Kong. The song is followed by “Your Man”, which is another energetic dance song gaining audiences’ wild cheers from Eric’s beginning rap part. The atmosphere became even more intense when the blue and green laser lights shot out and the whole arena became even more glamorous.
After two songs, the Shinhwa members paused their heated performance temporarily to greet Hong Kong fans. They greeted Hong Kong with their Cantonese “Dai ga ho, ngo dei hai Shinhwa!” (Hi everyone, we are Shinhwa!) And then each of the members introduced themselves to the audiences individually, starting form Andy, then followed by Dongwan, which first thanked the audiences in Cantonese “Doh tse sai” and “ng goi” (both mean thank you) then used his little tricks to capture the hearts of Hong Kong fans by speaking a Cantonese sentence, “Nei dei ge sum, ngo dei ge sum, dou yat yeung!”(Your hearts and my heart are the same). This Cantonese sentence was repeated throughout the concert and every time it is being mentioned it brought laughter to the audience. Hyesung was next and he seemed to be heavily reliant on his script, especially when confirming Cantonese pronunciations. The individual greeting of Hyesung is followed by Minwoo. He also expressed his heartfelt thanks to Hong Kong fans like all other members and he hoped that the audiences can enjoy the concert this night. Eric was second-last and he led the audiences to cheer on all Shinhwa members. He also rapped to his new song “Scarface” in front of the audiences. Junjin was last and like everyone, he wished the audience an enjoyable night.
Their next song is “Sharing Forever”, then “Hey! Come On” which is a rock and hyper song and one of the signature songs of Shinhwa with spectacular light effects which kept audiences in the mood. They rocked the stage with their massive dance moves and the fans chanted “Hey! Come on” along with Shinhwa and the arena was shaking with passion particularly when Minwoo stood out and did his solo dance.
The first VCR of the night was then shown after “Hey! Come On”. “A Man Who Knows,” a song from their newly released 11th album “The Classic” was performed and fans fell silent as they were allured by the charming voices of the Shinhwa members. The members continued to enchant the audiences with “New Me,” another song from their 11th album, which also showcased their vocal talents.
After “New Me”, they started chatting with fans again. Hyesung mentioned that Hong Kong fans are lucky as they get to witness the first live performances of the songs in their new “The Classic” album. Minwoo then jokingly compared Dongwan to Jackie Chan and said he would like to sample Hong Kong’s famous dim sum dish, steamed prawn dumplings(ha gao) and would also like to visit Tsim Sha Tsui and Harbour City. Dongwan said that it’s the first time he visits Hong Kong and Eric asked in English, “Hong Kong has no bridge, right?” to which members answered, no way!
A point to note is that no Korean-Cantonese translator was at the scene for the whole night yet Shinhwa was able to spend quality time with their Shinhwa Changjos and there seemed to be no language or culture barrier as fans can perfectly understand what the six members was saying and can give immediate and passionate responses to them which is really impressive.
The following song is “How Do I Say”, a rock and roll love song, and at the end of the song, Dongwan even gave a bobo to Andy’s cheeks! “Love Song” is the next song they performed and they moved to the front stage so they can get closer to fans. They shuffled on the stage, triggering gay cheers from fans. During “Stay”, Minwoo taught the audiences to dance to the chorus of Stay step by step and the whole arena became a disco while Shinhwa members and fans were shaking their bodies and enjoying themselves. Everyone immersed themselves in dancing and the steamy scene will sure leave eternal memories to fans’ and Shinhwa’s minds.
“Eusha Eusha” was performed next and the whole arena kept up the great mood. Fans even threw a Pororodoll onto the stage and members picked it up and had fun with it.
The 2nd VCR was then played, and here comes the climax of the night when the music of “T.O.P” is being played! Shinhwa performed “T.O.P”, “Perfect Man,” and “Shooting Star” in a roll and these three are the all-time classics of Shinhwa songs and the classics enthralled the audiences and fans’ emotions reached their peak when these songs are performed. They then communicated with fans again and Eric led fan chants when he shouted “say ho~ho!” and asked the fans to follow suit.
Afterwards, the soft ballad songs, “Hurts,” “On The Road,” “Yes/That’s Right,” and “Once In A Lifetime” were performed and once again the audiences were magnetized by the beautiful harmony create by Shinhwa. During “Once In A Lifetime,” many fans were already in tears and fans were all amazed by the perfect collaboration of the six voices.
The 3rd VCR is a documentary-like video which allows fans to look in retrospect and review what has happened to Shinhwa in past years. After this memory-provoking video comes “This Love” and “Venus,”which are more recent songs by them and fans sang along with them while cheering aloud and shared their joy. Eric mentioned about their continuous victory with “This Love” in music shows like Music Bank and Inkigayo and acknowledged fans’ contribution. He said, everything will never be possible without all of you, and he expressed his sincere gratitude with bows and word of thanks. He said, “We are the No. 1 singers and all of you are No.1 fans of us No.1 singers in Korea!”, which once again brought audiences into tears.
The last song, “Brand New,” marked the wonderful ending of this night’s song list. Yet, after the Shinhwa members exited the stage, the audiences roared, “ENCORE! ENCORE!” and “SHINHWA SAN! SHINHWA SAN!” and the united spirits of fans brought our Shinhwa once again on the stage. They performed “I Pray 4 U” and “Run” while the Shinhwa members splashed water to the audiences and the audiences shouted “SHINHWA SAN!”. Minwoo threw his caps to fans as souvenirs and lucky fans got to keep his caps for their own. The song “Yo” marked the true conclusion of their concert and the night ended successfully with everyone’s hearts filled with joy. Shinhwa members bid farewell to the audiences while saying “see you next year” and fans were delighted by their promise to return.
This concert is a strong proof to the continuing legacy of Shinhwa, the seasoned K-pop legend, and the sensational experience they brought to the audience this night showed the group’s strong stage presence and shows the huge influence Shinhwa still wields in the K-pop scene. This night will surely be a night to last forever, and Hong Kong will be waiting for Shinhwa’s return!
Source: Bryony (article + photos)
Edited by: KareBare
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