Top Korean reggae artists, Skull and HaHa, treated their fans to a spectacular show at their first ever overseas fan meet in Singapore at Zouk on July 20th.
Enthralling the audience with their unique blend of reggae music and onstage charisma, the duo brought the house down at their Singapore gig. With celebrated entertainer HaHa, you can expect the showcase was nothing short of top-notch fan service and laughter!
Following the recent release of their latest single, ‘Ragga Muffin,’ Skull and HaHa were in town to meet fans up close and personal, before kick-starting a series of full concerts in Korea. Given the rising interest towards reggae music and the immense popularity of Korean variety show ‘Running Man,‘ the showcase drew a huge crowd across all ages – some even showed up with Pororo to support HaHa (aka Haroro).
Not surprising, supporters of the duo easily filled the main area and all the leveled aisles of Zouk. Also in the house and grooving the crowd was DJ IT, who has collaborated with A-list Korean artists such as BIGBANG, Lee Hyori and Rain. Atmosphere was already fantastic moments before the showcase, with waves of cheering from the audience as clips of Skull & HaHa and trailers of ‘Running Man’ filled the big screen.
Lights dimmed, but the screams definitely got louder.
In matching funky tops, Skull & HaHa kick-started the night with their latest title track ‘REGGAErilla.’ The catchy and light-hearted song was followed by many other hits like the duo’s first collaboration ‘From Fool to Fool,’ ‘Busan Vacance’ and ‘Ragga Muffin.’
Skull, who said that he had heard there are many beautiful ladies in Singapore, got the crowd cracked up when he exclaimed, “There are so many chio bus (pretty girls in Hokkien) here tonight!”
HaHa, on the other hand, caringly urged fans to go easy on their cameras and “just enjoy the performance tonight and party hard!”, while reassuring everyone that there will be photo-taking opportunities later. Skull added that there are presents for those who partied the hardest – and “We will be watching you from the stage!”
The duo definitely kept their promise. To reward the fans for their overflowing enthusiasm, the two had an overflowing amount of signed albums, posters and merchandises prepared. The hottest prize? It was probably HaHa’s Jamaican towel that he wiped his sweat with!
Not forgetting the audience at the far back, there was even an impromptu baseball pitching moment by HaHa, as he entertained the crowd with his body gags while throwing out the rolled-up towels.
As the night continued with the duo’s dynamic performance, fans also got a fair bit of opportunities to interact with the talented artists!
During a game of changed lyrics, three lucky contestants got to perform their versions of the chorus for ‘Busan Vacance’ onstage. While everyone did a great job, it was a 14-year-old who wow-ed the crowd and garnered the most cheering. The lucky girl not only walked away with signed merchandise and a hug from HaHa, she was also treated to HaHa’s iconic ‘ya!’ from ‘Running Man.’
HaHa then performed a remix of his hit songs, including the soothing ‘You’re My Destiny’ and the upbeat ‘Rosa.’ Halfway into the performance, a female fan was invited onstage as HaHa heated the atmosphere with his crooning and a flip of her hair – causing an explosive of cheering and riot! If Skull did not reveal that HaHa was actually sick (but didn’t want to show and tug at fans’ heartstring), no one could have ever guessed.
Less than an hour into the show, Skull and HaHa suddenly dropped the ‘last song’ bomb. The duo brought the night to a new high with a powerful performance of their supposed last song – ‘Ragga Muffin’ before departing from the stage.
Disappointed and shocked fans beamed when Skull teased, “Well… if someone says the word ‘encore’, we may just come back”, and “but we don’t expect it…” At this point, hyped-up fans had already perched themselves on any (safe) higher grounds they could find.
Obviously not prepared to leave their passionate fans hanging, HaHa and Skull reappeared as the crowd chanted ‘encore’ and screamed for ‘more’. The reggae duo returned with even greater energy, performing popular remakes of ‘Who Let the Dogs Out,’ ‘Shot’ and more.
So HaHa was saying that Skull really needs to meet a nice girl in Singapore. At the showcase, a female fan excitedly shouted “I want Skull!” to which Skull replied “I want you too!” The elated lady continued, “Skull, bring me to Busan!”
Many may not know that Skull used to belong to YG Entertainment, where he started his reggae roots as part of the duo Stony Skunk priors to his army days. Known as the ‘Korean Bob Marley,‘ Skull’s solo of ‘No Woman, No Cry‘ by the renowned Jamaican reggae musician was certainly worthy of anticipation.
In contrast of his jovial persona, HaHa performed a solo sentimental ballad. As the spotlights dimmes, HaHa said, “You guys are my lights….” One by one, the lights of everyone’s phones lit up as he serenaded the crowd, soaking the room in a romantic atmosphere.
As the exciting night came to an end, Skull and HaHa made a short thank you speech. Both expressed their gratefulness to be blessed with the amazing fans for their first overseas gig as a duo.
HaHa added, “Although the performance was held in a small stage today, but our gratitude is immense. Please don’t forget this moment with us.”
Unwilling to bid their fans goodbye, he said, “The next time we come, we are going to show you bigger and better performance!”
Okay!
Wrapping up the night on a lighter note, Haha quoted a common saying (in Korea) that if people are able to connect – they will be like ddeokbokki (rice cakes in Korea) and stick to each other. He called out, “Tonight, we shall stick together like ddeokbokki!” before jumping into their last song. Showered in confetti, everyone had their hands up and dancing to the lighthearted tune – ending the perfect night with a picturesque scene.
As promised, the reggae duo then went around having their selcas taken for their fans.
KMUSIC managed to catch-up with a few fans. Nicolas (16), who hailed from Malaysia, came by over the weekend especially for the showcase. Nicolas said that he got to know reggae music through Skull and HaHa, and now he is hooked on it. We even heard him singing to some of the songs in Korean!
On the other hand, Iris and Willy caught our eyes with their ‘Running Man’ getup, complete with name tags. When asked if they will be heading to Korea for Skull and HaHa’s concert, they shared that they just came back from Korea but will look forward to Lee Kwang Soo’s Singapore fan meet in August.
Skull and HaHa have concluded their schedule in Singapore. The reggae duo has thanked their fans enough, and now, we want to thank them for bringing us such a great showcase!
Special thanks to LEAP Integrated Marketing Solutions for the invite.
Article by: Kathryn Zhang
Photos by: Hidayah
Edited by: Karolina
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSS