 Japanese pop group V6 performs at their first concert in Seoul, Sunday. / Courtesy of SM Entertainment |
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Japanese pop group V6 successfully held their first tour in Seoul with one concert on Saturday and two on Sunday.
The six member male group from Johnny's & Associates is composed of Masayuki Sakamoto, Yoshihiko Inohara, Hiroshi Nagano, Ken Miyake, Go Morita and Junichi Okada, and is celebrating its 14th anniversary with an Asian concert tour with stops in Seoul and Taipei.
Fans shelled out 113,000 won a ticket to watch the concerts at Olympic Hall, Olympic Park, southern Seoul. It might seem expensive for a pop concert, but a special moving elevated stage, exciting visual and pyrotechnic effects, and 3D videos helped make the V6 concert fun and enjoyable.
The concert opened with a special 3D video featuring the V6 members. Organizers had earlier handed out special 3D glasses to concert-goers so they could watch the exciting clips.
The hall roared with excitement, as V6 finally appeared on stage. Wearing black sparkly jackets and pants, V6 performed their latest single ``Guilty," followed by ``Take Me Higher" and ``Thunderbird ― Your Voice." Their energetic dance moves and acrobatic stunts surprised many, especially since two of the members ― Sakamoto and Nagano - were in their late 30s. All the members even did a back flip from the top stage to a lower one.
Most of V6's songs were cheerful and upbeat. ``Darling," the theme song from the popular Japanese TV drama ``You're My Pet (Kimi wa Petto)," was one of the fan favorites, along with pop songs ``Light in Your Heart" and ``Swing!"
During the concert, V6 also performed as two sub-units: Coming Century composed of younger members Miyake, Morita and Okada; and 20th Century composed of older members Sakamoto, Inohara and Nagano.
Clad in polka-dot outfits, Coming Century sang the perky ``Hello Goodbye" and ``Rock the House," while 20th Century performed ``Honey" and ``Ore ja Nakya, Kimi ja Nakya" (Some things only I can do, Some things only you can do).
The members showed their funny side when talking to the audience. They were impressed at how the fans seemed to have a good grasp of Japanese, even though they didn't use a translator.
``We started our concert since yesterday and today. Everyone really speaks good Japanese. … We'll show you everything we've got since this is our last performance," Inohara said.
V6 members admitted that they had been eating a lot of delicious Korean food, so they had a lot of energy for the concerts. Nagano said he ate a lot of ``samgyetang" (chicken ginseng soup) because he heard it was good for the voice.
Okada elicited cheers from fans when he gamely did a few steps of K-pop group SuperJunior's ``Sorry Sorry" dance. Fans sang "Happy Birthday" for Okada, who will turn 29 on Nov. 18. ``I'm very happy that everyone here congratulated me on my birthday. I want to celebrate my last days of my twenties happily," he said.
Compared to K-pop acts, V6 put more emphasis on getting closer to their fans. While singing, they rode carts around the concert hall to be able to shake hands with the delighted crowd.
The group performed their song ``One" entirely in Korean. It was originally a duet they did with Korean singer Shoo of S.E.S.
Clad in neon pink suits, V6 performed a medley of their most popular songs throughout their 14 year career, including ``Melody of Love (Ai no Melody)," ``Orange," ``Cosmic Rescue," ``Honey Beat" and ``Music for the People." It was especially interesting to see old video clips of the V6 members when they were younger, and comparing it with the members now. They may have gotten visibly older, but it seemed like V6 still has the same youthful energy.
For their final song, the concert hall's ceiling lit up with blue and white lights, providing a lovely backdrop as V6 sang ``Beginning." ``Thank you so much. Did you all have fun? We love you," Inohara said.
A few minutes after exiting the stage, V6 appeared again for three encores, singing several songs and, once again, delighting fans.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
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