2AM Showcase in Kuala Lumpur

After having a night out in Malaysia, series of interviews, and an autograph session with fans, 2AM wrapped up their Malaysian promotions with a showcase! The event was held on Saturday, May 21st at the auditorium of Wisma MCA.

Let me share my experience from the showcase – a day full of surprises and sheer awesomeness!

Before I went out to the showcase, I checked twitter and my friend texted me to bring my 2AM Passport. This item was included in the Saint o’Clock (Special Limited Edition) Korean version album that I bought. The passport bearer was entitled to get a stamp.

I arrived at the venue at 2PM (no pun intended) because the stamping was available from 2PM-3PM only. I proceeded to the counter to get my stamp (shown below).

I met up my friends who had been waiting in line since 12:30PM. They told me that fans arrived before 8am to line up since the venue was free (unassigned) seating. After we talked and finished making placards for the events, we entered the hall at 5PM. I was seated in Zone A which was 15 rows from the stage, but it was center and the view was great! There were also two wide screens on left and right of the stage.

They played 2AM music videos while the fans going in for their seat. The show start at 6PM with the MC playing games with fans. A few fans were invited to the stage to play “guess the song title.” The winning team was awarded with an autographed 2AM poster. Then the MC announced that they would be doing a suprise birthday event for 2AM members whose birthdays were in May. The May babies are Chang Min, Jin Woon and Seulong. The fans were invited to sing birthday song in Korean and Malay with subtitles provided on the wide screen.

The event kick off with an opening performance by students from the Bentley Music Academy playing guitars, drums and saxophone for instrumental versions of 2AM’s popular songs. It was refreshing to listen the instrumental and  jazz version while fans sing along together.

Then 2AM graced the stage singing Can’t Let You Go Even If I Die. The boys looked great in their white outfit and they had different hairstyles from autograph session. Though it was a bit far, Chang Min was nearly directly in front of me and I was electrified by his voice! The crowd was mesmerized with the boys’ vocals and presence. When the song ended, they greeted the enthusiastic fans by doing the greeting in three languages: Malay, English, and Korean. Impressive, isn’t it?!

While 2AM went backstage to prepare for next segment, four fans were seated on the stage. The boys came out again and sang Confession of a Friend beside each of the girls. The crowd went into a frenzy and screamed whenever the boys touched or hugged the girls during the serenade.

Next, a video interlude was played to introduce the next song. This video told a story about Jin Woon who wanted to have solo career but Park Jin Young and Bang Shi Hyuk PD ignore his calls. So it brought the boys to the stage again to sing You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls.

They then had short talk session with the MC. 2AM was surprised to see many fans came to the showcase because the turnout was nearly four times from that of previous autograph session! They mentioned they enjoyed Malaysian food and the city.

They played another game with fans that called “Copy the artist pose.” Each fan chosen had to copy the pose by the boys and the winner was to be determined by the crowd cheer. This time, Kkap Kwon emerged with his diva-like pose. Jin Woon with the comedic pose, Chang Min with the body building pose, and Jin Woon with ‘saranghae‘ pose. The winner was the fan copied Kwon pose. (Are you surprised?)

Then they had another game where another four girls went up to the stage and needed to complete the lines that 2AM sang. The boys were impressed by the fans singing, and even Jo Kwon’s jaw dropped when he listen to the fans singing. Chang Min complimented his partner with his flawless English, “her pronunciation is perfect“.

After that, it was the birthday surprise party! Fans sang the birthday song while a trolley with the Petronas Twin Towers jelly cake was brought in. The boys were really excited to see the cake and took a few bites from it. There were fans on the stage to give presents to each of the birthdays boys, and even Jo Kwon.

After the cake surprise, they sang an acappela version for an English song called Incomplete. Before that, they tried to calm down the fans. Then, they sing I Did Wrong. I was excited to watch the performance of this song because of the dance choreography, but this time they tone down a bit. However it still very fun to watch. To wrap up the show, they sang Like Crazy with more expression and they left the stage after that.

Although MC announced that showcase was over, many the fans were still in their seats and shouted “encore” for few times. A few minutes later, the wide screen played a video about how the group 2AM was formed. Although it was presented in a comical way, it show their determination and passion to debut as an artists. And on cue, the boys walked to the stage and sang their debut song This Song. 

As they said their last goodbye, Chang Min mention that if the fans called them, they would come again. Let’s hope that 2AM will come back to Malaysia for a concert! The showcase ended and everyone is happy with the experience. For me, it was more like fan meeting because I had the chance to many interact with fans. I noticed that the video played during the showcase was the same as the one played during the 2AM concert in Korea but now it came with English subtitles, much to the fans’ liking. It is very a considerate move by the organizer to put subtitles on the video (thank you!).

2AM returned to Korea on the same day after the showcase. A small bird tweeted to me that Park Jin Young was seen at the hotel where the boys stay, but no one saw him during the showcase nor when the boys when back to Korea.

Thanks to DiGi Telecommunication and Universal Music Malaysia for organizing such a great and memorable events for fans and the media pass.

For more pictures, please visit gallery 2AM in Malaysia.