K-Pop Makes a BIGBANG in Los Angeles
Fans, dubbed VIPs, screams as soon as they hear the familiar music to their favorite song start and they begin to sing along, âIâm a loserâŠâ but losers are the last things the five member Korean pop group BIGBANG would be considered. BIGBANG is one of the biggest K-Pop group with a huge fan base that includes Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and fashion designer Jeremy Scott. Itâs been three years since BIGBANGâs last world tour where they held two shows at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Although the show doesnât start until much later in the evening, BIGBANGâs dedicated fans are already in line early in the morning, some having camped out the night before, waiting for their moment to see their idols live and sing along to their favorite songs.
YG Entertainment, BIGBANGâs label, revealed BIGBANGâs comeback earlier this year in April announcing their MADE album details but also the long anticipated second world tour with seven shows for North America â five in the United States and one each in Canada and Mexico. BIGBANG played two shows in the Los Angeles area, one at the Staples Center in Downtown LA on October 3rd and the other at the Honda Center in Anaheim on October 4th, drawing fans from all over the western parts of the North and South America.
Photo Credit: YG Entertainment
K-Pop has recently been making huge waves and gaining attention, fans, and followers from all around the world, including the United States. We often credit the West as the main players in setting trends and influencing global pop culture from music to fashion to speech, but K-Pop has also made significant influence in pop culture all around the world. Although Korean pop culture has had a large following since the 90âs, the internet has really allowed this genre to reach listeners all around the world, increasing not only fascination with K-pop but Korean culture. Korean pop culture knows no boundaries as international fans sing along to their favorite songs, learn basic phrases from soap dramas such as âsaranghaeyo,â âmianhae,â âgamsamhabnida,â and âjugulae,â and trying Korean cuisine such as kimchi, kimbap, and bulgogi.
As we see shift into sleek, chic, and monochromatic trends in Western fashion, Korean pop culture emerges as the alternative. Each K-Pop group assert their presence with electrifying styles that can only be matched by their sounds. BIGBANG is legendary for setting the standard of uniqueness with each member managing to keep their own distinguished styles yet still managing to function as a one one-of-a-kind unit. Bright color patterns, neon blue hair, studded leather jackets, ruffled poet shirts, tattoos, cardigans, blazers, faux mohawks, and an array of other in-your-face styles cohesively come together to set each K-Pop group apart from one another. Korean pop culture is here and itâs not going anywhere.
Photo Credit: YG Entertainment
I arrived at the Honda Center with my friends a little before 11:00 AM but there were already at least 200 VIPs waiting in line. While waiting in line, my friends and I met fellow VIPs who traveled from different parts of the California and the United States, South America, and Canada. Hoping to catch the attention of their favorite BIGBANG member dubbed their âbias,â G-Dragon, TOP, Seungri, Daesung, and/or Taeyang. VIPs arrive decked in their BIGBANG gear, both purchased and handmade, carry yellow crow-shaped light sticks. Many VIPs brought along hand-made posters to support their bias, show their bias love, and even to ask their bias to marry them. A few showed up dressed as their bias from dress to tattoo to hair style and color.
At ten minutes after eight, the lights dimmed and the excited cheers of VIPs and the lights of their crown light sticks filled the room from the front of the stage in the pit to the very last seats on the top tiers. The show opened with the Western-styled BIGBANG MADE tour trailer while smoke poured into the arena. As the trailer ended, the screen split and the five stars emerged from the smoke and the rest of the night was a BIGBANG party that included laser lights, fireworks, and confetti.
Photo Credit: YG Entertainment
BIGBANG performed all eight tracks from their new album MADE which includes recent hits âLoserâ and âBang Bang Bang.â BIGBANG also performed from their previous albums Alive and Tonight, and their two iconic songs, âDay by Dayâ and âLies.â Each member also performed a solo and GD and Taeyang performed their hit âGood Boyâ together. G-Dragon switched in and out of rapping and singing falsetto skillfully, TOP delivered powerful lines to each performance with his strong voice, Taeyang mesmerized the crowd with his sultry singing, Daesung captivated fans with his strong vocals, and Seungri kept the audience wanting more with his energetic interactions. After an incredible encore, BIGBANG promised to return soon and finally ended the show. VIPs reluctantly left the stadium, wishing BIGBANG the best of luck and hoping to see them again in the near future.
BIGBANG may be gone for now but K-Pop is still near. Los Angeles has always played a center of cultural exchange and although K-Pop is not exclusive to Los Angeles, it has become a hub for K-Pop. Los Angeles boasts the largest Korean American population and is home to one of the largest Koreantowns in the United States where fans can find K-Pop group specific merchandise, take pictures life size cardboard cut outs of their favorite idols, and purchase the foods they see their idols eat. Los Angeles is also home to the annual Korean Music Festival hosted by the Korean Times as well as the annual Korean convention KCON USA. K-Pop will thrive until VIPs can see BIGBANG live in concert again.
