Little monsters in action: Fans of U
span class="inline inline-center">tour was canceled.
Local promoter Big Daddy Entertainment said on Sunday that Gaga’s management had decided to call off the Jakarta performance, previously scheduled for June 3, citing “security concerns” amid a backlash from the country’s hard-liner groups against the controversial diva.
The Grammy-award winning singer, known for such hits as “Dance in the Dark” and “Born This Way”, said via her Twitter account that she was as “devastated” as her Indonesian fans. “I am very sorry to the fans, I will try to put together something special for you. My love for Indonesia has only grown,” she said late on Sunday.
While they were noticeably disappointed about the decision, Gaga’s fans who had bought tickets for the gig tried to carry on despite the cancellation.
Kenny Santana, a 33-year-old film programmer at local movie theater Blitz Megaplex, said he had considered going to Gaga’s concert in Singapore on Thursday.
The diva is currently in Singapore for three performances on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, also part of her world tour.
“I am still hunting for last-minute cancellation tickets. The last time I checked, the ticket prices were around S$100 [US$78.35],” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He added, however, that the plan was still undecided because there were other things to be considered such as plane tickets and accommodations.
Meanwhile, Ali, a 26-year-old banker from Bandung, West Java, said the whole Gaga brouhaha had taught him the lesson to watch his musical idol “anywhere else but Indonesia”.
“I would prefer to see her perform in another country in the future,” he said.
Other fans said that they did not have enough money to watch Gaga’s performance in another country given the sudden cancellation.
“I just could not afford it at this time. I will stay focused on the flash-mob project instead as a consolation,” 19-year-old Simon Sibarani, coordinator of a Gaga flash-mob dance, told the Post.
He added that the video of dozens of Gaga’s fans, who put on a flash-mob dance in Jakarta on Sunday, would be uploaded on video-sharing site YouTube next week.
Hervina, founder of one of Gaga’s Twitter fan-bases for Indonesia, said that a number of “Little Monsters” were planning to gather at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on June 3 to pay a tribute to the star.
“One of the plans is to sow condolence flowers to symbolize the death of this country’s freedom of expression,” said Hervina.
A total of 52,000 tickets, with prices ranging from Rp 465,000 to Rp 2.25 million, were sold after sales opened on March 10.
Big Daddy’s spokesman, Arif Ramadhoni, told the Post separately that the organizer had guaranteed
to refund ticket purchasers “100 percent”.
He stressed that the example of Starlight Management, which failed to refund all the money to fans of Korean band CN Blue’s after the group canceled their gig, would not be followed by Big Daddy. (asa)
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.