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SNSD in Jakarta: The girls have become women
Raucous: SNSD, famous for their ability to dance in harmony while wearing outlandish shoes, responded to ear-deafening screams of welcome by shaking the whole stadium
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span class="inline inline-center">Raucous: SNSD, famous for their ability to dance in harmony while wearing outlandish shoes, responded to ear-deafening screams of welcome by shaking the whole stadium. JP/Nurhayati
Asia's biggest girlband launched its world tour with a concert in Jakarta on Saturday.
The South Korean group, known back home as So Nyeo Shi Dae (SNSD), but famous overseas as Girls Generation, were in the city to hold their first solo concert as part of their Girls & Peace world tour.
The eyes of thousands of fans at Mata Elang International Stadium in Ancol, North Jakarta, were fixated on a screen watching holographic images of the nine-member group dance when suddenly the real Girls Generation emerged in the center of the stage from below.
The girlband ' famous for their ability to dance in harmony while wearing tall high heels ' then responded to ear-deafening screams by shaking the whole stadium with renditions of their hits 'Hoot', 'The Boys', and 'I Got a Boy'.
'Apakah anda tunggu kami?' (Have you guys been waiting for us?) said 24-year old Sunny, after the group finished performing their introductory songs.
'Selamat sore, Indonesia! Aku Sooyoung! Aku cinta padamu!' [Good evening, Indonesia! I'm Sooyoung. I love you all!] said another member, to which the crowd responded with very loud cheers.
The performance of the popular group, comprising Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun, was not a letdown for fans, as it was a full-package, memorable piece of entertainment.
The members wore cute, all-pink outfits when singing 'Say Yes' and 'Dancing Queen', before transforming during the performance of 'Mr. Taxi' and 'T.O.P.', donning the black jackets and tight breeches, with glow-in-the-dark yellow highlights.
The atmosphere heated up when Girls Generation upped the tempo performing 'Paparazzi' and 'Run Devil Run', inevitably causing some male fans ' trying to stay calm and holding back from the beginning ' to start moving their hips, dancing in time with the music and shouting the members' names.
The two songs were arguably the most memorable part of the performance, during which each of the band's members ' all clad in elegant, red-and-black short skirts ' danced in separate windows lit by fast-changing disco lights.
All nine Girls Generation members then took turn singing and dancing, with the lights quickly changing color depending on which member was singing. At the same time, a gigantic screen in the background zoomed in on the soloist.
Despite their impressive dancing ability, Girls Generation have long been known for their mediocre singing, except for the mellow-voiced Taeyon.
However, the group silenced critics with an a cappella rendition of 'Baby Baby'. Tiffany, Seohyun and Jessica wooed the audience with their improved vocals when performing ' a live performance, not a lip sync ' wearing white wedding gowns.
'I'm surprised. Their voices are actually great ' this shows that they have more than just pretty faces,' one journalist said while witnessing their performance.
The latest concert in Jakarta also reflected the ongoing transformation of Girls Generation, which had previously presented the band members as cute idols with a girl-next-door image.
The beats of their songs combined a delicious flurry of pop with hip-hop and techno, with lyrics and choreograph that were far from the innocent and playful image the girlband initially presented in early music videos such as 'Gee' and 'Kissing You'.
'I see that they have become more mature now,' said Adrian Husni, a Jakarta fan who attended the concert with a friend.
The three-hour show concluded with 'Twinkle', with all nine members coming to every corner of the stage to wave goodbye to fans, promising to return to hold a concert again in Indonesia in the future.
Putri Avicenna, a 24-year-old enthusiast of Korean-pop music, said that she was very impressed with the whole concept of Girls Generation's concert, arguing that it could be used as example for Indonesia on how to develop its entertainment industry.
'It's really worth it for entertainment,' she said, noting that the concert 'is not just about singing and dancing' as it paid careful attention to details such as moving images, costumes and lighting and matching them with the songs selected, before combining all those factors into one whole big music concept.
'The artists are great performers, too ' maybe because they had to endure prolonged process before joining the entertainment industry,' Putri explained. 'It's different compared to in Indonesia, where some artists are not prepared, becoming one-hit wonders only.'
