Three years after its Girls & Peace show in Jakarta, South Korean girl band So Nyeo Shi Dae (SNSD) is back in town to prove it has lost none of its charm or skill.

South Korean girl band SNSD — also known as Girls’ Generation — presented a two-and-a-half-hour show to around 3,000 fans at ICE, BSD City on the outskirts of Jakarta.

The venue was visibly smaller than their 2013 concert in MEIS Ancol and concertgoers needed to dig deeper into their pockets to watch the eight-member band perform. While the cheapest ticket for the 2013 concert had been Rp 600,000, this time around, fans were forced to fork out between Rp. 1.25 million to 2.25 million.

However, for many fans, the concert last Saturday proved to be worth every single rupiah. Girls’ Generation presented a visual spectacle, great showmanship and a satisfying set of hits.

Starting on time at 18:30 p.m., the band members, clad in black sequined suits and white miniskirts, belted out upbeat numbers “You Think” and “Genie”. The fans screamed their lungs out when each member of Girls’ Generation took turns to perform a solo dance, which included gyrating moves on the stairs.

As the spotlight was on Yoona, she showed off her classic dance moves with a red sparkling cane.

The eight members opened their suits, revealing their two-piece white dresses. Girls’ Generation went on to sing “Papparazi” and “Show Girl” while dancing on top of glowing hydraulic stairs that went up and down in tune with the song’s rhythm.

With the costumes, cane dance and city lights projected on the background, Girl’s Generation brought to the stage an aura of 1920s New York.

The eight girls showed off their improved Indonesian skills with the help of Indonesian texts prepared by the concert promoter, Mecimapro.

“Cieee… kalian mau ketemu aku ya? (You wanted to meet me, right?)” Seohyun teased the crowd, which consisted to equal shares of boys and girls.

“Aku suka kalian! (I like you all!),” she continued.

From the classic New York theme, Girls’ Generation took the audience to a candy-colored theme park.

Clad in shiny, colorful dresses, the girls sang on top of a rotating carousel. Instead of the usual horse statues, the carousel consisted of huge statues of girly things – diamond rings, perfume bottles and shoes.

With its sophisticated stage, state-of-the-art lighting and various props, the concert was truly a fantastical journey. While belting out their hits, Girls’ Generation took us on an enchanting journey to Moulin Rouge, a serene garden of roses, a barren dessert and all the way to outer space (with futuristic, metal-colored dresses).

Courtesy of Mecimapro

One of the funny moments came when Sooyoung, Hyoyeon and Yuri sporting oversized jeans jackets, tight pants in striking colors and large golden chain necklaces, had sung the 1980s rap song “Push It”.

Sunny and Yoona walked among the audience while singing Maroon 5’s “Sugar”.

With the help of a translator, the eight girls took plenty of time to interact with the audience and share their upcoming individual projects.

“I am preparing my solo album. Please wait patiently for the album’s release,” Taeyeon, known as the Girls’ Generation member with the most outstanding vocals.

“I just had a vacation in Bali,” Hyoyeon said. “I want to invite my fellow band members to Bali. I think it will be great if we can make a music video there,” she said, prompting cheers from the audience.

Among the 24 songs performed that night were “Lion Heart”, “Gee”, “Run Devil”, “Catch Me If You Can” and “The Boys”. The mood got a little sentimental when Girls’ Generation sang their ballad “Into The New World”.  

Ratih, a housewife from Tangerang, stood and sang along on the furthest edge of the Pink festival area.

“I am standing here because I have to carry the bags of my husband and 13-year-old daughter. My husband is a huge fan of Girls’ Generation, so he went to the front, trying to get a closer look at the stage,” she said.

“Compared to the previous concert, the venue is small and the tickets are pricy. But I have enjoyed this concert, particularly because I was able to see the live performance of their new single ‘Lion Heart’ for the first time,” Ratih added.  

Nearing the end of the concert, the girls carried pink shopping bags filled with colorful plastic balls. They kissed the balls before throwing them to audience members in the pink festival area, who eagerly tried to catch the balls as a memento of the concert that cost them Rp 2.25 million to enjoy.

The girl band sweetly sealed the concert with upbeat number “Party”.

It was a memorable and satisfying concert for many Girls’ Generation fans, known as SONE. But, it was a completely different story for Indonesian SONE who couldn’t afford tickets.

Dozens of young girls stood outside the ICE building during the course of the show. Among them were 20-year-old Kiki and her two best friends, who came all the way from West Jakarta. Their eyes were fixated on their smartphones, tracking the latest updates of the ongoing concert on the Instagram and Twitter accounts of Girls’ Generation members and fellow Indonesian SONE.

“We could not afford the tickets. So we came here, hoping that we could get a glimpse of Girls’ Generation. We had hoped that they would come to meet us after the concert,” Kiki said.