It was September 12th, 2013. I had arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia, after a 16-hour flight from Zurich, Switzerland. I was exhausted, and so was my sister. It was the first time I had ventured into an unknown country without the accompaniment of my parents, so I was scared, yet fascinated with my surroundings.
3:00 PM on Saturday, September 14th, 2013. The outside of the stadium was packed with SONEs: some crying, some running, but all anticipating the concert. Since my sister and I had purchased the SM Global Package, we were able to head into the concert first. As my sister and I entered the empty venue, we rushed to the best and nearest spot next to the stage. And we waited and waited until everyone had reached their seats. My heart was racing, and I could feel a heart attack coming due to stress. I would have never thought I’d attend one of Girls’ Generation’s concerts, especially in an unfamiliar country. Suddenly, music started to play, and I was wondering if the girls were already going to perform. I was completely lost until I realized that the song playing was the Indonesian National Anthem. Everyone stood up and started to sing. My sister and I also started to sing, even though we had no idea what to chant, so we ended up lip syncing in total embarrassment. Once the anthem ended, everyone screamed. So did we. After a couple of minutes, the lights turned off. I couldn’t imagine that I was actually going to meet Girls’ Generation, the artist I had been idolizing for over three years. Finally, a loud boom sounded in the venue. It was the beginning of the intro film.
After a beautiful six-minute clip, the film started to introduce each of the girls separately. Yoona, Yuri, Sooyoung, Sunny, Seohyun, Taeyeon, Tiffany, Jessica, and last but not least, Hyoyeon.
After the film, a huge gray ballon filled up with air on the main stage, which then separated in half to reveal the girls. As Yoona started her part in the song, the girls turned into petals and flew away. Frankly, I got scared, until I remembered it was a screen used during the girls’ V Concert at the beginning of the year. Then, as all the girls flew away, and as Seohyun’s part started, the nine angels we know as Girls’ Generation arose from the middle of the Y-shaped stage and blew our minds away. Each and every one of them was stunning. Taeyeon’s black locks, Jessica’s tied-up hair, Sunny’s short and brown tresses, Tiffany’s stunning eye-smile, Hyoyeon’s glowing hair, Yuri’s sexy body, Sooyoung’s amazing eyes, Yoona’s impeccable beauty, and Seohyun’s innocent face stunned everyone. The girls then finally started to dance, stealing each and every one of our hearts with their sexy arrow dance.
After having performed a number of songs, the girls finally introduced themselves to their Indonesian fans. Following introductions, the first fan event was executed. We all held banners which read, “It’s HYOurs AGAIN!!!” Confused, Hyoyeon did not understand why we held banners for her until SONEs explained that it was for her birthday, soon to come. She than laughed and thanked us for the surprise.
After having finished their performances with the pink outfits, the performances with the green ones were just beyond amazement. “MR. TAXI” isn’t a song I like very much, but I just couldn’t get enough of it while they danced to it. The green used in the outfit is a flashy lime green, which can be seen in the dark from probably a ten-meter radius! But what really made me hyper was during “T.O.P”. The light sticks used in the dance were just amazing. The venue would often turn dark, and you could only see nine floating green sticks in the air. In addition, there was a cannon in the middle of stage, which shot smoke once the girls approached it. Once they finished “T.O.P”, they continued with “FLOWER POWER”. Jessica and Tiffany’s “Do you wanna be my lover?” drove everyone crazy, and all I could hear was, “YES TIFFANY, YES JESSICA, YES GIRLS’ GENERATION! YESSS!!!!!”
What really struck me the most were the nine red boxes located on the main stage, each of which was occupied by one of the girls. “PAPARAZZI” was the first song to be performed, and it was jaw-dropping. The lights and effects used were really well-coordinated with the song. Their gorgeous red outfits were so overwhelming that everyone shouted and whistled, because nothing could make them look sexier.
After performing “PAPARAZZI”, “Run Devil Run”, and “Reflection”, the audience couldn’t take another song with those red dresses without fainting from excitement. The girls still couldn’t help but make us want more, so they appeared in those beautiful pearl white gowns and sang “Promise”, where our second fan event was executed. As soon as the venue lights turned yellow, we all held banners which read, “항상 니 곁에 있을게”, and translated to, “Always by your side”. In addition, we all had our pinkies painted pink as part of the same fan event. The girls then continued with the ballad version of “Baby Baby”, to which everyone waved their light sticks.
After another video, the girls popped out of the main stage and performed “I’m a Diamond”. I really enjoyed this song, since they were dancing on moving stages that were going up and down, which was amusing to see. Nonetheless, it was not over yet, as the girls performed “Genie” with plenty of energy, really making everyone want to jump of their seats and just breakdance. Everyone was anticipating Tiffany’s “DJ, put it back on”, but instead, she screamed, “INDONESIA, PUT IT BACK ON!!!!!!!!” which drove the audience wild.
Last but not least, the girls sang “The Great Escape”, followed by “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, in which I couldn’t take my eyes off of anyone, especially Taeyeon, with whom I shared eye contact with for about three seconds. In addition, she gave me one of those sparkling smiles, which nearly made me faint. That was probably the best moment for me during the whole concert.
But I shouldn’t speak so soon, as our nine beloved angels came back on stage after another video with my favorite outfit of them all: the mixture of pink, red, and purple in one dress. They came out on this huge birthday cake, looking extremely adorable while singing “My J”. Their cute voices were too much to withstand and their kisses were flying everywhere. I could see some SONEs jump and “catch” a kiss and then put it directly in their pockets, which made me smile.
“Kissing You”, “Way To Go”, and “Gee” were just amazing performances, but what really made me feel proud to be a SONE was “Forever”. Seeing my idols right there in front of me singing my all time favorite song made me feel so warm inside.
After they finished singing “Forever”, the girls slowly left the stage and “Encore” was shouted throughout the stadium. Without a moment to waste, they emerged from the middle of the stage, singing “Into the New World”. As it was the song that brought So Nyuh Shi Dae into our world, everyone sang along. Finally, the girls performed their last song, “Twinkle”, all together while throwing autographed balls.
After their final bow at the end of the concert, Girls’ Generation thanked everyone for coming, and the audience screamed and thanked the group for coming to Indonesia.
September 14th, 2013 will be a day I shall never forget, not only because I feel blessed that I was able to meet my idols, but also because I was able to share this amazing experience with other fans, spending a good three hours all together as one. I’d like to personally thank everyone who attended the concert for making this day special to a fellow SONE who lives far away, as well as Girls’ Generation for being who they are and for caring so much about their fans.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are solely those of the author and are not representative of the Soshified community as a whole.
