One of a Kind: G-Dragon in Singapore (Final Night)

G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore

If you didn’t know (or read), I was actually having buyer's regret about the cost of the tickets. Due to peer pressure persuasion, I actually bought the (most expensive) tickets for the concert. Not knowing what to expect and wanting to get my money’s worth, I arrived at the Singapore Indoor Stadium armed with only my iPhone (so sorry for the poor quality photos and videos, Jong has very clear and nice photos so don't forget to check out her blog!) with some form of anticipation. It did help that a few of my Korean language classmates (some of whom are BIG fans and went for both nights) were there.

G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore

As expected, there were a lot of people but the crowd control was nicely done – fast and efficient. For example, our tickets were at the north entrance, but the as there was a crowd forming and I just so happened to be at the East gate where there were lesser people, the nice security guard actually advised/encourage those were to be at the North gate that they could enter via the East gate instead. Getting into the stadium was also a breeze as the security check was swift and smooth – enter, open bag, look into back (and if there’s nothing like DSLRs), into the stadium you go. Security and ushers were cordial and professional too, much better than the ones at the Kim Jong Kook Fanmeeting and on par to the ones at the MBLAQ concert in Taipei.

The concert started pretty much on time and it begun with a bang (literally), popping out from a white glittering, (much) cool looking Batmobile-esque vehicle and starting off the concert with “Michigo”.

One of my favorites was "Butterfly", which started off with visuals of pretty pink (again I see pink and I find it nice, but it isn’t my favorite color… weird) and brown windmills with flowers before the “butterfly” or rather “butterflies” literally came to life – huge cloth butterflies manually maneuvered (by the stage crew or dancers) to mimic the movement of the real specimen filled the stage; giving it a dreamscape-like ambience.

G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore
Windmills with flowers
G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore
Butterflies anyone? ^^





From a stage set as whimsical as it was dreamscape-like (butterflies and all), the stage was soon transformed into angsty rock with the lighting to boot, when G-Dragon belted out the song “Obsession” (which has become my favorite).






There was also the song where CL (from 2NE1) made her appearance and sang “Leaders” together with G-dragon! It was cool as it was cute with their camaraderie.

Throughout the concert, G-dragon was oozing with attitude and confidence. But he did gravitate a little too much to the right side of the stage, giving it more attention than let’s say the left side (where we were). One of my classmates told me that the parents and T.O.P’s mom (?) were seated present that night.

Regardless, this guy has the stage presence and knows how to work the crowd up into frenzy with his ‘charismatic’ antics: a slight dab on the brows with a white towel was thrown out in to the moshpit (a few times) where eager fans snapped it up (for the towels he really used to wipe off sweat, thank goodness those never left the stage – now that’s smart marketing), running out to the floor to touch (or tease) fans and looking them in the eye when singing made many on the moshpit floor swoon (I think I could even the see the hearts come out)! A couple of “You are beautiful”, “I miss you”, “I love you”, “Please don’t forget me” was almost good enough to seal the concerts success (judging from the fans screams).

G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore
Ever 'expressionful'

G-Dragon wasn’t really singing (neither was he lip-synching) throughout the whole concert, his voice played in the background but he come in and sang when he felt like it (?) especially when it came to the fast songs. He even teased the crowd when he (while dancing too vigorously) forgot to sing. He just put the golden mike to his mouth for a second or two, looked at the crowd (showing that his lips were not moving, but there was singing), paused, smiled, and started joining his own voice playing in the background (to the delight of the fans); real voice and the one in the background were indistinguishable. He really did expand a lot of energy during the concert (and yes he can hold his notes) and he did sing (just not throughout), which made it feel more like a really big party given his playful stage presence.
 
G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore
G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore
 G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore
G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore
 G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore


There was a moment during the concert where G-Dragon, exhausted from all that prancing and dancing (and yes, singing), just collapsed plopped onto the floor, holding the mike to his mouth and mumbled a few words of his song before resting while the fans continued the song. It had such a nice surround sound effect, with the sound of the (mostly female) fans voices echoing throughout the stadium; so melodious that I forgot to take a video of it (heh). With him encouraging them a little (I just think he found the perfect moment to catch his breath), the fans practically sang that song until he popped back up again and finished it was gusto (I think the song was "Bad Boy" – but since I’m not really a fan I could be wrong lol).

Controversial he may be, talented that he is but to be able pull off a solo concert (in multiple countries no less) without his Bigbang members is no mean feat (and commendable too). He even made the effort to do it all in English, doing a way with a translator (which made it a slightly better experience than the MBLAQ concert in Taipei). Even the guest performers, 2NE1 conversed with the crowd in English throughout their 3 songs stint. I guess speaking in a language that your audience understands and doing away with the need (or minimal) of a translator does make it more endearing for the crowd and makes a better 'connection'.

Towards the end, the crowd cheered for an encore….



And after a little bit of wondering and waiting… not to mention a little teaser for an encore, G-Dragon popped back onto stage to perform a few encore songs. He even made the effort to introduce (give credit) to his awesome team of dancers, musicians and label mates (2NE1). G-Dragon’s crowd-pleasing performances of his catchy "Crayon", Big Bang's "Fantastic Baby" and "Bad Boy", and of course "Michigo" had the fans on their feet, waving their special edition light sticks while singing along.
















And how could I forget 2NE1? I think after this concert I like them even more now. ^^ Those gals can dance and for the better part sing and dance at the same time. They too, like their label mate, know how to work up the crowd and build up the atmosphere.

G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore

And like with all things promotional concerty, both G-Dragon and 2NE1 have their upcoming albums, with G-Dragon's probably coming out in August (hopefully).

Overall, it was an enjoyable concert; one big fun party! And from G-Dragon’s perspective, given his expanded energy (with all that dancing and jumping about enthusiastically and energetically), effort that went into the details of the stage set (e.g. car, manual butterflies, confetti, lighting, pyrotechnics etc…) and choreography, not to mention a good performance (and videography), the concert was definitely worth his money earned.

G-Dragon One of a Kind Tour Singapore


Since there are so many fan accounts out there with vivid descriptions, videos and photos of the concert, you can enjoy reading them too:
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When travel collides with a byte, a unit of information made up of bits, TravelBytez is formed: snippets of ramblings on travel, food, shopping, living and anything else that comes to mind.

4 comments :

  1. I didn't know T.O.P parents were sitting at my side.( east / right side) . I only know that GD parents came and they sat just directly opposite the stage ( the middle) . I don't think T.O.P parents were sitting there, i didn't saw wor.

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    1. No idea wor. Friend messaged. Maybe she meant GD's mom? Lol

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  2. I was at the east side ( right side) and i didn't saw T.O.P parents , I saw GD's parents sat right directly in front of the stage ( middle). I don't think T.O.P parents were there , If not the fans will scream and turned behind. Because I spotted GD parents when all VIPS screamed and turn and look at the direction where GD parents are located.

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    Replies
    1. Cool! You saw GD's parents. No idea on whose who parents were there, only heard from my friend.

      As for where they were seated (east or middle), maybe it was miscommunication or my 'good' sense of orientation. Lol :p Fact is the parents were there and it was a good concert! ^^

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