Despite the disappointing cancellation of the Korean Music Wave that was supposed to happen on the same day, K-Pop fans need not fret as the Sundown Festival 2013 was slated to go on as usual with Ace of Angels (AOA). Starting out in 2009 with the theme “Seoul’dOut!” that focused on K-Pop, they moved on to the fifth installment this year with a myriad of Asian acts hailing from eight different Asian countries. Aiming to be the ultimate Festival that gathers the best of Asia’s talents with an act from a new Asian country being added to the list each year, we can definitely expect more as Sundown continues this cultural phenomenon of bridging Asia with the universal language of music.
Before the actual performance started, festival goers were treated to several fringe performances and food that represents the countries of each of the performing acts to tie in with the cultural aspects of bringing Asia together as one.
Hyping a great crowd up with food and insights to other cultures, the night opened with Rocksteddy hailing from the Philippines, whose original name was Rocksteady, but changed it to fit the name its lead singer, Teddy Corpuz. Pumping the crowd further with their hit song Ayo Lang Ako, followed by Love Is your Bullet and Superhero, the experienced band of 10 years performed a series of songs featuring pop and rock. Formerly a Christian band and reinforcing it at the press conference with a memorable quote, “God is our steady rock” to always remember God as they move on to mainstream music, the band rocked on with Drown, Sa Panaginip and ending with Boy Kulot. It is interesting to note that the band members actually listen to K-Pop, such as Wonder Girls; so as to not confine themselves to a specific music genre and be exposed to a variety to draw inspiration for their upcoming works! Having largely directed their own MV, co-produced their own album, what’s next for the guys? World domination.
Next up as No More Tear from Thailand, and as a female-fronted group, Fukfang, is bound to attract a lot of attention as the vocalist. However, they promptly shoved the idea aside and shared that Fukfang has no differential treatment from the guys, Chay, Ice and Tae. Treating each other as great friends, they performed their first two songs, Mai Mee Nam Tha (Don’t Have Tears) and Kwarm Payayarm (Effort) effortlessly. Hinting of a special cover at the press conference, they delivered a wonderful rendition of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. One would no doubt wonder of their other talents, and they revealed that each of them had other areas that they are skilled at too! From sports, to skateboarding and being an excellent barista, it is to no surprise that they rocked the cover before ending with Pleng Tee Thun Mai Dai Tang (The Song I Didn’t Compose). Well, we are seeing a repetitive trend of pun in their titles, and look forward to seeing more song that they compose effortlessly without having to shed tears over it!
Adonia Shao pumped a shot of slight cuteness into the night’s line-up of mainly rock and pop with 啦啦爱 and 快乐阿啦蕾. As the winner of talent show Super Girl 超级女声 in 2005 and hailing with a strong musical background from the Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music, she was invited to a new years’ day concert in all the way at Italy in 2008! Introducing a side of the Chinese culture to the audience, her second song for the night was 红楼梦, one of the four greatest novels in the 5000 years of Chinese history. Ending her act with 凌晨派对, she successfully captured the atmosphere of the concert right there and then – party as the night is still young!
Screw then rocked the stage with Red Thread then Cavalcade, which was just released 10 days before the show on the 6th of November! Consisting of Byo (lead vocalist), Kazuki (leader and lead guitarist), Manabu (rhythm guitarist), Rui (bass) and Jin (drummer/percussionist), they wowed the audience with Xanadu and Get You Back, ending with Barbed Wire with a bang. Coming together with the idea of having to “screw” the darkness within people out of everyone, they surely did a great job in rocking the house just like they did during their domestic tour earlier this year in April.
Yoga Lin took the stage and brought a calmer wave with him as he performs his songs accompanied with his guitar, which he had also confessed to be a rare chance. Coming strong as the winner of the first season of singing competition, 超级星光大道 (One Million Star), he was picked up by HIM International Music, home to Mando-Pop’s greatest trio, S.H.E.. Starting with 晚安 (Good Night) followed by Song 2 and 大象舞台 (Elephant Stage) all on his guitar, he then performed a ballad titled 天天想你 (Thinking of You Everyday) before bringing the stage back to a high note on 自然醒 (Waking Up Naturally).
When it comes to Rico Blanco, he is no stranger to Singapore with two birthdays celebrated right here on our little red dot. As a Filipino rock icon himself, he pledged to donate his fees from the Festival to help Typhoon Haiyan victims and appealed to all to help as well. Starting with Burado, Antukin and What It Is, the talented and experienced Rico who is in this industry for 18 years had collected numerous awards to his name, the most recent being scoring the no. 1 spot on iTunes worldwide on the release of Galactik Fiestamatik. Following up with an Anthem Medley and ending with You’ll Be Safe, we hope that the Festival continues to add on to his list of most memorable concerts!
Continuing the high spirits from Rico, Hong Kong's actor-singer Bosco Wong took the stage with 底线 (Bottom Line). When asked why he deviated to singing from his acting, he explained that singing and acting both gave him a different form of satisfaction and one could really tell that he was enjoying the stage thoroughly. Performing All Eyes On You next followed by a slower song 最后幸福 (Last Happiness), Bosco nailed it to a thunderous response. Having being a frequent visitor to our sunny island, what does he like to do in Singapore? Enjoy our food, of course! Namely, our iconic Chili Crab! While gaining fame and recognition as a rising actor, one can be sure to see more of Bosco’s singing as he is definitely not any less amazing in his performing when compared to his acting.
Indonesian band Nidji, meaning rainbow in Japanese, took the stage strong with a rock introduction. Performing hits such as Heaven, Shadow, Diatas Awan, Liberty Victory and Disco Lazy, they rocked the stage like an old pro, with a tally of 350 gigs under their belt, 150 of them in Indonesia. True to their name, their performances were full of colour, donning LED t-shirts that emits light and featuring music across genres, lighting up the stage with their unique sounds and close audience interaction.
And finally, we reach AOA! Gracing the stage to numerous calls and “Hwaitings!” from fanboys and fangirls alike, the girls of the AOA Black took the stage with Get Out and Moya. It was a refreshing take to see the girls themselves playing live on the band as compared to the previous acts of mainly the guys on the instruments and Youkyoung’s drumming really shone! With the rest of the girls coming up on stage, they performed Love Is Only You, a sweet song about love that added a dash of sunshine to all of our hearts amidst the late night. One could definitely not forget their debut song, Elvis before saying their goodbyes with their latest comeback song, Confused that they had kindly asked for fans to join them with their iconic lip rub move. The cheers were loud and clear with the emcees even noting a fanboy’s cheers for them with his distinctive deeper voice amongst the fangirls!
Ending the night was another Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 2006, D=Out. Showcasing a total of 5 songs, namely Aoi Tori, ONE, Music Nippon, Kanden 18 and Aisuruhito, the band pledged no borders for music and wanted to share more of the Japanese culture with the world through their music. Formed in 2006, their accolades include two tours in Europe, first in 2009 and the second in 2010, living up to their mission of being representatives of Japan.
At the end of the night, what did the entire experience felt like? A tour around Asia and we can be sure AOA will be back for more. Although all the acts together felt more than enough, there’s this tiny longing and hope for a little more AOA in future.
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A big thank you to Team Sundown Festival and Red Spade Entertainment for the invitation to cover this event. All photo credits to official photography http://www.facebook.com/mysundownfestival. For more photo of Sundown Festival 2013, do visit our Facebook page and Photo gallery. Support us by following us on Twitter and clicking “Like” on our Facebook page!
This event is organised by Red Spade Entertainment.
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A big thank you to Team Sundown Festival and Red Spade Entertainment for the invitation to cover this event. All photo credits to official photography http://www.facebook.com/mysundownfestival. For more photo of Sundown Festival 2013, do visit our Facebook page and Photo gallery. Support us by following us on Twitter and clicking “Like” on our Facebook page!
This event is organised by Red Spade Entertainment.