{"id":1568,"date":"2012-01-06T00:00:12","date_gmt":"2012-01-05T15:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/?p=1568"},"modified":"2012-01-02T01:02:05","modified_gmt":"2012-01-01T16:02:05","slug":"super-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/2012\/01\/super-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Imagine yourself in one of Japan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great baseball domes, but you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not here for a game.\u00c2\u00a0 There are no bases, no diamond \u00e2\u20ac\u201c instead the house lights are off and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re surrounded by 30,000 twinkling blue lights.\u00c2\u00a0 Shrieks and yells of excitement fill the air, anticipation rising by the second.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, the stage turns red and nine silhouettes rise from the floor in a crescendo of screams and bass.\u00c2\u00a0 This is Super Show.<\/p>\n

Super Show is the name of the tours of Korean boy band Super Junior, this one being their fourth.\u00c2\u00a0 Part of one of Korea\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest entertainment companies, SM Entertainment, Super Junior debuted in 2005, and at its peak was claimed to be the largest boy band in the world at thirteen members.\u00c2\u00a0 Currently the group has nine active members: leader Leeteuk; Yesung, Kyuhyun, and Ryeowook as main vocals; Sungmin, Siwon, and Donghae as vocals; and Eunhyuk and Shindong as rappers, with the latter three also acting as the group\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s main dancers.\u00c2\u00a0 There are also two members who participate only in their Mandarin sub-group, Super Junior M: Zhou Mi as main vocals and Henry as back-up vocals and dancer.<\/p>\n

Imagine if the Backstreet Boys and Nsync joined together to form a super group to conquer Asia \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the group is not only one of the most well known in Korea, but also is also a big part of the hallyu <\/em>phenomenon, the quickly growing Korean wave of exported pop culture and music.\u00c2\u00a0 Super Junior has enjoyed popularity and commercial success in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and, of course, Japan.<\/p>\n

Their music ranges from catchy hip-hop and electropop, to silly bubblegum pop, to moving ballads.\u00c2\u00a0 What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also great about Super Junior is that not only are they great at singing and dancing, but they have a lot of other talents – we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got actors, radio and television MCs, and comedians.\u00c2\u00a0 All of these skills are put to use for their live performances.\u00c2\u00a0 They also don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always take themselves seriously \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they know how to be silly just as much as they know how to be sexy or charming.<\/p>\n

Having been hit by the Korean wave myself, I grabbed three of my friends and headed to Super Show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Japan stop at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka.\u00c2\u00a0 Honestly, I was a little worried about whether they would like the show at all.\u00c2\u00a0 Two of them were familiar with Korean pop (K-pop for short) but not necessarily interested in Super Junior, and one of them had almost no experience with K-pop at all.\u00c2\u00a0 I had enjoyed Super Junior\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s performance at SM Town, a live show that showcases all of SM Entertainment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s artists, but I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sure if my friends would enjoy what Super Junior brought to the stage.\u00c2\u00a0 To my surprise, however, they enjoyed every minute of the four-hour-long show.<\/p>\n

The show opened with one of their new songs, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Superman,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have been more pleased \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the song is epic, with martial-like heavy bass and brass line.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like a military roll call showcasing each of the members\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 talents and personalities.\u00c2\u00a0 It gave the group great presence and set the mood for the beginning of the show. \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0From there the group did a couple more of their new dance numbers, impressing my friends and the audience with their complex choreography.<\/p>\n

But when it came time for the members to introduce themselves, what we got was an adorable bunch of dorks.\u00c2\u00a0 They all stumbled through their self-introductions in Japanese by looking at cue-cards.\u00c2\u00a0 Nearly every member said something corny along the lines of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153boku wa kimi no mono<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 The crowd laughed, but was charmed.<\/p>\n

\"\"To go along with the change in mood, they went into some of their more lighthearted songs.\u00c2\u00a0 They walked on treadmills for their song appropriately titled \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Walkin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 For their song \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oops\u00e2\u20ac\u009d they were accompanied by one of SM Entertainment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s girl groups, f(x).\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 In the song, some of the members tell outrageous lies about themselves through rap.\u00c2\u00a0 Well, except for member Heechul, whose verse was outrageous because it was actually true.\u00c2\u00a0 His part was pre-recorded and played via jumbo-tron because he was absent due to recently beginning his mandatory military service (all South Korean males are required to serve in the military for two years).\u00c2\u00a0 What was really nice about this bit was that everyone on stage saluted while his part was playing.<\/p>\n

What came next was probably the most enjoyable part for us few English speaking members of the audience \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the solos.\u00c2\u00a0 Each member, including the two from Super Junior M, prepared a song to perform by themselves, and most of them choose English songs.\u00c2\u00a0 Super Junior M member Henry (who is actually from Canada), did a Bruno Mars medley along with dancing and playing the piano and violin.\u00c2\u00a0 Kyuhyun did Stevie Wonder\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t She Lovely\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on keyboard and harmonica.\u00c2\u00a0 Ryeowook did Maroon 5\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Moves Like Jagger\u00e2\u20ac\u009d complete with sexy choreographed dance.\u00c2\u00a0 Leeteuk did \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by Charles Aznavour and delighted the crowd with saxophone and piano.\u00c2\u00a0 The charm didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t end there as he threw roses into the crowd as he moved around the arena.\u00c2\u00a0 Comedian member Shindong surprised us and made us laugh with a dance remix of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Twinkle Twinkle Little Star\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which featured pop and lock choreography.<\/p>\n

After some more fast-paced, dance heavy group numbers, the solos returned, including Kelly Clarkson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Because of You\u00e2\u20ac\u009d performed by Super Junior M member Zhou Mi, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kiss Me\u00e2\u20ac\u009d performed by Yesung (who also threw roses into the crowd).\u00c2\u00a0 Admittedly each member\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s English was a little accented, but you could tell that a lot of effort was put into each performance and we enjoyed each one.\u00c2\u00a0 What was kind of neat was that one of my friends noticed that the Japanese girl sitting next to her kept looking over at us each time someone performed an English song to gauge our reactions.\u00c2\u00a0 It was nice to have that little advantage.<\/p>\n

There were some other hijinks that were especially fun for us.\u00c2\u00a0 For their song, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Good Friends,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the premise was that the members had all been good friends in high school but had gone their separate ways, then they reunited for Super Show to form a band.\u00c2\u00a0 Where this got wacky was that each member donned a different persona for the band complete with costume.\u00c2\u00a0 We had Hulk Hogan, Gollum, Charlie Chaplin, Superman, Steve Jobs, Chuckie, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, and a giant chicken.<\/p>\n

They also did an autotuned cover of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153do rei mi.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Before everyone came out to perform the song they played a movie trailer for The Sound of Super Junior<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 The von Trapp children (played by seven of the Super Junior members in lederhosen made from rejected drapery fabric) romped, rolled, and punched each other amongst rolling green hills under the supervision of their nanny Maria (Shindong in drag).\u00c2\u00a0 The antics continued when everyone came out on stage for the actual song.\u00c2\u00a0 At one point Shindong-Maria even attempted to kiss the Captain, played by Siwon.<\/p>\n

By the end of the show the members were exhausted, but still going strong.\u00c2\u00a0 We had seen everything from cool, sexy, and flirty, to charming, cute, silly and even downright ridiculous.\u00c2\u00a0 It was a little sad to finally see it come to an end, but we definitely went home happy.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d tell you something along the lines of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcyou should experience Super Show for yourself,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 but sadly that may not be a possibility.\u00c2\u00a0 Super Junior will more than likely be going on hiatus since terms of military service are fast approaching for some of the members.\u00c2\u00a0 But sub groups and individual members will definitely continue activities, and there is always their extensive discography and DVDs to check out.\u00c2\u00a0 Give them a try – I think you will be entertained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imagine yourself in one of Japan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great baseball domes, but you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not here for a game.\u00c2\u00a0 There are no bases, no diamond \u00e2\u20ac\u201c instead the house lights are off and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re surrounded by 30,000 twinkling blue lights.\u00c2\u00a0 Shrieks and yells of excitement fill the air, anticipation rising by the second.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, the stage turns red…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":1570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false},"categories":[223,107],"tags":[228],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Super-Show-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}