I promised myself that the only artists I’d be willing to go see were:
1. TWICE (check)
2. Stray Kids (Check)
3. Laufey (Check)
4. Beyonce (not happening in this lifetime)
And NewJeans.
I knew as early as the first few fancams from their debut era that I wanted, no, needed to see them live. There was no doubt about it. They were talented, charismatic, and their music was something I’d be more than willing to lose my voice screaming in an arena full of fans. I love them so much I even wrote an article about them!
Cue to 2024 where all the shenanigans with NewJeans, ADOR, and HYBE were happening, and somehow the dream of seeing NewJeans felt like it was flying farther away from me with every new headline. Getting to see all five girls onstage singing and dancing was just going to be something I’d see on my phone and computer screen for the rest of my life. I was crushed. They’d be the biggest “what ifs” of K-pop in all my 11 years of listening to the genre and participating in K-pop stan culture. That was that and it was all going to be over…
Then came the announcement of them performing at the Coke Studio concert! This was my opportunity! But it didn’t seem like the universe was on my side because I became too wrapped up with other things going on in my life to try and grab myself some tickets. I could only cut my losses there to spare myself the despair. With how they would raffle the opportunity to purchase the tickets, it just didn’t seem possible for me. I know myself well enough to accept that I wouldn’t be lucky enough to get those tickets. That, and the work and money it would take to get those tickets was just too much for 30-45 minutes of NewJeans. I loved them, but maybe I’d have more luck with an arena concert someday a la 2NE1, than just seeing them as part of a line-up.
Come the day of the concert, it still hadn’t even registered in my mind that the event was happening. I’d gotten in trouble at work and was stressed out of mind. I was having a panic attack in my car, drove myself home through a storm, and was sitting in my wet clothes trying to avert a crisis. It didn’t seem like anything was going my way that whole week, that whole month even, and my world was closing in on me. Until I got the message, “Do you want to go see new jeans?” from my mother. I could picture her confused face as she tried to type out “new jeans,” wondering how a group could be named that in the first place.
“Your tita has extra tickets. I can drive you.”
Even as I write this I can feel my heart soaring the way it did that day, and how tears were welling up in my eyes. When all hope seemed lost, NewJeans was there to save me (and my tita who was generous enough to give me a ticket). I felt the adrenaline rush to make my way there through the storm. But then again, I didn’t know the front acts except for one. Plus, knowing how popular the girls were, I had a feeling they’d be the final act. I could take my sweet time to get there, but why waste perfectly good music acts? The tickets were free. I might as well sit through the whole thing if not to pad out my Instagram stories. Kidding, of course.
Fast forward to MOA Arena, it was a miracle I’d gotten there in one piece, given how hard it was raining on the Skyway. Parking was a breeze and getting inside was no problem since the crowd was already inside the venue. I was actually a few minutes late for start time.
The acts leading to NewJeans were entertaining, and I had a lot of fun just vibing to the songs. Seeing Alamat performing live was a treat, and Zack Tabudlo had star power that I’d not seen in a Filipino artist of his kind. I’d always assumed his heartbreak/love songs were just something you’d sit down for, but, in fact, it was like watching a rock star perform so effortlessly. His charisma was electrifying, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him or his NewJeans lightstick! (That’s an article for another day.) After him, it was time for NewJeans.
The stadium was buzzing with excitement, and so was I. If you’re familiar with the feeling of going up a rollercoaster, and how it’s only at the peak that it hits you that you’re about to take a fast and huge fall—that’s exactly what it felt like waiting for NewJeans to get onstage. Leading to the performance, a video played in every act to give you an idea of NewJeans. The song Super Shy boomed through the speakers. The hair on my skin stood up, and I craned my neck to get a better angle of the stage from my Lower Box seat.
This was it!
Voices I’d heard only through my earbuds rang throughout MOA Arena as the girls cheered on their way to the stage with an energy I could attribute only to fairies. The opening to their song ETA (a great way to open a show, by the way) hyped up the crowd. The screams were deafening, and I was a part of them.
Their presence lit up the stage like no other. Five petite girls radiating so much energy and enthusiasm to pump up an entire arena, it was truly a spectacle like no other. NewJeans just has this “it” factor, and the girls knew just how to optimize the stage for photo and video opportunities. They engaged the crowd so well, their joy so infectious. You could tell just how much they loved to perform, and we, their fans, were just as happy to cheer them on.
Every song went by in a flash for me, I was in my seat dancing and singing along. I did my best to get as many videos and pictures that I’d be happy to look back on, since, given the uncertain situation in their company, this could be the last I see of them!
If you’ve been to enough concerts, you know the feeling of seeing in the flesh an artist you admire and love so deeply. The way all your problems melt away for as long as they’re onstage. The swell in your chest and the strain in your voice as you scream your heart out to every lyric, English or Korean. The mental struggle of choosing between being in the moment, but also preserving the moment in video.
There was just something about this series of extremely fortunate events that led me to seeing NewJeans, which gave me this vigor I didn’t know was possible. As if, by the will of God or the universe, I was meant to be there. I could have let myself wallow in sadness at home, overcome with stress, but I picked myself up and was rewarded with so much more than just a concert.
This was an experience that truly saved me at that moment. Though I was just a face in an ocean of Bunnies (their fandom), it felt like the girls were cheering me on too. That they knew the effect they had on their fans, and that they were just as grateful to perform as I was to cheer them on. They were cheering us on, they laid their hearts bare onstage as if to say, “We’re here for you too! We love you!”
When the concert ended and the lights came back on, I felt like I had a new outlook in life. Call me dramatic. But when life is hard on you, and the small things just can’t seem to get you through the rough days…. all it takes is one big good thing to blow you away to renew you. For me, that was NewJeans.
