Celebrations @ Marina – Beast and 4 Minute,13th August 10

Judging from the comments on Samsung’s Facebook, everyone was happy to see Beast and 4Minute at the concert last Friday. It was really crowded and a good turn out.

I wasn’t too sure on how to get to Marina Promontory, but I shouldn’t have worried. There was loud music and I just needed to follow the crowd. ^^

A view of the Marina Bay Sands in the background.

It was quite nice to hold the concert inside the financial district.

MM Lee Kuan Yew was going to end the YOG torch relay at the Marina, which would also officially kickstart Celebrations @ Marina. I thought of getting there early to capture the moment. After all, it is a rare chance to see him (I think the last time I saw him up close was at NUS). But guess what, I’m not allowed to enter…because I’m not an accredited journalist (accredited means you can go near VIP political figures). Hmm… I can understand the security issue (though I seriously doubt anyone would do anything to him), but this being a youth event, shouldn’t they allow some youth media to cover it? After all, the youths of today check out news mainly from the internet. Food for thought? Anyway, here’s a short clip of MM Lee leaving the place. And I thought he was going to stay for the concert but I guess sitting amongst the screaming crowd can’t be much fun for him. I wonder what he would have thought of Beast and 4Minute…. ^^ for him.

The stage was huge and so was the screen. So even those without tickets could watch the concert from afar. Samsung must have spent a bomb on this!

A Beast fan being interviewed…not sure which media though. She looked happy!

The program at Celebrations @ Marina starts as early as 4pm with various local groups performing. That day, VOX was one of them. I had tweeted that they played ‘Nobody’ on their violin. : )

As the night darkens, it got hotter. Must be all the mass body heat. hehe! Just before the big, eagerly anticipated act, Singapore’s very own indie rock band, Electrico performed. I have vaguely heard of them before but have never seen them performed. I think they’re not bad. Unfortunately, I don’t think many were paying much attention as most of the crowd were there for one reason only- Beast and 4Minute.

Part of the crowd….

Finally, at about 9.15pm, the real show started and 4Minute came on stage!

I wasn’t too familiar with this group, which again, is a very new. But they have been getting some attention, especially for their songs, Huh and I, My, Me, Mine

And the 5 girls from 4Minute….

There was a short interview, unfortunately, as media AND those in front were barred from recording or taking photos, I couldn’t remember much except that I think So Hyun was a athlete. They also performed Huh but not I, My, Me, Mine (which I rather like).

It was actually a refreshing change to see a girl band after the so many boy band (of course not forgetting After School in Sundown Festival). I’m sure the guys are very pleased. ^^ I can’t really make too much comments on them at the moment as I haven’t seen enough. But as usual, like most Korean groups, they show off some very slick dance moves. But perhaps they may be back in Singapore before long for their own showcase judging from the favourable response that night. : )

Oh, they also performed an encore with a remix of Hot Issue and Muzik.

And then it was Beast’s turn on stage and the crowd went wild. Well, mostly the girls went wild.

These boys had been in Singapore just recently for their own showcase and events. So I was a little more familiar with them. And yet, my feel and impression that night was the boys had changed a little and improved within the last 2 months. Is that possible? I guess all the constant promotions and performances must have helped.

Again, I could only record the first 2 songs (Maybe I should have just taken the VIP ticket instead if I had known). But never fear, there are lots of uploads on YouTube by the fans. Here’s one their short interview.

If I remember correctly, they sang quite a few songs- Mystery, Shock, Oasis etc. Not bad. At least it was not the token 2-3 songs.

I do like their clothes that night. They looked very sharp. (off topic, CN Blue was also dressed all in white today at the press conference).

After thoughts:
I know there were some rumblings about having to buy the phones to watch the concert. Indeed, if you want to be up close, then you would have to buy the phone. After all, it probably costs Samsung an arm and a leg to stage the concerts from 13th to 22nd August. But in actual fact, anyone could have caught the concert for free by looking at the big screen. So to some extent, it is public and free.

Those of you who are keen, the Celebrations @ Marina is on till 26th August (this Sunday). Tonight Zhang Dong Liang will be performing and on Sunday, Alarice will be performing. So do go down and catch them if you can. For a full lined-up of the performances and events, refer to Singapore 2010 here

And to end this post, let us remember why this series of concerts was staged in the first place.

Youth Olympic Games 2010

p/s- Singapore’s football team has advanced into the semi-final. Hwaiting!