“I KK, You KK!”
“Let’s go!”
“KK!”
The six KK members put their hands together and yelled the chant in a boisterous voice.
It was one minute until the performance started.
Starting from Osaka Kyocera Dome to Sapporo Dome, Nagoya Dome, and even Fukuoka Yahoo Japan Dome.
After finishing their performance at those four locations, the KK members finally made it to Tokyo Dome.
From the moment they stood on the Osaka Kyocera Dome stage, the KK members were already mesmerized by the large stage, the audience packed below, the flashy lights, and the music that moved one’s heart.
They had all come to see KK.
Being on a large stage in Korea was overwhelming as it was, but being on a big stage in a foreign country hit differently.
There was a language barrier and the culture they grew up with was different, but they still listened to KK’s music and were KK stans. They screamed the members’ names in Korean and said ‘I love you’ in poor Korean.
It was such a fascinating feeling when they saw overseas fans. However, they couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed seeing on average over 40,000 fans gathered in one place.
Tokyo Dome, which would mark the end of the Japanese Tour.
The symbolism alone of Tokyo Dome was incredible.
Just as the article headline said, ‘Conquering Japan’ was not just an exaggeration.
Even according to Japanese fans, you could count on one hand how many singers could get Tokyo Dome to be sold out. KK, a group from Korea, had become one of those singers.
Furthermore, KK getting into Tokyo Dome was meaningful because KK didn’t erase their ‘Korean’ nationality.
Most of the singers who make it into Japan tend to release a separate Japanese album with songs that are heavy with the Japanese style.
However, KK only changed the language to Japanese. The songs in the Japanese full albums were sung exactly as they were sung in Korea.
Also, if they received a sensitive question while doing entertainment shows or interviews, they answered it directly rather than avoiding it. Even when Japan and Korea were being compared, they never unconditionally answered that Japan was better.
Honestly, they were criticized by anti-Korean people who opposed the Hallyu* because of those factors, but KK’s position was clear.
As a Korean singer, they didn’t want to stop walking on the path they had been on or bend their will just to gain Japanese fans.
At the same time, however, they gained Japanese fans by showing that they were grateful for the Japanese fans’ warm love. They really meant that.
KK’s work ethic, skills that back up their efforts, KK’s unique music and genuine heart.
ALl those things eventually got through, and KK was able to make it to the Tokyo Dome stage.
“楽しいですか*？”
(TL Note: Tanoshii desuka? Meaning “Are you having fun?”)
Ahn Hyung Seo asked the audience in poor Japanese if they were having fun as he picked up the towel that was placed on the floor ahead of time and wiped his sweat. When the fans answered “yes” with one voice, Ahn Hyung Seo smiled brightly, exhilarated.
When a close-up of Ahn Hyung Seo’s cute, squirrel-like, smiling face came up on the screen that was showing the stage, the fans cheered even harder.
The ‘Windy Day’ performance had just ended. The blue stagelight moved and the members disappeared from the stage one by one. On stage, Ahn Hyung Seo was in the spotlight alone.
The performance that followed was a performance by the hip hop unit OKAY.
Ahn Hyung Seo remarked, “Then let’s have some more fun”, and the interlude started to play.
Ahn Hyung Seo began to sing the chorus of his first album, ‘Don’t Go Back’.
‘Don’t Go Back’ was a song that highlighted Ahn Hyung Seo’s high voice. His voice came in in the middle and second half of the performance, cutting the audience’s very keen excitement.
Starting from the concert preparation period, Ahn Hyung Seo worked very hard to give a perfect live performance during the dome tour.
During each individual rehearsal session, he got one-on-one lessons with his vocal instructor to work on fixing his bad singing habits that he still hadn’t been able to fix.
Furthermore, he saved his voice as much as possible during the tour to take care of his throat.
Since he likes talking and joking around, the members were surprised that Ahn Hyung Seo barely said 10 words a day since he got to Japan to try to save his voice.
His actions showed his desire to properly showcase his talents on this tour. In the last entertainment show, he realized that he couldn’t be funny with words in Japanese so he didn’t have a clear role in KK. He had anguished over it quite a bit.
Ahn Hyung Seo’s strength, no matter what anyone said, was singing. A singer has to show that through singing. Ahn Hyung Seo engraved in his heart what Do Wook had a habit of saying, “You just need to have good music.”
Thanks to continuous diligent practice and thorough care, Ahn Hyung Seo’s voice was in the best condition even though the tour continued day after day.
Ahn Hyung Seo’s voice as he sang the climax of ‘Don’t’ Go Back’ seemed like it would pierce the dome.
Afterwards, Kim Won and Jung Yoon Ki, who had changed clothes, came out and rapped.
Kim Won sensibly changed the lyrics of ‘Please come here, I’m here’ in the rap lyrics to ‘Please come to Tokyo, I’m here in Tokyo’.
On the screen, the lyrics were subtitled for each part for Japanese fans who were not familiar with it because the official Japanese music had not yet been released.
You could tell by looking at the sensational subtitled video that they were meticulous in paying attention to even the smallest details for this performance.
The audience present were all familiar with OKAY’s ‘Don’t Go Back’, which was already popular in Korea, and they sang along to the repetitive parts as they watched the screen.
“Everyone put your hands above your head!”
The audience started to clap along with the beat in response to Jung Yoon Ki, who had his hands above his head trying to get people to clap.
Thump Thump. Feeling the bass sounds that were making the dome shake and the sound of applause, Jung Yoon Ki started to rap quickly.
Despite the rap being in Japanese, Jung Yoon Ki’s diction was very accurate. His catchy Japanese lyrics were as good as any Japanese rapper’s.
The hip hop performance was slightly different from KK’s music, having a slightly more free vibe.
The audience felt as if they themselves were becoming free as they watched the three of them walking around the spacious stage. They felt like their body was getting lighter each time they clapped.
Ahn Hyung Seo adjusted the handheld microphone and belted out the last note.
OKAY’s performance ended and the atmosphere was intense. Do Wook’s solo performance was next. Ahn Hyung Seo, Kim Won and Jung Yoon Ki disappeared behind the stage, and Do Wook jumped onto the stage wearing a flashy cubic zirconia-studded suit.
When Do Wook came out, the cheers grew louder again.
It was like that in Korea too, but in Japan the member who ranked number 1 in popularity was of course also Do Wook.
Do Wook was a tall and handsome man, something hard to find in Japan. Sometimes there were more social media comments from Japanese fans than Korean fans praising his looks.
Furthermore, his ‘straight and narrow’ polite image genuinely caught the hearts of Japanese fans. The humility they could feel when he spoke Japanese also played a huge part.
Not to mention, there was nothing he couldn’t do whether it was singing or dancing, so there was no reason not to like him.
After it became known through entertainment shows that he was good at acting too, his popularity, which was high to begin with, was soaring rapidly in Japan too.
There were a small number of hallyu drama fans who had watched ‘Get Ready 1999’, although it wasn’t popular in Japan, as well as movie fans who saw Do Wook in ‘Blue Sky’.
“Kyaaaa―!”
“Woo-Ki!*”
(TL Note: refer back to Ch 141 where Do Wook got a new nickname combining Do *Wook* and Na*oki* but we decided Woo-Ki sounds better than Woo-oki)
“Woo-Ki! Woo-Ki!”
When Do Wook appeared, the voice of the fans chanting ‘Woo-Ki’ rang throughout the dome. Do Wook pretended to put his hand to his ear and drew an even bigger response.
“Woo-Ki!!!”
“Woo-Ki is the best!!!”
Japan was famous for their audience having quiet reactions compared to Korea or other countries. Yet the voice of the Japanese fans calling out Do Wook’s name was second to none.
“Then, here I go!”
Along with his comment, Do Wook’s solo song ‘Darling’ started. Do Wook demonstrated his fancy footwork that matched the interlude as he moved all over the stage.
The last song was ‘Blue Sky’.
Since it was the most popular song in Japan, when the prelude of ‘Blue Sky’ began to play the decibels of the cheering changed.
The blindingly shining Key Ring cheering sticks were undulating.
The members gave it their all for the ‘Blue Sky’ performance. It was the last song, so their bodies were already drenched in sweat and they were exhausted to the point that they just wanted to lie down right there on the stage, but they gathered every ounce of their energy.
He was getting out of breath, but he felt moved just as much.
The eyes of the members singing ‘Blue Sky’ in front of the audience of 50,000 people were already watery.
***
[ The Six Celestial Stars of KK Take Over Tokyo! ]
[ Performing in Tokyo Dome, Check! KK, Who Sold Out In Tokyo Dome ]
[ (Exclusive) Next, America! KK Going to America for LIL Collab ]
[ KK Gets On A Plane To America! Meeting With World-Renowned Star LIL ]
[ Love Call Between LIL and KK…Kang Do Wook Moving Up Again As a Composer ]
After the Tokyo Dome performance was over, articles about KK were published in Korea one after another while the members were returning to Korea.
KK’s Tokyo Dome performance meant that Korean singers could also make it in Japan, which has the world’s second largest music market, and it was even briefly reported on the KVS 9 o’clock news.
It was rare for idols to be mentioned on the 9 o’clock news. Even the news was covering KK making it to Tokyo Dome, and the trending search was quickly overrun by KK.
Those who were not interested in the music industry or idols also looked into them, their interest piqued after hearing that they raised the nation’s prestige.
Meanwhile, news of their LIL collaboration started to spread again and KK, whose overall ranking in trending searches was slowly declining, rose to number one again.
The response from the community was on the brink of exploding when they heard the news that the collaboration with LIL was confirmed.
It wasn’t just the communities that mainly post about idols. Overseas communities of people who like pop stars were also stunned that a pop star they liked was meeting with Korean idols.
Overseas.
-Why in the world is LIL collaborating with an idol from a no-name country like Korea? Does KK’s agency have a lot of money?
-You’re Korean too lol You’re a no-name even in Korea
-Go listen to KK’s music first. They were in a different league starting with their debut song *nod nod*
-You can’t look down on idol songs these days. Think about it carefully again.
-LIL agreed to get a song from them because he had listened to them and liked it too lol He has so much money, why would he be won over with money? lol
-It said he contacted them because he liked Last Dance. Go listen to Last Dance, it’s surprising that an idol from our country has the talent to produce a song of this quality.
-It’s a big deal if it’s LIL. I’m jealous KK gets to see our LIL
-Look at them suddenly sucking up to idols after hearing about the LIL collab
-If it’s a K-pop song, it’s more problematic that they’re blindly including them -_-;
-It’s like a dream that our country has music that’s more ahead of the trends than most pop songs. Back in the day this was unimaginable
Although opinions were divided in communities that tended to be servile due to their envy of pop culture, even those people couldn’t help but acknowledge KK now.
The internet was ablaze with stories about them, but at that moment the KK members were packing again as soon as they returned to Korea.
It was decided that they would personally visit LIL’s workshop to record with him.
Kwon Heung Jo, the Production Director, thought that they should go to the US, see the work environment in person, and experience the bigger world.
The first word in LIL’s reply started with ‘Sorry’. Because of that, Do Wook thought it was a rejection. However, he was saying sorry for making him wait so long.
After much consideration, LIL decided to go a new direction as Do Wook suggested. The truth was that the song Do Wook had sent was so good that LIL didn’t want to miss out on it.
‘The results need to be good too…so that LIL believes he made the right choice…’
Feeling half worried and half excited, Do Wook zipped up his suitcase.
The sound of the suitcase zipper closing was clear.
—
Next chapter: This time, all the KK members head to New York