The right time for 2AM

MANILA, Philippines - Fish cake vendor Julius Pangilinan was startled why at 7 a.m., there was a swarm of young girls holding glow sticks and LED boards with Korean characters at the Eastwood Mall last April 30. Turned out that 2AM, a South Korean four-member ballad boy band was set to perform in the afternoon.

The girls lined up so early to be on the first row to see their idols up close and take a shot every arm wave, every strut, every killer smile.

Prior to this, 2AM fans have already watched and attended the group’s two previous concerts at New Port Plaza at Resorts World Manila and The Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill last April 28 and 29 respectively.

2AM last week blew into town to promote their latest album Saint ‘O Clock, a 12-track CD featuring their hits You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls and Like Crazy.

Despite the mob and the scorching heat of the sun, the adulating girls braved every force of nature to be on the spot where they can breathe the same air as their idols, 2AM..

It’s plain to see why Filipino girls swoon over 2AM. In a press conference that introduced the boys to the Philippine media, the dreamboats looked dapper in their white suits. The first thing you’ll notice are their faces: finely-chiseled features and clear alabaster skin. And when they smile, it’s like feeling the warmth of the sun turned full on. And guess what, these boys can sing and dance too.

2AM’s four-day promo tour was sponsored by MCA Music Inc.

At the press con, MCA Music Inc. president Ricky Ilacad enthuse they were honored to bring 2AM to the Philippines, saying their ballads greatly appeal to Filipinos known as hopeless romantics.

“We are proud to have the multi-talented K-Pop group in the Philippines, 2AM captures the Filipinos’ penchant for romantic songs,” Ilacad says.

Managed by JYP Entertainment Korea, 2AM is composed of Jinwoon, Jo Kwon, Seulong and Changmin. 2AM is one of the two subgroups that branched out from the 11-member (before Jay Park’s departure) boy band One Day, the other being 2PM. They officially debuted on July 11, 2008 on KBS’s Music Bank, performing their debut song This Song.

Their songs have climbed charts in various Korean music sites and enjoy a strong following in other Asian countries.

“We are very happy to receive such a passionate response from our Filipino fans,” Jo Kwon, the group’s leader says in Korean during the press con.

 Passionate response is, of course, an understatement. Anyone who has been to a K- Pop concert would attest how Pinoy K-Pop fans express their undying love for the K-pop group.

First of all, these girls slave for or do errands for mom and dad to pay for the pricey tickets (some do part-time jobs to save money.)

They also memorize to heart lyrics of Korean songs and during the concert, sing along and mouth back the words to the K-pop artists. They also bring complete K-Pop gear to the concert, glowsticks, LED boards, funky colorful costumes and gifts to their idols.

2AM got a taste of a Pinoy fan’s ardent display of devotion when they performed here.

At the press conference, the boys discussed their music and how different they are from other K-Pop artists. They also shared their feelings about being popular in Asia.

Seulong says their music is a welcome respite from the dancey and fast music of other K-Pop groups.

 “Our music is ballad with great melody and meaningful lyrics. But our music is not limited to love songs, we also have a variety of songs like pop and RnB but we focus on love sogns,” adds Seulong.

Jo Kwon says his group feels blessed to be able to gain popularity outside Korea and credits social networking sites for helping spread their popularity.

“As a group ,we are great together, we work hard very much, we try to reach out to a lot of fans, but as individuals we also try to be unique and show off our different talents in variety shows, in dramas, in Korea. We give our best in our every project, in every show. Our fans upload clips of our performances in the internet and we are glad that people from abroad are noticing our talent and paying attention to us,” says Jo Kwon.

Indeed, through networking sites like Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and the like, K-Pop has successfully seeped into the consciousness of Filipinos. Fans are primed by songs, videos and TV shows of K-Pop groups that are ever more accessible on the Web.

Jo Kwon says they feel grateful that Korean music is embraced in the Philippines.

Asked who are their musical influences, Changmin counts their manager Park Jin Young or JYP and K-pop group G.O.D.

 Fans wonder if the boys still have time to relax because of their hectic schedules. No matter how tight their schedules, they say they find time to unwind and de-stress.

“On our spare time, we do whatever we want, we exercise, we watch movies, we do our hobbies. We exercise to release our stress, we try to improve our music and skills. For example, I play drums and guitar to harness my skills,” says Jiwoon.

Jo Kwon, on the other hand, says he watches movies, chats with friends or take a nap during his spare time. Changmin, for his part, also loves to surf the web and exercise. All of them love to exercise which explains why they have buffed figures and probably have washboard abs (an assett of any K-pop heartthrob) beneath those white suits.

Changmin, the oldest of the boys and who has already finished the mandatory military training required of all Korean men, says he also loves to cook. While here, Changmin bought a typical Pinoy condiment, banana catsup, that he will use in his future recipes.

On some more interesting trivia, Jiwoon shares his favorite accessory is a simple-style watch while Jo-Kwon likes all things that are colorful. He loves to use earrings, bracelets, necklaces but a no-no is an accessory on the toes, a comment that drew laughter from the press.

Changmin, on the other hand, likes to collect shoes and backpacks while Seulong loves bags, watches and bracelets that he often loses when he goes abroad.

This time, he says he didn’t bring a lot of bracelets to the Philippines so that he won’t lose them anymore, eliciting laughter from reporters.

The 2AM boys say they would continue working together as a group but at the same time, they would also pursue their individual activities.

Jo Kwon is active in sitcoms and has appeared in the hit reality show We Got Married with Brown Eyed Girls’ member Ga In as her virtual wife. He was also cast in Family Outing Season 2 and the MBC sitcom All My Love.

Likewise, Seulong has appeared in the K-drama Personal Preference which was shown here at ABS-CBN and re-titled Perfect Match as the friend of Lee Min Ho, another famous Korean hearthrob in the Philippines.

Jinwoon and Changmin also frequently guests in variety shows in Korea.

The boys expressed their gratitude to their Filipino fans: “Thank you for coming to support us. We appreciate that you love and support. Please continue to support and love us. We want to come back. We will continue to communicate with you via Twitter and other networking sites to stay in touch with their fans. We want to come back and some day, we will come back.”

More K-Pop groups are set to visit the Philippines and Filipino fans will always welcome them with open arms. The K-Pop infatuation is definitely here to stay.