After all the chaos that was delayed ticketing information, rumors of the US leg of showcases being canceled altogether, and the issue of the JYJ members’ application for working visas getting denied, the boys finally managed to make it to the first stop of their first ever tour in the US (that’s a lot of firsts there). But despite the shoddy management, the hype surrounding Junsu, Yoochun, and Jaejoong’s performances stateside never seemed to dwindle and ultimately manifested itself as the night of November 12 saw the Hammerstein Ballroom being packed to the brim with 3,400 enthusiastic fans. I feel extremely sorry for the other 3,000 fans that got turned away due to the Hammerstein Ballroom’s maximum capacity of (you guessed it) 3,400 people, because JYJ totally rocked the house and left everyone in attendance with a night they’ll never forget!
The MCs for the night were Julie Chang and Shane Yoon, who did an admirable job of keeping the crowd entertained with witty remarks and engaging comments. I’ll let them introduce themselves to you, along with the “show that is known to change lives:”After a humorous introduction from the MCs, the ballroom was filled with the deafening screams of fans and and a gorgeous red sea as the ballroom’s lights faded into darkness. The LCD screen started to play an opening video to kick off the showcase, which was rightly accompanied by an epic instrumental backing. I said that the screams during the opening video were deafening, but they were nothing compared to the shrieks of excitement that pierced the hall when the first strains of Empty resounded through the room. And then a lone spotlight appeared, illuminating the figure of Junsu, fiery red hair and all. All hell broke loose. Another spotlight revealed Yoochun in the middle of the stage, before the final spotlight revealed Jaejoong’s location to my left.
I’m sure you’ve all heard countless times that the boys look absolutely stunning in real life and that pictures don’t do them any justice. Well, I’m hear to tell you that one more time, because truer words have never been spoken. Not only do they look better live, they also sound infinitely better live. Their vocals are definitely not a fluke, though I admit that they probably do seem too good to be true. Words cannot even begin to describe how amazing they sound live. I’ll leave you with one word and you can (try to) imagine the rest: godly.
The audience’s energy was also amazing–exactly what the boys deserved. Besides keeping up a stream of continuous screaming, fans also continued showed their support for the members by yelling out lines in unison, such as Junsu’s “love won’t make you cry or ask why.” Junsu, Yoochun, and Jaejoong further added fuel to the fire with their own whoops and screams. Guess who busted out his signature dolphin cries?
All in all, Empty was the perfect start to what would be one of the best hours of my life. Due to the intensity of the performance, Yoochun experienced a little bit of a wardrobe malfunction as his shirt’s zipper slipped lower and lower during the song, until it revealed his “Always Keep the Faith” tattoo, as well as his nipple–not that fans were complaining, I’m sure. It was amusing to watch when he noticed at the end and fumbled to zip himself back up. Junsu’s belting parts were out of the world, but I especially enjoyed his ad-libs, as I always get excited when artists spontaneously switch up the song on the spot (they don’t do it enough, seriously).After a stunning performance, the boys jumped right into Be the One. I originally wasn’t going to fancam anything after Empty, but after the boys busted out a series of mind-blowingly cool looking moves (during the dance breaks), I decided that I couldn’t rely on my somewhat dazed brain to remember everything after the concert ended. Besides the dance breaks, the other highlight of this performance would definitely be Jaejoong’s and Junsu’s power line in the bridge (”let your inhibitions go”). The wall of sound that results in the two’s voices merging was just…fabulous to watch and listen to.
After showing the “Dear You” video, featuring the members drawing and writing messages on the screen with marker, the boys once again hit up the stage, but this time, with their signature slow track on the album, Be My Girl. One of my favorite stages, because their harmonies are spot-on and drop dead gorgeous.
A short video about the members’ experience working in LA with big name producers Kanye West and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins was played on the LCD, before the talk session kicked off. I’m going to take this time to heap praises on Yoochun’s English, because it seemed that he understood all of the questions the MCs asked without translation. All the members also replied in English at some point during the talk. Jaejoong and Junsu’s hesistant responses were adorable but brief and they relied heavily on Korean to answer, but Yoochun carried himself throughout the whole Q&A in (good) English. He is passionable no more, guys! Main points definitely include all three members’ introduction in English, Yoochun liking the taxis in New York, and when Julie got Yoochun to show off one of this tattoos. I thought he was getting ready to take off his shirt at first, but he ended up lifting it to give hyperventilating fans a peek of the one on his back.
After a video in which the boys talked about their dreams in Korean, residential Korean song Chajatta from Yoochun’s drama, Sungkyunkwan Scandal. The crowd was buzzing with energy, fervently waving their arms to the beat of the extremely catchy chorus and singing sing along during the high part of the chorus. Yoochun really stole the spotlight for me in this song, as I really appreciated his ad-libbed note and how he added some English to the end of the song (”found yourself”) for the occasion. In fact, I think I just love it period when Yoochun speaks English.
The boys then dived into a fast-paced remix of Ayyy Girl, which was unexpected for me, but in a good way. I have to say, hearing this song live, especially with Yoochun and Junsu busting out some of Kanye’s rapping while skipping around the stage like hyper bunnies, definitely made me love this song a lot more (honestly, I thought it was mediocre at first, but it’s so, so amazing live).
Although the boys must have burned out a lot of energy running around the stage during Ayyy Girl, they saved the lion’s share for their next and last song (In Yoochun’s words: “EMPTY REMIIIIIIIIIX!”) after some sweet thank you’s. It’s a little amazing how quickly they can change from being shy–almost demure–to being ridiculously fierce, wildly jumping and shouting “Let it go!” at the top of their lungs. The crowd partied hard that night, jamming it out by jumping along with the boys and swaying back and forth. Near the end of the song, confetti started gushing out of the machines on the edges of the stage, wrapping around the hall like a beautiful blizzard. It was Christmas come early. Yoochun wrapped up the song with a declaration of his love and thanks as the boys were swallowed up by streams of smoke and darkening lights.
And with that, they were gone. As the lights slowly lit up the ballroom, I already felt myself starting to go through a case of JYJ withdrawal. As if anticipating that very reaction, the MV for Ayyy Girl began playing on the LCD screen, keeping many fans rooted to the ballroom for their last taste of JYJ. And then, the showcase had officially ended. (But not really, because when I went outside, tons of people were sticking around to scream, hyperventilate, and gush about how amazing the show was.)
I admit that I was somewhat worried (and upset) when I heard that Junsu, Yoochun, and Jaejoong would be paying for all the US Showcases with money out of their own pockets, because I half feared that it would result in slightly unenthusiastic performances, but my apprehension couldn’t have been more unfounded. The boys gave it their all, and more importantly, they looked like they were having a blast being on stage–a stage that they paid for with their hard work. Their New York showcase was an excellent beginning for them in their conquest of America and to be honest, I couldn’t be more proud to be a Cassie.
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