2NE1 burn up the stage with ‘Fire’
One long, super-fun party — that' the best way to sum up the Singapore leg of 2NE1's New Evolution Tour.
Charismatic and full of energy, Park Bom, Sandara, Minzy and CL worked the stage like pros while still keeping it real like a bunch of young funky girls on a rocking Saturday night out.
Starting the night on the dance-floor
The two and a half hour concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium kicked off loud and strong with club anthems "I'm the Best" and "Fire". The four girls jumped around the stage in neon street-grunge togs to some seriously loud screams from their 8,200 fans, who call themselves Blackjacks.
Known for their over-the-top hip hop inspired fashion, the girls, who endorse Adidas, wore matching sports jackets with metal studs and prints of their faces on the front. Never a K-pop band to shy from loud colours, CL and Minzy sported purple and blonde hair, while Park Bom fluttered heavy, sooty-black lashes and Sandara rocked a half-shaved head.
The big guns also came out quickly — although the sets were simple and nothing very fancy, pyrotechnics and fireworks were used liberally to drive the mood up fever pitch in the mosh pit, where fans enthusiastically waved official "Blackjack light sticks", spades with wings.
After performing the two hot favourites, 2NE1 chatted with the audience. CL, 21, said that it was a "very special night for 2NE1 as it's the last show" and how she wanted to "give everything I have to all of you".
She was referring to the show being the last performance of their Global Evolution Tour and also their final concert for 2012.
Before things got too emotional, with Park Bom saying that she hoped she wouldn't cry, the fun continued with the catchy 'Clap Your Hands', or 박수쳐(Bak Su Chyo) and then the reggae inspired "I Don't Care" as the girls kept it casual and sang from a patent gold sofa, completely at ease but enjoying themselves tremendously.
Girl-talk
The pace picked up with "Don't Stop the Music" and then a solo from CL — who spun her own girl-power remix of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"/ "We Found Love in a Hopeless Place" / "Hung Up" from an elevated DJ turntable that got the mostly-female crowd on their feet.
It was one fun song after another as the props got better with the rollercoaster themed "Please Don't Go", which saw Minzy and CL bopping their heads in a fake coaster carriage and in cheerleader costumes with bright silver pom poms of "Try to Follow Me"
The sauciest moment of the night was when Sandara teased and titillated for her solo "Kiss" — turning on her smoky cat eyes and purring about how she was "going to pick one lucky guy… tonight I'll be sexy. So who wants to be the last guy to be kissed by me?".
The lucky recipient turned out to be a grey-shirted fan who almost didn't know where to look when bestowed Sandara's pucker.
Heart-to-heart
Despite being better known for their upbeat electro-pop songs, the four truly shone during their ballads — especially Park Bom. Donning silvery-white gowns, the visibly emotional girls showed off their vocal chops with the bluesy "It Hurts (Slow)", followed by "Lonely".
It was a pity that most of the coolest props were saved for the end of the night — their encore song "I'm the Best" saw ridiculously fun looking bouncy castles appear on stage as the girls tumbled down slides and frolicked amongst the candy-coloured set in a scene straight from Katy Perry's California Girls.
They finally left the feverish crowd with one last encore of smash hit "I Love You" in a upbeat yet poignant performance that showed 2NE1 for who they really are — girls' girls, through and through.
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