FTHX Singapore Proves That F.T. Island, Undoubtedly One Of Korea’s Leading Rock Band!

To celebrate F.T. Island's 6th year in showbusiness, FTHX Live in Singapore was held at the Indoor Stadium on 8th March 2014.

N-Flying, the latest band from FNC Entertainment, F.T. Island's agency performed the opening act for the concert.  The 4 members, consisting of Kwon Kwangjin (bass), Lee Sunghyub (guitar & vocals), Kim Jaehyun (drum) and Cha Hun (guitar) started with a rock version of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face". The young band who had been performing in Japan prior to their debut in Korea this April, continued with "One and Only" and ended the set with their 1st single "Basket" which reached number 2 in the Oricon Indies chart right after its release on 1st Oct 2013.

After a short break, the audience was treated to a video recording of F.T. Island backstage where they made a toast for success before walking towards the stage to loud cheers from the 4,000-strong crowd. Lee Hongki clearly demonstrated his high energy level from the onstart. After 3 songs, the lead vocalist repeated his message from the Press Conference the day before, "It is really very hot in Singapore!" Compared to Seoul's freezing weather, he claimed to feel good in this hot climate as he likes both summer and winter seasons.

The other members then greeted in English which brought loud responses from the audience. Lee Jaejin (bass & vocals) thanked the fans for the support and love showered to them after declaring that "We want to showcase the original colours of F.T. Island. Hope you enjoy our songs!" Song Seunghyun (guitar & vocals) made a sincere request to the crowd when he "hope you can enjoy the night as we had prepared a lot for this concert." Choi Minhwan, the youngest member who's always hidden behind his drums asked "I'm a little far away from you guys. Can you see me?" Band leader, Choi Jonghoon (guitar & keyboard), who just celebrated his birthday the day before, probed the crowd "It's time to go crazy! Are you ready?"

With this self-introduction, the 5 members continued with more of their hits including "Memory" - composed and written by Hongki, about a man who had just lost his lover. After urging the crowd to catch a Falling Star, the band's spokesperson held a one-way chat session with the fans through the help of an interpreter. Hongki professed to be having lots of fun as the crowd was different and hotter compared to 2 years ago, when they last came. "Immediately after this concert, I'm flying off tonight for my drama filming.  My director asked me to save my voice but seeing the strong support from you guys, I'm not going to care as I want to scream! It's OK if I get scolding from my director" warming the hearts of all who were present at this wonderful concert.

The next segment was a welcomed change - Hongki together with Jaejin and Minhwan sat on the steps while all 5 members sang an acoustic "I Confess" accompanied by guitar strumming from Jonghoon and Seunghyun. Fans were raising and swaying yellow hand banners when "Always with you" was being performed. Jonghoon displayed his keyboard skills, especially with the prolonged piano intro of "Severely", before Hongki joined in with his soulful rendition of the hit single that earned F.T. Island the Bonsang at the 2013 Golden Disk Awards.

After the concert returned to its upbeat tempo, the visibly tired lead singer repeatedly proclaimed that he was getting old. His stamina now, as a 26-year old (actually he's only 25 in Korean age) has greatly deteriorated compared to when he first debuted at 18. However, when the fans sounded concerned as he brought up his recent injury as a possible cause for his tiredness, he immediately responded in English "I'm fine now, don't worry", along with an innocent look.

Hongki earnestly proclaimed that the next set of songs was "something that we really want to showcase.  These songs are really cool although you might not be familiar with them. I hope that you will like and enjoy our music".  It's a clear indication that the band's preferred musical path is directed towards strong traditional rock. Unlike their usual Kpop fare, these tracks featured heavy metal base with strong vocals and lyrics, "Revolution" even ended with a rock-hard jamming session. The maturity found in their music is proof that these 5 lads have indeed come a long way. There is no dispute that this series of FTHX live concerts further solidifies F.T. Island's rock band status!

To end the concert, the band performed their debut song "Love Sick" before leaving the stage while the fans sang Happy Birthday song for Jonghoon. F.T. Island soon returned to the stage where Hongki asked fans who were watching F.T. Island live for the first time if they will attend their future concerts before announcing "we'll have a new album soon, I hope you guys will like our new songs as we've put in a lot of effort. This is gonna be the last encore, let's dance and go crazy OK?" ending the amazing night with the whole audience dancing on their feet. 

Concert Setlist

1.       Flower Rock

2.       Let it go

3.       Wanna go

4.       Hello Hello

5.       Memory

6.       Paper Plane

7.       Falling Star

8.       I Confess

9.       Always with you

10.   Madly

11.   Severely

12.   Theory of Happiness

13.   Time to

14.   Top Secret

15.   Freedom

16.   Beloved

17.   Black Chocolate

18.   Revolution

19.   Love Sick

Encore

20.   I Wish

21.   I Hope

Writer: Wang | Photo Credits: ONE Production

Tags
f.t.island
FTISLAND
jonghoon
HongKi
Jae Jin
Minhwan
Seunghyun
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