KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — When I saw the invite for Doh Kyung-soo’s Kuala Lumpur stop on his Asia Fan Concert Tour I thought, “Huh. That’s the tour selling out everywhere.” Doh, also known by his stage name D.
O. and a member of popular K-pop group EXO, is big enough of a name to make it worth taking a Grab all the way from the other side of town just to cover his concert. When I arrived at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil at 4pm, there were already hundreds of fans present and long queues for the food trucks with the most popular being tea brand Chagee that saw a line more than 25 people long.
It made me wistful for the days when I would travel to Bangkok and Singapore just to catch my favourite group Nu’est. Seeing the crowds and the excited concertgoers wearing sky blue, the tour’s official dress code, it transported me to the days of meeting new K-pop fans, exchanging fan merch, taking photos together outside stadiums and then participating in the fan chants during the show. A post shared by Erna Mahyuni (@ernamh) A name for a reason How was the actual concert, though? The good news was it started right on time at 6pm, with Doh opening with his song Mars from his recent EP, Blossom .
After the first number, Doh shouted a “Long time no see!” to the raucous scream of fans. While having light banter with the audience, the singer brought up the fact that he had last performed in the country in 2018 as a member of K-pop group EXO. At the fanmeeting, the singer amused .