As a K-Pop fangirl, having a list of biases a mile long is nothing new… Well, at least for me it isn’t. Being a serious multi-fan, I’m always adding new idols to my bias list and I’m cool with that. I spend hours scouring the internet for new bands and comebacks, just looking to add another song to my ever-growing K-Pop playlist but every once in a while, as I’m bopping my way along a new (or even not so new) band will sneak up out of nowhere and… BAM! Suddenly my bias list has a six new members that I never saw coming.
This happened to me recently… At Boyfriend’s First U.S. Showcase, to be exact. Living in Chicago, I spent a good bit of last year depressed that all of my favorite K-Pop artists were performing in New York and L.A. while leaving us in the middle of this rather large country to spend our days in a barren K-Pop concert-less wasteland; so when I heard that Boyfriend was going to be performing here in March… Well, I just had to buy a ticket!
Honestly, at the time, I wasn’t really sure who Boyfriend was and I really didn’t care. All I wanted to do was support this Showcase in whatever way I could so that its success would inspire other K-Pop artists to follow Boyfriend’s lead and schedule concerts here in Chicago, rather than fly over us again and again and again. (You know, a girl can only take so much rejection before she cracks…) After deciding I was going to go to this concert, no matter what (and somehow convincing my lovely friend Tanya, from HallyuKnow, to go with me) I immediately started scouring YouTube for MVs and reality shows, just so I’d have some idea of what I was getting myself into. I found a couple of MVs that I liked so I decided going to the concert wouldn’t be bad and with Tanya with me, I knew we’d have a lot of fun.
Of course there was a lot of work to do before the concert. Having never paid any attention to Boyfriend in the past, I had a lot to learn! Members names and bios, song lyrics, albums… You name it, I had to memorize them all and quick! I only had two months to learn everything I could about a band I hadn’t even know existed before they announced their U.S. Showcase. You have no idea how many hours I spent watching episodes of Boyfriend Academy and the “Janus” MV (because that one’s my favorite) trying to learn names and figure out how to tell those Jo twins apart! Maybe it’s just my ahjumma brain giving out on me but it was only the day before the concert that I felt confident in being able to name all the members of Boyfriend correctly. *smh*
With my Boyfriend knowledge finally up to snuff, Tanya and I joined the line of BestFriends, who stood freezing, outside the Vic Theater in Chicago, for four hours, as we waited for what would end up being one of the most fun nights of my entire life. Who knew going to a K-Pop concert with my best blogging buddy, having VVIP tickets (and therefore fantastic seats and the chance to meet Boyfriend at a fansign/hi-touch event afterward) would be so beyond amazing? It was truly a night to remember but it dealt a major blow to my bias list!
After seeing Boyfriend perform live, after listening to them speak and watching them interact with their fans, after talking with them, if only for a minute or two, and being mesmerized by their genuine kindness, charm and charisma, I had no choice but to make room for them on my bias list. I mean seriously, it has been impossible for me to keep them away because no matter how hard I try, the memory of their smiles and warmth and compliments and adorableness come rushing back to me in a flood of warm-fuzzies and I cannot shove them aside. And that is exactly what a bias-wrecker does! He (or she) comes jumping in, out of no-where, and wows you with charms you never thought you’d fall prey to and no matter how hard you try, you’re unable to resist the temptation to look at them and smile.
So Boyfriend, congratulations! Your adorable smiles and unending charm have made a life-long BestFriend out of me. I wasn’t expecting your intrusion on my bias list but it’s not unwelcome. Every time one of your songs comes up on my iPod, I have to pause for a second and smile as I begin to remember the warmth of JeongMin’s smile, the color of DongHyun’s eyes, the feel of HyunSeong’s hand… Ack! It’s just too much for this poor fangirl to handle, even now, nearly a month later.
So beware, all my fellow fangirls and boys, the bias-wrecker is sneaky and you never know when he or she might pop out of nowhere and blind-side you by his/her awesomeness. Just know that when the bias-wrecker attacks, it’s best not to resist, as all your attempts will prove futile anyway.
Of course now that I’ve share my most recent bias-wrecker story, I’d love to hear yours. Is there any one band or artist that has come along and thrown your bias list out of whack? I love talking with fellow fangirls (and boys) and squeeing over mutual biases so feel free to leave me a comment below or tweet at me. I’m almost always up for a chat!