B.A.P. at high touch event . Photo Credit: Verizon Wireless NYM / Russ Rowland
By Bak Keung Ko
BABYz have been waiting for this moment for a long time…and it’s finally here! In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Verizon presented a USA concert tour with one of South Korea’s hottest rising K-Pop groups, B.A.P in Times Square on May 16! Best Absolute Perfect (B.A.P) is a hip-hop group consisting of six members: Bang Yong-guk, Kim Him Chan, Jung Dae Hyun, Yoo Youngjae, Moon Jong Up, and Choi Jun Hong (Zelo). Formed in late 2011 with Yong Guk as leader, they debuted in 2012 with their first single, “Warrior” under TS Entertainment. Since then, B.A.P fans have been called BABYz. In addition to this special name, B.A.P also has a mascot called Matoki, short for masked Toki (or bunny in Korean) from the planet Mato. Each member has their own special Matoki with unique characteristics.
Photo Credit: Verizon Wireless NYM / Russ Rowland
For 2013’s APAHM Verizon tour, B.A.P toured Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, and finally New York!! For each event location, B.A.P Official Fan clubs organized a pre-show meet and greet with fellow fans and also a high touch to meet B.A.P. To be a part of high touch, fans had to participate in various fun activities and contests to get scratch cards, and the 100 winning cards get an opportunity to meet the K-Pop group in person and high five them! Activities included a K-Pop Dance party, APAHM Trivia Tech Station, Verizon “Smart” Photo Booth, Digital Scratch & Win, APAHM Rewards Station, Mnet Singing Contest, Mnet Dancing Contest, Best Absolute Style DIY demo, a bias board and raffles. Lucky raffle winners won any of the following: JBL speakers from Verizon, autographed “One Shot” album CDs, or a grand prize of B.A.P concert tickets.
B.A.P concert tickets winner Morgan Dante Comet . Photo Credit: Verizon Wireless NYM / Russ Rowland
Some activity winners include Vivienne Tran, Dasha Larionova, Harney Chan, and Kathryn Plante among others. Morgan Dante Comet of Staten Island, NY was the lucky raffle grand prize winner who went home with tears of happiness. Congratulations to all!
Photo Credit: TS Entertainment
After participating in the pre-show Meet and Greet, excited fans woke up early to wait in line to watch the long-awaited concert on May 17th. Named “B.A.P Live on Earth”, the concert started at 7:00PM where they featured popular Asian artists including emcee and rapper Paul Kim, singer Joseph Vincent and rock band New Heights. Following these performances, B.A.P debuted with their member profiles and then their songs: “I Remember”, “Coma”, “Dancing in the Rain”, “Sexy Clap”, My First Kiss”, and “One Shot”. The fans loved them so much that they did an encore performance! After the concert ended, BABYz were able to purchase B.A.P merchandise including t-shirts, facial mouth masks, Matoki sticks, and more!
“Being one of the lucky winners for concert tickets, I was really grateful and seeing B.A.P live was a dream come true. They had so much energy and really made the BABYz feel loved.”
– Morgan Dante Comet (concert tickets winner)
“I had a great experience from B.A.P for my first concert ever!”
– Vivienne Tran (Mnet dancing contestant, 1st place winner)
“My B.A.P adventure has come to an end but I AM SO INSPIRED AND SO MOTIVATED NOW.”
– Angelina Tran (Mnet dancing contestant)
A special thanks to Lila Kwok for introducing K-Pop to the author.
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Photo Credit: TS Entertainment
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