On 21st April 2019, the sunny shore of Singapore welcomed a goddess from Korea. It was Chung Ha's first time in Singapore as she would be having her first solo fan meeting for Singapore Byulharangs, the name she dearly addresses her fans by. Byulharang denotes that both Chung Ha and her fans will become a shining existence like the stars for one another, while flying in the sky and welcoming growth together. To breakdown, the term Byulharang cleverly denotes several definitions. Byul-ha means to become a person that shines high like a star in the sky, while Ha-rang means to fly together. The suffix -rang alone indicates doing something together.
The fan meeting took place at Zepp@Big Box, where the event started with an intro video on the screen, much to the excitement of Byulharangs as they responded eagerly with screams and cheers. The enthusiasm and excitement of the fans can be felt as each and every one of the fans cheered throughout the video while eagerly awaiting her appearance.
Alas, Chung Ha kicked off her first solo fan meeting with her latest title song, 'Gotto Go'. Donned in black shimmery coat and half-tied ponytail, Chung Ha's stunning appearance heated up the venue instantly as everyone's eyes were drawn to her and focused intently on her live performance.
When it ended, she beamed widely at the explosive reaction and properly introduced herself to the audience with her fluent English. She seemed to be in a good mood as she introduced the next song to which she will be performing to, a remix of 'Do It' and 'Love U'. At the part where the bass dropped, it was all her and her dance, once again showing us what it takes to be the Dance President, one of her nicknames.
When the dance break ended, she went from being a charismatic dancer back to the adorable Chung Ha as she kept on making eye contact and waving to the audience. The host for the night was Dee Kosh as he came to take the stage together with Chung Ha.
When the lights went on, Chung Ha was pleasantly surprised to see the venue so packed! She said she had never seen the venue so full before. She made sure to show her appreciation with a sweet thank you in English and also stated that Singapore is perfect so far when asked about her thoughts for being here first time. She added that Singapore fans were awesome, great, and perfect, making all of the fans swoon with her affection.
Dee Kosh also asked two more questions: What are you most excited to find out about Singapore and what do you want your fans to walk away with? Chung Ha replied that she was asked the same question earlier on during the press conference and she answered the same - Kaya Toast! She tried it before the fan meeting and she said it was awesome. Chung Ha also responded that she wants to walk away with everything she can give, the music, the love, the smiles, the greetings - talk about the sweetest angel! Having lived in Texas for 7 years, the question and answer segment was a breeze to her as she replied in English flawlessly and also expressed her appreciation and love for her Singapore Byulharangs abundantly.
Following the short chat, it was time for games. The first game was about answering multiple choice questions regarding Singapore. Some of the questions include the national flower of Singapore, Singapore national symbol, Singapore food etc. With the most supportive helpline seated just in front of her, Chung Ha answered all questions correctly. Chung Ha also made fun of Dee Kosh's ex-girlfriend as he had previously said that one of the multiple-choice image of an alien, used to fill as one of the wrong answers, was his ex-girlfriend. This evoked laughter from everywhere. It was amazing to be able to witness Chung Ha throwing savage comments during the game and her being so relaxed made the atmosphere much more intimate and entertaining.
After the game segment, Chung Ha then went backstage to prepare for her next stage. This time, the screen started playing behind the scenes of 'Gotto Go' jacket shooting. A few moments later, Chung Ha returned to the stage sporting a white lace dress and finishing it with a pair of dangling white earrings. She impressed everyone with her crystal sweet vocals to the track of 'From Now On'.
Meanwhile, fans can be heard cheering and expressing their affection for the K-Pop queen. In response, Chung Ha commented that she felt like she was in Korea because everyone knows Korean so well. She also asked the audience on 'I love you' in our local language, to which she was taught the Chinese and Malay version. She repeated after Dee Kosh with '我爱你' wo ai ni and 'Saya Cinta Kamu' in an extremely adorable tone. Facing Chung Ha's love confession in several languages, the fans went crazy with cheers and screams. The fan meeting then transitioned to the next segment. This time, Chung Ha was to answer fans' questions that were written on post-its attached to a board.
The first question was to describe her upcoming song in three words. Chung Ha gave it a thought and said, "Another summer vibe, not too heavy and I think my fans are going to love it", arousing another round of cheers and screams from the audiences.
The second question was "if you were not a singer, what would you do?". She replied that she would most likely be a therapist as she loves listening to people's stories. She further evoked laughter when she offered to listen to Dee Kosh's story with his alien ex-girlfriend. In response to how she gains motivation, she said that she received encouragement and support by turning to her fans, going onto her fan café and looking at fans comments on her social media pages.
When asked for tips for someone who just started dancing, the ever-encouraging Chung Ha advised one to not be afraid as there is no answer for music and dance, one should just do it - before singing two lines of her song, 'Do It'. She then giggled cheekily afterwards, making one feel that she is not only charismatic, but also very down-to-earth as well. Next, she was asked whether there are any countries she would like to visit, and she instantly exclaimed Singapore! To this, Dee Kosh also exclaimed that she was already in Singapore. Chung Ha then said, "Don't yell", throwing Dee Kosh off and evoked another round of applause and laughter from the audience. At this point, it was delightful to watch how Chung Ha could make jokes on stage and her chemistry with Dee Kosh was also entertaining. The ambience throughout was enjoyable, relaxed and cosy. She then continued with Hong Kong because she was supposed to have a fan meeting there but it got delayed. She also gave words of encouragement for stressful students, "Life goes on, that's not the end, and you have Chung Ha".
Interestingly, she wants to be Bambi, her pet dog if she has a chance to be an animal. This is because Bambi is cute and adorable, which do not make sense because she is already adorable and lovely enough by being herself. Regarding her favourite TV show or movie, she said that she is currently watching 13 reasons why, and that this show got her thinking about things.
Chung Ha was all smiles throughout the Q&A post-it segment and her bright personality really shined through. Her sincerity and affection for her fans can be felt when she irregularly blurts "I love you" in Chinese, English and Korean throughout the event. Her effort in communicating with her fans is commendable as she barely needed her translator at all, using English the entire time and making this fan meeting one of intimate and up-close personal.
Afterwards, Chung Ha brought the atmosphere to another all-time high as she performed a dance cover of Ariana Grande's '7 Rings' and DJ Snake's 'Taki Taki', captivating the audience with her solid dance moves. This performance signalled a transition to the next segment, to which fans will be chosen to join Chung Ha on stage for a few rounds of fun and games.
How the lucky fans would be chosen was through Chung Ha handpicked phone numbers and if they received her call, he or she would be able to play the games with her. It was hilarious because at one point, they dialled a wrong number and a random Auntie picked up! Even Chung Ha herself was laughing uncontrollably at this situation as well. The situation got even funnier when they tried to dial the number again, only this time the number was no longer in service. Everyone had a good laugh at this unexpected outcome.
Before the games, Chung Ha showcased her strong vocals to the song of 'Drive' as well as one of her popular title tracks, 'Roller Coaster'. She stunned us with her perfectly sustained vocals throughout her live dance performance. In addition to Kaya Toast, she probably consumed her CD as well.
Afterwards, Chung Ha made memories with the 3 lucky fans by playing games and taking photos with them. The most notable moment of the event was when Chung Ha was speaking, fan made video by Singapore Byulharangs started playing. She turned to look at the video in surprise, and periodically exclaiming how sweet we were. When she turned back to face the fans, all of them had their slogan held up. It said, "The reason why we are here is because of Chung Ha". Clearly touched by the warm gesture, Chung Ha shed a few tears while jokingly complained that she broke her promise of not crying tonight, at least not in front of her loving fans. It was a special moment for both Chung Ha and Byulharangs as both the artist and the fans got to understand each other on a deeper level.
Slightly sniffling, Chung Ha then went on to standby for her next performance. Once the music dropped, she instantly went from a girl next door to a dancing queen as she encapsulates the audience with her last performance - Why don't you know (also the title track of her first debut album), before ending her fan meeting with a hi-touch session with her loving fans.
The ambience of the entire fan meeting was extremely warm, entertaining and intimate! Chung Ha was generous in expressing her love for Byulharangs every other interval during the fan meeting, always responding back to fans' cheers, making eye contacts constantly and waving to her fans situated at every section of the venue. Using only English to fluently communicate with her fans was commendable, and her effort in showering her fans with different languages of 'I love you' also received my admiration. Overall, her fan meeting was one of warmth, laughter and Chung Ha felt more like a close friend instead of an idol on stage. The event was brought to a successful closure and it can be seen that Chung Ha was really comfortable during the fan meeting and had tons of fun as well.
Just like the significance behind Byulharang, I believe Chung Ha and Byulharangs will continue to become each other's motivation and support, a shining existence for each other to grow and to move forward as one in the future.
Get to experience the action with 'Gotta Go' performance:
Special thanks to Three Angles Production for inviting KpopStarz to cover 2019 Chung Ha Fan Meeting in Singapore.
Writer: Shirlyn Sng | Photo Credits: Xin En | Video Credits: Ong Melin
