Thailand gets the 'Exo' factor

Teenage girls all over the kingdom overdosed on sheer happiness last weekend as South Korean boy band Exo finally made it to Thailand for a captivating debut concert.

Bangkok was the 13th stop on the hallyu supergroup’s current tour “2014 Exo from Exoplanet: The Lost Planet” and they performed a double-header, playing on Saturday and Sunday nights to capacity crowed at Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani. The boys even told their adoring fans that they were so touched by the cheers, applause and messages of support that were sure they’d be back in Thailand soon.

Proof of their popularity was evidenced a couple of months ago when the 22,000 tickets for the two shows sold out within hours.

 Debuting in 2012, they achieved phenomenal success with 2013’s mega hit “Growl”. Later that year, they rewrote K-pop history and became the fastest-selling act in the last 12 years. The only blip on the radar was a reduction in their number from 12 to 11 when member Kris – they all go by only one name – filled a lawsuit to nullify his contract with the label.

For the Thai shows, they were further reduced to10, with lead vocalist Luhan forced to withdraw due to illness.

But being one man down didn’t put off the fans, who managed to bring traffic to a standstill on Friday as they surrounded Siam Paragon’s Parc Paragon holding up designs reading “We Are 1” as they waited for the boys to arrive for the press conference.

At Impact Arena the next night they frantically waved white light sticks as Exo, clad in black and grey, kicked off the show with “Mama” and “Let Out The Beast” before handing over to Lay for his solo dance number “I’m Lay”.

They continued with their latest release ballad “Moonlight” with DO and Baek Hyun performing on a platform and the eight others dancing with chairs in a sleekly choreographed show that along with state-of-the-art special effects and props underlined the professionalism of South Korean concerts.

The fans once again went wild when the boys introduced themselves, some holding up signs declaring their undying love for the band. 

The Mandarin subgroup then took over the stage with the heartfelt “Angel”, as Xiumin and Lay sat in large baskets and flew around the stage.

Fans screamed during the up-tempo segment that included past singles and tracks from their albums including “Baby Don’t Cry”, “History”, “XOXO”, “Peter Pan” and “Heart Attack”.

For many, the highlight of the show was a segment organised by the boys themselves where they brought a fan on to the stage and playfully danced around her to remixes of hits by their label mates. These included Super Junior’s “Sorry Sorry”, Shinee’s “Dream Girls” and “Ring Ding Dong” and Girls Generation’s “Tell Me Your Wish” and “Gee”.

The boys also intermittently individually showcased their talents for playing music, singing, dancing and martial arts.

Kai earned the loudest cheers for his dance performance on “Deep Breath” while Chen won screams of appreciation for hitting the high notes on rock number “Up Rising”.

Native Chinese Tao, meanwhile, amazed with his skilful performance of the martial arts movements in the “Wushu” sword dance.

Chanyeol showed off his percussion skills and Baekhyun his passion for the piano.

The boys wrapped the concert with their latest release “Overdose”, bidding farewell to fans and again promising to return soon.

After a brief exit from stage and to the loud shouts of “EXO EXO EXO”, the boys returned to rock the crowd with an encore featuring mega hits Wolf” “Growl” and “Lucky”.