I worked the event. I don’t want to go too deep into my experiences, but a lot of people have been asking about it so I thought I’d bullet point some notable moments. Positive only.
- I officially stan for Sistar. They were the friendliest bunch, by far. They converted every single one of us into fans. Down to earth and fun.
Hyorin riding a bike around Google HQ. (photo by Joann) - I don’t think you guys understand how hot Sistar is. My jaw dropped when I saw all four walk out of their hotel rooms in animal print. They looked soo good. And they all wore 5+ inch heels that made them tall as, if not taller, than me. Even when they got off their 12+ hour long flight, they had an aura around them.
- I’m going to preface what I’m going to say that these artists shouldn’t have to entertain working staff backstage. They want to relax, focus, and prepare for whatever they need to do, so I don’t think ANYONE should expect to be able to talk and hang out with these artists.
I recruited a bunch of people I know to translate for every artist. Most of them ended up waiting outside their dressing rooms, instead of being inside, which SHOULD be expected. They want to be able to let their guard down and not worry about living up to the expectations that the public have of them. Sistar’s interpreter, Jennifer, was probably the only one inside the dressing room the whole time, eating with them, and everything. (Edit: Hailey was inside the whole time with the Wonder Girls, as well. Sunye and Hyelim were especially nice. :))
When we went to drop them off at the airport they looked for Jennifer and gave her a hug and said how they would miss her and wanted to see her again. They all signed an album and gave it to her before she left. Fans showed up and their manager wouldn’t let them stop and sign albums, but they begged their manager to let them spend some time with them; and they did. They were cooing about how cute and nice their fans were after they left. - Luna was considered the nicest from f(x), with Amber being a really close second. I met Amber’s sister, not knowing it was her, and escorted her backstage to get her a pass. I thought she was really cool and was curious who she knew, but then someone told me she was Amber’s sister. She took off her sunglasses and I was floored at how much they look alike. Amber and her sister Jackie both have really good personalities. Amber got it from her
mamasister. - Sistar wanted to shop a bit before they had to fly back to Korea. They split and went in all directions once they got to the Great Mall. If you were lucky, you probably saw them running around by themselves — with the exception of Bora who had Jennifer.
- The guys were all skinny. I thought mblaq would have been bigger, but people were saying how my body was comparable to theirs, in terms of frame — which sucks for mblaq. They were just really toned. I kept joking that I’d poison one of them and replace them during their performance. During rehearsals, I would dance with them at the corner of the stage acting like I’m memorizing the choreo to perform at a moments notice. Several MBC staff approached me and complimented me and asked if I had any ambitions of being a singer. The stage designer, in particular, seemed to like it and asked me to dance several times. *___* 나 케스팅 당헸어.
- I rode the bus with the Wonder Girls to SFO to drop them off and I fell asleep. Not that they were boring, but they were just all tired and napping as well. I felt bad when the coordi (stylist) had to tap me awake once we were close. I’m glad they didn’t complain about that. Whoops.
- mblaq played Diablo during their down time.
- Hyoyeon and Sunny were the only ones from SNSD that really came out of their dressing rooms to hang out.
- I went to an isolated part of the back to watch the show on the monitor. Kara’s Hara and Nicole came out soon after and sat at my table and watched. Their manager came and kept trying to get them to go inside, but they wouldn’t budge. I’d like to attribute this to the fact that they thought I was hot.
- At the airport, one of the Sistar members had to go to the bathroom. Since the manager had to escort them, he forced everyone to go, but Dasom stayed with me instead. I’d also like to think that this was because she thought I was hot. We talked and told her how we became a fan of Sistar, but she kept saying how it’s probably a lie and how we probably say that to all the girl groups.
- During Sistar’s rehearsal to the song “So Cool,” which is my jam now BTW, I had to work backstage. Once I was done I ran out to the front and started to dance next to them right off stage. During the breakdown Hyorin turned around and locked eyes with me and we laughed and danced for a few seconds before she had to turn back around and face the audience. I can now say I danced with Hyorin. After that Sistar would always 인사 (bow/greet) when they saw me. Duh. They thought I was one of the performers. Which leads me to…
- I was mistaken for a member of Beast. LOL! I was at the airport and escorting singers to their terminals. I was with girl group members and their fans when Strong Kim (head of security, flown in from Korea) suddenly reached out and stopped a few fans from touching me. I was mistaken for a member of Beast and was getting asked to sign something. The best part is that they saw me from the front and didn’t approach me from the back, meaning they saw my face. Unfortunately, this just means that Beast fans just don’t know what Beast looks like.
- I exchanged a lot of information with different MBC staff and directors, telling me to contact them if I was ever in Korea. That they’d introduce me to singers in more casual settings and would love to work with me again. It’s nice when you’re recognized for your hard work and they want to work with you again.
- Yubin was hands down the hottest one from Wonder Girls. She looked stage ready the whole time. Sistar all looked good with no makeup.
- I gave an announcement over the PA system right before the concert began. I really didn’t want to do it and when I got done the staff began to laugh as well. I got hella texts immediately after from so many people telling me they recognized my voice. FML
- Like I said, because Sistar was the nicest, Jennifer was the only one to get a real picture with the artists. I had so many opportunities to take pictures, but I was working and wanted to maintain that level of professionalism. I guess this will have to do:
- There is a lot more I can go into, but this is enough for now.
