Cork parents will want to be prepared for a potentially surprising night at the sold-out K-Pop Forever! Tribute shows on Leeside after there were walkouts at the event in Belfast last night.
The tribute show took place at the SSE Arena on Thursday, promising a “truly one of a kind, all-action concert” complete with songs from the hugely popular K-Pop Demon Hunters film and popular artists like BTS. There were conflicting reviews as while some said the big arena production was a skilful tribute to the K-Pop genre – others were very disappointed and left early.
Some fuming parents took to social media to vent about the almost two-and-a-half-hour event, which cost £38.95 (€44.58), sharing videos showing people walking out of the arena. Posts about the show included complaints about sound quality, ‘adult’ costumes, unfamiliar music, and the image used to advertise it – which some believed to be a picture of characters from K-Pop Demon Hunters.
A closer look at the poster however shows that no characters from the film are actually on it – but their designs are a little similar. Even still, many concert goers claimed that the advertisement was misleading and suggested the gig would be solely a K-Pop Demon Hunters-inspired show, featuring songs from the film, but instead was made up of a selection of K-Pop songs. It seems like the parents of younger children in particular were unprepared for the revealing costumes and the wide range of songs that went outside the wildly popular K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack.
The K-Pop Forever! tribute show at SSE Arena
One parent told Belfast Live: “A KPop tribute band with not one KPop song sang until one hour and 20 minutes into the show. There were children crying, the show wasn’t as advertised.”
This comes as a series of sold-out K-Pop Forever! shows are set to take place in Cork Opera House in the coming months – the first of which is this coming Tuesday, 24th February. Tickets for them were in massive demand when they went on sale last year, which led to Cork Opera House adding a whopping six additional events to its schedule. After next week, the rest of the K-Pop Forever! performances will take place in early May.
Many parents who attended the Belfast show did defend the promoters however, pointing out that the advertisement did not state the concert would solely include K-Pop Demon Hunters songs, but would feature a wide range of tunes from the K-Pop genre. And plenty of attendees had no issues with the event, saying the show was perfect for fans of the whole K-Pop genre, and not just the hit film. One person wrote: “My 5yr old niece had the time of her life. We knew it was a K Pop tribute so expected songs other than the obvious KPop Demon Hunters. For example they sang APT and the whole arena bounced, it was brilliant.
“Confetti popping, streams bursting and a young group of 8 artists singing live, multiple outfit changes bringing their own style to the performance and nobody can doubt the energy they brought into the room. They raised the roof with Golden and nobody was sitting down. A brilliant night, and I’m hard to please.”
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Aiken Promotions have issued a statement following the complaints, stating that the Belfast show was part of a world tour, adding that while the majority of customers enjoyed the show – they are aware that some people had different expectations. They wrote: “We are aware of some feedback received following the K-Pop Forever Tribute show this evening at The SSE Arena, Belfast.
“The show played in Belfast tonight as part of a world tour, and the content, design and choreography has been built to represent the full K-Pop genre, featuring songs from BTS, Blackpink and Katseye, as well as eight hits from Demon Hunters including Golden, Takedown and Soda Pop.
“Whilst the majority of customers enjoyed the show, we understand that this was not what some expected; however, we are content that the show delivered was an arena-standard tribute to the entire K-Pop genre.”
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