Music

[Event Coverage] Hyun A: The Queen’s Back In Texas

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(Photography by Felicia Sanchez)

Hyun A North American Tour: The Queen’s Back

March 6th, 2017

Dallas, Texas

7:30 pm

Organized by KPOPME, Hyun A finally embarked on her first North American Tour, “Hyun A: The Queen’s Back”, performing in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, New York, Dallas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.  After her performance for Austin’s annual “SXSW K-pop Night Out” back in 2014, her fans (A-ing) have been patiently waiting for the day when the queen would make her way back to the big state of Texas. 

24-Year old Kim Hyun Ah has been in the Korean music industry for over 10 years, managed by the major music company, CUBE Entertainment.  She debuted as a member of the girl group “Wonder Girls”, but left and re-debuted as a member of “4Minute”.  She also joined a fun duo group called “Troublemaker” with Hyunseung of Beast, and is now a proven successful solo artist.  

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As Hyun A’s tour starts coming to a close with her final few nights, she is finally ready to perform in the metropolitan city of Dallas, Texas, located at Granada Theater on March 6th at 7:30 pm.

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Tier 1 started entering the building at 6:00pm followed by tier 2 and 2.5, until finally, regular general admission ticket holders could enter.  As fans started entering the building, purchasing merchandise, and getting through security, the venue became filled with hyped fans eager for the show to start.

At approximately 6:50pm, the lights dimmed as Hyun A’s Dallas dance contest winner, Alex Barron, took the stage to perform his cover of the huge single, “Bubble Pop!”.  With his sharp moves and flowing energy, the venue was immediately filled with screams of fanboys and fangirls as they shouted along to the lyrics.  His performance was followed by an array of cheers and claps, setting the atmosphere for an exciting night.

Hyuna in Dallas

Shortly after Alex’s superb performance, the lights dimmed and an introduction video began.  Shots of Hyun A strolling through fog in glamorous outfits began, followed by phrases “The Queen’s Back” brought upon the screen, which led up the to final phrase “Now You See The Queen”.

Lights started flashing and screams progressed louder, when finally, four backup dancers lined up to the stage.  A freestyle dance began as they performed to a remix of “Roll Deep (잘나가서 그래)“, spotlighting each dancer as they showcased their talent.

As the backup dancers continued performing, and fans waiting excitedly, the queen Hyun A was finally seen walking to the center of the stage.  Hyun A wore an oversized KISS t-shirt with high velvet purple boots and voluminous curly hair.  She began the night with a powerful performance to her hit song, “Roll Deep (잘나가서 그래)“.

As her first performance finished, the lights turned back on to her as she cutely asked the crowd, “Did you miss me?”.  She then started asking if fans could see her well, and she let them know that she could see them perfectly.  The backup dancers started to get back on stage as lights dimmed a saturated blue. She then began her second hit song “Ice Cream“, which was followed by her non-title track, “French Kiss“.

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The Q&A began after, and Hyun A sat in front of a bulletin board filled with bright colorful sticky notes with fan questions.  Hyun A was in between her translator and the host of the night, Shimmy.  Shimmy then asked her the first question, “What would you take with you if you were deserted on an island?”. Hyun A surprisingly stated, “This is the most interesting question I’ve gotten so far on the tour!  If by any chance there’s going to be someone rescuing me from this deserted island..”, to which a fan screamed, “나! (me!)”, causing the crowd and Hyun A herself to laugh.  She then replied back to the fan, “I’ll be waiting for you”.  

Then to answer the question, Hyun A stated, “First.. I think I need a friend, anybody counts.  Second.. a camera, I want to save that moment on a camera.  Third.. a smartphone, I don’t know if there’s going to be connection, but I’ll be hunting and finding one.”

Lights dimmed back to red and Hyun A performed “A Talk“, followed by her slow dance track “U&Me“. As Hyun A and her dancers exited the stage, a short video compiled of Hyun A photos and title song names appeared on screen.  Moments later, Hyun A and her dancers walked back on stage.  Hyun A, in a new outfit, was wearing a black and white two piece, white fishnets, white tennis shoes, and her hair in two long side braids.

The lights then dimmed red again as she started to perform her huge hit “Red (빨개요)“.  After her performance, the dancers exited the stage.  Meanwhile her translator and MC Shimmy were brought back on stage.
Hyun A then told everyone, “I think you’re all really smart for following along in Korean! I think you’re all smarter than me.”.  She cutely continued in English, “very very smart”, which brought smiles upon the crowd’s faces.  A fan then yelled, “아니요! (no!)”, causing Hyun A to laugh and say, “Ooh, she’s really smart!”.  Hyun A then took a question from an audience member who asked, “Do you miss home?”.  With a smile on Hyun A’s face, she replied, “아니요 (no).”, making fans “awe”.
MC Shimmy proceeds to ask the crowd for volunteers for a game and immediately fans raised their hands and shouted loudly to be picked.  Hyun A picked out three lucky fans and they were each brought onto stage.  The game was called, “How much do you and Hyun A have in common?”.  It consisted of one lucky fan and Hyun A (who stood next to each other) who answered A or B-type questions without talking to each other.  During one question (make-up or no make-up?), Hyun A stated, “I want to show my fans what I look like without make-up because I usually do not like putting on make-up.”.
She then pointed to her make-up artist in the crowd, giving her a shout out, which caused fans to root for her.  In the end, all three contestants won the prize of a Hyun A polaroid which she kissed as she handed them out, followed by a hug.
As the three lucky fans exited the stage, she then picked out five more fans, and they all unknowingly were entered into a dance battle.  The then music started blaring to “Roll Deep (잘나가서 그래)” and each contestant danced their heart out.
The venue was filled with cheers and laughter, and Hyun A also started rooting for the fans.  The MC then had each contestant line up to the front of the stage and Hyun A stood back behind them.  She then picked her favorite dancer by giving them a back hug, to which the lucky fan was brought to tears.  Hyun A gave the winner a tote bag filled with gifts after and hugged the rest of the contestants as they left the stage.
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Next, Hyun A performed her debut single “Change”, followed by her seductive hit “Freaky (꼬리쳐)”. She then took a break to talk with fans, which erupted into multiple presents being thrown on stage.  

One of the presents was a Mexican-American flag, which Hyun A held up, causing the venue to erupt in screams and claps.  Hyun A also received a cute Texas hat and other gifts that she gave to her staff to put away, and thanked the fans for being generous enough to bring her gifts.  As soon as her talk was over, she performed her most recent hit, “How’s This (어때?)“.

At the end of her performance, she thanked fans for the eventful night and proceeded to wave and exit the stage as if she was done performing.  Fans then began to chant, “Hyun A! Hyun A!”, and shortly after she appeared back on stage to perform her final song, “Bubble Pop!“.

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The night had unfortunately come to an end, but Hyun A had her last talk with A-ings.  She let her fans know that she would be returning when she finished working on her new album.  Hyun A then told everyone, “Dallas has some of the prettiest fans.”, to which MC Shimmy replied, “Just so you guys know, she hasn’t said that at any of the other stops.” making fans feel special.  Shimmy then let A-ings know, “I’ve worked with a lot of artists, but Hyun A is one of the most genuine people I’ve ever worked with and she truly cares about her fans.”
Hyun A bowed and thanked Shimmy for his kind words.  She also bowed and thanked Dallas fans once again for the unforgettable night before exiting the stage for the last time while sending out heart signs.

As soon as the concert was over, tier 1, 2 , and 2.5 were given the chance to have their hi-touch and meet and greet photo opportunity.

Although the night ended quick, fans were extremely hyped about the great performance Hyun A gave and were left with a lasting impression that Hyun A, was indeed, the queen.

Last, but certainly not least, K-Popped! would like to thank KPOPME and CUBE Entertainment for the opportunity to participate in such a phenomenal event, “Hyun A’s North American Tour: The Queen’s Back”.

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