The dopeness that is AOMG: AOMG Follow The Movement Thailand 2018

Fangirling about K-pop isn't really my thing, cause I'm actually loyal to my Jonas family (Joe, Nick, Kevin), but lately the K-hip hop scenes have been drawing me even near, especially since Show Me The Money, the biggest Korean rap competition, was on. Jay Park, AOMG CEO, was twice the producer in the show. Simon Dominic and Gray were also once involved as producers. And I fell in love with this Above Ordinary Music Group (AOMG).

A little bit about AOMG

What is AOMG, you ask? Well, it's an entertainment agency founded by Park Jae Bom a.k.a Jay Park back in 2013. It's the house of many amazing korean hip-hop artists, singers, DJs, producers, and even a MMA fighter. I wouldn't say it's a big company, but it isn't exactly small either. The company has gotten enough traction that CJ E&M (one of Korea's biggest entertainment company) bought part of the company's stock. Having started small and personal, AOMG has grown tremendously and its artists are now well-known and well-respected in Korea. 

What's special about AOMG is how all the artists in it are like a tight-knit family. Maybe because there aren't that many artists signed under it to begin with, but all that aside, all of them genuinely care for each other and are also great friends in real life. AOMG for me was Jay Park. Then it was Jay Park, Simon Dominic, and Gray. Then it was Jay Park, Simon Dominic, Gray, and Loco. and the rest is history. From one artist, I get to know the others and grow my fondness and respect to almost everybody in the company. Among those AOMG artists, I gotta say my ultimate biases are Jay Park, Simon Dominic, Gray, Loco, and Woo Won Jae (in no particular order as it's impossible to rank them). So imagine my excitement when I saw that all 5 of them plus DJ Pumkin were coming to Thailand for a freaking AOMG concert! I lost my ball (not that I have any, wink wink).  

Before Departure

The decision to go to Bangkok, Thailand, to watch the concert wasn't easy too. I'd been dwelling on it for almost a month before finally pressing the go button. I was determined to go alone despite having never been to Thailand, but my parents resisted. Fortunately, my mom was kind enough to accompany me for a short trip to Bangkok. She didn't watch the concert with me, though. 

One thing I learned from my last concert was that nobody cared about anybody. Nobody cares who you are with, or without. Everybody is just trying to get the best view of the stage, get the attention of the artists, capture the best shots, record the best videos. That's why I knew I'd be okay though I was alone in the concert. Nonetheless I was still a bit concerned about the crowd. FYI, Indonesian Kpopers are wild and savage. Up to this day, I'm still traumatized by what I witnessed in the free Spotify concert 2 years ago. But luckily, Thai K-hip hop fans were more chill and civilized. I've got zero incident and zero push or feet stomp. Bottom line is, I came out unscathed. Yay!

The D-Day

Back to the D-Day. The concert was on November 24, 2018 at 6 PM. My flight landed on the same day at 1 PM. After a quick change in my AirBnB, I called taxi and headed to the venue. When I arrived, thousands of fans had swarmed the outside of the hall, all in their best outfits. People were selling merchandises (t-shirts, stickers, light sticks, key chains, hand fans, etc), fans were giving out free hand banners and stickers, and the atmosphere was just different. A good kind of different. Another good thing about the concert was that our tickets were numbered based on our booking. So no matter how early people came, they'd later have to go in according to the tickets number, small to big, which means it's all fair game. For me who got 1000 something number, I wasn't able to get close to the front stage in the front section, but still decent enough to catch a clear view of the performers' faces. 

Having been standing for almost 4 hours before the concert started, I almost felt like regretting my decision to come. However, however! Everything dissipated once the stage light was dimmed and the first artist, Woo Won Jae, came out. The never-ending cheer from the audience and the blasting music were deafening, but I didn't mind. 

Concert Experience

One by one, the artist performed on the stage. Beginning with Woo Won Jae, then Loco, Gray, Simon Dominic, and Jay Park. DJ Pumkin was on stage the whole time as he was the one who set and tune the music. He gotta spin, baby. Sometimes two or three of them would come out together to perform, and in the end everybody was out there, singing together and setting fire to the stage. Hit song after hit song was sung, with everybody chanting along to the all-too-familiar music. I was blown away in the whole 3,5 hours of the concert, constantly jumping, shouting, and singing along to my heart's content - I was in quite a trance. I tried my hardest to record some performances and take pictures as a token of memory, yet none of them turned out decent. My phone doesn't take the best pictures and videos in low lighting, and I was shaking the whole time. Everything came out blurry. *sigh.

The moment Jay Park bid farewell, the moment everybody bowed and said khapkunka (thank you in Thai), it was time to say goodbye. They exited the stage, and I was left slightly broken hearted. "Ah, it's over," I thought to myself. "All these months preparing for the trip. This is the highlight of my year, and it's over a bit too soon." A feeling of emptiness seeped through. 

After Concert 

All good things must come to an end. After the concert was over, it was time for a high touch. It's an additional event for those who bought the front section tickets, where we got to give each of the performer a high five. Nothing more, nothing less. All 6 of the AOMG artists came back to the stage, and I found myself lining up with thousand other fans, waiting for my turn to get what perhaps the closest possible encounter I could get with them. Everything went down so quickly. Before I knew it, it was my time to come up the stage and high five all these too likable fine men. 'Thank you' was the only thing I could mouth to them, hoping that they could feel my sincerity and gratefulness for giving the best night in my life. I held Loco's hand 2 seconds too long, as I truly wished I could've stayed longer and exchanged a word or two. It felt incredibly dreamy, yet depressing. 

For the longest time, I kept recalling Woo Won Jae rapping powerfully with that deep voice of his, Loco constantly smiling and reminding people that he would serve in the military the next year (sob); Gray being his ultimate gorgeous self, wooing ladies by singing Bruno Mars' song; SsamD (Simon's nick name) owning the stage with his march "Simon Dominic", standing so close to me and almost within my reach; Jay Park slaying the stage with his smooth dance moves and sweet voice, taking off his shirt showing off his amazing abs; or even SsamD and Won Jae splashing water to the audience and how it reached me -- everything felt like a dream, the one I refused to wake up from.

   

"Until next time, guys. Maybe I'll see you again on stage in Jakarta, or anywhere else in the world. Hopefully," I prayed wistfully.