2NE1: First Live Concert NOLZA

On August 26th, 2NE1 kicked off their 3-day concert NOLZA at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul. Initially, only 2 days had been planned but due to huge demand a third date had been added and it was definitely needed.


The area surrounding the Olympic Hall is beautiful and, since it was such a hot day, many of the fans were sat in the shade drinking the grape juice that was being handed out for free and chatting to each other.

At the entrance there was a huge screen where, most of the time, the MV for UGLY was being shown but also videos from international fans dancing to different songs or video messages from the girl group.

Around 5pm finally people started to line up and get inside, so everyone followed and got into their seats. Surprisingly, I was sat in the front section on the right hand side with both the stage and catwalk really close by. Later on I would discover that the seat was even more perfect than I first thought.

Although Nikon were the sponsors for this concert, the blatant advertising was everywhere and one could not escape feeling “I have to get a Nikon camera!”

Before the concert actually started, there was a so-called "Kiss Time" where the camera randomly picked out couples and people started chanting for them to kiss. It was actually quite funny, since two or three times they even picked out two guys or two girls, which made them blush and bury their heads in their hands while the audience laughed. This kind of thing was normally only heard of from US basketball or baseball games, so it was fun to see it but at the same time it was embarrassing for the couples who obviously didn't want to show their affection in public.

One last time before the girls finally hit the stage their UGLY music video played and then the lights went out.

For a few seconds there was barely any noise and slowly the light sticks went on and, when the curtain finally fell, a huge balloon in the shape of the light stick was revealed. At the front of the stage another balloon spelled out NOLZA and a remix of I'm Busy started playing. The balloon split and the girls were revealed under it, hitting off the concert with their first single, FIRE. You could feel the audience had been holding back because immediately everyone jumped up and down and sang along while waving their light sticks.

The girls seemed so confident and, even though they’re only a four piece, they filled up the stage with their incredible presence.

After the song a little introduction followed, where Sandara Park acted as the MC. She's an amazing entertainer, making everyone laugh and interacted with the audience.

After that, they sang Can't Nobody, In The Club, Talk, Let's Go Party and I Don't Care one after the other. During the last one, they made different sections of the audience clap and sing along to see who was the loudest.

With the Please Don't Go Dubstep Remix the solo performances were introduced, though this one was still CL and Minzy together. At this point the stage was always perfectly set up and the effects used made this concert a colourful experience maybe have been a little too much for some but 2NE1 are known to be a colourful group and there was no way their concert would have been any different.

The first solo song was Kiss by Dara and, according to reports from the first day concert, she was nervous during the first performance. But when she appeared on stage in her hot red pants, she exuded confidence. She gave more than just an average performance and even though Kiss definitely isn't one of my favourite songs by any of the girls, it was enjoyable to watch her, being her sassy self and having fun on stage.

When she left, the hall went dark again and a video was shown, displaying pictures of Bom and her sister Park Go Eun along with some words of thanks that the 2NE1 member had written to her older sister. It was a pretty touching moment and the audience let out some cute "aww"s and applauded when a tree like platform rolled in with Go Eun playing on her cello, while Bom was sitting on a staircase wearing a wedding dress and veil. Together they performed You and I andDon't Cry. It was obvious Bom enjoyed the presence of her sister, which obviously gave her more power and made this part of the show a really special and emotional one.

Following this came the leader CL, dressed in tight black pants and a loose white shirt. The stage was dark and, at first, only her silhouette was visible as she started singing a cover of JoJo’s Marvin's Room. After the slow song, the stage turned dark for a few seconds and CL wass revealed wearing a studded leather jacket, rapping a cover of Nicki Minaj's Did it on em and her version of The Leaders. The girl next to me could not have been older than 12 or 13 but she held up her little sign and rapped along like I’ve never seen! When CL disappeared under the stage with her last line "and I'm CL, the one and only baddest female" and a kiss blown into the audience the whole audience went crazy.

They kept the best solo for last, not only because Minzy is theyoungest member of the group with exceptional vocals and dancing abilities, but also because she had a little surprise in store for the audience during her performance.

She started with a cover of Big Bang star Taeyang's Only look at me when, half way through the song, he appeared at the top of the staircase. A short dance battle between them started before Taeyang rocked the stage with his songs Superstar and Where you at, leaving everyone speechless.

After that pleasant surprise, 2NE1 toned it down a little bit and returned with It Hurts and Lonely, both songs performed while remaining mostly seated and also the audience didn't dare to stand up, but just listened in awe. With that, they also initiated another emotional video with the title The Crazy Story. It was a montage of pre-debut videos, showing the long path the girls walked until they became who they are now, one of South Korea’s top girl groups. Comments by The Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am and Lee Hyori were also added, praising them and showing that people support 2NE1 and want them to become even bigger.

The video ended with applause and the second part of the concert started with a bang. Pretty Boy, Don't Stop the Music, Clap Your Hands and Hate You made up a great set of powerful songs and it was clear how much the audience had waited for this because everyone had their heart in it: 2NE1 and the audience. While the audience cheered for them and sang along, the group walked and danced around the catwalk, high-fived people in the standing section and simply let the audience know how much they enjoyed being there with them.

Another video followed, this time showing a parody of the FIRE video, featuring international fans and giving the girls a chance to change into new outfits: glow in the dark ones. They returned with the song that everyone seemed to be waiting for, I Am the Best. The audience went crazy, like never before and it was surprising that it was possible for everyone to sing along even louder. UGLY followed and everyone sensed it was the last song. The lights went out once again and the glow in the dark outfits were revealed and the hall was illuminated by the light sticks. The heartfelt performance ended with loud applause and immediately after they disappeared the audience started chanting for an encore.

It was at this point that I realised why my seat was a pretty good one, because when the girls came back, the walked through the seated sections and CL and Minzy passed my side. I wish you could have seen the face of the girl next to me, when CL looked down to us and waved. It was complete happiness that filled her eyes and she followed everyone else to walk up the aisle during Stay Together and have a chance to shake hands with her. 2NE1 really enjoyed being this close to the fans, accepted small gifts from them and threw in some themselves.

The final song then was Go Away, which kind of was ironic, hearing the girls sing “go away” to us. But still, it was possible one of the best performances of the concert. They finished by thanking everyone, their backing dancers, their makeup artists, YG Entertainment and, finally, their fans.

It was my first concert in Korea and I’m sure I will attend more if possible since, everyone I met and asked for help were amazing and polite as well as the concert being pretty well organised.

Also 2NE1 did their best and I’m sure those girls will keep growing and have a lot more successful concerts in the future.

Setlist:

Fire
Can’t Nobody
In The Club
Talk
Let’s Go Party
I Don’t Care
Please Don’t Go Dubstep Remix
Kiss
You & I
Don’t Cry
Jojo & Nicki Minaj Covers
Only Look At Me
Dance Battle
Superstar
Where U At
It Hurts
Lonely
2NE1’s Crazy Story (Video)
Pretty Boy
Don’t Stop The Music
Clap Your Hands
Hate You
Fire Parody (Video)
I Am The Best
Ugly
Stay Together (Encore)
Go Away (Encore)