SMTOWN Live in LA 2012
by Jessica Hoang

SMTOWN Live World Tour III officially commenced on May 20, 2012 with an estimated 12,000 fans gathered at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Despite knowing that there would be a large turn-out for this concert, I was still surprised to see the lines of people wrapped around the huge venue. Since I뭭e seen footage of prior SMTOWN concert goers, the experience of standing in line awaiting admittance was relatively surreal. After going through a quick security check process, I was given a hot-pink glow stick by the SMTOWN staff and directed towards my seating section.
The energy level inside the stadium increased exponentially as the time drew closer for the concert to start. A few minutes after 7 PM, Leeteuk (Super Junior), Tiffany and Taeyeon (Girls?Generation) took to the stage to announce the opening of the concert tour. Although most of the concert dialogue was communicated in Korean, it was a nice touch to have snippets of it translated into English. At the conclusion of the opening, the venue lights dimmed and the familiar bars of SHINee뭩 밚ucifer?blared on the speaker system causing the audience to cheer so loudly that I worried for the well-being of my eardrums.
The remainder of concert consisted of a non-stop procession of impressive performances by Super Junior, f(x), Girls?Generation, SHINee, TVXQ, Boa, and EXO. Each of the performances showcased the vocal talent and dance abilities of the artists. The performance line-up was also effective in blending older well-known songs with newer comeback titles and unique special stage collaborations. While the concert was not without any technical and venue issues, the sincerity and dedication displayed by the artists made up for any perceived shortcomings.
Towards the end of the concert, during a video montage of the S.M. Entertaining?artists, Tiffany mentioned how music is a universal language that can bring diverse groups of people together. Personally, I think that the SMTOWN concert perfectly exemplifies this insight and magnifies the charm of K-Pop and its?fervently supportive fanbase. Till next time SMTOWN; thank you for the spectacular show!