Concert organiser says tickets for Super Junior's first S'pore concert will not be more than $300

BY KWOK KAR PENG

KOREAN boy band Super Junior will hold a concert for the first time in Singapore in January.

And fans can expect an extravagant show along the likes of Aaron Kwok and Jay Chou as it's touted to be one of the most expensive concerts to be held here.

Concert organiser Running Into The Sun, an affiliate of Fly Entertainment, told The New Paper it believes the concert production cost will exceed its initial budget of $1.5 million.

Mr Terence Ang, 45, chief marketing officer for Fly Entertainment, said the Super Junior Super Show 3 here will follow the recent one held in Seoul as closely as possible, down to the stage design.

The popular group is known for its hit songs like Sorry, Sorry and Bonamana.

The group currently has 13 members but only 10 will perform at the concert. The other three are currently out of action as one is in national service, one is pursuing an acting career, and one is considering leaving the group.

But despite its high production cost, the concert, which will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Jan 29, will not mean sky-high ticket prices for fans.

Tickets, which will be on sale via Sistic from November, will not exceed $300, said Mr Ang.

A major highlight of the concert is the huge stage, which The New Paper understands will cost more than US$500,000 (S$679,000) to set up.

Mr Mac Chan, 40, project director for the concert, said the stage will have a unique design.

He was in Seoul to view the Super Show 3 on Aug 15.

"The usual concert stage allows only the audience in front to get close to the performers," he said.

"But with Super Show 3, the stage will have runways leading out to form a circle."

He added that there will be four standing mosh pits within the circle, a second stage in the centre and three raised platforms.

Mr Chan, who was the lighting director for the last two National Day Parades, said that the huge stage set-up will allow the 10 band members to appear at different locations during the show.

So far yet so close

This means even those seated at the back will be able to get up close and personal with their idols.

Miss Cheryl Han, in her 20s, a publicist for Fly Entertainment, agreed. She was at the Seoul concert too and sat in the upper section.

"In some concerts, you see only a small shadow of the performer but not with Super Junior. No matter where you sit, the boys come very close to you," she said.

"They even 'flew' to (the audience sitting at the back) while wearing wire harnesses and threw confetti at the audience.

"If you are seated at the right spot, you can probably even touch them if you jump up." Miss Han added that the band members also appeared on raised wheeled platforms and were pushed along the aisles to get closer to the fans.

But whether the group will do the same stunts during its Singapore concert depends on whether it will be approved by the authorities here, said Mr Chan.

While the production team wants the stage in Singapore to be exactly the same as the one in Seoul, they have met with an obstacle.

The Singapore Indoor Stadium is rectangular while the Seoul concert venue is a perfect circle. The former is also slightly smaller.

Mr Chan added: "The Korean venue allowed the concert organisers to remove some of the seats to create the stage extensions, but we are not sure yet if this is possible with the Singapore Indoor Stadium."

Super Junior supporter Miss Nor Hidayah Mohd Idris, 23, an editorial assistant, told The New Paper that she's very excited about the impending concert.

A fan for slightly more than a year, Miss Nor Hidayah has even travelled to Kuala Lumpur to watch the group's Super Show 2 in March. She spent about $500 in total.

When she was in Korea for a holiday in May, she made a trip to a radio station in Seoul to watch two Super Junior members record their radio show.

She also went to the group's music showcase here in June.

For the concert in January, she said she's willing to pay up to $250 for a ticket.

"I went on fan forums and blogs to view photos taken at the Super Show 3 (in Korea)," she said.

"It seems fun because it's interactive. The large stage is very good because they can interact with fans seated in different areas.

"But it also means that the members will be scattered and you won't get to see some members as often than if the stage is smaller."