HSBC Women’s World Championship - MONSTA X Special Show 2018
Press Conference
Powerful Korean Boy Band Monsta X finally returned to Singapore, since their fanmeeting with Sistar 3 years ago. This time, they were back to hold a special concert in conjunction with HSBC Women’s World Championship. They came down to Plaza Singapura for a meeting with their fans through a Press Conference, where some lucky fans got to experience a hi-touch and meet and greet session with them.
The Press Conference started with energy, as Singapore Monbebes sang along to their popular hits playing at the venue, and shouted the fanchants with zest. Gradually, the weather worsened and it started to pour, yet the fans only seemed to show even more enthusiasm, wanting Monsta X to only see their cheerful sides.
When Monsta X arrived, even despite the downpour, the fans screamed louder than ever and the group looked noticeably touched, yet also concerned that their beloved fans were being drenched while trying to meet them. They also repeatedly mentioned that the fans should take care to ensure that they do not fall sick, and their youngest member (Maknae), I.M even said that if he had a superpower, he would want to rescue all the fans from the rain! Hyungwon also hopes that they can hold a concert in Singapore or meet their fans when it is not raining.
Through a short question and answer session with the members. They revealed their favourite hobbies - Jooheon likes shopping while leader Shownu prefers to eat or sleep when he has the free time. The members unanimously chose Wonho as the member that works out the most. I.M’s best moment of 2017 was their world tour, and Dramarama is Wonho’s favourite song!
Jooheon and Shownu chose each other as the member that would most likely survive in the jungle. Shownu picked Jooheon because of his independence and tidiness, while Jooheon chose Shownu because he’s ‘perfect in everything’.
When asked about one thing they definitely have to bring around with them wherever they go, Shownu chose his spectacles, while shopaholic Minhyuk needs his wallet with him at all times. The members also mentioned that they would be eating Chilli Crab that very night, and Jooheon was really looking forward to it!
Wonder what you can do to get their attention during their concerts? The answer is fairly simple, waving your lightsticks! Kihyun said that the Monsta X official lightsticks get their attention the most, and proved his point by waving to several fans in the audience that held up their lightsticks.
The members were also tasked to have a quick ‘talent showcase’, where they individually went up to the centre of the stage to get closer to the fans, and showed off their various talents, such as Jooheon’s beatboxing, Minhyuk’s little dance, Kihyun’s singing, I.M’s popping, and Shownu’s beatboxing WHILE dancing. Adorable Hyungwon wrote his name using his butt, and Wonho also did ‘aegyo (acting cute)’, much to the delight of Monbebes.
As the press conference came to a close, the members headed backstage for a while to prepare for the next segment, a hi-touch session with some lucky fans! It was heartwarming to see them look at each and every member with such sincerity and love in their eyes, and hopefully, it also made it worth it for the fans who got drenched in the rain just to see their beloved members.
The final segment was the meet and greet session, where fans had the opportunity to take group photos together with Monsta X. Initially, the plan was for the members to sit on chairs while Monbebes sat on the ground in front of the members. However, the absolutely sweet Wonho offered his chair to the fan in front of him, and the other members followed suit. Although it was just a tiny gesture, it showed how much they cared for their fans and looked out for them.
Although it was a short time together with Monsta X, we hope that the fans got the most out of their experience, and managed to enjoy what little time they had together with the members!
Although it was a short time together with Monsta X, we hope that the fans got the most out of their experience, and managed to enjoy what little time they had together with the members!
Monsta X Special Show
Monsta X’s Special Show was held on 3rd March 2018. Energy was running high as the fans chanted and cheered for each of the members while their music videos were played on the large screen and a sea of Turquoise, Dark Blue and Dark Pink lit up the night.
The members of Monsta X then made their grand appearance and kickstarted their special show with the songs “Beautiful” and “White Love”. After their dynamic performances, Monsta X and Monbebes sang a sincere Happy Birthday song for Wonho, whose birthday falls on 1st March. Wonho was extremely touched and said he was glad that he was able to celebrate his birthday with Monbebes in Singapore.
Next, the members moved onto the segment whereby they each had to talk about their embarrassing moments. The segment, called Mon-story, took inspiration from Monsta X’s first album photobook. As the big screen panned across Monsta X’s album picture from “Beautiful” to their world tour in Russia and to their emotional first win at SBS MTV “The Show”, the boys reminisced the times and thanked their fans for their support throughout Monsta X’s journey. The boys also joked around, showing their cheerful and adorable personalities in contrast to the cool front they put up while performing. This was highlighted when Wonho cheekily asked the fans to “raise your hands if you think I’m handsome”, evoking extremely loud cheers of support from Monbebes. When the picture of their first win flashed on the screen, the members also joked that Kihyun could not be seen in the picture, prompting a response of “NO, I’m there!!” from Kihyun himself.
On a lighter note, Monsta X had to draw what food they would like to eat with their fans in the next segment, Mon-casso!
Amidst all the chaos (the members were like little kids when they received the pen and paper), one of the members actually started “I have a pen..”, in reference to “PPAP”. They then proceeded to share their drawings and the reasons behind them. I.M would like to share water with his fans (which he expressed with a flick of his hand), bringing back the popular “salt bae” meme, making the fans laugh. Jooheon would like to eat mandu (Korean dumplings) with the fans. Hyungwon wanted to eat prawns with the fans. Kihyun fell in love with Singapore’s black pepper crab and would like to share it with the fans. Minhyuk would like to share naengmyeon (Korean cold noodles) with Monbebes, “Naengmyeon in Korea, very delicious!!”. Wonho drew ice cream and said he would like to eat it with his fans and lastly, Shownu wanted to share a drink with his fans. While on the topic of food, the members raved over the Singapore delicacies that they managed to try the day before and said, “Indeed when it comes to Singapore, it’s chilli crab!”, “Chilli crab c’mon, pepper crab c’mon!”.
Amidst all the chaos (the members were like little kids when they received the pen and paper), one of the members actually started “I have a pen..”, in reference to “PPAP”. They then proceeded to share their drawings and the reasons behind them. I.M would like to share water with his fans (which he expressed with a flick of his hand), bringing back the popular “salt bae” meme, making the fans laugh. Jooheon would like to eat mandu (Korean dumplings) with the fans. Hyungwon wanted to eat prawns with the fans. Kihyun fell in love with Singapore’s black pepper crab and would like to share it with the fans. Minhyuk would like to share naengmyeon (Korean cold noodles) with Monbebes, “Naengmyeon in Korea, very delicious!!”. Wonho drew ice cream and said he would like to eat it with his fans and lastly, Shownu wanted to share a drink with his fans. While on the topic of food, the members raved over the Singapore delicacies that they managed to try the day before and said, “Indeed when it comes to Singapore, it’s chilli crab!”, “Chilli crab c’mon, pepper crab c’mon!”.
Most of the fans and members acknowledged I.M as the best artist and agreed that his drawing was the best among the members! I.M danced to the song "Oppaya" as a reward (but we know it was all for the fans ;)). Somehow, Wonho was roped into doing it as well so it was double the aegyo (videos of both are up on Twitter), and definitely a treat for all the Monbebes present, who screamed louder than before. Jooheon also showcased his vocal talent (which was pretty astounding considering that he is the rapper of the group!).
During the Special Show, a surprise montage prepared by Singapore’s Monbebes was showcased, emphasizing how much they love and cherish Monsta X and wish for them to stay healthy and become even more successful. The members looked visibly touched, and were also taken by surprise as the video appeared mid-speech, and contained various video message, funny moments from their promotions and also videos from the past.
We would’ve thought that that was the end to the surprises that day, but there was more to come! Monbebes really went all out to show their love for Monsta X, as they even prepared a cake (carefully crafted to look like a pot of ramyeon), to celebrate Wonho’s birthday! It was the first time Monsta X had seen a ramyeon cake (which was actually a chocolate cake) and they marvelled at it, even doubting that was real. Wonho also mentioned that he was extremely touched, and nearly cried, but was trying to hold it in. Thereafter, he cut into the cake and the fans were treated to Wonho’s cheeky side as he kept sneaking bites of cake “to try” but really, he just wanted to eat more cake, and the members ended up having to stop him.
Having eaten the cake, the boys were energised and jumped straight into their last song for the night - “Dramarama”, with I.M saying that he wanted to return to Singapore for another concert. The fans were devastated at the short time they had with Monsta X and screamed for an encore, whilst chanting “MONSTA X”, when the members disappeared.
Monsta X answered their pleas and returned onstage with an emotional song - “5:14”. They ended the Special Show with short parting words consisting of more promises to return to Singapore, hopefully in the near future. We’ll be waiting, Monsta X!
We would also like to extend our thanks to UnUsUaL Entertainment for the opportunity to cover this event!
Writers:
Press Conference: KaiLin
Concert: Valerie and KaiLin
Photographs: KaiLin
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More photos from the Press Conference and Concert below!
Writers:
Press Conference: KaiLin
Concert: Valerie and KaiLin
Photographs: KaiLin
Follow us for more updates and picture releases!
More photos from the Press Conference and Concert below!