PUBLISHED ONApril 03, 2023 10:12 AMByDrima ChakrabortyWhat was meant to be an enjoyable experience for TXT fans in Singapore ended up with physical altercations and bruises for an unlucky few.
One concertgoer even deemed the K-pop concert on Saturday (April 1) to be her "worst experience".
The 23-year-old student, who only wanted to be known as Josie, told AsiaOne: "There was a Japanese fan who kept hitting me on the head with her lightstick. I thought she was mad but I couldn't understand since she was speaking in Japanese."
She added that she had tried to tell the fan to stop pushing and hitting her but to no avail due to the language barrier.
"She also purposely stepped on my shoes until they ripped, hit my arms many times and kept shoving me."
Josie shared that she received bruises from how "physical the fans got during the concert" and said that the situation finally got resolved when security came over to speak to the Japanese fan, who subsequently apologised to Josie.
"I got badly pushed in standing section D and also saw a lot of people faint because we couldn't breathe during the whole concert," she added.
TXT (also known as Tomorrow X Together) are a K-pop boy band formed by Big Hit Entertainment, the company best known for managing BTS.
They performed at the Singapore Indoor Stadium as part of their Act: Sweet Mirage world tour. It was their only stop in the region, and Singapore was one of only four Asian territories to host the K-pop boy band alongside South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
The concert was set to start at 8pm, but AsiaOne witnessed that by 7.20pm at standing section B, fans were shoving their way to the front, which left some near the barricades at the front of the stage unable to move or even lift their arms to use their phones to film.
When members of TXT moved from the main stage down to the extended stage, the surge of fans would move along with them and the pushing would increase. Fans would also lift their sign boards in hopes that band members would see them, with others yelling at them to be considerate and put down their signs so they could see the stars and the performances.
Another concertgoer had a downright bizarre experience with a fan, whom she believed to be from China.
Tia told AsiaOne that during the pre-concert soundcheck that VIP ticket holders could attend, the fan tried a variety of techniques to jostle her way to the front.
"When she noticed that I wasn't letting her push her way to the front, she proceeded to use her leg to wrap around my knee and kick it backwards," the 19-year-old student said.
"I was in genuine shock because it felt like I had a koala bear dangling off of me, and at that point I was convinced I would exit the concert injured.
"Luckily I escaped with just a very sore body. At that point, I couldn't even breathe, or even hold my phone up to record the boys who were performing."
After two unpleasant hours at the soundcheck, Tia opted to head to the back for the main show where there were fewer crowds.
"We realised that all the VIP holders were squished towards the side where the stage was, and there was actually space near the barricade at the other end," she said.
"My friend and I decided to stay back on that side since we would still have a very good view of the stage, despite not being right in front of the boys, and we did not have to deal with any pushing or screaming."
She added that the main concert was a better experience as they had "decided to take a step back and observe from further away" and that she would probably opt for a seating category the next time.
One TikTok user going by Benevolenat penned an open letter and claimed that many of the rowdy fans were "selfish foreigners", going by their "languages and accents".
Decrying those who pushed others near the barricades, Benevolenat wrote: "I don't want to be that person [to say this], but if you're already snatching the privilege to see TXT from actual Singaporeans, then at least show some respect when you're representing our country in front of [the band] in a way."
They also found it "weird" that, when TXT would say that they loved Singapore, "half of the people there weren't even Singaporeans" and suggested ticketing agents could implement Singpass verification for pre-sales.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@benevolenat/video/7217147708174322946[/embed]
The idea resonated with many fans, with one writing: "Let's be honest, Singaporeans have it the worst at ticketing. [Tickets] are already so limited, yet our slots continuously get stolen."
Another wrote: "Sports Hub/Ticket Master should put a quota or even set priority for Singapore citizens or PRs who want to buy tickets."
One fan even tagged a ticketing agent in the comments, saying that fans have "asked about a million times" for Singpass pre-sales.
ALSO READ: BTS' Suga performing in Singapore in June, ticketing details released
drimac@asiaone.com
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