Wanna One “Burn It Up” at first fan meeting in Malaysia

It was definitely a heated crowd that packed Stadium Negara on the evening of 19 January as Wannables from all over Asia gathered to welcome Wanna One on their first ever fan meeting in Malaysia.

Kang Daniel, Park Ji-hoon, Yoon Ji-sung, Ong Seung-woo, Hwang Min-hyun, Kim Jae-hwan, Lee Dae-hwi, Bae Jin-young, Ha Sung-woon, Lai Kuan-lin and Park Woo-jin, all eleven members of the group that comprises of “Produce 101 Season 2” winners, were present at their WANNA ONE 1st Fan Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

A crowd of 10,000 strong comprising of fans not only from Malaysia but also Indonesia, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and even the boyband’s home country, South Korea, enthusiastically welcomed the boys.

However, due to such a large number of passionate fans in the limited space, specifically in the standing area dubbed the Rock Zone, the overenthusiasm did lead to an approximately 90-minute delay during the show.

Starting off just as any K-pop fan meeting would, the crowd was relatively energetic while waiting for the boys to appear onstage, waving their various lightsticks while singing along to the songs playing over the speakers.

Wanna One performed a total of six songs from their first album “1×1=1 (To Be One)” and one from their second album, “1-1=0 (Nothing Without You)”.

However, the moment the popular group popped onto the stage around 8pm with their opening song, “Energetic”, the crowd seemed to receive an extra burst of energy too upon seeing their oppas, prompting the standing crowd to surge forward toward the stage.

Wanna One performed two songs consecutively and it was during the break after their second song, “Beautiful”, that the boys, while trying to introduce themselves, turned into heroes for their fans instead as they pointed out that there were girls in the Rock Zone who were fainting and needed help due to the lack of proper breathing space in the crowd.

Out of concern for their fans’ safety, the show was halted around 8.14pm for a reorganisation of the standing zone, which led to fans being told to sit down instead of stand up to avoid further shoving.

The hubbub was quite a task for the organisers’ security guards, RELA and local police to handle (some even resorted to splashing the fans with water as their method of crowd control) seeing as there was no space for all the fans to sit down properly, some fans had to be reluctantly relocated to the sides and some even taken out of the Rock Zone altogether, mostly to be brought to the Sick Bay, located at the back and far from the packed crowd for some breathing space.

The boys patiently waited and it was only around 9.45pm that they reappeared onstage, having been assured that their fans were now seated calmly and were ready for the show to continue.

Wanna One serenaded their fans with “Always”.

“We’re sorry,” the members apologetically said the moment they reappeared, but fans were quick to chant “We’re sorry” in Korean to assure the boys that they were not the ones at fault.

Smiling, the members continued with their self-introduction and performed a couple more songs off their first album: “Wanna Be” and “Pick Me”.

Apart from their performances, Wanna One also showed off their charms during the game sessions, with Jae-hwan, Min-hyun and Ji-sung (the notorious “dancers” of the group) showing off their awkward dances; Daniel and Seung-woo displaying their wide range of facial expressions; Sung-woon and Woo-jin challenging each other in a staring contest and more.

All eleven members also took part in a Jump Rope game, where Min-hyun and Sung-woon swung the long rope while the remaining nine members had to complete five jumps without stopping. To the surprise and delight of their fans (and even themselves), the group was able to do it in one go.

Jin-young looked on as Daniel struck a pose, while Ji-sung was flustered when the camera wrongly focused on him for a moment instead of on Daniel.

“How do you find Malaysian weather?” The boys were asked and they replied that since it is winter in South Korea at the moment, they more than welcome the warmth of the tropical country’s weather.

Wanna One had a chance to enjoy several days of the warm weather as the group arrived on Monday in Malaysia, for a little vacation ahead of their fan meeting last Friday. Some of the luckier fans had spotted the group enjoying some shopping time at places such as Pavilion KL and Suria KLCC.

The group wrapped up their first fan meeting in Malaysia a little before 11pm but not before leaving their fans with three more memorable performances.

The crowd sang along as the group serenaded their fans with “Always”, followed by their version of “Never” (a song previously sung by some of the members on the reality show “Produce 101”) and switching gears to a heated closing stage with the upbeat “Burn It Up”.

Lee Dae-hwi making a wish as fans sang the birthday song in both English and Korean for him.

It was definitely a night to remember, probably more so for 16-year-old Dae-hwi, who will be turning 17 (or 18 in Korean age) this 29 January, as fans had prepared a little surprise for the birthday boy during the show.

The California-raised singer happily made a wish when he was presented with a birthday cake and fans sang him the birthday song in both English and Korean.

Despite the minor snag in agenda, Wanna One expressed their gratitude of having been able to visit Malaysia and the chance to create “special unforgettable moments” with their fans.

Jeojang~ The fan meeting will forever be saved in Wanna One’s and Wannables’ hearts!