i dont think you need to worry too much about stans being mad at you because if kpoppies love one thing its tearing apart these conventions for how godawful they are organized and handled
I'm not a kpoppy. But even I noticed that on Twitter, even like meet and greets, they'll criticize stuff like the record label for where it is, when it is, lack of security, too much security, too short, etc
iam from the gen 2 and gen 3 aka 2008 to 2016/18 and i can tell you the newer the gen the worse the stans. but i dont do con at all ever too many people plus anything is in the usa plus i not putting my feet in CA ever. also iam not stylist at all i look like a biker/metalhead iam incredibly practice.
As a kpop and swell girly, i can promise you kpop fans are 10000% in favor of calling out shit cons/festival/etc. Theres been a bunch of awful concert organizers the past couple years. Its one of the few things that bring the different fandoms together LOL
nah kpop fans LOVE shitting on things that aren't the group themselves, like everyone hates the management company, the event organizers, the stylists (only sometimes tho), etc 😭😭
Im not familiar with kcon pricing but I really thought it was a good deal; I’ve paid $600 for the cheapest blackpink vip, same for twice vip, around $300 for gidle vip, $120 for dreamcatcher ga, etc, and those are only one day. Sure the concert is way longer, but kcon has so many different groups, plus events + meet and greats + games, so for 3 whole days of that and reserved seating for $800 sounded really good tbh
@@glim3697 yeah but you get 800 for convention and reserved seating but NO fan engagements- you have to pay for that separately; it used to be you pay 800 for platinum tickets that INCLUDE fan engagements (red carpet, hi touch, etc)
@@glim3697 i understand where you’re coming from, however this year had a DRASTIC price increase compared to past kcon events and sold the tickets before they even posted a lineup. from what i was seeing, you could be paying around $400 to be in nosebleeds ( compared to 2022 where it would’ve been more like $170 )
Somewhat playing Devils advocate (the service fees are still INSANE and ticket prices should never have gotten this high IMO) you're essentially paying for a bunch of concert tickets all at once. If you're a huge fan of any of the groups that went and would pay $200 for a ticket to a regular concert anyway, it's a pretty good deal. They might only perform a few songs but you may also get panels with them or different opportunities that a concert wouldn't provide
I literally got interested a bit in F1 thanks to swell and am a huge K-pop Stan so I didn't know F1 ALSO did photo cards lmao. I wonder what more things from K-pop culture got implemented to F1. Would also love to see her do that
@@sameerakhan7455 No joke I think "ending faries" for winners are becoming a thing. At the very least, I've seen Kpop-esque edits of F1 drivers. Don't even get me started on F1 pickets, banners, and decorated toploaders
I went Kcon once many years ago before this insanity and I got frustrated and let it slip out "I don't know they all look the bloody same" on the phone. Yeah I didn't bother explaining I felt it better then bolt. I am faceblind FYI literally EVERYONE looks the same to me, but that is one thing you did not want ot let slip in a kpop setting.
22:23 YES please people wear ear protection, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE NEAR THE SPEAKERS. once your hearing's gone, it's gone. it's very debilitating and people will yell at you and talk down on you like you're a child. you will miss a lot in the music you will listen to like you're underwater. it's really sad. i was always the loser with plugs but it was so, so worth it when i see the teenagers i teach lament how they have a hard time hearing their old music now. noise cancelling, volume down, plugs.
I think the heavy breathing/hot mic is def a kcon thing, I think a lot of the refinement pieces that an artist would get at their own concert with their own team are often missed at larger events like this
I can only imagine the nightmare of trying to get mics just right for that many groups with many of them being large. God that has to be a logistic nightmare.
The breathing: this is maybe because recently there were a lot of discussion about live and prerecorded vocals in kpop in general, so maybe that was one of these "we will kot get lipsync alligations we prove we sing live"😂
No. This was just bad mic management from the cob. Ive gone to many kpop performances and there is a certain way to properly do it to make sure you can tell they are properly live singing as opposed to mimicing.
@@jade5089right! like in one song, there are certain parts where the sound team are muting/lowering the volume of the microphone of the artists and put the volume up in some parts where they can shout and hype the audience. All perfectly rehearsed that's why it looks natural.
19:50 some performers just prefer a handheld. you'll see a lot of groups with a good mix of handheld and headset mics and for the heavy breathing thing, the staff are usually better about cutting the mics or lowering the gain to make it harder to hear the heavy breathing lol 28:00 the idols usually aren't allowed to alter their outfits in any way. when the stylist has it on them, it's on them
I have only seen fans being exicted for kcon, so I'm now curious what the full line up was 🤔 But one thing I know kcon in frankfurt has a worse line-up 😬 (would still go if not for the prices, like come on, add like two more artist and it'll be worth it)
it was my first kcon and the best part was making new friends, which shouldnt have been my favorite part 😭 the stages were just so badly managed and some stans were absolutely brutal in the crowd.
From what I've heard from people who usually go to Kcon every year that this year was WAY more expensive than the others. So much so that some said they weren't going to bother this year. Also, this year there weren't any real big acts that they can normally get because every big group is having their own tour right now.
Yeah people were complaining it was way too expensive for the tiers were offering (ie hi touch and send off). It was also a big issue for a lot of people that they started selling the tickets before they even announced the line up.
the prices and the ticket options were bad! I really liked 2022 where you basically built your own package for each day, you could buy single meet and greets or full day m&g access for individual days and the concert tickets were sold separate and the prices weren't as bad either
Yeah 100% true. There was definitely not as many big groups as normal. Likely because as someone else mentioned, more groups go on their own tours. Also, I don’t go to kcon, but I have been a kpop fan since 2016 and I contemplate going every year but I don’t live near LA so I’ve never went. I can say I look at the prices and packages every year and the prices were a lot more expensive than in previous years (especially compared to pre-pandemic). Side note: I’ve always hated how you not even get to pick whose meet and greet you get. You basically just have to hope you can find somebody who has the group you want and will trade.
this! i’ve been going since 2016, and prices have obviously skyrocketed since then, but seeing how they charged extra for newly introduced convention benefits this year (ie getting barricade for convention stages when it was completely free every single year prior) just made me really irritated with the company, so this was the first year i didn’t attend because it was way too expensive for the experience i knew i was gonna to get.
Girl, I love you so I want you to ask your doctor to check your gallbladder. I just went through this and it can take a while to get through the medical bs but (if it’s your gallbladder) it doesn’t get better, it’s not something you can manage, you can’t “heal” it. It just needs to come out. I had years of “stomach issues” unnecessarily because no one checked my gb.
FR. i had mine taken out a few months back and i feel foolish for waiting so long to the point where i was nearly bedridden from the pain. i thought it was maybe my medication or stress or ibs, but it was infected with so much bile that i couldnt even digest a single small meal without 10 hours of pain. if u suspect something, go to your doctor EARLY before it piles up into a big mess
I was gonna also comment that it might be a gallbladder issue! I got mine taken out last December because i had a horrible stomach pain and it turned out that's what it was.
It sounds like GB to me, too. If nothing else, if we're wrong and it is an ulcer-they are so treatable. There's no reason to avoid the doctor for stomach issues.
Just had a fire in front of my home this weekend because a homeless person didn't safely put out his cigarette and had a van full of highly flammable stuff. Clean ups are needed for the safety of the homeless, the environment and the people living nearby.
@@oldkittykiyru it’s not safer for the homeless unless they are given shelter; they’re still homeless, they’re just moved somewhere else and the possessions they do have are usually trashed. I was just thinking that it’s hypocritical of the city to approve of concert-goers camping on the streets downtown for like a week when they’re punishing homeless people for doing the same thing.
for the merch critique I do have to say that’s kinda just how kpop is. despite how money hungry these companies are most of them are actually really bad about making and selling merch. typically (unless you’re from sm or hybe) even at a concert all you’ll get is a photocard set and t shirt maybe a hoodie, lightstick (if the group has one) and even then they’re usually very basic minimal designs as well. surprisingly most companies haven’t really chosen to capitalize on merch in general outside of albums and photocards.
i dont know how it is for KCON or the US in general but i have actually asked my fave about this when they came to Europe and here (Germany specifically) the reason they don't have a lot of merch variety is that they have to pay import and sales taxes to bring stuff here, so they will either lose money or have to raise prices so much that barely anyone can afford the stuff. in our case that meant merch was posters (with pre-signing options) and polaroids because they're easy and cheap to produce. if they had brought lightsticks they would have been around 25% more expensive than if you just ordered one from Korea
@@iniyama see the thing is even for smaller tours I’ve known they’ll make the merch in the US to sell they just don’t make much merch. even for general sale on websites unattached to a tour they just don’t make merch unless you’re from one of the two companies that actually do. even when doing shows and events within korea they don’t really make merch. the only time they really do is for japan concerts.
That would be so good. I wonder how she'd react. I haven't been to any sort of convention for them, though, unless you count the two merch booths WWE had up before Wrestlemania a few years. Mostly, the wrestling I've seen live is just the wrestling performance. Might not be all that much to review, especially if they've got a lot of continuing storylines, because you can't really enjoy them (or even get a sense of what is going on during the storyline) if you only see one show.
12:31 Oh hey, it's BINI! They're actually not a KPop group. They're a rising PPop group (from the Philippines). My guess is they got added to the lineup because they are Samsung ambassadors in the Philippines. EDIT: 17:15 that's them again! Looks like you saw them a lot! I'm envious lol they're so hard to see in the Philippines these days because of the crowds lol
kcon has become more welcoming of other asian acts, since cjenm ent have started doing more foreign venutres, thus there's been more jpop and other asian acts.
19:01 One of the hardest jobs on any production is running mics for vocalists. Most shows will have 5-10 mics being controlled by one person on a board. You don't really want to go higher then that since most people only have 10 fingers and thus can only mute/unmute 10 channels at a time. Add into that you are likely changing mics between acts and praying the guy handing them out got the names right and that you can name that k-pop star from the worst seat in the house. Even with a script that is being followed you need at least a rehearsal or two of the full thing to get the timing right. On something live and unscripted... yea you're lucky you only heard breathing and not some of the other things I"ve heard.
It's pretty easy to program mic groups into the board and mute them all at once, so I don't think the lack of fingers thing is an issue. But yeah I think the main issue is probably a lack of rehearsal time here. Like they wouldn't have time to program every group into the board smoothly.
18:28 oh my god hi ???? i’m the director of the dance team that’s background dancing for the girl group here (CRAXY) and i’ve also been a fan of yours since the lily singh vid and bedroom floor backgrounds 😮💨 i’ll say that tech is… uh. not for the artists to fix their sound. it’s for the cameras to figure out their shots. tech was 1 shot of doing the set and then that’s it :))) any issues with staging? good luck during the real show, hope you figured it out on your own! they also used to alternate sides/use the stage a lot better because it used to be circular and this year they decided to make it a big K. have a lot more thoughts about my own experience but super fun to compare with yours! i’ve been a kpop fan since 2009, then on and off til now to the point where my full time job is co-owning a kpop store in california. been to kcon as a guest, a performer with my kpop dance group, and this year as an artist. kcon is a MESS and i have so much to say about how much of an industry con it is now, where it’s almost solely dedicated to corporations than past years. there is almost nothing to do anymore and i would not have even gone to kcon this year if we weren’t hired to perform. ticketing is terrible, too expensive, and we get almost nothing for the cost in comparison to past kcons. i actually really have enjoyed kplayfest/anime impulse but i guess im just more interested in fan communities and artist alley type activities. (on the other hand i have been able to get a years worth of free skincare from kcon every year 🙂↕️) always enjoy your con vids!!
As a long time Shawol (Shinee fan) I'm devastated that you had to miss Taemin's performance friday night 😭I honestly considered suffering through kcon (again) just to see him, but I couldn't justify the costs when he's the only performer I was interested in.
I went last year for him and decided last minute to go this year as well. I didn't even bother with the convention this year and I drove down the day of just for the concert.
the brief mention of the kpopification of f1, it's so true and so interesting to see as one of the people whose interest kinda shifted from one to the other, to see how people incorporate the kpop fandom style in other fandoms
One rumor I heard for the spike in KCON ticket prices is because the US recently increased the application fee for foreign artists to perform here. The price per person almost tripled (including the staff that travel with the artists). I don’t work in entertainment so I don’t know for sure but I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the reason.
Before the pandemic I was invited to KCON for several years in a row. And one thing that really stood out to me was the lack of communication between the US side and Korean side of organizers. I was always baffled by the fact that a lot of the US team doesn't actually speak Korean, which could (and would) lead to a lot of either scheduling issues with people that had panels or just lack of being prepared for certain events happening around the convention. I never got this vibe of organized team work and it really seemed like to me (from the perspective of a creator that was invited) it was the US team, and then it was the Korean team, two very separate entities trying to run one show. I'm glad they eventually expanded the size of the con to utilize the entire convention center my last year I went. Not only did it provide more space to move for everyone attending but also the way they originally would literally have the green room (the room where the influencers/creators chill out) right next to the panel rooms lol. Like many of us couldn't even leave to use the restroom WHICH WAS RIGHT DOWN THE HALL A FEW STEPS AWAY without possibly clogging up the hall and keeping people from getting places. To me it just screamed safety hazard. What also bothered me the most was that at the time, they didn't really consider having escorts for their guests? Like for the bigger creators they'd end up creating this giant mob that followed them to their destination- which could possibly be across the entire center lol so like it just didn't seem safe sometimes?? At one point some of the staff that worked for the convention center itself saw some of us having a hard time so they offered on their own accord to be out escorts lol which was nice. But it really showed me how neither the US or Korean KCON staff thought to do this (I noticed in later years the KCON staff would ask if you felt like you needed someone to escort you, but I feel like this should be a given- for ANY sized creator. Sometimes we just needed help figuring out where to be at what time). I am super grateful for being invited cos those were such FUN times, and it wasn't the WORST experience, but man was I overwhelmed and dizzy from the craziness of it all. And it's not just for the comfort of me and other creators, I actually felt bad for the staff as well cos you'd have some who were in the know, but cos it was just them they were running all over the place trying to get everyone into place, and then you'd have some other ones who were just...there lol who were just as confused. I haven't gone lately and hopefully that they've learned a lot from past years, but a big part of me feels like these events run by big Korean conglomerates never know how to properly run shit lol Edit: also KCON, if you ever come across this comment, if you're still doing the Flower Boy Cafe, please get some actual flower boys lol even if you have to take them with you from Korea- as a busted old homosexual who just wants some eye candy, you have truly set the bar low for what is supposed to be flower boys- let alone a cafe like they dont even MAKE the coffee they give out cheap canned coffee LOL 😭
Swell you NEED to go to Waterbomb LA!!!! It's a 18+ Kpop concert where the artists and fans are getting blasted with water. It's the first time it is coming to LA!
@@yu7699 Hi thank you for sharing. I can’t believe that Kep1er (which are 1 of my favorite K-pop girl groups) made a surprise appearance on Swell’s Channel!
Kpop groups have been aggressively breathing into the mics for over a decade because those mics staying on are proof that they're ~singing live~ and fans will absolutely lose it over accusations of lip-syncing. It even happens on the recorded weekly music shows, so no huge surprise that it's very obvious at live concerts. On the point of head mic vs hand mic, they often give the main vocal, and sometimes main rap, member(s) a hand mic so they have the best possible sound quality. It's another thing that's pretty common on the music shows and in the concerts in general.
Sometimes the mics would even catch the sound of their accessories but overall I don't mind those including the breathing. That's just the way live performance sometimes are - the perfection in imperfection.
Omg can’t believe you went to Kcon. I only went Friday and arrived late like 2pm. And bought the cheapest nosebleed tickets for the concert lmao. I’ve gone to kcon since 2014 and have only missed maybe 2 of the years. Feels like kcon has gone downhill over these years. Although I’m sure part of my perspective is just that I’m older now and not as die hard over it lol but I do feel that some choices they have made are for the worse and I’m not sure I’ll be attending in the future. Thx for covering kcon, Swell 💗🫶🏻
13:41 omg please make it. I’ve been a kpop Stan for years and just recently got into F1 after watching you talk about it so often. I’d love to hear more about it and your take on it!
It’s so interesting hearing you be so nonchalant about groups my friends have cried for our hours over HAHAHAHA. And I love love love seeing your outsider looking in view of kpop/kcon that doesn’t come across as mean and demeaning! Love the channel 🫶🏾
Same, literally just came into my room with my dinner and a chocolate, opened up YT and what'dya know, this popped up on my feed. This is extra crazy because I'm a big K-pop Stan and always hoped she would make a video on KCON, especially since management of the convention seems to be getting worse year after year. Still, would wanna go there one day
As a kpop fan for a few years, a lot of groups do sing live or at least used to but we are definitely in the era of "pretending to sing live and heavy breathing at the end on purpose after the mics are turned on". Like you said, its not everyone but companies DO in fact encourage that so that their groups arent criticized. So a lot of them do lipsync but make it hard to detect (a group's fan will always deny it for their own faves tho but not others lol)!
Often if an idol’s main position is vocalist or rapper they will have a handheld mic while those that focus on dancing have the other one. But that depends on the group.
I promise you us kpop stans dislike these conventions and festivals more than you ever will. do not worry about calling them out because we are right there with you on these issues.
whats hilarious is that im a kpop fan and i didn't even know kcon happened already. i guess it was just that bad. also, the comments are all correct. as long as you aren't shitting on the groups/artists themselves, most fans are self aware and will probably agree with your takes.
I was so excited when I saw you were going!! On the performing/sound aspect: The breathing is not normal at all. I was there Saturday/Sunday and we were also pretty confused at them allowing the breathing to play in the arena. I've attended a few concerts at the crypto arena and the sound was the worst its ever been at KCON, so I think whoever it was just had no idea what they were doing LOL As for the mic problem, some idols prefer a hand mic versus a headset mic! It can also change depending on choreo and such.
I wholeheartedly agree! Young People Protect Your Hearing!! Stuff like Loops or even good ear plugs didn’t exist when I was younger so now I’m plagued with poor hearing and weird ear issues. All because I spent too much time directly in front of the speakers during the countless punk concerts I attended in addition to all the other concerts, music festivals and various events I went to as a teenager/young adult. I now have some loops but absolutely can’t stand hearing every single little noise in my head. My earbud headphones work much better for things like grocery shopping or busy public areas (yes, I have adhd, and because of that I have no idea where my loops actually are lol)
kpop fan here, we love when our idols are given the best and are protected. you calling out terrible organizers and terrible experiences is exactly what we do on the regular to make sure that the idols have the best concerts possible with the best accommodations possible not only for the fans, but also for the artists. a lot of this is done because these kpop idols are not really allowed to speak their mind, so fans do it for them. sometimes it can have interesting results, but usually it comes from a good place. kpop fans tend to have very solid concert etiquette as well due to them wanting to give the idols a good experience as well.
as a kpop stan and a swell fan....this was the best video to wake up to lol i'm only a minute into the video when typing this, but i don't think you have to worry too much about kpop stans attacking you bc if there's one thing we love to do its pick out all the problems in the events made for us. almost no one knows how to run a kpop event properly, and we love to complain about it!! if anything they'll be happy to have someone that reviews things as a job, on their side!
saw the title and run to say the exact same !! ateez are kcon crown jewel i’m so sad she couldn’t watch them (would love to see her attend one of their solo concerts btw)
@@enateliers wait Swell going to and reviewing concerts would be such a cool idea. I could see it being difficult though since it’d involve critiquing artists with big fanbases. Her going to an Ateez concert would be so cool though
kcon used to be more like a music festival for kpop acts (especially big names as it was one of the only ways they could perform in the US) but now it has kind of put more focus on the convention and the groups they invite are more mid-tier, and maybeee one or two huge acts to incentivize people to go
Great video Swell! I wanted to mention that in some cases an arena/concert venue will take a portion of Merch sales if it is sold on site there. It may be they put all the Merch in the convention center to avoid giving any sales to the Crypto Arena. I've never held an even at either location so it's just speculation. However, in the events I've held in an arena/theatre the venue does usually take some part of the Merch profit.
I’ve been into K-pop for 7 ish years and autistic and no part of me wants to go to these cons (or even concerts) they seem so stressful and loud and crowded
I appreciate you bringing up loops! They really helped me out! As someone who gets their brained scrambled by loud noises these were the perfect solution. Thank you!
Amanda I watch ALL of your convention reviews and this is the first time I have context because I’ve been to every KCON since 2019!! I am sooo excited to watch this
I'm surprised no one's answered this but we actually have no idea what part of the mcountdown stage which groups are going to be on 😅There definitely is a front/back (interchangeable) vs the sides and they never really perform to the sides (except for when each member goes their own way so they can cover as much of the perimeter as they can for 1 song) but I think they try to perform pretty evenly between the front/back. So if you're in GA, you just pick a random barricade to run at and hope that your fav group/song is performed in your direction lol
while you would have definitely run laps around the organizers last year, this year was definitely still worth reviewing and talking about, especially for the reasons that you mentioned! Thank you for sharing your experience and talking about how the con could be improved, because I think we have a very long way to go until it's great for everyone attending!
Behold my surprise when the first person I see entering the convention fool was our beautiful Swell on Saturday. I was so surprised. I had the most weird expression in my face when you saw me. Swell, you were so sweet at my awkward interaction. I tried to keep it casual, but I was freaking out inside. It was one of my highlights of the convention. I completely forgot to ask for a picture, but I love that we got to interact for a bit. You are awesome. Your where my surprise sighting in my K Con bingo card. 💜💜💜
23:40 so true bc i always think about the intention too but somehow that also makes it charming for me 😭 also the groups that performed more than 2 songs were all at the end of the concert!
Amanda! To explain the stage clumping/GA thing: Every artist starts on the "main" side and then alternates to the other side with each additional song. So people crowd the main side because if they do just 1 song, it'll be on that side; if they do 3 songs, then 2 will be on that side, etc. So you'll always see the majority of the show from the front that way. If you're not worried about always seeing the front, then hanging out on the less crowded side is super nice. You'll see almost half of the show from the front, you can be just a couple rows back without camping or queueing at all, and it's way less crowded! That's what I always do! :)
I'm so sad I never saw you there! This year was my third KCON and I gotta say that Fridays are ALWAYS the most disorganized, there's lack of security and the GA wristband numbers don't matter on that day, they have the sections set up to organize everyone's number but dont use the for some reason, you just walk in the venue in whatever order you're in. They always get it together for day 2 and 3 though. As for Meet and greet stage, it used to be in a separate room and you had to have a special ticket to go to it! I thought it was nice that it was more accessible to everyone this year but I do get the sound issue. The previous years, the performance stage + games stage was morphed into 1 stage and it caused a similar issue, there was a barricaded square in the middle and another barricaded area where groups would do closer interactive things but all the sounds mashed together like crazy, it was even more overwhelming back then. Concert: the pre show al performs to the front. During the actual show the groups usually perform to the front and then to the back, and bigger groups usually have a performance where they spread out around the edges of the stage. This year was a little different? But not significantly. Panels: they've had more interesting panels in the past! but a lot of attendees dont go to the panels, they aren't a priority for most people and the panel hall is too separated from the rest of the convention + not well labeled (i had to ask security which hall was the correct one)
I actually really appreciate this video! I’m an 8 year Kpop multi fan, but live super far from any Kcons. It’s really cool to just see it super broken down and what I could expect. Most footage I see is just vlogs and fancams and just pretty basic and chaotic. I know you were reviewing the convention, but I also got to experience it vicariously through you. Your video is so well made and you did a great job explaining!
Medical advice! See a doctor, I have had stomach problems since my early 20's and I have been on medication for it for a long time, 20 years. It has made my life so much easier! I get stress and anxiety related shots of stomach acid, and now with medication I can eat pretty normally without stomach problems.
Been dealing with stomach ulcers for almost 9 months. I feel your pain so much. we are nothing without our stomachs seriously. It can mess up your life so much.
As someone who’s been to multiple kpop concerts for individual artists/festivals with multiple artists/music shows/etc, the breathing in the mic is actually a good sign…it means the mics are on and the artists are actually singing live during the songs. If there was no audible breathing during performances, that’s usually a pretty good indicator that idols are lip syncing/using LAR (Live All Recorded: basically a pre-recorded live track played during performances to make it sound like idols are singing live when in reality they’re lip syncing to the track) Lip syncing and LAR in kpop is almost a given atp but some companies/groups are definitely worse than others (not naming names bc most of the time it isn’t the artists’ fault but rather their company or a broadcasting station forcing them to lip sync to maintain that “perfect flawless idol” image but anyone who’s been around the block for a minute knows who some of the biggest culprits are) it’s become almost like a trend now to find the “most live” or “most lip synced” performance of each artist bc of the standards in the industry and frequency it occurs So yes, it might be annoying to hear loud breathing in the mics after each performance but take it as a sign that you watched an actual live performance and not lip syncing. The amount of times I’ve walked out of performances utterly disappointed bc of the use of lip syncing/LAR is sadly countless and I would’ve MUCH rather spent my paycheck on loud breathing and live signing than a pre-recorded track
as a kpop stan, i don’t think you’ll have to worry abt ppl attacking you for criticizing the convention! i and many other kpop stans are all about calling out horrible concert & convention organizers! you wouldn’t believe how many kpop concerts have glaring issues that get called out on social media.
12:32 Bini meet the rising star 13:08 "Cherry on top" i dare say 17:15 omg you got to see BINI !!!! my girls 28:50 im just glad you got to see the girls, BINI. hope you found them interesting and check them out if you like
Oh my gosh, Amanda DOES look scared when she’s disclaiming. 🤣🤣🤣 Oh no, the stomach issues! I’m so sorry! I’m on a restricted diet right now, mostly in practice just bread, rice, and potatoes. It’s absolutely no fun. I hope they figure out what’s up for sure soon. If they have to do an upper endoscopy, go for it! It’s like no time passes and they may realize something else is up entirely. I really hope things get better soon. It can put a damper on life.
I've done quite a few k--pop concerts over the past couple of months, and in general. What you're describing sounds more like a K-Con audio mixing issue? Like, surely during concerts you'll hear breathing and occasional hot mics as well, but it's generally still kinda mixed well enough that it's not really like distracting or anything like that, but you can obviously tell everything is "live" lol. The audio delay issues, and the super hot mics sounds like whoever handles production for K-Con were having issues for whatever reason. It may not be as big of an issue for the performers themselves I assume because they have in ear monitors, but it sounds like it would distracting as hell for the audience.
I know you're just reviewing the event but please do criticise away even if it's k-pop related!! As a k-pop stan, I'm so sick of people assuming that criticism is bad or negative when at worst you can just agree to disagree, you're entitled to your opinion when you are reviewing anything and I'm so looking forward to hearing any of the takes you may have on this topic
Thank you for the video! Please don’t give up on figuring out why you’re in pain. It took me over a year to get diagnosed with Crohn’s. Sending all the good vibes you get the answers you need soon!
this is my first time commenting on one of your videos but i have been a fan for years (room with the door in the back era) and wanted to give some insight on kcon as a (slightly unhinged) kpop stan. i would advise against supporting kcon as they have had many racism issues in the past, and overall has negative reviews from black kpop fans for how they’re consistently treated by staff at the convention. i’m unsure of if this is still a thing, but in the past kcon had rules in their hiring where they would not hire anyone who wasn’t white or asian, and that was mainly targeted at not hiring black kpop fans. this year as well, for one of the hi-touch events, a black fan was treated way more aggressively by staff and pushed past the line and couldn’t get the full experience. this has also happened countless times in the past and they have yet to address these racism issues. i’m sure you were unaware of this, and i appreciate your review on the event as it’s nice to see a non-fans perspective on it, but i just wanted to let anyone who may be unaware that this event is notorious for racism and most kpop fans think it’s poorly managed and not worth it to go. they’ve had issues with crowd management and the likes for years and have not done much to fix anything. i could also touch on how they have screwed over my favorite group, but that’s not really relevant, just know they don’t treat some of the artists they have perform at the event well.
i’m glad you seemed to enjoy the experience though! i just thought i would shine some light on how fans view this event and all that. kpop events are always a blast regardless of issues because fans can really make a dubious situation a lot better.
Loops really should sponsor you. You convinced me to get a pair and now I always have them on me. I wear them in my office when the talking gets too grating. They're a sensitive ear must have.
The whole intro you had to do was reason #1 I completely left the kpop fandom lol I never interacted with the fandom online but because of the stereotype I couldn’t even enjoy quietly without being condescended to. The unhinged fans ruin it for those that want to just quietly enjoy something.
I loved this review, Amanda. I am sorry you could not be there on Friday for the concert portion. My favorite artist, Taemin, was performing and I know you would have LOVED his set! But as many others said, kpop fans love shitting on other things that are not the groups themselves. Organizers in particular are the best to shit on because most of the time, there are issues. 😂
Okay so! Enjoyed the video because I have been curious about KCon and doing it, as I am a fan. However, it keeps looking like a mess and a half especially when it comes to ticketing and information. Also I 1000% agree on the camping because the same in my area. It feels just so... infuriating that to the people who are homeless cannot be at peace but turn a blind eye on this.
about the heavy breathing and the sound issues: The mics are usually cut off but i remember this same thing happening before at kcon. even in the pandemic when they were doing the event online lmao
Dare I say when you wear hearing protection at concerts it sound better because you are able to hear the artist voice more then if not because it’s reducing the backing track I feel like
As a newer kpop fan, I really appreciated this cause I've been hesitant about kcon. My group wasn't there this year, so at least I know for the future now. And stans only attack if their group is attacked. We're all for calling out bad management of events and conventions. But ticket prices are enough to keep me far away, now that I've seen your review. 🤣
wild to see amanda review kcon lmfao yes it is normal to hear heavy breathing during talking segments at kpop concerts. The first concert I went to this year (oneus) had an ocean theme going on with a wave video playing during their ments and I thought the breathing was a wave sound effect they were overlaying at first 💀
I'm just happy TWS is included in my favorite youtuber video even just for a few sec, and yeah Kpop fans (but also just any type of stan) can be crazy but as long as you don't mess with their fave they are chill
22:08 I wear ear plugs at every concert I go to (even very small venues), at bars, clubs, everything- I have really sensitive hearing so I’ll often have them in even in a regular movie theater because they’re too loud for me. I can definitely still hear everything! It’s just quieter. I struggle a bit with people talking directly to me when there’s a ton of noise already happening in the venue, but that’s already difficult because you have to yell over the music anyway. It doesn’t hurt my experience at all! I really wish more people + venues would be more conscious of noise levels and what’s safe. Really glad you highlighted it!
i dont think you need to worry too much about stans being mad at you because if kpoppies love one thing its tearing apart these conventions for how godawful they are organized and handled
yeah LOL. as a kpop stan that's gone much more casual, i feel like blaming the organization of the events is vvv commonplace
Nobody hates kpop (conventions) more than kpop stans
I was about to say this! We love shitty on these places.
I'm not a kpoppy. But even I noticed that on Twitter, even like meet and greets, they'll criticize stuff like the record label for where it is, when it is, lack of security, too much security, too short, etc
iam from the gen 2 and gen 3 aka 2008 to 2016/18 and i can tell you the newer the gen the worse the stans. but i dont do con at all ever too many people plus anything is in the usa plus i not putting my feet in CA ever. also iam not stylist at all i look like a biker/metalhead iam incredibly practice.
As a kpop and swell girly, i can promise you kpop fans are 10000% in favor of calling out shit cons/festival/etc. Theres been a bunch of awful concert organizers the past couple years. Its one of the few things that bring the different fandoms together LOL
Right?? Especially recently (remember 2023 Hanteo Music Awards?)
Can confirm, we want our faves to be treated appropriately and if a con fails, call it tf out.
Yuuup! We want things to be done correctly.
lol this is true
I need Swell to review Studio PAV....😭😭 End them, Amanda!
nah kpop fans LOVE shitting on things that aren't the group themselves, like everyone hates the management company, the event organizers, the stylists (only sometimes tho), etc 😭😭
At times they even hate each other while stanning the same group lol
Only time we can band together most of the time
seriously😭 i see tweets of ppl hating on management almost daily
speaking of shitting... you just reminded me of that infamous sharter from hanteo awards this year. that was messy, literally.
@@TripleShangu …let’s not bring that back up…
the ticket prices are actually diabolical compared to past years
Im not familiar with kcon pricing but I really thought it was a good deal; I’ve paid $600 for the cheapest blackpink vip, same for twice vip, around $300 for gidle vip, $120 for dreamcatcher ga, etc, and those are only one day. Sure the concert is way longer, but kcon has so many different groups, plus events + meet and greats + games, so for 3 whole days of that and reserved seating for $800 sounded really good tbh
@@glim3697 yeah but you get 800 for convention and reserved seating but NO fan engagements- you have to pay for that separately; it used to be you pay 800 for platinum tickets that INCLUDE fan engagements (red carpet, hi touch, etc)
@@glim3697 wait helloooooo another somnia & nevie??
@@glim3697 i understand where you’re coming from, however this year had a DRASTIC price increase compared to past kcon events and sold the tickets before they even posted a lineup. from what i was seeing, you could be paying around $400 to be in nosebleeds ( compared to 2022 where it would’ve been more like $170 )
Somewhat playing Devils advocate (the service fees are still INSANE and ticket prices should never have gotten this high IMO) you're essentially paying for a bunch of concert tickets all at once. If you're a huge fan of any of the groups that went and would pay $200 for a ticket to a regular concert anyway, it's a pretty good deal. They might only perform a few songs but you may also get panels with them or different opportunities that a concert wouldn't provide
Wait no, I do want a whole video on the kpopification of F1 😂
YES!
PLEASE
I literally got interested a bit in F1 thanks to swell and am a huge K-pop Stan so I didn't know F1 ALSO did photo cards lmao. I wonder what more things from K-pop culture got implemented to F1. Would also love to see her do that
@@sameerakhan7455 No joke I think "ending faries" for winners are becoming a thing. At the very least, I've seen Kpop-esque edits of F1 drivers. Don't even get me started on F1 pickets, banners, and decorated toploaders
@@secondhandbirthdays9261 ending fairies?? ain't no wayyyyyy i gotta see this
I'm crying at the disclaimer 😭😭 honestly most kpop fans agree that these conventions can be a mess, so no worries
Kcon is notoriously awful please don’t be scared of the stans, we’re with you on this
I went Kcon once many years ago before this insanity and I got frustrated and let it slip out "I don't know they all look the bloody same" on the phone. Yeah I didn't bother explaining I felt it better then bolt. I am faceblind FYI literally EVERYONE looks the same to me, but that is one thing you did not want ot let slip in a kpop setting.
@@RoMayDrako i know your heart left your body as soon as that slipped 🤣
22:23 YES please people wear ear protection, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE NEAR THE SPEAKERS. once your hearing's gone, it's gone. it's very debilitating and people will yell at you and talk down on you like you're a child. you will miss a lot in the music you will listen to like you're underwater. it's really sad. i was always the loser with plugs but it was so, so worth it when i see the teenagers i teach lament how they have a hard time hearing their old music now.
noise cancelling, volume down, plugs.
I think the heavy breathing/hot mic is def a kcon thing, I think a lot of the refinement pieces that an artist would get at their own concert with their own team are often missed at larger events like this
I can only imagine the nightmare of trying to get mics just right for that many groups with many of them being large. God that has to be a logistic nightmare.
@@wolfwise1135Mate you have no idea.
Wow! One of the backup dancers for Craxy here :3 Crazy to see myself in a swell video XD
y'all did so good!! I'm in a craxy gc and we were talking about how good the background dancers were at syncing with craxy
Ah you're so lucky congrats on getting that role and you did amazing
that performance was amazing!
You were amazing!! Craxy's performances turned out so great!!
Eww. Sorry for your loss
The breathing: this is maybe because recently there were a lot of discussion about live and prerecorded vocals in kpop in general, so maybe that was one of these "we will kot get lipsync alligations we prove we sing live"😂
you can easily lip-sync even if your mic is technically on, but a lot of young fans don’t know that, so, you might be right.
No. This was just bad mic management from the cob. Ive gone to many kpop performances and there is a certain way to properly do it to make sure you can tell they are properly live singing as opposed to mimicing.
Plot twist - the heavy breathing sound is pre-recorded.
@@jade5089right! like in one song, there are certain parts where the sound team are muting/lowering the volume of the microphone of the artists and put the volume up in some parts where they can shout and hype the audience. All perfectly rehearsed that's why it looks natural.
Usually they use quality mics that are able to drown out excess noises like fingers hitting the mic, breathing etc
19:50 some performers just prefer a handheld. you'll see a lot of groups with a good mix of handheld and headset mics
and for the heavy breathing thing, the staff are usually better about cutting the mics or lowering the gain to make it harder to hear the heavy breathing lol
28:00 the idols usually aren't allowed to alter their outfits in any way. when the stylist has it on them, it's on them
also most idols that are rappers usually use a mic
excited to see this because even kpop fans complained about kcon being mid this year
I have only seen fans being exicted for kcon, so I'm now curious what the full line up was 🤔 But one thing I know kcon in frankfurt has a worse line-up 😬 (would still go if not for the prices, like come on, add like two more artist and it'll be worth it)
it was my first kcon and the best part was making new friends, which shouldnt have been my favorite part 😭 the stages were just so badly managed and some stans were absolutely brutal in the crowd.
kcon has always been contentious you're safe. shitting on kcon is a common theme among kpoppies
From what I've heard from people who usually go to Kcon every year that this year was WAY more expensive than the others. So much so that some said they weren't going to bother this year. Also, this year there weren't any real big acts that they can normally get because every big group is having their own tour right now.
Yeah people were complaining it was way too expensive for the tiers were offering (ie hi touch and send off). It was also a big issue for a lot of people that they started selling the tickets before they even announced the line up.
the prices and the ticket options were bad! I really liked 2022 where you basically built your own package for each day, you could buy single meet and greets or full day m&g access for individual days and the concert tickets were sold separate and the prices weren't as bad either
Yeah 100% true. There was definitely not as many big groups as normal. Likely because as someone else mentioned, more groups go on their own tours. Also, I don’t go to kcon, but I have been a kpop fan since 2016 and I contemplate going every year but I don’t live near LA so I’ve never went. I can say I look at the prices and packages every year and the prices were a lot more expensive than in previous years (especially compared to pre-pandemic). Side note: I’ve always hated how you not even get to pick whose meet and greet you get. You basically just have to hope you can find somebody who has the group you want and will trade.
this! i’ve been going since 2016, and prices have obviously skyrocketed since then, but seeing how they charged extra for newly introduced convention benefits this year (ie getting barricade for convention stages when it was completely free every single year prior) just made me really irritated with the company, so this was the first year i didn’t attend because it was way too expensive for the experience i knew i was gonna to get.
Girl, I love you so I want you to ask your doctor to check your gallbladder. I just went through this and it can take a while to get through the medical bs but (if it’s your gallbladder) it doesn’t get better, it’s not something you can manage, you can’t “heal” it. It just needs to come out. I had years of “stomach issues” unnecessarily because no one checked my gb.
FR. i had mine taken out a few months back and i feel foolish for waiting so long to the point where i was nearly bedridden from the pain. i thought it was maybe my medication or stress or ibs, but it was infected with so much bile that i couldnt even digest a single small meal without 10 hours of pain. if u suspect something, go to your doctor EARLY before it piles up into a big mess
I was gonna also comment that it might be a gallbladder issue!
I got mine taken out last December because i had a horrible stomach pain and it turned out that's what it was.
It sounds like GB to me, too. If nothing else, if we're wrong and it is an ulcer-they are so treatable. There's no reason to avoid the doctor for stomach issues.
Bumping this, hope she sees and can look into it in case it's relevant
Bumping
thank you for talking about the hypocrisy with allowing camping for concerts!! especially with the sweep that just happened with newsom…
Just had a fire in front of my home this weekend because a homeless person didn't safely put out his cigarette and had a van full of highly flammable stuff. Clean ups are needed for the safety of the homeless, the environment and the people living nearby.
@@oldkittykiyru it’s not safer for the homeless unless they are given shelter; they’re still homeless, they’re just moved somewhere else and the possessions they do have are usually trashed.
I was just thinking that it’s hypocritical of the city to approve of concert-goers camping on the streets downtown for like a week when they’re punishing homeless people for doing the same thing.
@@oldkittykiyrupeople who have homes accidentally burn stuff down too. that doesn’t mean they should be kicked out of their house preemptively
for the merch critique I do have to say that’s kinda just how kpop is. despite how money hungry these companies are most of them are actually really bad about making and selling merch. typically (unless you’re from sm or hybe) even at a concert all you’ll get is a photocard set and t shirt maybe a hoodie, lightstick (if the group has one) and even then they’re usually very basic minimal designs as well. surprisingly most companies haven’t really chosen to capitalize on merch in general outside of albums and photocards.
@@statesofgracie I think the twice RTB tour was pretty decent for merch, I liked the shirt/hoodie designs at least
That's weird to me. I'm betting they could make so much with merch.
i dont know how it is for KCON or the US in general but i have actually asked my fave about this when they came to Europe and here (Germany specifically) the reason they don't have a lot of merch variety is that they have to pay import and sales taxes to bring stuff here, so they will either lose money or have to raise prices so much that barely anyone can afford the stuff.
in our case that meant merch was posters (with pre-signing options) and polaroids because they're easy and cheap to produce. if they had brought lightsticks they would have been around 25% more expensive than if you just ordered one from Korea
@@iniyama see the thing is even for smaller tours I’ve known they’ll make the merch in the US to sell they just don’t make much merch. even for general sale on websites unattached to a tour they just don’t make merch unless you’re from one of the two companies that actually do. even when doing shows and events within korea they don’t really make merch. the only time they really do is for japan concerts.
And if you're over a size xl you're pretty much going to have to buy unofficial merch anyway.
The thumbnail made it look like you were at a professional wrestling event, and now I want Amanda to review a professional wrestling event hahaha
OH HELL YES
I think she did a while back !!
I would love to see this!
That would be so good. I wonder how she'd react. I haven't been to any sort of convention for them, though, unless you count the two merch booths WWE had up before Wrestlemania a few years. Mostly, the wrestling I've seen live is just the wrestling performance. Might not be all that much to review, especially if they've got a lot of continuing storylines, because you can't really enjoy them (or even get a sense of what is going on during the storyline) if you only see one show.
sometimes certain members (main vocalists typically) will get handheld mics so they can control the distance from the mic when they hit high notes!
12:31 Oh hey, it's BINI! They're actually not a KPop group. They're a rising PPop group (from the Philippines). My guess is they got added to the lineup because they are Samsung ambassadors in the Philippines.
EDIT: 17:15 that's them again! Looks like you saw them a lot! I'm envious lol they're so hard to see in the Philippines these days because of the crowds lol
kcon has become more welcoming of other asian acts, since cjenm ent have started doing more foreign venutres, thus there's been more jpop and other asian acts.
💗💗💗💗💗💗
They are shown in the video upon mention of pre-debut acts
19:01 One of the hardest jobs on any production is running mics for vocalists. Most shows will have 5-10 mics being controlled by one person on a board. You don't really want to go higher then that since most people only have 10 fingers and thus can only mute/unmute 10 channels at a time. Add into that you are likely changing mics between acts and praying the guy handing them out got the names right and that you can name that k-pop star from the worst seat in the house. Even with a script that is being followed you need at least a rehearsal or two of the full thing to get the timing right. On something live and unscripted... yea you're lucky you only heard breathing and not some of the other things I"ve heard.
It's pretty easy to program mic groups into the board and mute them all at once, so I don't think the lack of fingers thing is an issue. But yeah I think the main issue is probably a lack of rehearsal time here. Like they wouldn't have time to program every group into the board smoothly.
@@arkroogs90 rehearsal time most likely cause everytime you hear some of these artists arriving the day they gonna perform
This is so exciting cuz I’ve allllways wanted u to review a kpop centered event and it’s practically a miracle the stars aligned for this crossover
“I just keep hearing yelling and then I have to hope I get there in time” yup that’s pretty much the kcon experience 😭
18:28 oh my god hi ???? i’m the director of the dance team that’s background dancing for the girl group here (CRAXY) and i’ve also been a fan of yours since the lily singh vid and bedroom floor backgrounds 😮💨 i’ll say that tech is… uh. not for the artists to fix their sound. it’s for the cameras to figure out their shots. tech was 1 shot of doing the set and then that’s it :))) any issues with staging? good luck during the real show, hope you figured it out on your own! they also used to alternate sides/use the stage a lot better because it used to be circular and this year they decided to make it a big K. have a lot more thoughts about my own experience but super fun to compare with yours!
i’ve been a kpop fan since 2009, then on and off til now to the point where my full time job is co-owning a kpop store in california. been to kcon as a guest, a performer with my kpop dance group, and this year as an artist.
kcon is a MESS and i have so much to say about how much of an industry con it is now, where it’s almost solely dedicated to corporations than past years. there is almost nothing to do anymore and i would not have even gone to kcon this year if we weren’t hired to perform. ticketing is terrible, too expensive, and we get almost nothing for the cost in comparison to past kcons. i actually really have enjoyed kplayfest/anime impulse but i guess im just more interested in fan communities and artist alley type activities. (on the other hand i have been able to get a years worth of free skincare from
kcon every year 🙂↕️)
always enjoy your con vids!!
OMG YOU GUYS WERE SO GOOD! Thanks for sharing I definitely hope she sees this :-))
As a long time Shawol (Shinee fan) I'm devastated that you had to miss Taemin's performance friday night 😭I honestly considered suffering through kcon (again) just to see him, but I couldn't justify the costs when he's the only performer I was interested in.
I went last year for him and decided last minute to go this year as well. I didn't even bother with the convention this year and I drove down the day of just for the concert.
127 IN A SWELL VIDEO LETS GO !! amanda pls give ur revivews on the perfs also, the chaos would be sm fun
the brief mention of the kpopification of f1, it's so true and so interesting to see as one of the people whose interest kinda shifted from one to the other, to see how people incorporate the kpop fandom style in other fandoms
One rumor I heard for the spike in KCON ticket prices is because the US recently increased the application fee for foreign artists to perform here. The price per person almost tripled (including the staff that travel with the artists). I don’t work in entertainment so I don’t know for sure but I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the reason.
Before the pandemic I was invited to KCON for several years in a row. And one thing that really stood out to me was the lack of communication between the US side and Korean side of organizers. I was always baffled by the fact that a lot of the US team doesn't actually speak Korean, which could (and would) lead to a lot of either scheduling issues with people that had panels or just lack of being prepared for certain events happening around the convention. I never got this vibe of organized team work and it really seemed like to me (from the perspective of a creator that was invited) it was the US team, and then it was the Korean team, two very separate entities trying to run one show.
I'm glad they eventually expanded the size of the con to utilize the entire convention center my last year I went. Not only did it provide more space to move for everyone attending but also the way they originally would literally have the green room (the room where the influencers/creators chill out) right next to the panel rooms lol. Like many of us couldn't even leave to use the restroom WHICH WAS RIGHT DOWN THE HALL A FEW STEPS AWAY without possibly clogging up the hall and keeping people from getting places. To me it just screamed safety hazard. What also bothered me the most was that at the time, they didn't really consider having escorts for their guests? Like for the bigger creators they'd end up creating this giant mob that followed them to their destination- which could possibly be across the entire center lol so like it just didn't seem safe sometimes?? At one point some of the staff that worked for the convention center itself saw some of us having a hard time so they offered on their own accord to be out escorts lol which was nice. But it really showed me how neither the US or Korean KCON staff thought to do this (I noticed in later years the KCON staff would ask if you felt like you needed someone to escort you, but I feel like this should be a given- for ANY sized creator. Sometimes we just needed help figuring out where to be at what time).
I am super grateful for being invited cos those were such FUN times, and it wasn't the WORST experience, but man was I overwhelmed and dizzy from the craziness of it all. And it's not just for the comfort of me and other creators, I actually felt bad for the staff as well cos you'd have some who were in the know, but cos it was just them they were running all over the place trying to get everyone into place, and then you'd have some other ones who were just...there lol who were just as confused. I haven't gone lately and hopefully that they've learned a lot from past years, but a big part of me feels like these events run by big Korean conglomerates never know how to properly run shit lol
Edit: also KCON, if you ever come across this comment, if you're still doing the Flower Boy Cafe, please get some actual flower boys lol even if you have to take them with you from Korea- as a busted old homosexual who just wants some eye candy, you have truly set the bar low for what is supposed to be flower boys- let alone a cafe like they dont even MAKE the coffee they give out cheap canned coffee LOL 😭
Help😭 I remember watching ur kcon videos back in the day. I’m so sorry about the flower boys😂🫶
This year, they axed out their American agency & actually planned it all from Korea without communicating to any team in LA
Swell you NEED to go to Waterbomb LA!!!! It's a 18+ Kpop concert where the artists and fans are getting blasted with water. It's the first time it is coming to LA!
We want SwellCon
And then the review of SwellCon right after.
Never thought I'd see my favorite K-pop band (Kep1er) on Amanda's channel, but here we are! haha
Hi, I was just started the video and started scrolling through the comments. What is the timestamp that Kep1er appeared? I would like to check it out!
@@wonderlucky1912 Hi! It's very short, from 9:40 to 9:53! :)
@@yu7699 Hi thank you for sharing. I can’t believe that Kep1er (which are 1 of my favorite K-pop girl groups) made a surprise appearance on Swell’s Channel!
@@wonderlucky1912 haha same! 😁
The death threat disclaimer shouldn’t have been that funny but that’s exactly the kind of humour I have to stuff like that💀😭😂
Stay safe Swell!!
Kpop groups have been aggressively breathing into the mics for over a decade because those mics staying on are proof that they're ~singing live~ and fans will absolutely lose it over accusations of lip-syncing. It even happens on the recorded weekly music shows, so no huge surprise that it's very obvious at live concerts.
On the point of head mic vs hand mic, they often give the main vocal, and sometimes main rap, member(s) a hand mic so they have the best possible sound quality. It's another thing that's pretty common on the music shows and in the concerts in general.
Sometimes the mics would even catch the sound of their accessories but overall I don't mind those including the breathing. That's just the way live performance sometimes are - the perfection in imperfection.
Omg can’t believe you went to Kcon. I only went Friday and arrived late like 2pm. And bought the cheapest nosebleed tickets for the concert lmao. I’ve gone to kcon since 2014 and have only missed maybe 2 of the years. Feels like kcon has gone downhill over these years. Although I’m sure part of my perspective is just that I’m older now and not as die hard over it lol but I do feel that some choices they have made are for the worse and I’m not sure I’ll be attending in the future. Thx for covering kcon, Swell 💗🫶🏻
13:41 omg please make it. I’ve been a kpop Stan for years and just recently got into F1 after watching you talk about it so often. I’d love to hear more about it and your take on it!
It’s so interesting hearing you be so nonchalant about groups my friends have cried for our hours over HAHAHAHA. And I love love love seeing your outsider looking in view of kpop/kcon that doesn’t come across as mean and demeaning! Love the channel 🫶🏾
kpop mentioned
😂😂I love your comment!!!😂😂
@@AngieDeAguirre I love your reply!!!
And I'm seated
i love your blushy gunwook pfp
Gunwook mentioned‼️‼️
And just when I needed something to watch while eating dinner , a swell video dropped !
About to eat breakfast and I'm in the same boat :DD
me rn lmao
Same! I was having dinner on my own at a restaurant and Swell is a nice accompaniment
Same, literally just came into my room with my dinner and a chocolate, opened up YT and what'dya know, this popped up on my feed.
This is extra crazy because I'm a big K-pop Stan and always hoped she would make a video on KCON, especially since management of the convention seems to be getting worse year after year.
Still, would wanna go there one day
As a kpop fan for a few years, a lot of groups do sing live or at least used to but we are definitely in the era of "pretending to sing live and heavy breathing at the end on purpose after the mics are turned on". Like you said, its not everyone but companies DO in fact encourage that so that their groups arent criticized. So a lot of them do lipsync but make it hard to detect (a group's fan will always deny it for their own faves tho but not others lol)!
Often if an idol’s main position is vocalist or rapper they will have a handheld mic while those that focus on dancing have the other one. But that depends on the group.
the pain you described sounds like the gallbladder problem, chek it with doctor as fast as possible, it is very important
"I'll accept one. Will YOU be the lucky one?" Genuine scream laugh.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hopefully, she'll inform the lucky winner😂😂😂.
I promise you us kpop stans dislike these conventions and festivals more than you ever will. do not worry about calling them out because we are right there with you on these issues.
whats hilarious is that im a kpop fan and i didn't even know kcon happened already. i guess it was just that bad. also, the comments are all correct. as long as you aren't shitting on the groups/artists themselves, most fans are self aware and will probably agree with your takes.
it used to be the coachella of kpop, but its more like an entry level concert for kpop groups to test the waters before doing an actual us tour
I was so excited when I saw you were going!! On the performing/sound aspect: The breathing is not normal at all. I was there Saturday/Sunday and we were also pretty confused at them allowing the breathing to play in the arena. I've attended a few concerts at the crypto arena and the sound was the worst its ever been at KCON, so I think whoever it was just had no idea what they were doing LOL As for the mic problem, some idols prefer a hand mic versus a headset mic! It can also change depending on choreo and such.
I wholeheartedly agree!
Young People Protect Your Hearing!!
Stuff like Loops or even good ear plugs didn’t exist when I was younger so now I’m plagued with poor hearing and weird ear issues.
All because I spent too much time directly in front of the speakers during the countless punk concerts I attended in addition to all the other concerts, music festivals and various events I went to as a teenager/young adult.
I now have some loops but absolutely can’t stand hearing every single little noise in my head. My earbud headphones work much better for things like grocery shopping or busy public areas (yes, I have adhd, and because of that I have no idea where my loops actually are lol)
I'm so glad you recommended loops for the eras tours. Been using them since and love them
kpop fan here, we love when our idols are given the best and are protected. you calling out terrible organizers and terrible experiences is exactly what we do on the regular to make sure that the idols have the best concerts possible with the best accommodations possible not only for the fans, but also for the artists. a lot of this is done because these kpop idols are not really allowed to speak their mind, so fans do it for them. sometimes it can have interesting results, but usually it comes from a good place.
kpop fans tend to have very solid concert etiquette as well due to them wanting to give the idols a good experience as well.
trust me swell, as a kpop fan for 8+ years, ive never seen someone get attacked for talking about kpop conventions hahah- youre good ❤❤❤
as a kpop stan and a swell fan....this was the best video to wake up to lol
i'm only a minute into the video when typing this, but i don't think you have to worry too much about kpop stans attacking you bc if there's one thing we love to do its pick out all the problems in the events made for us. almost no one knows how to run a kpop event properly, and we love to complain about it!! if anything they'll be happy to have someone that reviews things as a job, on their side!
I am so sorry that your first Kcon experience lacked Ateez. Genuinely.
seconded^^
my thoughts exactly😭😭
LITERALLY!!!!
saw the title and run to say the exact same !! ateez are kcon crown jewel i’m so sad she couldn’t watch them (would love to see her attend one of their solo concerts btw)
@@enateliers wait Swell going to and reviewing concerts would be such a cool idea. I could see it being difficult though since it’d involve critiquing artists with big fanbases. Her going to an Ateez concert would be so cool though
kcon used to be more like a music festival for kpop acts (especially big names as it was one of the only ways they could perform in the US) but now it has kind of put more focus on the convention and the groups they invite are more mid-tier, and maybeee one or two huge acts to incentivize people to go
Great video Swell! I wanted to mention that in some cases an arena/concert venue will take a portion of Merch sales if it is sold on site there. It may be they put all the Merch in the convention center to avoid giving any sales to the Crypto Arena. I've never held an even at either location so it's just speculation. However, in the events I've held in an arena/theatre the venue does usually take some part of the Merch profit.
I’ve been into K-pop for 7 ish years and autistic and no part of me wants to go to these cons (or even concerts) they seem so stressful and loud and crowded
Love your OG Ganster Spock icon
The day that Loops sponsors Swell is the day I buy them, and I've been wanting them
I appreciate you bringing up loops! They really helped me out! As someone who gets their brained scrambled by loud noises these were the perfect solution. Thank you!
as a casual kpop fan before watching this: SWELL WENT TO KCON AHHH i'm so curious to hear your experience as a non-kpop enjoyer at the event
I don't blame you for being scared. Kpop stans can be insane.
Amanda I watch ALL of your convention reviews and this is the first time I have context because I’ve been to every KCON since 2019!! I am sooo excited to watch this
I'm surprised no one's answered this but we actually have no idea what part of the mcountdown stage which groups are going to be on 😅There definitely is a front/back (interchangeable) vs the sides and they never really perform to the sides (except for when each member goes their own way so they can cover as much of the perimeter as they can for 1 song) but I think they try to perform pretty evenly between the front/back. So if you're in GA, you just pick a random barricade to run at and hope that your fav group/song is performed in your direction lol
while you would have definitely run laps around the organizers last year, this year was definitely still worth reviewing and talking about, especially for the reasons that you mentioned! Thank you for sharing your experience and talking about how the con could be improved, because I think we have a very long way to go until it's great for everyone attending!
Behold my surprise when the first person I see entering the convention fool was our beautiful Swell on Saturday. I was so surprised. I had the most weird expression in my face when you saw me. Swell, you were so sweet at my awkward interaction. I tried to keep it casual, but I was freaking out inside. It was one of my highlights of the convention. I completely forgot to ask for a picture, but I love that we got to interact for a bit.
You are awesome. Your where my surprise sighting in my K Con bingo card. 💜💜💜
i always like watching videos or hearing reviews etc about kpop from non kpop fans and i loved this video!
23:40 so true bc i always think about the intention too but somehow that also makes it charming for me 😭 also the groups that performed more than 2 songs were all at the end of the concert!
Amanda! To explain the stage clumping/GA thing: Every artist starts on the "main" side and then alternates to the other side with each additional song. So people crowd the main side because if they do just 1 song, it'll be on that side; if they do 3 songs, then 2 will be on that side, etc. So you'll always see the majority of the show from the front that way.
If you're not worried about always seeing the front, then hanging out on the less crowded side is super nice. You'll see almost half of the show from the front, you can be just a couple rows back without camping or queueing at all, and it's way less crowded! That's what I always do! :)
I'm so sad I never saw you there! This year was my third KCON and I gotta say that Fridays are ALWAYS the most disorganized, there's lack of security and the GA wristband numbers don't matter on that day, they have the sections set up to organize everyone's number but dont use the for some reason, you just walk in the venue in whatever order you're in. They always get it together for day 2 and 3 though.
As for Meet and greet stage, it used to be in a separate room and you had to have a special ticket to go to it! I thought it was nice that it was more accessible to everyone this year but I do get the sound issue. The previous years, the performance stage + games stage was morphed into 1 stage and it caused a similar issue, there was a barricaded square in the middle and another barricaded area where groups would do closer interactive things but all the sounds mashed together like crazy, it was even more overwhelming back then.
Concert: the pre show al performs to the front. During the actual show the groups usually perform to the front and then to the back, and bigger groups usually have a performance where they spread out around the edges of the stage. This year was a little different? But not significantly.
Panels: they've had more interesting panels in the past! but a lot of attendees dont go to the panels, they aren't a priority for most people and the panel hall is too separated from the rest of the convention + not well labeled (i had to ask security which hall was the correct one)
Nah even kpop stans are sick of Kcon you’re good.
will use this to help me decide if I should go to Kcon next year haha - the crossover I never knew I neededdd
I actually really appreciate this video! I’m an 8 year Kpop multi fan, but live super far from any Kcons. It’s really cool to just see it super broken down and what I could expect. Most footage I see is just vlogs and fancams and just pretty basic and chaotic. I know you were reviewing the convention, but I also got to experience it vicariously through you. Your video is so well made and you did a great job explaining!
Medical advice! See a doctor, I have had stomach problems since my early 20's and I have been on medication for it for a long time, 20 years. It has made my life so much easier! I get stress and anxiety related shots of stomach acid, and now with medication I can eat pretty normally without stomach problems.
Never in my life did I think I'd see Ricky in a swell video
Been dealing with stomach ulcers for almost 9 months. I feel your pain so much. we are nothing without our stomachs seriously. It can mess up your life so much.
As someone who’s been to multiple kpop concerts for individual artists/festivals with multiple artists/music shows/etc, the breathing in the mic is actually a good sign…it means the mics are on and the artists are actually singing live during the songs. If there was no audible breathing during performances, that’s usually a pretty good indicator that idols are lip syncing/using LAR (Live All Recorded: basically a pre-recorded live track played during performances to make it sound like idols are singing live when in reality they’re lip syncing to the track)
Lip syncing and LAR in kpop is almost a given atp but some companies/groups are definitely worse than others (not naming names bc most of the time it isn’t the artists’ fault but rather their company or a broadcasting station forcing them to lip sync to maintain that “perfect flawless idol” image but anyone who’s been around the block for a minute knows who some of the biggest culprits are) it’s become almost like a trend now to find the “most live” or “most lip synced” performance of each artist bc of the standards in the industry and frequency it occurs
So yes, it might be annoying to hear loud breathing in the mics after each performance but take it as a sign that you watched an actual live performance and not lip syncing. The amount of times I’ve walked out of performances utterly disappointed bc of the use of lip syncing/LAR is sadly countless and I would’ve MUCH rather spent my paycheck on loud breathing and live signing than a pre-recorded track
as a kpop stan, i don’t think you’ll have to worry abt ppl attacking you for criticizing the convention! i and many other kpop stans are all about calling out horrible concert & convention organizers! you wouldn’t believe how many kpop concerts have glaring issues that get called out on social media.
12:32 Bini meet the rising star
13:08 "Cherry on top" i dare say
17:15 omg you got to see BINI !!!! my girls
28:50 im just glad you got to see the girls, BINI. hope you found them interesting and check them out if you like
Oh my gosh, Amanda DOES look scared when she’s disclaiming. 🤣🤣🤣
Oh no, the stomach issues! I’m so sorry! I’m on a restricted diet right now, mostly in practice just bread, rice, and potatoes. It’s absolutely no fun. I hope they figure out what’s up for sure soon. If they have to do an upper endoscopy, go for it! It’s like no time passes and they may realize something else is up entirely. I really hope things get better soon. It can put a damper on life.
I've done quite a few k--pop concerts over the past couple of months, and in general. What you're describing sounds more like a K-Con audio mixing issue? Like, surely during concerts you'll hear breathing and occasional hot mics as well, but it's generally still kinda mixed well enough that it's not really like distracting or anything like that, but you can obviously tell everything is "live" lol. The audio delay issues, and the super hot mics sounds like whoever handles production for K-Con were having issues for whatever reason. It may not be as big of an issue for the performers themselves I assume because they have in ear monitors, but it sounds like it would distracting as hell for the audience.
I know you're just reviewing the event but please do criticise away even if it's k-pop related!! As a k-pop stan, I'm so sick of people assuming that criticism is bad or negative when at worst you can just agree to disagree, you're entitled to your opinion when you are reviewing anything and I'm so looking forward to hearing any of the takes you may have on this topic
Thank you for the video! Please don’t give up on figuring out why you’re in pain. It took me over a year to get diagnosed with Crohn’s. Sending all the good vibes you get the answers you need soon!
this is my first time commenting on one of your videos but i have been a fan for years (room with the door in the back era) and wanted to give some insight on kcon as a (slightly unhinged) kpop stan. i would advise against supporting kcon as they have had many racism issues in the past, and overall has negative reviews from black kpop fans for how they’re consistently treated by staff at the convention. i’m unsure of if this is still a thing, but in the past kcon had rules in their hiring where they would not hire anyone who wasn’t white or asian, and that was mainly targeted at not hiring black kpop fans. this year as well, for one of the hi-touch events, a black fan was treated way more aggressively by staff and pushed past the line and couldn’t get the full experience. this has also happened countless times in the past and they have yet to address these racism issues. i’m sure you were unaware of this, and i appreciate your review on the event as it’s nice to see a non-fans perspective on it, but i just wanted to let anyone who may be unaware that this event is notorious for racism and most kpop fans think it’s poorly managed and not worth it to go. they’ve had issues with crowd management and the likes for years and have not done much to fix anything.
i could also touch on how they have screwed over my favorite group, but that’s not really relevant, just know they don’t treat some of the artists they have perform at the event well.
i’m glad you seemed to enjoy the experience though! i just thought i would shine some light on how fans view this event and all that. kpop events are always a blast regardless of issues because fans can really make a dubious situation a lot better.
Loops really should sponsor you. You convinced me to get a pair and now I always have them on me. I wear them in my office when the talking gets too grating. They're a sensitive ear must have.
I’ve always wanted to hear you talk about K-pop in some way. Looking forward to the video
The whole intro you had to do was reason #1 I completely left the kpop fandom lol I never interacted with the fandom online but because of the stereotype I couldn’t even enjoy quietly without being condescended to. The unhinged fans ruin it for those that want to just quietly enjoy something.
I’m so glad you covered this!
I loved this review, Amanda. I am sorry you could not be there on Friday for the concert portion. My favorite artist, Taemin, was performing and I know you would have LOVED his set! But as many others said, kpop fans love shitting on other things that are not the groups themselves. Organizers in particular are the best to shit on because most of the time, there are issues. 😂
Tell me why I fully expected you to be at the Olympics reviewing it 😂
As a long time swell enjoyer and even longer kpoppie, I was so sad to see that I missed you! I'm literally in one of the clips LMAOOOOO
Okay so! Enjoyed the video because I have been curious about KCon and doing it, as I am a fan. However, it keeps looking like a mess and a half especially when it comes to ticketing and information. Also I 1000% agree on the camping because the same in my area. It feels just so... infuriating that to the people who are homeless cannot be at peace but turn a blind eye on this.
about the heavy breathing and the sound issues: The mics are usually cut off but i remember this same thing happening before at kcon. even in the pandemic when they were doing the event online lmao
Dare I say when you wear hearing protection at concerts it sound better because you are able to hear the artist voice more then if not because it’s reducing the backing track I feel like
ahh omg im excited to hear your thoughts on kcon
OMG! You got to see BINI! They're awesome! 💗🍒
the vans warped tour to kcon pipeline is SEVERE
As a newer kpop fan, I really appreciated this cause I've been hesitant about kcon. My group wasn't there this year, so at least I know for the future now. And stans only attack if their group is attacked. We're all for calling out bad management of events and conventions. But ticket prices are enough to keep me far away, now that I've seen your review. 🤣
wild to see amanda review kcon lmfao
yes it is normal to hear heavy breathing during talking segments at kpop concerts. The first concert I went to this year (oneus) had an ocean theme going on with a wave video playing during their ments and I thought the breathing was a wave sound effect they were overlaying at first 💀
I'm just happy TWS is included in my favorite youtuber video even just for a few sec, and yeah Kpop fans (but also just any type of stan) can be crazy but as long as you don't mess with their fave they are chill
I’ve been to a lot of kpop concerts and generally the heavy breathing isn’t bad during each stage but it can be pretty rough during ments!
12:31 everyone should check BINI. They are great performers, especially in Singing. Filipino throats 🇵🇭
22:08 I wear ear plugs at every concert I go to (even very small venues), at bars, clubs, everything- I have really sensitive hearing so I’ll often have them in even in a regular movie theater because they’re too loud for me. I can definitely still hear everything! It’s just quieter. I struggle a bit with people talking directly to me when there’s a ton of noise already happening in the venue, but that’s already difficult because you have to yell over the music anyway. It doesn’t hurt my experience at all! I really wish more people + venues would be more conscious of noise levels and what’s safe. Really glad you highlighted it!