BY FOO JEAN-NI
alltherage@thestar.com.my

DESPITE being one of the biggest K-pop groups to debut this year, the boys from BtoB were still nervous about going on stage for the first time in Malaysia.

During an interview ahead of their 2012 Asia Super Showcase performance in Kuala Lumpur three days ago, the boys – dressed in matching outfits – were far from the colourful characters they usually are on their reality show, BtoB Diary.

According to band leader Seo Eunkwang, 22, the pressure of living up to their fans’ expectations is something they deal with all the time.

“It is quite nerve-wrecking with Malaysian Melodies (what their fans call themselves) expecting so much from our performance. We’re planning to do our best and we hope it goes well,” said Eunkwang.

In the end, there really was nothing to worry about as the 8,000 K-pop fans who showed up for Asia Super Showcase – which also featured Exo-M and Super Junior-M – seemed completely satisfied with the show.

The concert was held at Kenanga Wholesale City, KL, and the venue was filled with lights and banners long before the show even started.

Malaysian Melodies, Everlasting Friends (Super Junior’s official fandom) and Exo-M fans took turns squealing every time a picture of their idols appeared on the giant screen.

The seven-member BtoB brought the crowd to  a frenzy with their sudden appearance on stage, breaking out in crazy dance moves to their hit song, Born To Beat.

BtoB even interacted with the crowd through a translator in the middle of their performance. The boys were asked to pick out and answer three questions from their fans after briefly introducing themselves in English and Korean.

When asked what he thought about Malaysia, Peniel D. Shin thrilled the crowd when he expressed how beautiful Malaysia and its people are.

“This country is beautiful. The people are beautiful. You are all beautiful,” he shouted.

Three members of the Malaysian Melodies were even invited on stage to do the “Cutie Player”, a current trend in Korea where you record yourself doing up to ten “cutie” poses, with BtoB member Jung Ilhoon getting the ball rolling.

The girls looked stunned as they were greeted with hugs and handshakes from each BtoB member, as the rest of the crowd continued screaming in awe and envy.

Exo-M, the Chinese subgroup of Exo, excited the crowd too when they appeared on stage dressed in black and white outfits.

Unfortunately, Exo-M’s performance was the briefest of the night, which left many of their fans upset.

But all seemed forgotten once Super Junior-M, the third and most successful subgroup of Super Junior, took over the stage.

They were, however, short of one member, Choi Siwon. Even then, he recorded a video message for his fans explaining why he couldn’t make it to the show.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t show up because I am currently filming a movie called Lord of the Drama. I hope it won’t stop you from supporting us,” he said.

Just like BtoB, the Super Junior-M boys also had a Q&A session with their fans. Eunhyuk really got the crowd excited when he told the crowd the band was in Malaysia to “look for girlfriends”.

The intimate mood set by the Q&A really helped as the band continued interacting with the crowd throughout the rest of the performance.

After ending the show with a stunning performance of Too Perfect, they started accepting gifts from fans in the front row, shaking hands with them and sending the crowd into absolute delirium.

And with that, the boys waved goodbye to their fans and walked off the stage, leaving their die-hard fans screaming for more.