The Seoulite

Sasha Fierce she was. Beyonce completely rocked the stage at Olympic Stadium last week with her Seoul leg of her “I AM… Sasha Fierce” tour. The Seoulite’s good friend got us free passes and since it was just Tuesday… on we went.

First off we had to have dinner. So we went to the Family Mart convenience store in the park and ate ramen and boiled eggs! It was The Seoulite’s first time eating ramen while standing inside the store next to the instant coffees. Yummy yummy yummy. Maybe I was too excited about Beyonce to notice that I was getting instantly fat from the ramen.

Unfortunately it wasn't like this.

It was more like this.

I did a little research online before going to the concert. Being out of the states keeps The Seoulite at an arm’s distance from the latest music trends. Sasha said this concert and album represented her need to ‘grow artistically’. How many times have we heard that from pop princesses while the true artists will be discovered long after we’re dead? So I thought it would be an adequate evening to see some American-sized smoke and mirrors with some catchy music.

But BAM! Check out this opening y’all! Never seen something this cool in my life.

By the way f(x) who were supposed to open for Beyonce was a no show. According to sources there was a miscommunication between Beyonce’s concert promoter B4H and the artist herself.

Well, if the diva cancels the opening act, she better be getting herself ready to deliver! And that was the biggest surprise to The Seoulite. In an era of so much mediocrity, Beyonce’s performance was 110% of her magical spirit. So much beauty, humanity and grace flowed right from all those booty shakin’ moves right to the audience. She’s the real deal.

The Seoulite’s personal favorite: Irreplaceable

She be singing Happy Birthday to everyone too!

Tribute to Michael Jackson:

And one more tribute:

Oooh what a tease:

People were crying. Getting ugly-faced with their passion. All because they saw a light so bright and more beautiful than anything they’ve seen before. Really, it was that great.

Note: These are not The Seoulite’s videos. So please don’t attribute those cheesy comments in the background to him! He was making an even bigger fool of himself dancing to Single Ladies!

One note about the concert promoters. They put the venue as ‘Olympic Gym’ on the wristbands. This is the Olympic STADIUM. The 1988 OLYMPICS were held here for cryin’ out loud. It ain’t no high school gym. No wonder they messed up the opening act by f(x)!

Boa has a couple months to go before her album goes on sale in the US… but her pre-released single has just edged out Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)’ for the number 8 spot on Billboard’s ‘Hot Club Dance Play’ charts. It’s not exactly the ‘Top 100′ list… but it means that hot dance clubs certainly play this tune!

If you’re the only person who hasn’t seen Beyonce’s video… here it is. What a wonderful example of a ‘budget’ video done right. Sista knows that no matter how big the budget cuts… just invest some money in some baby oil to make your skin shine. Just cuz even the television can’t afford color no mo’ because of the economic crisis doesn’t mean you still can’t stand out!

Singer Boa has set the date for the release of her 1st official album in the US… March. But which date in March??? The Seoulite believes he’s earned a few stripes to be self-critical now… This. is. so. Korean. It’s almost March and they don’t even know when the album will actually drop.

Even while Britney Spears was in and out of rehab, seeing ghosts in her bedroom and shaving her head… she released her 2007 Blackout album two weeks early… and released her 2008 hit album Circus right on the date (announced many months beforehand).

Boa ~ you got a lot riding on this so don’t mess it up! Enlist the help of some Hollywood A-type who’ll yell and scream until they get you a smooth path to success. Just imagine that everyone in America is a fellow ajushee and ajumma trying to push you on the subway~~!

Boa released a digital single, Eat You Up back in October. Both Eat You Up and Look Who’s Talking, which she performed at 가요대전 in Dec will be included in the upcoming album. The title of the album will be BoA.

Sean Garrett, who worked on Usher's Yeah, Chris Brown's Run It, Pussycat Dolls' Buttons as well as with other huge stars like Beyonce, Britney Spears, and J Lo took part in the album. Smart move Boa!

Producer Brian Kennedy, the new star producer in the US who’s produced great hits like Rihanna’s Disturbia and Chris Brown’s Forever, also lended his talents to Boa’s album. The album will eventually be released all over the world following the US release.

UPDATE: March 17th will be the official drop date for the album. It’s all over the net on Korean fan sites… but not on Boa’s US site. So that still makes. it. so. Korean.

Hi, I’m Sean Lim, an American expat living in South Korea.  This is my blog about becoming a Seoulite.

What is a Seoulite?
A ‘Seoulite’ (서울깍쟁이) is a citizen of Seoul, just as a ‘New Yorker’ is a citizen of New York. Of course the label ‘Seoulite’ doesn’t simply denote a place of residence [...]