FT Island concert in Malaysia CANCELLED (again)

News just in. The FT Island 1st Live in Malaysia concert has been cancelled.

K-popped! got the news from the grapevine and sent a message to a representative of C.I. Entertainment, the organiser of the event, asking whether the news is true.

The reply, in an SMS read: "Yes is cancel. I don know wat's the reason. cuz is a direct msg from my directors..we r very sorry about this."
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It is 6.30pm on Sunday (March 30) and the atmosphere outside Sunway Lagoon’s Elephant Walk Entrance is somber.

Many fans are shocked and in disbelief that the FT Island 1st Live in Malaysia concert has been cancelled.

Some fans got wind of the cancellation at around 4pm, just three and a half hours before the curtain rises!

Fans are still hanging around the entrance to the concert venue, praying that the situation will change. They are hoping that the F.T. Island boys will miraculously show-up.

“We are here because we are hoping things will change. Maybe they could just appear and lip sync or something…anything,” says Nur Aliyah who is there with 5 of her friends namely Amelia, Aqilah, Farah, Nur Aliyah (yes they share the same name) and Mimi.

Aliyah (the 1st one) adds: “We only ever get to see them on the Internet and this was our chance to see them in the flesh! We are very disappointed. We are Malaysians, we live here…can you imagine how the fans from other countries must feel? They come all the way from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia….We want to know why this happened?”

However, the girls strongly believe that FT Island is not at fault. Word on the grapevine is that the FT Island management and local organisers C.I. Entertainment had a fallout and the boys’ management is preventing them from performing.

It is said that the management is extremely dissatisfied with the arrangements made by the local organisers. They are unhappy with the hotel (Grand Millenium) and venues of the events (Izzi Restaurant for the PC and Party House for the Global Fan Meet/ Birthday Party).

Amelia says, “We are understanding fans. We don’t want to mogok (protest) or anything like that. Also, we don’t want FT Island to be blamed for this. We know it is not their fault.”

Unofficial story:


The only C.I. Entertainment rep at the concert venue refuses to comment on the situation. However, the person divulges that the FT Island boys are still in Malaysia, but the concert is cancelled.

Strictly hearsay, fans inform us that C.I. Entertainment had pleaded with FT Island’s management from 8am to 2.30pm today (March 30) to continue with the concert. When the Korean management still refused to give in to their plea, the local organisers attempted to dupe the manager to appear at the concert venue to explain things to the fans.

They lied that they were taking the person to the airport, but the manager discovered their ruse and jumped out of the car.

Again, we stress that this is hearsay. Neither C.I Entertainment nor the Korean management has commented on the situation.

From across the border

An FT Island fan from Singapore, who wants to remain anonymous, says she is extremely disappointed. She only discovered about the concert cancellation when she arrived at the venue.

“We would like to know the reason behind it. They (FT Island) are already here and the concert venue has been set up. Why cancel? After all, they are only here for one concert.”

The Singaporean fan is part of the group that bought the fan package, which includes the Global Fan Meet/ Birthday Party with the FT Island boys yesterday (March 29). She informs K-popped! that yesterday’s event was almost cancelled as well.

“The Global Fan Meet was almost cancelled. We waited for about 6 hours before FT Island turned up. They finally managed to persuade the boys to show up at the last minute. This delayed the fan meeting and autograph session later in the afternoon.”


Vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOSnhOGM5ME

source: Kpopped!

FT Island press conference in Malaysia

After a successful concert tour in their native South Korea, FT Island has now descended upon Malaysia to give us a taste of their music in the FT Island 1st Live in Malaysia concert.
The concert will be held tomorrow (March 30) at the Sunway Lagoon Amphitheatre.

The boys debuted in June 2007, but have already scooped up numerous New Artist awards back home. They won at the 2007 Asia Song Festival, 2007 Mnet Music Festival and the 2007 Golden Disk Award.

While the conditions surrounding the PC with FT Island in Malaysia on March 28 was a nightmare, the boys still mustered up enough chutzpah in the suffocating heat to answer all the questions thrown at them.

Here’s the lowdown from the Q&A session:

How do you like Malaysia?

Hong-gi: The weather here is nice, and the people are warm and friendly. It's also a very clean country and we are very happy to be here.

Won-bin: The weather is very nice, the people are very warm and yes, the country is very clean. If we get another chance, we would like to visit (Malaysia) again.

Min-hwan: It's a very interesting place and there are many things to see.

Jong-hun: It's my first visit here, but I've actually wanted to visit Malaysia before. We really appreciate being here and hope that the concert will be a success.

What can we expect from the FT Island 1st Live in Malaysia concert on Sunday (tomorrow)?

Hong-gi: First of all, I hope that the concert will bring us closer to the Malaysian fans. We will be using a little English and Bahasa Malaysia during the show. Also, the repertoire will be slightly different from the Korean concerts…watch out for it.

What do you think about the support you get in Malaysia?

Hong-gi: We are very thankful to the media for supporting us and we are happy that many people recognise us. We really appreciate it.

As the Hallyu spreads, you have become ambassadors of South Korea. What would you recommend foreigners who would like to visit your country one day?

Won-bin: I would say Apgujeong, the fashion and shopping district in Seoul.

Hong-gi: I'd recommend the tokpoki (떡벅이, which is rice cakes seasoned with gochujang/ Korean chili paste) in Shindang-dong. It's very famous and it's probably one of the best in Korea.

Min-hwan: I suggest one of the best holiday spots in Korea – Gangwon-do, which has fresh air.

Jae-jin: I would like to recommend Hongdae street where the younger generation usually hang out and enjoy themselves.

Jong-hun: I'd recommend Dongdae-mun.

Malaysia is well-known for its wide variety of food. What have you tried?

Jong-hun: We've tried Nasi Lemak and Satay and we like it. I would like to try other Malaysian dishes, but not all of us can take spicy food.

What would your message to your Malaysian fans be?

Won-bin: Thank you to all of you who greeted us at the airport and we'll try our best to return the love and warm welcome shown to us at the concert.

Hong-gi: Yes, well said (laughs). Also, thank you to everyone who bought our album. We hope that you'll continue to love our music and we promise to always make better music.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Won-bin: Thank you for being here, we'll try our best to return in the future.

Hong-gi: We're glad to get the chance to talk to so many people and please, come to the concert and enjoy it.

Min-hwan: Thank you for loving the song Until You Come Back. There are many more songs in the album (The Refreshment), and I hope you'll love them as well.

Jae-jin: Thank you for the love throughout and we hope to see you again.

Jong-hun: We'll give our best at the concert.

The boys will be holding a meet-the-fans and autograph session at Cineleisure Damansara, The Curve today (March 29) from 1pm onwards.

The concert will be held at the Sunway Lagoon Amphitheatre tomorrow. Ticket details Click here

k-popped!

source: http://asianfanatics.ne