I had never left my home state. I was born in Rio de Janeiro and Rio is... my life. All of my family lives here, so there was never a need to travel elsewhere. I've had the opportunity to live in so many places here and I've experienced a lot that this place has to offer.
For the past few years, there's been a desire inside of my heart to get out of my comfort zone and explore somewhere new. My instant thought was São Paulo, which is the neighboring state of Rio, and it's also very urbanized. You would think with the reputation of high tourism rates and beautiful landscapes, Rio would be the choice for hosting a big event, a show or a seminar. Nope. All of my favorite artists and public speakers, when they come to Brazil, they always perform in São Paulo, at the homonymous city capital.
São Paulo is just like any other metropolis in the world.
Well, then... What's so special about it?
Paulista Avenue. Source: Wikicommons.
I guess the simplified answer would be São Paulo has more things going on, more willingness for business contracts, better logistics and more companies putting in the effort to bring those artists to Brazil.
Last year, my most played artist of all time came to São Paulo for their first show in Brazil. Sadly, I've missed it. I was working and didn't see the tour dates.
My heart sank.
I kept wishing they would come back this year again, so we people like me could have another chance.
This artist, this group is LOONA and they mean a lot to me. Oh, where do I start...
I was just about to give up on K-Pop in 2018. All of my favorite groups had disbanded or were nowhere to be seen. Then, I discovered them. It was like a breath of fresh air.
Psychedelic beats, orchestral songs, every member had a solo and a LORE?
I've never seen that in K-Pop.
With these novelties, courage to experiment with new sounds, flirtyness with sapphic themes on their music videos and, of course, the "stan loona" movement all over the internet, I thought to myself, "This is definitely going to be the next new thing." And it was. I created a Twitter account for the first time in 2019 just to read and speculate about lore and the hidden meanings inside the songs. I've met so many people and made long lasting friendships all because of my love for LOONA. There was so much positivity.
I’ve never joined a community and socialized with other people the way I did on the LOONA fandom. Before I discovered them, I was very depressed. They shared a new light in my life. Later that year, 2019, I started to look for theater lessons. I wanted to get out of my shell, be more present, lose my shyness. That's where it all began. That's where I learned how to sing.
Now I'm here doing music because that's where my heart led me. I can say LOONA did inspire me all the way though here.
Abandoned diving tower. Source: Wikicommons.
So, yeah. LOONA disbanded in 2023. But it was with a happy note. It was bittersweet, actually. Of course we didn't want them to split, however we didn't know they had an unfair contract. While they were trying to breach it, we boycotted their own discography, to avoid giving money to their former company.
After lawfully winning their cases, they got the best ending possible, which is kind of rare in K-Pop: freedom.
In that same year, some of the members signed with the original creator and producer of LOONA to create ARTMS.
I went to their show last friday, December 5, in São Paulo. Left my home state for the first time, alone on a midnight bus.
Weirdly, I didn't feel the need to take pictures throughout the trip. Even the SD card I put on my camera got corrupted, so I couldn't take pictures or videos. Everything was very new to me so I was very present, so present that a feeling I haven't felt in a long time struck before me: boredom.
After arriving in São Paulo really early in the morning, exploring the sunny day, walking all throughout Paulista Avenue, attending the free art expositions and chatting with my female roommates at the hostel I was staying in... I caught myself there, sitting on the bunk bed assigned to me, waiting for the right time to strike to get ready and watch the show.
I did manage to take some pictures with my phone at the entrance, when people were walking up to the stage.
One mistake though: I should've arrived earlier. I am a novice at live shows. When I got there the line was already huge. After getting in, the spot that I chose to stay was actually not that great, viewing-wise too. That was a lesson for next shows. But I still had fun.
When the show started, the first thing that I've noticed when I looked at them was that some of the girls were visibly tired. And that was one of those moments that were kind of surreal for me, like hitting a 4th wall. This is something that I can't explain with words. 'Cause I've seen them on the internet for all of those years and I've enjoyed their music and performances, but seeing them so close on stage, as human, normal people, was so touching and it also made me realize how much touring can make music feel like a job to an artist.
Eventually, one of the girls did comment that one of the members were not doing well, but they had decided to come all the way to Brazil 'cause they really loved us and didn't want to disappoint. And we started shouting "Linda! Linda! Linda!", like beautiful! That's beautiful.
The girls are so charismatic, dedicated and nice. I just love them so much.
I'm home after unraveling my curiosity about São Paulo and now, I admire these lovely women even more.
write a comment!
