The two-day Banyak Bagus Festival gave Malaysia concert-goers a glimpse of the rising T-Pop wave, with six Thai acts headlining the first-ever festival.
DAY ONE: T-Pop thrills after three-hour wait
A delay of over three hours – owing to a series of technical issues – failed to dampen the spirits of fans, many of whom queued hours outside the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Kickstarting the afternoon was Tilly Birds, who mark their return to Malaysia after a successful solo showcase in 2023.
Taking to the stage, lead singer ‘Third’ Anuroth apologised – on behalf of the festival – for the delay, but promised a solid hour of good music.
And perform the trio did – singing, playing and getting the audience hyped up song after song – from จำเก่ง (Slipped Your Mind) to คิด(แต่ไม่)ถึง [Same Page?], to the emotive ถ้าเราเจอกันอีก (Until Then). It was also at the festival that the trio performed their newest English single White Pills.
Riser Music actor-singer Nanon took the stage next to a sea of screaming fans. He began his set with two crowd faves, both taken from the GMMTV boys-love series Bad Buddy, which Nanon himself acted in.
แค่เพื่อนมั้ง (Just Friend?) and เพลงที่เพิ่งเขียนจบ (Our Song) had the fandom singing along (some in tears), before Nanon switched things up with songs from his debut solo album The Secrets of the Universe.
DAY TWO: Anniversaries, surprises and plenty of cheers
The second and final day of the festival also saw the most number of T-Pop acts, starting with Riser Music group LYKN, and wrapping up with girl group 4EVE.
We must give a special shout-out to LYKN who went from performing in Bangkok’s Fansland Music Festival on Saturday (4 May) night to taking the first flight out the next morning to Kuala Lumpur. To top it off, the boys’ first time in Malaysia coincided with their first anniversary since debut – a double milestone in a day.
If they were exhausted from a gruelling week, the boys of LYKN did not show it – they started their set with the high-energy single ฉ่ำ (Charm), before going into their earlier singles like Umm Umm. The group also performed songs from other Riser Music artistes, including ‘Fourth’ Nattawat’s เทคะแนน (Candidate).
T-Rock stalwarts Getsunova were next, getting the crowd going with classics like แตกต่างเหมือนกัน and ความเงียบดังที่สุด.
As the band performed their classic hit ไกลแค่ไหน คือ ใกล้ , lead singer ‘Name’ Prakarn got off the stage, walked into the (adoring) audience, and stood on a chair as he shook hands and sang. Definitely a surreal moment for the fans in Malaysia.
Getsunova were immediately followed by XOXO Entertainment boy group ATLAS, who were greeted by a bevvy of screaming fans (and a fan-made video thanking them for coming to Malaysia).
They began with their signature track Mayday Mayday, keeping the energy up throughout their set with songs likeโลเล (Lolay) and the high-energy มังคุด (Mangosteen). The group even performed the English version of their newest single Light It Up.
Labelmates 4EVE closed the festival’s slate of T-Pop acts, bringing a touch of girl power and plenty of dancing. Member ‘Taaom’ elicited screams from the audience when she attempted a line in Malay to introduce herself.
The group also performed their newest single hot2hot at the festival, though disappointingly there weren’t that many paper fans in the audience. The girls’ set was a good mix of newer hits like Vroom Vroom and I Like Boys with olders ones like 4EVER.
Despite the excitement that fans had for two days, the festival was not without its share of criticism. As the event wrapped up, several fans took to social media to air their grievances at organisers Banyak Bagus Entertainment.
Some alleged a lack of communication over the delays, while others who signed up for the meet-and-greet sessions were left high and dry.
The furore prompted organisers to offer a statement of apology, where they “apologised for all the miscommunications (sic) that has been caused and any controversy and inconvenience following the festival”.
The now-deleted statement, which later drew further criticism from fans, did not address other allegations raised.
