Artists of SM Entertainment perform in Tokyo, Japan on September 4, 2011. [SM Entertainment]

"Amber!!!!!!!" The 50,000 inside the Tokyo Dome screamed with the appearance of f(x). And Amber in particular was as popular as SHINee or Super Junior amongst members of the female audience. Just like in Korea, there were an overwhelmingly larger number of females at SM Entertainment's "SMTOWN LIVE in Tokyo Special" held on Sunday and just like female fans in Korea, many of them went wild over Amber. The songs that each group sang at the climax of the show -- Super Junior's "Sorry Sorry," Girls' Generation's "Genie," SHINee's "Ring Ding Dong" and f(x)'s "NU ABO" -- are important songs for those singers back in Korea as well.

Hence it seemed like SM was declaring that the consistent strategy they have maintained, from H.O.T to f(x), can in its own way serve as a global standard. Its artists pursue their activities through SMP, the performance-oriented music unique of SM, and wherever in the world they go, people attracted to their SMPs create fandom. Ten years ago, BoA pursued her singing career in Japan by localizing herself to the ways of its market. But the public gathered at the SMTOWN show cheered to "Genie" and "Sorry Sorry." Of course, the fans at the concert venue may respond differently from the ordinary public. But within the fandom, the response of fans in Korea and Japan were similar in many ways.

An assorted gift set containing 15 years of experience

Super Junior and Girls' Generation perform in Tokyo, Japan on September 4, 2011. [SM Entertainment]

SMP is what is most characteristic of SM and the SMTOWN show is like an assorted gift set containing all the characteristics of SM. They made their fans scream until they lost their voices by performing the main SMP songs such as "Sorry Sorry," "Genie" and "Ring Ding Dong" all on a single stage. But the show also had its weaknesses in the sense of being a concert. The structure of the artists' performances were elaborate enough for there to be no room even the smallest ad-lib which is the largest strength of the SMPs yet not suitable for fans to feel the carefree vibes usually felt at concerts. There was a definite climax to every song which got the audience excited but also cut off the concert's flow. When the show focused on SMPs, enough to call it a parade of SMPs, all that the first song "Genie" could do was to gradually tense up the atmosphere through a slow-paced remix which raised anticipation for the song that would follow. On top of that, every team had different sounds and a live band could not be used either since powerful electronic sounds are almost compulsory to pull off the SMPs. And the output for the MR of songs was only heightened in order to fill up the venue accommodating 50,000 people which led to the high notes being excessively sharp and loud, burying the singers' voices.

But despite all this, SMTOWN maintained its style and showed the process through which it convinces its audience of their shows. Instead of showing how well the songs and teams all work well together, SMTOWN put together the SMPs that represent each group and changed the vibe of the show according its flow. After starting with the performances of singers who are currently not the main force of SM, such as J-min, Kim Min-jong and Kangta, SM's juniors Sulli and Onew took part in "7989," which was followed by f(x) and SHINee's songs from early in their career such as "La chA Ta" and "Replay." And until Super Junior sang "BONAMANA," a variety of joint performances including those by Super Junior-K.R.Y., Kyuhyun and Seohyun's duet song, and Shindong-Eunhyuk-Minho-Key's joint performance, served as the bridge to the concert's climax. Super Junior, active in the widest range of realms in of the entertainment industry in SM and with the most diverse personalities, added life and vigor to the show which could seem weak due to the performances precise to the point they seemed like they were crafted by machines. SMTOWN exhibited their world through their choice of music and role division, and it was only after that they showed each group's main SMP. The parade of SMPs, from "Genie" to "Mr. Taxi," was a succession of stimulating and powerful sounds as well as satisfying performances. And these songs appeared only after over an hours worth of presenting SM's world and served as the major climax to the show which lasted four hours.

The method SM uses to overwhelm 50,000 people

TVXQ and BoA perform in Tokyo, Japan on September 4, 2011. [SM Entertainment]

TVXQ's "Rising Sun," which appeared amidst the parade of SMPs, was the climax of the climax. They who were cheered by fans on a completely different level from others, overpowered the audience with a performance and sound that were louder, powerful and stimulating than that of other groups. The sound of the heavy metal guitar, which can by called symbolic of SM's SMP sound since the days of H.O.T.'s "Line Up," stimulated the ears and U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin constantly stimulated the audience by running, riding in a car and flying about in wires. Of course, it will be unlikely that fans of SM will get to see TVXQ's past performances which, considered the extreme of SMPs, was made for a quintet from its sound to choreography to the members' movements. However, "Why" and "B.U.T," created after they were regrouped into a duo, continued with the characteristics of TVXQ's SMP which contains powerful rock sounds and presented performances which were optimized for them through choreography which split the venue into half.

TVXQ's performance seemed to show the 50,000 members of the audience was SM's policy is -- that whether people like it or not and whether something happens or does not, SM can stick to its style, train singers with it, and hence that is why they are where they are today. After the parade of SMPs, BoA, symbolizing SM's advancement into Japan, sang three songs in a row after which TVXQ made another appearance. SMTOWN showed its respect to their icons by placing them in the latter half of the show and TVXQ pulled up the show to yet another climax. It was probably the same reason they chose to sing H.O.T.'s "Light" as the last song for the show. The singers of SM completed the history of SM by singing H.O.T.'s song and ended the concert which was full of powerful performances on a warm note. SM's SMTOWN show stayed consistent as best it could in terms of its flow while showing its Japanese fans its history and the selling point of each team. It was neither the best, the most, the worst nor the most surprising. It was SM's method. And with that method, they overwhelmed 50,000 at the Tokyo Dome.

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