*For performances after SS5 Osaka, check the Super Show 5 pt. 2 post.*

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Taken from my position against the bar enclosing Standing Area C, SS5 Seoul Day 1 (3/23)

With all the tweets and hints about Super Junior’s upcoming concert tour Super Show 5, you’d think that Super Junior was trying to tell us that SS5 is “gonna be the best damn thing your grandpappy’s ever seen.” And in some ways it was, and in some ways not. Find out below in this episode of Where I’ve Been: Super Show 5 Edition!

THE WINNERS:

Eunhyuk

He’s going H.A.M!

Eunhyuk once again proved that he is the Stage Master. From taking over Leeteuk’s role as Concert MC to cosplaying Wolverine, to (of course) dancing, Eunhyuk did it all flawlessly and without a hitch. As if we needed any further evidence, his version of the viral phenomenon Harlem Shake just cements his status as one of K-pop’s most Epic Stage Masters.

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Siwon

Siwon made several leaps and bounds in this first set of SS5 performances. The first thing he did was something we just didn’t think was possible: dancing with girls. Usually avoiding any sensual contact with the ladies, Siwon actually danced with one of the female dancers in Club No.1 (2:00-2:07) and let himself be touched by several ladies in So Cold (1:41-1:50).

He then did something that we didn’t think was possible because we considered it to be so out of range for him that it failed to appear in our thought Cloud: cross-dressing.

Introducing…Won Dambi

When I first laid eyes on Won Dambi, I blinked twice because I wasn’t sure if this was real or one of those strange, hallucinogenic dreams that people have every so often (whether natural or drug-induced). In fact my face looked a little something like this:

“My Word…”

But then it turned to this:

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So for dancing with the opposite sex and cross-dressing, Siwon wins the Enterprise Award for boldly going to worlds where he’s never gone before (at least in public).

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Henry and Zhou Mi

Never have we seen so much integration of Henry and Zhou Mi in a Super Show concert. Rather than being regulated to only Super Junior-M songs, the dynamic Chinese duo appeared in some original Super Junior numbers like Wonder Boy and Sunny and participated in the Super Junior “Super Hero” skit, with Henry as Son Goku from Dragon Ball Z and Zhou Mi as Woody from Toy Story.

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“KAME….HAME…. HAAAA!”

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Zhou Mi also performed a cover of “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?” along with regular SJ members Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, and Sungmin.

And Henry performed his solo “So Cold” (well technically Eunhyuk wrote the lyrics and Henry composed the song) with Eunhyuk, Donghae, and Siwon.

Henry and Zhou Mi have faced some troubles due to anti-fans in previous Super Shows, but their determination and persistence has finally paid off: neither a “Only 13” nor a boo could be heard from the audience. Therefore, the duo get a WINNING Award for their efforts to stand up against ELF discrimination.

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Sungmin

‘Nuff Said.

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Eunhae Fans

It was a happy day (or two) for fans of the Eunhae (Eunhyuk & Donghae) duo. They got pelvic thrusts in Harlem Shake, toplessness in Rockstar, and if they resided in South America*, they got Eunhae’s single Oppa Oppa.

Yes, it was a very happy day.

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Marvel Comics

Super Show 5 brings Marvel free advertising for its comics with the boys cosplaying as a total of 7 Marvel characters: Loki (Kyuhyun), Iron Man (Donghae), Captain America (Siwon), Hulk (Shindong), Thor (Kangin), Wolverine (Eunhyuk), and Spiderman (Ryeowook). We never expected SJ to be Marvel fanboys (well, at least 7 of them).

My guess as to why Zhou Mi (not pictured), Sungmin, and Henry chose to cosplay as Woody, Huo Yuanjia, and Goku? They’re closet DC fans.

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THE LOSERS

Solos

Fans expecting Siwon’s rendition of a popular gospel song, a performance of Eunhae’s new track Hello, or a Kyuhyun ballad were thoroughly disappointed when their expectations didn’t materialize. The only clear solo (besides Yesung’s) was Kangin’s- which was significant because he hasn’t performed in a Super Show for two years- but that wasn’t enough to satiate the appetites of most fans.

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The Setlist

If you attended the Seoul leg of the tour, you didn’t hear or see Spy, Oppa Oppa, A Man in Love, Twins, Miracle, Dancing Out, and popular Spanish song Ai se eui te pego (Oh, If I Get You!). If you attended the South American leg of the tour, you didn’t hear or see Boom Boom, Club No. 1, Kangin’s solo, So Cold (maybe because it is so warm there), How Am I Supposed To Live Without You, the cross-dressing performances, the Shindong, Eunhyuk, and Donghae dance performance, Sapphire Blue, and Show Me Your Love. (I’m not counting Yesung’s and KRY’s solo because Yesung made it clear that he would only be performing for the Seoul shows as he was prohibited from leaving the country before his enlistment date.) Past Super Shows had a clear standard setlist with a few variations based on the country (mostly in China and Taiwan because of Super Junior-M), but this was the first one in which there were such a large chasm between the setlists.

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The Honorable Honorable Mention

Yesung

Yesung bid a tearful goodbye to all ELFs during the Seoul concerts, as he was prohibited from leaving the country before his enlistment (South Korea requires all men 18 and over to serve one two year term in the military). On the first day, he had a little accident (around 2:40) where he lost his footing and which he was very upset about (so upset that he left the stage for a few numbers). However, it didn’t spoil his singing for the rest of the concert, or the next day’s performance of his solo Gray Paper, which is perhaps the best rendition that we’ve heard yet.

Don’t worry, Yesung- we won’t forget you or your singing. Believe it!

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Special Mention

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This Japanese fan was my partner throughout the concert- I comforted her when Donghae’s sexiness became too much for her to handle, and she looked out for me. And when it came time for us to part, she gave me a hug and took a picture of the two of us to document our relationship. And I took a picture of her…

“Egads, it’s so sad!”

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SS5- The Indonesia Edition (6/1 & 6/2)

Everything was a mostly a direct import from the Seoul edition, with a few notable exceptions:

Skirt chasing going on during the cross-dressing performance

Fans were graced with the presence of the Shiabs

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SS5- The Hong Kong Edition (6/15 & 6/16)

Wonkyu Fans rejoice!

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Now those of us who have been around the Kpop beat for a while know that this paper kissing game is common and doesn’t hold any real meaning, but for those of you who are witnessing this kind of thing for the first time:

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Won Dambi makes her modeling debut

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