My family were not very rich. We were not poor either.
When NKOTB announced they would hold a concert in Singapore, my dad had to buy
three tickets. One for me, one for my brother and one for my mother who had to
chaperon us…but don’t let her kid you…she was a fan too! We didn’t get the
most expensive tickets, but we did get the tier below the most expensive.
Imagine ticket prices then were only S$30, S$40, and S$70
yet we could not afford the most expensive tickets.
We had nose bleed land seats. NKOTB were as big as my
thumb from where I was standing. But I was just happy to be there, to experience
them LIVE. I won’t deny I was envious of the girls who were out in the front…. and
wished I was them….
Who had cams with zoom back then? I did not even own my
own camera! The photo you see at the beginning of this post are photos from the
actual February 8 concert here in Singapore but it wasn’t me who took them. I
had recently gone down to the press room to pull out these old photographs and
purchased them at S$8 a piece!! Daylight robbery but all worth it.
I remember planning for this concert weeks in advance. I
made a poster with silver sparkles. I planned what I would wear (denim mini
skirt, NKOTB t-shirt and a black hat like what Jordan Knight wore). The day
came and we were at the Indoor Stadium hours before hoping we could catch the
boys as they arrived.
They did. We saw them. But they were quickly rushed in to
the venue by security. We climbed the walls just to get a peek! I saw them for
a brief second before security drew the curtains closed.
In all honesty, I don’t really recall everything about
the concert. I can’t exactly remember the songs they sang or what I actually did
during the whole duration. I wish I did remember.
I was just happy I got to fulfill that dream of seeing
them LIVE. I had everything with their name and face on…from jackets to
sweaters, towels, books, magazines, dolls, water bottles, etc etc. I swore I
would one day go to Boston to find them…. (which I did 7 years later but that
is a story for later)…
I watched their concerts videos on VHS over and over
again till I memorized every bit of it.
I was a Donnie girl in the beginning until I learned he
was a bad boy then I kind of gradually moved to Jordan because he was handsome.
I guess I never realized at that age that the bad boys are actually the
hottest!
They disbanded not too long after their concert in
Singapore which left me with a broken heart but I soon got over it and although
I kept listening to their songs whenever…. I was also a teenager and started to
date and I slowly forgot the NKOTB. Not exactly forgot them but I wasn’t crazy
madly deeply in love with them. I was in love with other boys.
But I held the memories of NKOTB close and dear to my
heart.
Seven years later, I moved to Boston after meeting my
husband online. But it never hit me then that seven years ago, I swore I would
get to Boston to look for guys from NKOTB! I lived in Boston Massachusetts for a
good seven years without the thought of maybe looking them up. My god!! Jon
Knight was in real estate…..I was in real estate!! We could have met in our
course of work but I never gave that a thought until 2007 when I met this lady
by the name of Carol through MySpace.
Carol knew I was a Jordan Girl although I do not remember
putting it on my profile. But she told me he would be doing a solo concert and
asked if I would go with her. And so we did. I got to meet Jordan for the first
time in 18 years! The funny part was when I told him about the story and he
said, “Where have you been? We are practically neighbours!”
It was then I started to get back in to the NKOTB craze.
I still tease my hubby saying I only married him because
I wanted to move to Boston to meet NKOTB!
Sadly, I moved back to Singapore in late 2007 for a
better future for my children and not long after NKOTB announced their reunion.
Dammit! If I knew, I would have remained in Boston a few more years longer!
Five years later, they finally announced an Asia concert
although not in Singapore.
I paid big money to attend both shows in Jakarta and
Manila and took my mum with me. It was a dream come true! I finally get to meet
the boys in person after all these years. It was everything I could not have
imagined. I honestly do not think it would have been the same if it happened 20
years ago when they were in Singapore as they were young and so was I. The
meeting was perfect. I still remember every detail of it like it was just
yesterday.
They sure are five amazing guys. Not just in talent and
looks but personality. They give their all to their fans and that means a lot.
Not many celebrities are like that.
A reporter even interviewed me about my meeting with the
guys and had a full page article on it.
And a year later, the same reporter who I had become
friends with… invited me to her house when she did a phone interview with the
guys.
NKOTB had played an important role in my life and they
still do today. They took me away from all my sadness and hurt. Listening to
their songs took me to a different place where everything was better. My
husband knows it thus why he kind of supports my obsession with them.
The many times Donnie made contact with me via Twitter or
Facebook sent me to Cloud 9 and kept me happy for days. My hubby says to me, “That
is a fine gentleman and as much as I do not fancy NKOTB, I love how they treat
their fans and especially how they make you happy.”
Yes, I am a Jor-nnie girl and proud to be. What is a
Jor-nnie girl? I am torn between loving Jordan and Donnie. That does not mean I
do not like the other 3 guys. Danny is pretty quiet but a sweetheart. I will
forever remember how comfortable he made us feel during M&G when he petted
the sofa and asked my mum and I to join him. Joey has a memory of an elephant
and comes up with the most random stuff. Jon is a sweetheart! But my heart
belongs mostly to Donnie!
Donnie can make my god awful day turn sunny and bright
instantly by just being him! You can never ask for a better human being than
him. God did a fantastic job and sent him to us.
And through these 5 guys, I have made good friends whom
are known as BH sisters. We share the same interest, the same love for the
guys. We do not just talk about the guys 24-7 but we confide in one another
even with personal issues. I am fortunate to have met many great sisters who
never fail to put a smile on my face on a daily basis. But I have also met bad
apples who are simply just jealous, arrogant and rude! But there are bad apples
everywhere you go so I do not let them bother me. But I would like to shout out
to the few BH sisters who I am in touch with on a regular basis….. I love you
girls!!
As Alex Gaskarth once said, “Never underestimate a girl’s
love for her favourite band. Never think, even for a minute, that she won’t
defend them to her death. Because it’s not just the music that makes that band
her favourite. It’s the guys, it’s the girls, it’s the fans. People whom of
which she has interacted with, thanks to the band. That band might have saved
her life. Or maybe they just make her smile every day. That girl’s favorite
band, they’ve never broken her heart. They have yet to leave her. No wonder she
finds such joy in her music.”
No comments:
Post a Comment