Welcome to the new normal. 

Online concerts are on the rise in the music scene due to the limitations and restrictions brought to us by COVID-19. This has become an advantage for someone like me who lives out of my fave artist's radar.

Is there a standard when it comes to online concerts? I don't think there is, although I know the kpop scene (Hello BTS!) has raised the fans' expectations.

Bii had an online concert last July 24 in partnership with KKBOX. It was supposed to be in lieu of his supposedly 10th year concert this year. BFs had high expectations. (Well I did.) He's the first TW artist I know who had an online concert. I was expecting that this concert will be some kind of a way to redeem himself, after what happened in his private life in the first half of the year...

Anyway, I was expecting Bii to be performing with a live band. Maybe play an instrument or two on one of the songs? Some dance number... A little bit of fan interaction... Something that will last for about two hours. He mentioned in one of the live events that this concert's concept is 宇宙, universe, so I imagined LCD screens flashing celestial bodies (what?!), stars, planets, meteor shower??? Then some laser/neon, futuristic light show in the background. 

Is that too much?

What did I get? Bii singing in a studio filled with green screens. The background was all CG, no real stage, not even a live band in the background. I know for sure Bii wasn't lip syncing but the music was recorded. Heck, I don't even think the whole concert is live! It only lasted around 45 minutes and that's it.

I'm so thankful it was free or else....

I was so disappointed with Bii's first online concert that I am not expecting anything anymore on Eric Nam's music showcase last night. I was even late because I forgot about it. But dude, it was an awesome show! It's my first time watching Eric live. (I still feel bad not going to his MNL concert last time.) 

Eric's show, on the other hand, has a live band! He performed as if there was an audience. He interacted with his audience via the YouTube live chat function. He performed song requests. He even acknowledged that there are international fans watching that he says the same thing in Korean AND English. That's fan service!

And that's how an online concert should be, in my opinion. Not because it was done online doesn't mean quality has to be sacrificed. Yes, CG is expensive, it's pretty, it's a different concept. But watching it, it feels... cheap. Sorry Bii.