Korean fans are outraged when Ariana Grande held her concert in Seoul on Aug. 15, accusing her of using the country as a pit stop as she spent only seven hours there.
Grande has been visiting different countries to perform under her "Dangerous Woman Tour." She held the Seoul leg at the Gocheok Sky Dome with 20,000 fans in attendance.
Koreans' disgust started when it was reported that the singer refused to enter Korea earlier to avoid meeting the media and fans at the airport.
She finally arrived at Gimpo Airport at 5PM on Aug. 15 or just three hours before her concert. She held the show without any rehearsal to the disgust of VIP ticket holders who paid 650,000 each (US$570). Watching the rehearsal was one of the perks of the VIP ticket holders.
Grande performed for one-and-a-half hours and spent a total of seven hours in Korea before leaving.
Fans said this was totally different when she spent five days in Japan including arriving two days before her performance.
During the concert, Grande was quoted as saying "Seoul is beautiful," baffling Koreans who wondered how could she make a comment like that when she barely stayed in the country.
They said it was totally different when Lady Gaga performed in Seoul in 2012. She arrived in South Korea a week before her concert and met the media and fans at the airport.
Comments by Koreans on articles about the concert were full of criticisms.
"All the people who paid $650 for VIP tickets for rehearsal + backstage performances and a meet & greet with pictures got none of it. She arrived two hours before the concert so the rehearsal was canceled. The meet & greet was delayed so people who had time for that came out to find that their entrance to the actual concert was delayed. The concert was a mess. Koreans, once again, taken for fools," one wrote, according to Netizen Buzz.
Another commented, "She literally went on stage without any rehearsals. Didn't check the size of the stage, the quality of the music equipment... she arrived like it was some local festival show, sang a few songs, and left right after. So comparable to how she acted in Japan."
