The members broke down in tears after putting on an explosive performance

Text: Lee Wei Lin reporting from Bangkok

“Back then, when we joined the group, we weren’t very welcome. I wanted to quit and go back to Canada, but when we came to Thailand and saw all the posters (of us), I decided to stay on,” Henry confessed at Super Junior-M’s first fan party held in Bangkok on Saturday. He and Zhoumi, the only two members not officially part of main group Super Junior, have faced a rocky path to stardom, with some fans protesting their addition to the group. Thailand, however, has shown more than their fair share of love to the two, with some of the loudest cheers of the night reserved for them.

What turned on the faucets in the first place was a touching surprise video message from Thai E.L.F (their official fan club name), expressing their support and thankfulness for the group’s love for them. One of the lines in the video, subtitled in Thai and Korean, reads, “Even though we have to wait for you for a long time in the rain, it’s alright. (We want to) let you know we are here, here to cheer for you.”

Eunhyuk was so overcome with emotion that he was unable to speak, simply saying, “It’s been a long time since I cried,” thanking fans for their love and care since their first overseas concert held in Bangkok.

Prior to the tears, the eight lads put on a stellar performance during the show, performing tracks from their latest album Break Down such as ‘Go’, ‘A-oh’ and the title song. One of the most outstanding performances that night was the acapella version of one of their first songs, ‘Me’. The dance track was slowed down with the boys crooning the first half of the song before speeding things up with the original version.

Solo stages were also part of the lineup, in one of which Kyuhyun putting on a remarkable rendition of ‘Those Years’, the hit song from Taiwanese movie You Are The Apple Of My Eye with Henry at the piano. Sub-group duo Donghae and Eunhyuk also performed a yet-to-be-released track, ‘Hello’, much to the delight of the screaming crowd.

While the two hours ended in the blink of an eye, Donghae reminded fans that they would be meeting again very soon as Super Junior will be embarking on their world tour once again with Super Show 5 in Seoul kicking off on March 23 and 24. While the list of stops has yet to be confirmed, fans are excitedly anticipating if their country will be on the list. Will Singapore once again be part of their tour? We just have to wait and see.