BL shows are now live and in-person
In mid-July, the Thai entertainment and production company Be On Cloud announced that the cast of its LGBTQ+-themed Thai action romance series ‘KinnPorsche’ would be going on ‘tour’.
The KinnPorsche cast is set to headline in several cities around Asia; for the moment, this includes Manila, Singapore, Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City, and Taipei, with more cities in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and South America to be announced soon.
‘KinnPorsche’ is what is known as a BL series (Boys Love) – a very popular genre in East and Southeast Asia which is dedicated to long-form shows that depict gay romance and feature young actors.
When BL series first came on the scene, they were a niche area in the entertainment industry but had several key features unique to them which allowed them to quickly grow in popularity. One of these features is the nature of their publicity campaigns, which often include a concert live tour.
While it is not unheard of for movies and television shows even outside the BL genre to gather their cast and conduct a concert tour, it is almost exclusively done on occasions where there is a musical element to these shows.
However, BL dramas are not musicals and the actors do not sing or dance in these shows and yet, these live tours become musical spectacles akin to a talent show. That’s not to say these tours don’t feature typical press tour activities – the cast will do interviews and variety shows, for example – but this form of live tour, a sort of evolution of the ‘meet and greet formula,’ has become a main staple in the BL genre.
What is the typical tour?
American singer Billie Eilish is currently in the middle of the Asian leg of her sixth concert tour in support of her second studio album ‘Happier than Ever,’ titled Happier Than Ever, The World Tour. Eilish is, famously, a musical artist, and musicians are often expected to embark on tours to promote their work. Typically, when they have a new album out, they will set off on a concert tour to introduce their new music to their fan base.
Similarly, another type of performers who tend to have concert tours are comedians. They too practice a form of art where they require a stage and an audience in front of which to perform.
There are a number of other types of performers like acrobats, magicians, etc. who rely on these tours to generate revenue. Their performance is exclusively tour-based, unlike studio-recording artists or comedians who may have a new Netflix special coming out or some other recording that they will release online for streaming.
However, when it comes to actors in movies, to promote an upcoming blockbuster film or a television show, one will not expect the cast of the show or the film to embark on a concert. What they will typically do are press tours where they will meet with various press outlets around the world and engage in various activities, interviews, and game shows, most of which are televised or recorded for an online platform. The only live show aspect of such casts will be the meet and greet portion of their tour.
The fan meet
The fan meet has been a long-standing tradition of concert tours, where artists use the opportunity to interact with their fans on a more personal level. Concert-goers are given the opportunity to purchase an extra backstage pass or an exclusive ticket for a meet and greet that is either held before or after the show where they will have a few minutes to interact with their favourite artists – take a photo, shake their hand, give them a gift, and move on.
Acting casts on press tours also conduct fan meets, usually large gatherings often in conference halls where fans can gather and have the opportunity to have a few minutes one-on-one with their star. The bigger and more popular the show, the less one-on-one interaction there is, and often for big budget productions like the Marvel franchise for example, we will see a panel discussion where fans (and press) can direct questions to the panel from the audience.
While this was once a sub-category of an ongoing tour, where it was a bonus event that organisers will tack on to encourage ticket sales and to fund their venue, it is usually a quiet affair where audiences will wait in line and have a brief interaction with the artist. Typically, they will be there to watch a musical performance from the artist. However, recently there has been an evolution of this fan meet concept, taken a step further.
BL live shows stand out
‘KinnPorsche’ is not the first series to do a concert live tour of this nature. Actors from other BL shows often embark on similar tours where they showcase dance numbers, singing performances, and even dramatic readings and reenactments of the more beloved moments from their show. What is interesting is the evolution of this type of show.
BL actors’ live tours began as intimate gatherings where the actors who are known to the audience so far as just that – as actors, would share with their fans some details about them as people to create a feeling of closeness and establish a more intimate relationship. They will also share some hidden talents – often this will include skills they pursue as passions, like singing, playing a musical instrument, or even a sport.
However, as time went on, these intimate gatherings have evolved into massive concert-type events where the actors will showcase their skills other than acting, but at the same time is also a huge production with choreographed dance numbers, big musical performances with original songs written just for the show, huge spectacle of fireworks, and other stage effects.
Additionally, these events have become incredibly lucrative as they allow for several types of ticket sales. With the pandemic, audiences have grown accustomed to purchasing live concert tickets for online shows. Therefore, often, these concerts will have a streaming portion where the entirety of the live show will be broadcasted live. Ticket sellers are able to sell tickets for the in-person live show, the live streaming, and for reruns as well as to sell the full soft copy to own or rent.
The SL fan experience
The Sunday Morning Brunch reached out to some BL fans who followed these shows, specifically the KinnPorsche live show, to share their thoughts on the culture around these live shows and how they have evolved over the years.
Amaya, a BL fan, shared: “I think it is great that these shows get to live a little longer beyond their run time on their networks and that the actors get some publicity through these shows. But it is kind of crazy to see the calibre of these shows, because if you take the live show of KinnPorsche, it was more like a Magic Mike show. This was kind of odd to see because we know these are actors and they were doing this weird stage performance that was like a Vegas show with male strippers. It was a bit strange but it’s a great way to keep promoting the show and to attract audiences.”
Long-time BL fan Lakshika added: “I think it is great to have these shows. I even bought a live stream ticket last year to a fan meet of one of my favourite BL couples – TayNew – called ‘Polca the Journey’ and it was a great experience. There was even a show for The Untamed cast where they did a similar song and dance performance but I think KinnPorsche is the biggest scale I have seen so far. After this there will be so many like it, I am sure, because this was so successful.”
While most fans seemed eager to see more, there were some who shared that they had concerns about this type of promotion.
“I think it is great for these actors to get this exposure. They are usually relatively unknown actors when they get on these shows. Then their popularity skyrockets and they are able to pursue some of their other passions as well,” said Melani, another passionate BL fan.
However, she noted: “I do worry that there are now huge expectations for these actors when they are cast. You cannot just be a good actor, you now have to be multi-talented. You have to be a professional-level singer, dancer, and performer, and also garner a massive social media following. It is a never-ending list of requirements.”
This concern is a fair one that is commonly echoed by many fans because the already high standard for BL actors have now skyrocketed. When an actor enters a casting room it will not be enough to be a good actor, they must also have a budding YouTube career, be an amateur musician, and also be a capable dancer if they wish to be cast in a BL series.
The BL industry alone has grown to such a large scale that things certainly don’t appear to be slowing down. While these concerns are incredibly valid and fans communicate them to production companies on a regular basis, encouraging them to take care of their talent and not to push them beyond their limits, we can still expect these live shows to continue to get bigger and better as they slowly trickle into the mainstream, attracting an even wider audience.
