{my fan account};

SMTOWN in Los Angeles (2012) was the best day of my life. I can't explain it.

Despite the aching plane rides and the terrible start to my Sunday at first, I had a blast. I didn't have a chance to actually see the artists up close like last time in New York at their hotel but I was still pretty close and had an amazing view at the Honda Center.

The artists who actually came to my side of the stage were Kyuhyun, Seohyun, Leeteuk, Minho, Onew, Taemin, and Sunny. I could've sworn some of them made the slightest glance at me, but they did wave and smile to everyone they possible could.

But I shall talk about the VIP time. The VIP tickets were used as rehearsal tickets. Thanks to my mom and cousin for buying me and my other cousin the wonderful tickets. Fans were able to see some of the artists rehearse some of their songs for the show.

Waiting in line for the rehearsal wasn't that long because my cousin and I were sort of late but I think I was being filmed. I'm not being racist but perhaps MBC is.

There were two white guys and a white girl in front of me waiting for the rehearsal as well and out of nowhere, three Korean (real VIPs as in the Press) came up to them and asked them a few questions. Among the Koreans, one of the two girls was the translator, the other girl was the actual Korean interviewer, and then there was the male cameraman.

After the questions, they asked if they could sing or dance to any of SM's songs and they danced to Super Junior's Super Girl. They were lucky enough as well to be able to leave a message for their biases, EunHyuk, Jessica, and Sunny.

The embarrassing thing, though, was the fact that they also recorded me considering I was right behind the white people smiling at their good dance moves and laughing at their awkwardness towards the camera. I was complaining about how I hadn't thought of moving out of the camera's view before and forgot that MBC would be hosting the show. But it was all good because I suddenly heard screaming, which meant it was showtime - time for the rehearsal!

I rushed inside with my cousin. After taking a few happy photos together, I was happy to find out that EXO was up for rehearsal and performed all of their songs for the concert but I didn't know they were only performing two songs at first. I actually thought they would perform all these: Angel, What Is Love, MAMA, History, and Two Moons but they only performed two of them. I suppose it's better than nothing.

Seeing them get on stage for the rehearsal, lit me up right away. Though they were far away, I could tell they were even more handsome in reality but if I had to pick one, it'd probably be Kris. He was very tall indeed and I couldn't help but stare at him almost throughout the whole concert. While doing greetings, his english melted me and I was so astonished with his adorable eye smile.

Kris collaborated with artists like Amber, Key, and BoA to perform special stages like "One Dream" and "Like A G6." When performing with Key and Amber, Amber handed Kris the very same sign someone had held when EXO spent their Saturday at Disneyland.

You know the "AYO WHADDUP KRIS" sign? It was black, orange, and green. Anyway, Amber handed that to him and Kris was showing it off to everyone and then randomly tossed it somewhere.

After EXO's rehearsals for MAMA and History, f(x) came out and rehearsed for Nu ABO, Pinnochio, and Hot Summer. Amber seemed to be very enthusiastic as usual and spoke her fluent English. Everyone else was pretty shy but very happy. Luna spoke a little English and said "I love you" to everyone, which made me cry. Sulli was about to say something in English as well but she just ended up laughing because she probably forgot what she prepared or didn't know what to say.

SHINee came out next and they practiced only one song: Sherlock. Key made it dramatic when he told the fans they were going to do their song, Sherlock. "The song we're going to do is.....Sherlock." And then fans screamed!

The cool thing about this concert, too, was the very new feature to the stage: sprinklers. Sprinklers were added to some of the artists' performances and it was amazing. I'm glad no one slipped and when the singers and dancers were done with the stage, a bunch of men with mops and dry cloths would quickly come to wipe away the wetness of the floor.

I called my family in Minnesota that the rehearsal just ended. My brother picked up the phone surprisingly and I told him I saw EXO. He wasn't thrilled at all because I didn't see Super Junior yet. He's also Eunhyuk-biased like the white lady. I asked him to hand the phone to my mother. My mother was in the kitchen cooking when she heard my voice.

I told her I saw EXO and with that one sentence, I bursted into tears again. That's right! I cried at the rehearsal, too. And something I did not mention before was I felt like the loudest fan at the rehearsal. Some people gave me glares because I was screaming really loud when no one else was screaming as loud. Every time someone new sang, I would shout their name and that was usually followed by an "I love you."

Once I told my mom about seeing EXO, I heard a smile in my mom's tone. She said she was glad I was having fun and that I finally saw my actual reason for going to Los Angeles. I continued to cry (didn't really care about the attention I was receiving) but out of nowhere, my mom asked, "So did you see Kyuhyun?"

The funny thing is my mom doesn't actually know how to pronounce his name but I understood her. My mom fell for him when we saw him in New York. Yep, my mom attended that concert with me. I didn't want to disappoint her but I just said no. But I did see Chen! My mom is Chen-biased, too :)

I told her I saw SHINee as well and that Taemin seemed more handsome than last time.

We hung up after saying "I love you," and I called up some of my other friends. I called NH (only using initials) and she was screaming with me through the phone. After I hung up with her, I texted some of my friends asking if they wanted me to call them during the concert. I did call some of them during the rehearsal but they kept telling me they didn't hear anything so maybe that was a bad idea. I probably won't do it again because I kept forgetting. I had a concert to enjoy, too...

Once I finished texting, I got bored of just sitting so I walked around and got a few free light-sticks and banners. That was one hot and sunny hour of waiting. The actual concert finally came and before we went inside to see the stage once again, we took a photo with the huge banner promoting the SMTOWN concert in LA with all the artists' photos.

We found out after taking the photo that it was a chance for us to win a new Samsung phone. I forgot what the name was but it was really cool. To join, we had to take the photo (of course), write a message in the photo, and then enter a name.

The lady who asked took our photo asked in Korean if we were Korean. We were clueless until she translated it for us. I replied, "Aniyo" with a laugh.

So when we had to write out the message for the artists, the lady told us to write in Korean. I was the only one who knew how to so I wrote I love you (사랑합니다~) with a smiley face and two failed hearts.

I entered my name but I didn't even win so oh, well! When we finally took our seats, we were impatiently waiting for the concert to start. We took some photos to pass the time. The show didn't start till like 5 minutes after 7 but when it started, SHINee was up with none other than Lucifer.

{highlights};

* There was some TaeKai (Taemin and Kai) couple stuff going on at the end of the show.

* Chan Yeol was around Kris much more than he was around Baekhyun.

* Se Hun and Lu Han spent lots of time together hand-in-hand at the end of the concert - lots of skinship!

* Kris hit all the balloons that were above him.

* Se Hun forgot the dance move/did a mistake during the rehearsal for MAMA.

* Tao tripped/slipped/fell when it was his part for MAMA with Kris and Xiu Min but got up again really quick like a ninja.

* All the members greeted the fans speaking the language they were most comfortable with. All the Chinese members spoke Chinese, the Koreans spoke Korean, and Kris was the only one who introduced himself in English.

* As leaders, Kris spoke a lot (in English) and so did Su Ho (there was a lady who translated his "speech").

* The fanmeet at the Anaheim Convention Center had lots of fans. There were various contests with lots of prizes and stands selling their merchandise based on their fanclubs.

* Someone rolled like a buffalo at the fanmeet when the DJ put on Two Moons.

* EunHyuk and Leeteuk took off their shirts and tossed them out to the people on the floor.

* Someone threw a minion (Despicable Me plush) at some of the Girls' Generation members and someone threw peas (plush) at them as well.

* During SHINee's performances, they shook their heads a lot like they were rock stars and there was a lot of heavy metal stuff going on in many of the artists' songs.

* EXO-M finally sang live!

* Leeteuk, Taeyeon, and Tiffany were the MCs for the show.

* Perhaps I'm the only one who found it awkward that guys were back-up dancing for Twinkle - no girls like in the MV (except for TaeTiSeo of course).

* Among the f(x) members, Amber received the most screams whenever she spoke or sang/rapped.

* A lucky fan was picked to come up on stage - Kyuhyun and Changmin soothed her with Bruno Mars' Just The Way You Are and a sandwich hug.

* I will post fancams and photos perhaps some other time!

{continued fan account};

I cried and cried. My nose became extremely runny because I was crying so much. My waist started to hurt because I was waving my body a lot with the music while flapping my light-sticks. My legs started aching because I stood for so long and I jumped sometimes.

My voice? You don't even want to know. I can hardly speak. My ears were really dead not only from the concert but because I had some plane inconveniences (stupid altitude), my ears became worse.

I really need medicine. After the concert ended, I didn't want to leave. I was still crying and I walked up the stairs trying not to look back. I felt like the only one who cried but I'm sure there were a few others!

I truly enjoyed this day. I won't be able to experience anything like it for a while. I hope to take all my loved ones with me one day to show them how great of a effect KPOP has put on me and can put on them. I love the SM family. I cried when they put on "Dear My Family."

When I left the Honda Center, some Koreans were selling KPOP posters for $5 each. I was in a hurry so didn't buy any merchandise at all unless they were free and handed to me because they offered.

Anyone who plans on going in the future, go for it. But I have a few tips for you if you have those kinds of parents who are strict and all: do really good in school (straight-A(+) student), help out at home without being told, don't fight with siblings or argue with parents, stay away from things that could conflict your whole trip, anything that could help your parents reconsider the idea.

Some of the people who went are spoiled. Many people who know me called me "spoiled" because I get many things from my mother, but think of it as me doing all of the tips I mentioned above.

It's better to deserve than ask. That's how I got to go. Also, I recommend continuing your good behavior even after the concert. Why? Who knows! Your parents might just let you enjoy many other great opportunities!

Until now, it has been Shannon!

Haha, but hope you enjoyed reading my experience(s) and personal thoughts. If any of my tips don't benefit you, don't come to me saying I was wrong. You could try - it'll give you a different feel either way!