Michael Bolton Disappears for '100 Minutes'... Controversy Over Poor Quality of Korea Concert

15-Minute Delay... Bolton's 60-Minute Performance Without Encore Song
Concert Producer Posts Apology on Website

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The concert of American pop star Michael Bolton (70, Michael Bolton), who visited Korea for the first time in 8 years, has come under fire for poor quality and mismanagement. As the controversy grew, KBES, the production company for Bolton's Korea tour, posted an apology on its website.

American pop singer Michael Bolton.

According to KBES and audience members, Bolton's Korea concert held on the 14th at Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome was scheduled to start at 6 PM but began about 15 minutes late. Even after the concert started, Bolton was not seen for nearly 100 minutes. Instead, guest singers Yumi and Jung Hongil performed continuously. Audience members at the concert reportedly shouted "Is this a scam?" as Bolton's performance was delayed.

Bolton's stage, which began around 8 PM, lasted about an hour. After the concert ended, the audience called for an encore, but Bolton did not return to the stage. On the ticketing site Interpark Ticket, angry audience members left furious comments. Basic requests included "Please compensate us" and "Please refund," along with reviews such as "Not even worth one star. Truly the worst of the worst," "The worst concert of my life," and "The height of insincerity."

In response, KBES issued an apology stating, "We sincerely bow and apologize to the audience," and added, "We deeply regret and accept the audience's disappointment and criticism, and we will do our best to ensure such issues never happen again." KBES also explained each problematic situation.

The company explained the 15-minute delay by saying, "Due to rainy weather and the arrival of 10,000 spectators, the ticket booth operations were delayed," and regarding the '100-minute guest performances,' they said, "We failed to inform each artist to shorten their performance time due to the concert delay." However, the apology did not address why Bolton's main performance lasted only 60 minutes or why he did not perform an encore.

Bolton's Korea concert is scheduled to be held once more on the 15th at the same venue. Previously, Bolton had planned a Korea concert in November last year but postponed it due to the Itaewon tragedy.

Bolton, who was a member of the metal group 'Blackjack' from 1979 to 1980, is a singer who has won 2 Grammy Awards and 6 American Music Awards. He is famous for hit songs such as "When a Man Loves a Woman" and "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.