concert recap concert recap
Written & Photographed by Lilian Calulot
Starting off in Seoul last August 2022, Kang
Daniel kicked off his first concert tour since making his solo debut back in July 2019. Aptly named ‘FIRST PARADE’ alluding to a vibrant and dynamic display. It also pertains to ‘Parade’ a B-side track from his first full-length album ‘The Story.’ As the lyrics in the song says, “Let’s make a toast and lift our glasses high. This is our parade.”
Kang Daniel surely owned this line and took charge of how he presented himself and the whole production of the tour. Injecting his own brand
and personality to even the most inconspicuous detail such as the design of the LED display screen as well as to how fan interactions were arranged that had left Danity gushing over how much control he has on what he can allow to provide memorable experience to everyone in attendance.
The set list exhibits his diverse yet cohesive discography. Starting off with an in-demand performance of ‘Flash’ from his mini album ‘Magenta’ that had not been shown live previously. The crowd favorites - ‘Don’t Tell’, ‘Waves’, and ‘Touchin’’
definitely set the mood for an explosive opening stage. With a wardrobe change, performances of ‘2U’, ‘Jealous’, and ‘Upside Down’ shows a more fun and upbeat set.
As the concert progresses, the mood shifts as he performs more personal songs such as ‘Loser’ and ‘Misunderstood’ wherein he refers the former as based on his own story. Kang Daniel has been open about his struggles with mental health which is reflected in his music especially evident with the release of his mini album ‘Yellow’ following a three-month hiatus back in December 2019 due to depression, anxiety, and panic disorder. ‘Paranoia’, Yellow’s first single, embodies the battles with his inner demons. This was portrayed through an imposing stage with a choreography depicting how he was trying to run away in all directions but was constantly caught and pulled down. It progresses to what could be described as zombie-like dance or that of a powerless string puppet.
With the raw admittance of going through his darkest days comes the resolve to recover and heal which is emphasized in ‘Antidote’.
Then the setlist advances to tracks showcasing his vocal prowess including ‘Save U,’ ‘Moment’, and ‘1000x’.
As a soloist, filling in every moment with no reprieve must have been taxing but he naturally led conversations with the audience. He talked about how happy he was to finally be able to perform for his fans and see them face-to-face. For the Asian stops, balance game was organized wherein fans sent in questions for him to answer which led to amusing quips and some eccentric choices. Without utilizing translators for the European and North American stops, it was refreshing to see how confident he was in communicating with the fans. He also tried to assimilate with the various cultures of each stop and talked about things relevant to the area.
From the kick-off of the tour, he has constantly asked the crowd what performances they wish to see and a popular request had been ‘Who U Are’ which he eventually added to the setlist. He talked about his desire to continuously present something new during the tour. And in November 2022, he released his repackaged album ‘The Story: Retold’ which provided new tracks performed on tour including ‘Ghost’, ‘Nirvana’, and ‘Selfish’. He utilized the encore stage to present more tracks from his discography ranging from ‘I Hope’ from his debut EP ‘Color on Me’ to ‘Ready to Ride,’ a digital single released through the platform Universe.
After touring twenty cities from all over the world, with the last stop in Taipei last April 13, 2023, I have witnessed how he has grown more confident and self-assured. His honest and straightforward delivery of his vision alongside his passion and dedication to create new music fosters the unwavering bond he has with his fans.
Special thanks to Unusual Entertainment and Leteng Live for allowing us to cover FIRST PARADE Singapore and Taipei stop, respectively.
in PARIS
Written by Léa Lempereur
Photographed by Soizic Cistac
ackson Wang performed on Sunday January 15, 2023 at the Zénith de Paris accompanied by Team Wang. He debuted in 2014 with the male K-POP group GOT7, before continuing on his own with Team Wang.
Jackson Wang began his European tour with a first date in London two days before that of Paris. His fans were able to enjoy a first part with the French and Chinese singer Laurie, who is also part of the Wang team. She kicked off her stage on a red armchair and a shiny black outfit. Despite the audience not being hers, she knew how to move them. She even took advantage of it to get a fan on stage with a dance very close to the latter who had been tied to a chair. She continued with two other songs, a rather sad music before finishing in style on which was its opposite with a lively and very colorful style of blue and pink.
Between the end of this first part and the arrival of Jackson, the lights of the room came back on and the fans were able to enjoy the three clips of Jackson Blue, Cruel as well as Come Alive, before the lights went out again announcing the start of the concert.
The concert started with a debut VCR. This was followed by a play of white lights in the audience with blue lights on stage and a musical introduction before the arrival of the dancers from Team Wang followed by that of Jackson in his elevator which was descending, causing his audience to shout from the first notes of
“100 Ways”. Followed by “Go Ghost” with well synchronized choreography and an audience already standing.
There was a change of mood then with the start of “Blackout” which had a rather dark style with a black, gray and white background, the smoke appeared on the stage floor. Jackson started a dance sexier than the previous two ending with a solo dance before continuing with “Just Like Magic” followed again by a breakdance alone then with his dancers who end up pulling him and depositing him in the ‘lift.
The elevator goes up gradually, becoming the only thing on stage that is lit before seeing the musicians of Team Wang arrive on stage. This one came back down to let Jackson perform “All The Way”, a fairly calm music.
Jackson, who finished his performance in the elevator which was going up again, finally appeared among the audience at the Zénith de Paris singing “Bullet to the Heart” and walking to join the stage. Back on the latter, it’s the first release of confetti into the pit. Again a change of atmosphere with “Drive you Home”.
Small moment of break for Jackson who presents himself in French under an unleashed public and very happy with his presence on French soil. After this short pause, a white transparent sheet appears on the front of the stage and a fine green smoke, it is this moment when the first words of “Blue” resonate always with a sea of light among the public.
J
From the top of his lift and from the start of “Dopamine”, the sheet that was present falls down which has remained all along in this lift. At the end of it, Jackson’s fans continue to sing with him acapella to end the music with a “Je t’aime”.
Moment of pause for Jackson with the beginning of another VCR which works and which ends with the meeting with a luminous ball before the musicians appear and begin a solo performance.
End of the break for Jackson who returns in a magnificent red costume which contrasts with these dancers in black outfits, the fans recognize the lyrics of “LMLY” while the Hong Kong singer and his dancers use as accessories small square tables followed by the “Vibes” music.
Jackson takes another break to interact with his audience again by deciding to bring a fan on stage who will stay with him throughout his performance on “I Love You 3000”. Always in the same atmosphere Jackson begins the music “Poison”.
It is followed again by a VCR that traces Jackson’s journey with photos of his family and his evolution from his childhood to today through his moments with his group GOT7. This VCR was very emotional with Jackson talking about how he didn’t have time to decide what he wanted to do with his life.
To continue on this nostalgic atmosphere, he begins the music “Come Alive” in a dark outfit with a transparent t-shirt. This music ends with the release of a serpentine among the pit. Jackson takes off his jacket to start the “The Moment” and “Dead” performance before descending again among the public to come back up a few seconds later with a new fan who will stay with him during the end of his performance before letting her go again and begin a moment of dance with his dancers.
This time Jackson starts the music “Drive It Like You Stole It” in a happy tone to the point that at the end of it he continues to jump on stage making the fans scream, during this moment Jackson also receives a bouquet of roses from the public. Little interlude by Jackson which presents these musicians who each perform a solo of their instrument. Jackson resumes with the music “Cruel” and “Blow” which ends again with the appearance of fireworks on stage.
This festive moment continues during which Jackson encourages his fans to sing with him, always accompanied by fireworks. The public as well as the artist jump before a new serpentine finale.
The moment of the grand finale comes a remix of “Pretty Please”, “100 Ways” and “Blow” by Jackson in a t-shirt from his tour with little by little all the staff who go up on stage. Jackson arrives by his faithful elevator accompanied by all these dancers. The scene is warm and very colorful making this moment even more festive. Many water bottles were emptied and tossed into the audience along with drops of confetti and napkins as well as Jackson’s t-shirt to follow later. Jackson descends into the audience several times bringing several fans up on stage again. The dancers have their t-shirts removed one by one by Jackson before they do the same to him.
The concert ends with a thank you from the whole Team Wang to the French public followed by the group photo with the public.
Written by Léa Lempereur | Photographed by Soizic Cistac
the MIK Festival held its second edition in France on February 18 and 19, 2023 at the Accor Hotel Arena. The festival was held over two days, the first was devoted to K-pop while the second was dedicated to K-Hip Hop.
For this first day of the Festival, the opening took place with mixes by DJ DNOPF featuring sounds from various artists such as BLACK PINK, BTS and BIG BANG.
The first band to open the festival was Cherry Bullet. The group consists of seven members and debuted in 2019 under FNC Entertainment. They started their show in very colorful tones with their opening music “Q&A” and continued
with “Really Really”. After a short introduction by the members, and still in the same dynamic, they continue with several other songs from their discography until closing their set with “Love In Space”.
After a short break, it’s B.I’s turn to enter the MIK Festival stage. The artist made his debut in 2013. After a debut with “BTBT” and “Waterfall” he introduced himself and expressed his happiness to perform in Paris for the first time. After asking the fans to stand, he started “Flame” by making his fans jump with him. During “Illusion”, B.I is the first artist of the festival to throw water on his public. Then he continued with other songs all the while making the French public jump and stomp their feet.
BTOB Minhyuk
CHERRY BULLET
B.I
CHUNG HA, who was already present at the edition of the MIK Festival in London last July, produced mostly the same music which, just like in London, conquered the public. Unlike the previous edition she released “Killing Me (Band ver.)”, “Don’t Believe In Love” as well as “Love Without You” in addition.
CHUNG HA was very happy to come back to France after 7 years. She also wanted to take a photo with the public and the banner distributed by her French fanbase.
Chungha
KARD
PENTAGON
After many attempts to come to France since 2020, KARD were finally able to go on stage during the MIK Festival. The group debuted in 2016 with four members under DSP Media. They started with their set with “Ring The Alarm” before continuing with “Don’t Recall”. After a short introduction of the members, they stated how happy they are to be in France for the first time. They added that it’s a great day for them to finally be here and that they couldn’t come before because of COVID and J.seph’s military service.
They continue their performance with different music before ending with “Dumb Litty”.
It’s PENTAGON’s turn to return to French soil after 3 years. PENTAGON debuted in 2016 under CUBE Entertainment. Five members were in attendance. Hui who is participating in the show Boys Planet, was absent just like Yan An and Jin Ho. Despite this, PENTAGON has succeeded in filling the lack of members from “The Game” to the inevitable “Shine”.
PENTAGON
During their world tour, Epik High made a stop in France to perform on stage at the MIK Festival performing a multitude of music ranging from “On My Way (feat Jackson Wang)” to “New Beautiful”. They were able to conquer the public present for K-POP day from the beginning to the end of their performance. In the middle of it they received a special guest, B.I, to interpret “Born Hater”.
EPIK HIGH
Hwasa
It’s Hwa Sa’s turn to make an appearance. Hwa Sa has been active with MAMAMOO since 2014 and solo since 2020. During her time, she performed solo music such as “Twit”, “I’m a B” or the famous music “Maria”. She also produced a medley of MAMAMOO’s best-known music. Hwa Sa was very happy to finally be in France and to be present as a solo artist.
After the Hwasa’s performance, the change in atmosphere is palpable with the arrival of BtoB. It was their first time in France since their debut in 2012 with CUBE Entertainment. The six members of BtoB performed music whether more or less recent. BtoB’s theme was mostly ballads like
“Only One for Me” or “Pray (I’ll Be your man)”. Among these ballads they still performed “Wow”, one of the most famous songs of the group.
To end this first day, the two members of Girls’ Generation, HYOYEON and TAEYEON, performed in sequence. HYOYEON began her set behind the mixing desk chaining the different mixes. She still performed several of her solo songs like “DEEP” or “Dessert” and “Sober” before giving way to TAEYEON. The latter closed the day with music in a very different style compared to the former. She began by performing “INVU” and “Spark” to end the evening with “I”.
Hyoyeon
BTOB
Hyoyeon
Taeyeon
For this second day of the festival dedicated to K-Hip-Hop, it started again with a mix of DJ Apro.
The first artist to open this day was the singer GSoul who made his debut in 2004. He opened this day by performing “Tequila”, “Selfish” and “Bad Habit” before introducing himself and continuing with his other songs and ended his set with “Need U”.
To follow him, the young 19-year-old rapper from ‘Show me the Money 8’, BIG Naughty, performed in Europe and Paris for the first time. He interpreted several of his music there, including “Beyond Love” with the version he had performed at MMA. He also performed other music such as “Lovey Dovey” and “The Purge”. During his “Just 10 centimeters”, BIG Naughty descended into the audience circling the gold pit.
GSoul
Big Naughty
After BIG Naughty, it was the turn of another participant of the same show, the rapper JJANGYOU who started in 2014. He made his appearance starting by interpreting “See”. Each of his music was interspersed with moments of exchange with the public. During “Benz”, the last music of his visit, he too went down into the audience but he made a tour of the room, passing through the entire pit and climbing up the barriers of the stands.
Han Yo Han, the next rapper of the evening, arrived by interpreting “Helicopter” and
Jjangyou
chaining “Dding” and “All In” where he took the opportunity to descend in turn between the public and the stage. A little later, during “I Don’t Know”, Han Yo Han performed a guitar solo before throwing this one that broke on stage. He then ended his stint with “Monday to Sunday” as well as “400km”.
To continue this evening, former Show Me The Money 3 participant
GIRIBOY entered the stage with “Tiger Den” before doing “Boy”. Later, during “Tomorrow”, GIRIBOY brought back BIG Naughty who interpreted this music with him in his studio version. Following this performance, the young rapper remained on stage until the end of GIRIBOY’s passage, before being joined by JJANGYOU, GSoul and Han Yo Han to end their set together during “I’m Sick”.
Han Yo Han Giriboy
Kid Milli, a rapper who started in 2016, was then able to start his passage with “Benzo” and “Yooooo”. Just after performing “Good Day”, he is joined by Giriboy to finish Kid Milli’s passage by performing “Flex” together. Before moving on to the two most anticipated artists of this day, the members of the WYBH crew created by GIRIBOY in 2016, Han Yo Han, Kid Milli, JJANGYOU and BIG Naughty as well as the two DJs of this festival Apro and DNOPF all met on stage to perform “Bumper Car”.
One of the most anticipated artists of the day was none other than Jay Park, who arrived on stage at the MIK Festival performing “Blue Check”. Jay Park has made a multitude of music during his time as one of these popular music “All I Wanna Do” or “Ganadara” as well as “Ain’t No Party Like an AOMG Party”. After the cover of “The Purge” by BIG Naughty earlier in the evening, this time the public was treated to the original version by Jay Park. He also took the opportunity to perform his latest music “Yesterday” a few days before the festival. He then closed his stint with “K-TOWN” and “Who You (Remix)”.
To close these two days of festival and this K-Hip-Hop day, the public had the honor of seeing the former rapper of the group 2NE1, CL. The latter had already come a few months earlier during another festival in Arras, in the north of France, and this time she delighted her audience by appearing on Parisian soil during the MIK Festival. She began her performance with the famous music of 2NE1, “I AM THE BEST” before continuing with these solo music like “Spicy” or “5 Star”. She decided to end this festival with her famous music “Hello Bitches” igniting the audience one last time before the end of the MIK Festival.
Kid Milli
Jay Park
CL
Written by Lilian Calulot | Photo Courtesy of @khj heneciatwt
Kim Hyun Joong was reunited with PH Henecia for his ‘The End of a Dream’ concert held in Metrotent, Pasig last April 28. This marks the singer-actor’s return to the Philippines after three years. Prior to the concert, he also had local TV guesting where he conveyed his astonishment on how well-received his character from ‘Boys Over Flowers’ had been globally
and how that had helped him open more doors in his career. Drawing a sizable crowd who has waited years for him to perform live in Manila, he expressed his gratitude to his Filipino fans for their constant support despite the distance and promised to visit the country more often. ‘The End of a Dream’ concert in Manila was presented by Neuwave Events & Productions.
