Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
K-pop variety concerts can be hard to pull off. From an artist standpoint, organizers need to figure out which ones to invite, check their availability, and whether they’re popular enough to draw a crowd. On top of that, organizers have to also figure out how long each set is, providing enough time for each artist to feel like a substantial enough addition to the concert.
When I attended the first Krazy Super Concert last year in New York, what I found was a disorganized mess. The logistics and seating arrangements were confusing, and the actual performances were mediocre at best despite having powerhouses like IVE, MONSTA X’s Shownu and Hyungwon, and Kwon Eun Bi. The artists themselves were fine, but they all played short sets and each one felt like an appetizer to a meal that never came. But there was potential in the concept, although I ended up not going to the variety show this year in Long Beach due to personal reasons.
Now Leo Presents is taking the variety show format to bring over K-pop “nugu” acts that otherwise most likely would never have had the chance to tour in North America. This first try included solo artist U_Chae (formerly of girl group PIXY), ICHILLIN’, CRAXY, and TRENDZ. I was in Los Angeles this past week on a business trip, so why not check them out while I was in town?
The tour’s stop in Los Angeles took place at the Catch One nightclub, which gave the show a local indie kind of feel to it already.
U_Chae opened the show and unfortunately, it was a bit of a flat start. She only performed four songs, which were “Wait For You,” “Awake,” “Alright,” and “One Sweet Day.” While I’m sure U_Chae and PIXY’s fans were delighted to see her perform, her set didn’t really have much momentum, having similar issues to Krazy Super Concert. As a solo artist, she also didn’t have the luxury of falling back on covering PIXY songs to add some extra time to her set like how ARTMS was able to do so with LOONA songs. And I think she would’ve been a better fit on a future tour where she’d be more established.
That said, I’ll give her credit for singing completely live, as I was impressed by her vocals.
Next up was ICHILLIN’, who were most of the reason I attended the show in the first place. As a fan of the group, I might be biased here, but they had a much better showing. The group perfectly balanced their set by opening with their own “Kickstart,” “Got’Ya,” and “Alarm” songs, and then adding a few short dance covers to tracks such as Meghan Trainor’s “Me Too,” Stray Kids’ “Chk Chk Boom,” and KISS OF LIFE’s “Sticky.”
To close, they performed “Siren,” “Demigod,” “On My Lips,” and “La Luna.” Overall, ICHILLIN’ had the most impressive setlist here, with every song transitioning smoothly into the next, and the distribution felt very even.
What also made this tour stop special is that Los Angeles is Joonie and Jackie’s hometown, so their families were at the show to support them. This added a really sweet and personal touch to this particular show.
Speaking of Joonie, I got to take a selfie with her! Look how pretty and cute she is:
CRAXY was next up, and with performing songs like “Crazy Racer,” “Masquerade,” and “No Limit,” the group brought a much more tomboy and hip-hop vibe that felt refreshing after ICHILLIN’s pop sensibilities. It’s one thing to listen to the group’s songs on Spotify or YouTube, but it’s a totally different feeling experiencing them live.
The girls had an electrifying energy that permeated throughout the crowd and they were great at interacting with fans. I still can’t believe CRAXY has a song called “Nugudom”, where they take pride in their nugu status, but man the song is even more of a banger in-person.
TRENDZ closed the show, and to be completely honest, I wasn’t very familiar with their songs as I don’t listen to boy groups as often as I do girl groups. However, they had a commanding stage presence, which might be due to them being the only boy group on the tour.
One aspect of their setlist that stood out to me was that they had more subunit-like and solo performances than the other groups. Their rap line (Yechan, HanKook, and ra.L) performed a few songs together, and Eunil did a dance cover of Jungkook’s “3D“.
My unfamiliarity with TRENDZ also highlights another potential problem with variety concerts: not every attendee will be a fan of all of the groups. However, this also provides the chance to convert new fans. I didn’t come primarily for CRAXY and TRENDZ, but after seeing them live, I’ll give them more listens in the future and hopefully they’ll grow on me.
The concert itself was a well-oiled machine, with little downtime between each act. They performed for what felt like approximately 40 minutes (apart from U_Chae), and each set felt like they were at least worth your time and attention. The entire show ran for about three hours and I definitely felt like I got my money’s worth out of it.
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Overall, the first K-Pop Breakout Tour was a solid first attempt, and I can definitely see potential here in the future as a way to bring other nugu groups over to America for their own tours. God knows I would pay to see groups like LIGHTSUM and WOOAH live under this format.
My only worry is that if this format is successful, then the tour could become bloated as the organizers may want to bring on additional artists at once. Part of what made the Breakout Tour so successful is that the organizers stuck with just four groups/artists, which gave them ample time to perform their songs. Adding more cooks to the kitchen will only just decrease how much time each group has the spotlight for, though so far so good.
