Even before Seventeen took the stage on their leg of the “Be the Sun” world tour at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York on Thursday, September 1, you could hear their fans from outside the venue. . In the 10 minutes before Seventeen’s release, the arena was filled with screams and Carat Bongs, glow sticks named after the band’s fandom that were programmed to light up in sync with the concert’s lasers and production. . No one was on stage yet, but the feeling that the band could appear at any time was imminent. Then Seventeen came out, and the screams went from loud to deafening.
If you’re not a Carat (Seventeen’s fandom name inspired by their 2015 song “Shining Diamonds”), here’s a refresher on the group: Seventeen is a South Korean boy band that debuted in 2015. They do not have 17 members. Instead, the group is made up of 13 members and three units – smaller groups specializing in certain member strengths: Hoshi, The8, Jun, and Dino are part of the Performance unit; Woozi, Seungkwan, DK, Jeonghan and Joshua are in the Vocal unit; and S.Coups, Vernon, Mingyu, and Wonwoo are in the Hip-Hop unit. Members perform in both units and in the group as a whole. Thirteen members plus three units plus a group is seventeen, hence the name.
Thursday’s gig – which came days after Seventeen won its first MTV Video Music Award for Push Performance of the Year – also marked the return of two members: Hoshi and Joshua, who missed the stops of Seventeen in Washington DC and Atlanta after testing positive for COVID-19. “Who’s Back!” Hoshi is back! Hoshi told the crowd of more than 10,000 after Seventeen’s moving and enlightening performances of “Hot” and “March,” which opened the show. The songs are from Seventeen’s fourth studio album, Facing the sun, which their “Be the Sun” world tour supports. Joshua also celebrated his return to the tour by asking the audience who is back. “Joshua!” shouted the crowd, to which Joshua responded with a cool, flippant, “Remember that.” Later in the show, the other members also commented on how complete it was to have all 13 members back on stage. Dino and Mingyu also missed previous legs of the tour due to COVID-19.
Image: PLEDIS Entertainment.
But back to the concert: After their opening speeches, Seventeen continued the high energy with performances of “Hit” and “Rock With You” (two former singles that saw the members move into complex choreography with military precision) before moving on to the performance unit. First up, Joshua and Vernon – the English-speaking members of Seventeen (Joshua is from Los Angeles, while Vernon is from New York, a fact the other members made sure to remind him of during their Long Island show) – who performed “2 Minus 1,” an all-English pop-punk-inspired banger that saw the two rocking in leather jackets and mic stands. Next came Unit Performance (Hoshi, The8 Jun, and Dino) , who performed “Moonwalker” and “Wave,” two flowing dance tracks that utilized the members’ seductive choreography and breathy vocals. The vocal unit (Woozi, Seiungkwan, DK, Jeonghan, and Joshua) followed with performances. powerful songs of “Come to Me” and “Imperfect Love”, with confetti and a subtitled singing moment for the fans. The Hip-Hop unit (S.Coups, Vernon, Mingyu and Wonwoo) closed the performances of unit with stunning renditions of “GAM3 BOI” and “Back It Up”, highlighting the spat fast rap ts and the stage presence of the members.
After the unit performances, the 13 members returned to the stage for crowd-pleasing performances of “Mansae,” “Left & Right,” and “Very Nice.” The scene was part skit, part performance with the band giving insight into their personalities and relationships with impromptu jokes, back rides and even riding a bicycle. The concert continued with darker tracks like “Shadow” and “Crush” before the members gave their final speeches before their encore. Hoshi reminded the audience that the first time Seventeen was in New York was for KCON, an annual K-pop convention, where they were one of the opening acts. Now they are on their own solo tour. The speeches also saw the members perform acapella parts of their songs, proving that, behind the special effects of their production (which included fire, lasers and a sea of flashing glowsticks), the core of Seventeen is real talent. raw.
Image: PLEDIS Entertainment.
After a charming performance of “World” and a brief intermission (during which the camera turned to the fans and the flags of Mexico, Brazil and other countries around the arena), Seventeen returned to the stage. for encore performances of “Our Dawn Is Hotter Than Day”. and “Instant Shot”. The last of the tracks saw the members select audience members around the theater to dance onscreen to the high-energy chorus. The fan service continued with the performance. finale of Seventeen, an encore of “Very Nice,” where they descended to ground level for fans to finish the lyrics and dance to the song’s skipping chorus. After rocking the crowd one last time, the 13 members lined up at the back of the stage and bowed out, “It’s Seventeen,” they said in unison as the stage descended and the lights came on.
Lasting just over two and a half hours, Seventeen’s New York concert went by very quickly. There was not a dull moment. The breaks (which saw artistic videos of the members performing as the band changed outfits) were rare, and some of the most entertaining and authentic moments came when the band weren’t even performing but were just talking to each other on stage, teasing and proving that beyond costumes and intricate choreography, Seventeen are just 13 best friends who happen to be international pop stars. The unit scenes gave each member (each of them commanding the stage in the precious solo moments they were on screen) a chance to shine, but the magic of the group came when all 13 members were together, moving in sync with each other. choreography and the little moments between them while they were singing. It’s hard to explain Seventeen’s power, but maybe DK said it better earlier in the gig: “When all 13 of us are together, I feel more powerful.” Seventeen must be 13.
Tickets for Seventeen’s “Be the Sun” world tour are available on Stubhub, Vivid Seats and Ticketmaster.
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