IU holds concert 'The Golden Hour' for first time in three years over weekend

K-pop

Published: 19 Sep. 2022, 12:15

IU holds concert 'The Golden Hour' for first time in three years over weekend

Singer IU performs during her concert “The Golden Hour: Under the Orange Sun” held on Sept. 17 and 18 at the Seoul Olympic Main Stadium in Jamsil, southern Seoul. [EDAM ENTERTAINMENT]

IU held her first in-person concert in three years at the Seoul Olympic Main Stadium in Jamsil, southern Seoul, over the weekend.

After the extended period of being unable to see her fans face to face, the singer was greeted by an audience filling the stadium with waves of gold lights, coming from their concert light sticks.

A young female solo singer selling out all available seats at the Seoul Olympic Main Stadium, one of Korea’s largest performance venues that can house up to 50,000 audience members, is a milestone in K-pop.

“Today’s my 14th debut anniversary,” the singer said on the second run of her concert “The Golden Hour: Under the Orange Sun” on Sunday night. “I’m very lucky to be able to have a concert on a perfect day like this, and celebrate my debut anniversary as well.”

IU performs whlle circling the stadium in a hot air balloon during "The Golden Hour: Under the Orange Sun." [EDAM ENTERTAINMENT]

IU performs during “The Golden Hour: Under the Orange Sun." [EDAM ENTERTAINMENT]

Exactly 14 years ago on Sept. 18, 2008, IU debuted as a singer on a music program at the age of 15. After seeing lukewarm success for a couple years, she went onto release megahits such as “Good Day” (2010) and “You&I” (2011).

After earning the nickname “Korea’s younger sister,” she went on to build a successful, long-running music career, releasing more hits over the years like “Palette” (2017) and “Celebrity” (2021) and start an acting career on both the small screen and silver screen, most recently attending the Cannes Film Festival for her lead role in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s film “Broker” (2022).

IU also made a surprise announcement during the concert.

“I composed [‘Palette’] when I was 25 years old and cherished it,” she said. “Now, I’ve entered my 30s [in Korean age]. I’ll leave this song to the 25-year-old Ji-eun [IU’s real name]. I don’t think I have to hold onto this song, so after this concert, you likely won’t hear this song in my official set lists.”

IU performs during “The Golden Hour: Under the Orange Sun." [EDAM ENTERTAINMENT]

She also cracked a joke about her megahit “Good Day.”

“I came out with ‘Good Day’ when I was 18, and now I’m 30,” she said. “Part of the lyrics go ‘I like you, oppa [a Korean term, often affectionate, for an older male]’ but now, I don’t see a lot of guys older than me at my concerts,” the singer laughed.

“It feels bittersweet for me to exclude this song from my future setlists, but I made this decision so I can do new performances with new setlists. But I want everyone to remember this shining moment.”

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]