(G)I-DLE kicks off world tour with freewheeling performance

K-pop

Published: 18 Jun. 2023, 15:03

(G)I-DLE kicks off world tour with freewheeling performance

(G)I-DLE performs during its second world tour, ″I am FREE-TY″ on Saturday at Jamsil Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

(G)I-DLE wanted its world tour to be "free," and free they were.

“I want you guys all to be ‘free’ today: sing, if you want to sing; dance, if you want to dance and say Miyeon is pretty when you think she’s pretty!” Miyeon said with a laugh during the first day of the “I am FREE-TY” concert in Jamsil Arena in Songpa District, southern Seoul.

Girl group (G)I-DLE kicked off its second world tour on Saturday with more songs, a bigger stage and energetic members, performing 25-plus tracks covering the group’s hit tracks, b-sides and never-seen-before performances.

“This feels surreal. We had this much Neverland?” said Minnie, referring to (G)I-DLE’s legion of fans.

The girl group’s second world tour, which started exactly a year after its first-ever world tour, “Just Me ( )I-DLE,” saw the group performing in a bigger stadium and in front of a larger audience. Having sold out both days of the concert, the girl group will be gathering more than 10,000 fans in the two-day long concert.

(G)I-DLE performs during its second world tour, ″I am FREE-TY″ on Saturday at Jamsil Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

With fireworks and showy lighting effects marking the beginning of the concert, (G)I-DLE appeared on stage, with a live session band playing in the background. The girl group first sang “DUMDi DUMDi,” its 2020 single written especially for the season of summer.

"I thought we were already halfway through the concert!" said Soyeon after performing the group’s debut track “Latata” (2018) followed by two b-side tracks “Dollar” (2018) and “Never Stop Me” (2022).

Each of the five members of (G)I-DLE filled the stadium with solo stages, ranging from the barefooted solo performance of Soyeon, singing “Psycho” (2021) and Miyeon’s refreshing stage of “Drive,” highlighting her vocals, to Shuhua dancing to American singer Britney Spears’ 2001 song “Boys.”

Minnie performs during (G)I-DLE's second world tour, ″I am FREE-TY″ on Saturday at Jamsil Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

Minnie played the piano and sang a solo version of “DAHLIA,” a song she originally wrote for the group for its fourth EP “I burn” (2021). Yuqi first unveiled her solo track “Could It Be,” first demonstrating the song with a guitar for the fans to follow.

“I really don’t get nervous easily, but I am very nervous […] I thought about my solo stage a lot, and I brought you guys a brand new track,” Yuqi said as she first sang the song only with her acoustic guitar.

“Oh, I got so many parts wrong today. It’s okay though, that’s what live performances are all about.”

Yuqi performs during (G)I-DLE's second world tour, ″I am FREE-TY″ on Saturday at Jamsil Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

(G)I-DLE continued the concert, performing a variety of tracks, including its latest track “Queencard” (2023) and the group’s own version of “Pop / Stars” (2018) — a global hit track sung by Miyeon, Soyeon and two American singers for the online videogame League of Legends.

Miyeon performs during (G)I-DLE's second world tour, ″I am FREE-TY″ on Saturday at Jamsil Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

“They asked me backstage how it feels to perform in a bigger stadium. I’m a singer myself, but I can’t hold concerts alone; without Neverland, we are nothing. I thank you all,” Yuqi said.

“We are starting our world tour yet again from Seoul, and we’ve shown you a lot of new stages, I hope you like it,” Yuqi said as the concert came to an end.

The girl group wrapped up the concert with five encore tracks. Rather than a set list of encore songs that bands customarily perform, the band asked the crowd what song they would like to see.

“I’m glad to hear that you guys enjoyed the concert. People have been calling us the ‘gourmet concert group’ after our last world tour, so we wanted to exceed those expectations,” Minnie said.

“I hope you guys stay healthy this year. Always take care of yourself first, then you can take care of us!” said Yuqi.

Following the two-day performance in Seoul, (G)I-DLE will be performing in Taipei, Bangkok and Hong Kong starting July 1, followed by stops in the United States starting on Aug. 4, in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Atlanta and Chicago.

The girl group will also perform in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Berlin and Tokyo until the end of September. More dates will be added in the future, according to the girl group’s agency Cube Entertainment.

Soyeon performs during (G)I-DLE's second world tour, ″I am FREE-TY″ on Saturday at Jamsil Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

Shuhua performs during (G)I-DLE's second world tour, ″I am FREE-TY″ on Saturday at Jamsil Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

To find out more about (G)I-DLE and more, check Celeb Confirmed!

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]