'I love you': Tomorrow X Together ends Seoul leg of world tour with emotional farewell

K-pop

Published: 06 May. 2024, 16:14 Updated: 06 May. 2024, 18:42

'I love you': Tomorrow X Together ends Seoul leg of world tour with emotional farewell

Tomorrow X Together performs during its ″Act: Promise″ world tour concert held Friday at the KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Tomorrow X Together’s first world tour stopped in a series of relatively cozy venues for four-digit audiences: New York’s 5,000-seat Hulu Theater, San Francisco’s Civic Auditorium and Osaka’s Ookini Arena. Two years later, the boy band is embarking on the comparatively sprawling “Act: Promise," including a who’s-who of the world’s most recognizable stadiums, from the Tokyo Dome to California's Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Madison Square Garden, the highest-profile concert space in New York City.

Sunday’s sold-out “Act: Promise” concert — the third and final Seoul date before Tomorrow X Together departs overseas — was both a preview of the band’s ambitious tour and a celebration of the five-year career that made it possible.

Some 11,000 fans armed with ponchos, boots and umbrellas braved a dreary and persistent downpour to flock to the KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul. Groups gathered hours ahead of the 5 p.m. affair, stuffing newly purchased T-shirts and photo cards into trash bags for protection and crowding beneath trees and overhangs to keep dry.

But the rain seemed to vanish the instant Tomorrow X Together took to the stage, a 360-degree setup with five spokes extending toward the risers. The crowd screamed ecstatically as the band opened the show with a mishmash of its most popular songs — “Deja Vu,” the title track of its latest mini album, “9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)” (2019), “0X1 LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)” (2021) and “Devil by the Window” (2023) — in an ethereal shower of glitter and mist.

“A very important keyword from our music is ‘One…’” said Soobin as the members greeted their fans, known as MOA, for the first time. “Dream!” the audience bellowed in unison, completing the band’s famous slogan.

“‘Act: Promise’ will unravel how our dreams have grown,” Tomorrow X Together’s leader continued over the commotion, “and how we’ll continue into our future with MOA.”

The Friday date of Tomorrow X Together's ″Act: Promise″ tour at KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Tomorrow X Together performed 27 tracks throughout the concert’s nearly three-hour running time — including five from its latest EP, “minisode 3: Tomorrow,” which dropped on April 1.

A wide variety of sets and stages followed the opener, with tracks from as far back as the band’s first studio album.

Tomorrow X Together performed “Sugar Rush Ride” (2023) reinterpreted in the style of gugak, or traditional Korean music. “New Rules” (2019) took place in a steampunk-esque setting with red banners dangling from city windows, which morphed into a wild west vibe for “Ghosting” (2020), wherein members shot confetti out of guns. These were followed by a pastoral countryside backdrop for “Trust Fund Baby” (2022).

Afro-pop track “Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock)” (2023) saw sequined suits, intense strobe lights and one of the precise, athletic dance breaks for which Tomorrow X Together is known. “Puma” (2020) leveraged leather jackets and a rotating multilevel stage with a cyberpunk cityscape behind. The second chorus of beloved fan song “Blue Spring” (2023) made a brief appearance; the audience belted every word.

The show included two unit stages: Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai sang "Quarter Life" in T-shirts and ripped jeans, while the two older members performed a sultrier rendition of "The Killa (I Belong to You)." Retro-themed “Thursday’s Child Has Far To Go” (2022), despite having been released as a unit song from Soobin, Beomgyu and Taehyun, was performed by the full group, with Yeonjun and Hueningkai providing whoops of encouragement while their bandmates sang.

Tomorrow X Together performs the opening sequence of its ″Act: Promise″ world tour concert held Friday at the KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Tomorrow X Together led fans through cheers and chants throughout, issued each other dance challenges and prodded audience members not to crowd the barrier. In more somber moments, they discussed their pre-tour anxieties.

“To be honest, I was worried,” Taehyun said. “Could we fill this venue for three days? I did worry about that. But today — after the first, second and final concerts — seeing all of you filling this venue, I thought, ‘Next time, I want to do four or five.’”

“I did wonder if we could pull off all three days,” Yeonjun said. “The fact that we can fill this venue with MOAs, we don’t take that for granted.”

Tomorrow X Together performs during its ″Act: Promise″ world tour concert held Friday at the KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Members seemed similarly nervous — but confident — when speaking of the months ahead.

“We’ll learn many things while on tour,” Taehyun said. “I’m already curious about what we’ll learn and how we’ll grow.”

“Although the Seoul concert ends here, we will continue to prepare awesome performances,” Hueningkai said. “I guarantee and promise that you can look forward to our next steps.”

“Act: Promise” is currently slated to continue through mid-September, stopping in 12 cities across the United States and Japan, with further dates to be announced.

Tomorrow X Together performs during its ″Act: Promise″ world tour concert held Friday at the KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Tomorrow X Together wears intense and ethereal well, but the group is at its best when portraying joy. The highlight of the show came with the encore set, when the band, in jeans and tour shirts, performed “Magic Island” (2019), “Miracle,” “Skipping Stones” (2023) and anthemic fan tune “MOA Diary (Dubaddu Wari Wari)” (2021). Members ran freely around the stage, jumping on each other’s shoulders, improvising dances and pointing at the cameras while confetti rained down. “I love you,” the members called during an instrumental break, one by one, with some in tears.

“Thank you so much for today,” Soobin said, waving goodbye to fans, and to Seoul, as the concert concluded. “It’s time for us to go down a new path.”

From left, Tomorrow X Together members Hueningkai, Beomgyu and Taehyun perform ″Quarter Life″ on Friday at KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Tomorrow X Together members Yeonjun, left, and Soobin perform "The Killa (I Belong to You)" on Friday at KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Tomorrow X Together and dancers perform at the ″Act: Promise″ world tour concert Friday at KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

By MONICA CHIN [monica.chin@joongang.co.kr]