My fair and honest review of the idol groups I saw in person this year (MMM, Twice, BP, NJ)

  • I promise to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But don't come here looking for drama. I only have nice things to say~


    I considered grading certain categories, but I decided to keep it simple. I will just attempt to summarize what each concert experience was like.


    I'll start with the group I technically saw late last year but added to the list anyway.


    BLACKPINK


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    It's almost been a year, so I had to rewatch some of my footage, as some details are a bit hazy after going to 6 other concerts since then, but the overall impression they left on me was strong.


    This concert was fierce. High octane. hot. And I mean literally HOT. There were literal flames for a lot of their stages, but those flames were just flickers compared to the heat BP brought on stage. Rumors of listless performances were greatly exaggerated, because I saw zero evidence of that.


    No surprise, but Lisa was on her A+++ game the entire night. Her reputation as a performer is completely deserved. I'm not even a big fan of her solo tracks, but when she poledances into Money, like, come on. She owned that stage. They all did.


    But Rosé is still my fav, and her vocals were on point that night. Loved her solo stage and my only complaint is that it was over too soon.


    Their concert flew by the fastest, but that's not surprising with how fast-paced most of their songs are, and with how many dates there are on this tour, they would need superhuman stamina to do 3+ hour concerts every night. I wish they performed The Happiest Girl, but I can understand why that song wouldn't make the setlist for such a huge tour. Plus they performed Forever Young, and that was my only selfish demand heading into the concert, as it is my favorite BP B-Side.


    All in all, I really enjoyed myself. My biggest regret is that I couldn't get as close as I prefer for K-Pop concerts, because the stupid ticket portal crashed and put me back to the back of the ticket purchase queue :cursing:


    TWICE


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    Until I went to lollapalooza this year, this was the most surreal K-Pop performance I've been to. It was my second Twice concert in as many years, except it was in a baseball stadium. Words can't really describe what it's like to be surrounded by that many people all coming together to see one K-Pop girl group.


    I was really curious how they'd handle such a big venue, not to mention the challenging elements (it was Atlanta in the summer). And Twice really performed their asses off. Nobody would ever call me a Once, but I know enough about Twice to say they really challenged themselves with this tour, especially compared to their last tour.


    I was really impressed with Chaeyoung, who performed a cute song with an acoustic guitar while her mic tried its best to hide from her. She handled it like a pro and even performed it again acapella to make up for the cute oopsie. Dahyun played the piano. Momo poledanced. They all gave everything they had. A Twice fan literally couldn't ask for more. I loved the Twice hit medley they performed near the end too.


    Finally got to hear "Shy Shy Shy!" in person :holding-back-tears:


    For years, I've called them the quintessential girl group, and they showed it.


    MAMAMOO


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    What do I even need to say when we're talking Mamamoo and live stages? This is what they're built for. I've legitimately seen Mamamoo perform double digit times, and they've blown me away every single time. It never gets old. I did four stops on their Mycon Tour, and every time one concert ended, I was ready to go to the next one immediately!


    As amazing as Mamamoo sounds in any video or performance you've watched online, their voices are even better in person. The ad libs, the powerful belts, the vocal runs, the sweet harmonization--it's something you should experience at least once as a K-Pop fan. I have to of course shout out the now infamous part of the concert where each member swapped and performed each other's solo songs; I could watch that four more times. Like they've always done, Mamamoo lived up to their reputation as one of the most talented K-Pop groups the industry has ever produced.


    Since this was the first time a lot of people got to see Mamamoo in person, I wish they found a way to squeeze I Miss You into their set, but again, I understand why it didn't make the cut. That's easily their most demanding song vocally. Paint Me was the most beautiful, emotional performance I've seen all year, so that was a fine consolation prize. Plus I finally got to hear HIP live. FINALLY. :dancer-pepe:


    I just wish their live band had made the journey overseas with them, because as great as the concert was, from personal experience, I know there is an even higher level of Mamamoo concert that can be reached. Plus they had to cut some songs from their US tour, due to the demands of the VIP meet and greets ;judgingpepe: But it was still an A+ concert!


    NewJeans


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    I think I already spazzed enough about them the night I returned from lollapalooza, but I have to say this. Unlike the other venues I went to, this wasn't a NewJeans concert. It wasn't even a K-Pop event like K-CON. It was a freaking gigantic music festival with literally 115,000 people AT LEAST filing in each day for the dozens of different artists performing. NewJeans members themselves have spoken to how their team told them to mentally prepare for what may be more of an "appeal stage", since everyone wouldn't be there necessarily to see them.


    Could've fooled me. We now know there were at least 70,000 people all packed in like sardines to see NewJeans, and knowing that this would be the first time NJ ever performed in the U.S. and at a venue like lollapalooza, I was even a little nervous for them and how the crowd would receive them.


    Until I saw the live band set up, all the Binky Bongs rise up and NewJeans walk out with hand mics Mamamoo style. Then me, and the tens of thousands of people around me, screamed our lungs out while singing every lyric to every song for their entire set. Given the stage and stakes, this was literally a perfect U.S. debut. The girls were vibrant, engaging, cute and the vocals were live. You couldn't tell they were a rookie group the way they performed, and the energy on and around that stage was actually palpable.


    I expect that kind of energy at any group's concert, but not a festival like lollapalooza. It was actually a magical experience and ranks up there with one of my favorite K-Pop experiences I've ever had. Oh, and my foot still hurts from queueing for 5 hours to get as close as possible to their stage ;(


    Okay, I'm done with my word vomit for probably the rest of the month. I don't even care if this topic flops, since I am satisfied with how well that last one went. Just had to get this out my system :pepeflushed:

  • I agree with Blackpink being HOT


    In multiple ways


    The girls are - HOT


    But also being in a kpop... "mosh pit" was, as always, hot as well.


    And then, the pyrotechnics are honest to god pyrotechnics and being as close to the stage as I was, you could feel it. And the girls were much closer to the flames, so that heat must really be felt by them

    I honestly wonder about the safety of the pyrotechnics tbh

  • I sadly didn't get to attend Blackpink's MetLife concert, but was lucky enough to see TWICE's and agree about their concert. TWICE really brought their a-game, and I think something not brought up enough is how fun their interactions actually are inbetween songs. They're quirky but very charming that transcends the language barrier, which is probably why their concert encores are such a hit with the crowd.


    Really wish I got to see BP.

  • Love it! I've never been much of a fan of MMMs music but even I know they're phenomenal performers

    If there ever comes a time in your life where you have the opportunity to see them live, don't hesitate. Go. They are absolute phenoms to see in person, and now that they've honed their performances for nearly 10 years, you'll find it challenging to find better live performers anywhere. 95% of their set was zero backtrack.


    I sadly didn't get to attend Blackpink's MetLife concert, but was lucky enough to see TWICE's and agree about their concert. TWICE really brought their a-game, and I think something not brought up enough is how fun their interactions actually are inbetween songs. They're quirky but very charming that transcends the language barrier, which is probably why their concert encores are such a hit with the crowd.


    Really wish I got to see BP.

    I could've spent more time talking about their incredible fanservice honestly. It was non-stop between songs and sometimes spilled over during songs when they weren't doing 100% of the choreo. A lot of it felt spontaneous and unscripted too. Nayeon and Jihyo stood out in that regard. Nayeon for being the ultimate MC and Jihyo for clearly feeling herself the entire time.

    good for you my friend I'm glad you got to experience kpop live and enjoyed it so much


    what were some of the negative experiences you had (if any)

    Phones. Especially during the lollapalooza stage :eyeroll-pepe:


    I'm not short, and it was even challenging for me to see! Also every last second leading up to NJ coming out, because I stood in a huge crowd of people and baked in the hot sun for 5 straight hours.


    There really weren't any negatives about the concerts, fans and overall experiences themselves other than selfish things like I wish I was closer :pepe-sad:

  • i feel like the live kpop experience has gotten exponentially better in the last few years

    I don't know if I'd say better as much as BIGGER.


    The first time I ever saw Mamamoo was at a relatively small Korean culture festival in LA back in 2015.


    I actually have that old video on my channel


    (WARNING: a seal could've recorded a more stable video than I did and the only thing not tragic about the audio quality is Mamamoo's powerful vocals)

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    Now when I compare that to seeing Mamamoo at THE FORUM in a completely sold out concert, or seeing NewJeans at freaking lollapalooza, the scale is simply insane.


    Sometimes I do miss these more intimate venues though. The fanmeet the day after that 2015 festival was the best and most personal interactions I've ever had with Mamamoo. Nothing compares.

  • this is honestly quite similar to the sports fan’s experience lol. On the one hand, you want your team to be good and win championships, on the other hand, ticket prices can be dirt cheap when the team stinks and no one wants to watch them, which means you can get up close to your team in the stadium and won’t be bothered by other fans or even by security 😂

    But overall of course you want the team to succeed and prosper even if it came at the expense of your personal selfish wishes 🥲

  • this is honestly quite similar to the sports fan’s experience lol. On the one hand, you want your team to be good and win championships, on the other hand, ticket prices can be dirt cheap when the team stinks and no one wants to watch them, which means you can get up close to your team in the stadium and won’t be bothered by other fans or even by security 😂

    But overall of course you want the team to succeed and prosper even if it came at the expense of your personal selfish wishes 🥲

    This is nothing but the truth though. Like, back in 2015, as a fan, I wanted nothing more than for Mamamoo to climb to the top of the K-Pop landscape and accomplish all their goals as individuals and artists.


    But 2015 was the first and last time I ever got to literally see them perform for free without having to compete with thousands of other people to see them up close, and I wasn't charged hundreds of dollars to talk to them. They even signed both an album and poster for me.


    Meanwhile, for the VIP experience from the Mycon tour, which cost $300, I had literally 2 seconds to wave at them and then got rushed into a group photo with 9 other random people. The venue staff couldn't have been ruder--Oh, I guess I found my other negative experience :cursing:


    *sigh*


    There are pros and cons to mainstream popularity.

  • Looking over my concert footage got me all excited like I was back in those moments in present time, and I think it'd be pretty cool to share some of it, specifically the intro stages to each concert I attended.


    Each concert had its unique energy, but what they all shared in common was those tense, nervous and super exciting moments right before the idols you've only seen through a screen suddenly pop out right in front of you.


    They're so hype, and I made sure to record each one. I'll share them in a bit on one of my other YT accounts.

  • Each concert had its unique energy, but what they all shared in common was those tense, nervous and super exciting moments right before the idols you've only seen through a screen suddenly pop out right in front of you.


    the 10 minutes or so before a show starts is an amazing feeling, I always read into EVERYTHING like if someone starts randomly cheering or I see a roadie walking around

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