A flood of young fans (and one very excited dad) piled into Mesa’s Nile Theater when AMPERS&ONE brought their aptly named My First_ in North America tour to Arizona. The freshly minted K-pop group- made up of Kamden, Brian, Jiho, Siyun, Mackiah, Kyrell, and Seungmo- turned the iconic theater into a spectacle of energetic dancing and stunning vocals.
Fans milled around the room before the show, taking advantage of the photobooths set up by the tour or picking up a shirt before the lights dimmed and the real party began. The group emerged in coordinating school uniform-esque fits, literally jumping into “On and On” and “Someday”. Seugmo had suffered a mild injury prior to the Arizona stop so he was sidelined from the intense choreography but still lent his bright smile and shining vocals to each song.
After “Over the Moon” and the impossibly catchy “Sheesh”, the group broke up into units for a series of covers by both K-pop and Western artists that gave each member the chance to spotlight their unique talents. This included covers by fellow K-pop artists TXT, TWS, Stray Kids and BTS- to the delight of the room. Each unit also put their own spin on Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like”, complete with laidback choreography.
A quick outfit change found the guys in matching leather jackets and a second wind as they whipped through “Broken Heart”, “Sweet & Sour” and “Calling You Back”. This also drove the packed room into a frenzy, with fans shouting words of encouragement and love towards the stage and brandishing homemade signs for their favorite members. The fans are always the real stars of any K-pop show, as their affirmation and pure unfiltered enthusiasm propels these groups to the next level- and AMPERS&ONE is well on their way to superstardom if Phoenix’s reaction was any indication.
The final number had all seven members lined up for the heartfelt ballad “Fly” as Seungmo was overcome with emotion and sobbed onstage while the rest of the group gave him their support. Their final thoughts on the show were full of gratitude and apologies- the latter of which was loudly shouted down by the fans- as they assured Arizona they’d return after such a warm welcome.
As is tradition, the group re-emerged for one final encore decked out in their own tour shirts to “Slide” right to the end of a “Crazy Stupid Fun” night. AMPERS&ONE has clearly built a devoted fanbase in such a short time since their debut and these fans are determined to see their new favorite group rise in the ranks of K-pop- and hopefully play an even bigger room on their next visit to Arizona. Their obvious passion for their craft made this show an invigorating breath of fresh air and fans lined up for their selfies after the show starry-eyed with love for these seven talented performers.
