It’s been a spring stacked with K-pop tours but it’s moments like ONEW’s The Live: Connection tour where fans immediately knew they were in for a special evening. The Shinee leader completed his solo North American run with a sold out stop at The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles last week and truly took the time to connect with his devoted fans.
The stage setup was minimalistic, putting the spotlights squarely on ONEW as he emerged to earsplitting cheers from an audience armed with Shinee lightsticks, slogans and an outpouring of love for their favorite vocalist. Dressed in a dusky pink suit, ONEW began his performance with a series of ballads that had the fans swaying and singing in unison. His otherworldly vocals needed no additional production- the room was mesmerized during “Shape of My Heart” and “O (Circle)” to kick things off.
ONEW’s music skews towards soaring ballads but he put a little pep in his step for “Dice”- definitely a fan favorite judging by the audience’s reaction. The Orpheum Theatre transformed into a comedy show with a side of musical performances as ONEW joked with the fans between songs and left everyone in fits of laughter before the setlist continued. He also expressed regret at not being able to fit in all of the songs from the Korean concerts into this tour’s list, but appeased any disappointed fans with an acapella snippet of “Starry Night” (using the slightly pitchy but no less enthusiastic crowd as the backup harmonies).
ONEW also sent gifts into the crowd, from paper airplanes decorated with lyrics and affirmations to wandering up to the balcony seating to pass out bouquets to some very lucky and grateful fans. The middle of the performance had ONEW prompting the audience to sit down with him as he put his vocal abilities on full display for the more “acoustic” section of the show. One of his final ments also had him asking for Los Angeles recommendations that turned into a heated debate between the better fast food- Raising Cane’s or In-N-Out.
ONEW’s bright smile was a salve for the fans already sad that the night was coming to an end with “Yay” and “Winner”. As he said himself, however, loud cheering would bring him back for an encore (but the real secret is that he’d emerge again regardless of the crowd’s cheering). True to his word, ONEW returned for a three song encore that brought the night and the tour to a close with “Conversation” and “Promise You”- the latter track being a literal promise to return for more concerts as soon as possible. Like all the slogans said, ONEW is the sunshine to his legions of fans and they’re all eagerly awaiting his return both as a soloist and Shinee’s beloved leader.
