Arizona has seen an influx of K-pop stars visiting the Valley, with the latest being TEN’s US Showcase Tour at The Van Buren this week. The prolific star of NCT, WayV and Super M fame finally brought his solo work to the States in celebration of his latest singles while also visiting his older work in front of a packed house.
Fans armed with WayV and NCT lightsticks bathed the venue in bright green light as TEN’s intro VCR pumped up the excitement for the start of the show. Emerging with his four backup dancers dressed in brilliantly white outfits, TEN kicked off a “Stunner” of a night. The fans- affectionately and officially known as 10vely- screamed the lyrics to the pulsing “Nightwalker” and the sensual beats of “Birthday” before TEN took a breather to formally welcome everyone to the tour.
As it was his first time visiting Phoenix, TEN expressed a love for the desert scenery and local shopping, delighting local 10velys showing pride for their home state. TEN asked only one thing of his audience- to have the best night ever- and Arizona was ready to make the evening unforgettable. The setlist moved into “On Ten” and “Dangerous”, both tracks that allowed TEN and his dancers to show off some dazzling moves into a quick outfit change (where he found vintage Phoenix Suns gear, we may never know).
While much of TEN’s music leans towards a dance-heavy energy, the middle section of his performance showed a softer side during “New Heroes” and “Lie With You”. He even treated the fans to an unreleased song that was one of the strongest moments of the performance- and built up the anticipation for the track’s release. In contrast, TEN’s latest songs- including “IRL”- take on a modern hip hop and house vibe and he let that sound carry into the rest of the show, handing over the mic to the audience so they could sing back to him as he let his dancing do most of the talking.
The end of the evening snuck up on everyone as TEN introduced his team and made sure to capture every moment on camera for the memories of his first solo showcase. Any nerves had been shaken off and the show ended strong with “Enough for You”, “Bambola” and new single “Outwest” before the fans’ cheers brought him back out for a rousing encore to send everyone home on a high note. The love of his audience was reflected on his face as he smiled and promised to come back to Phoenix- great news for K-pop fans in the Valley yearning for more of the genre’s stars to visit Arizona in the future.
