It had been a long, long wait, and London was ready. For years, SMTOWN LIVE has been a mega show that took place almost exclusively in Asia, becoming an experience that fans outside of the region could only gaze yearningly upon from afar. SM Entertainment, established in 1995 and introducing the first K-Pop idol group to the world, H.O.T., in the following year, that growing tree bore more fruits quickly after: such as BoA and SUPER JUNIOR, names that are still famous today. It’s irrefutable that the music company had a large part in the establishment of K-Pop, and this year, in celebration of their tri-decade living legacy, they brought SMTOWN LIVE to the other side of the globe.
Fans were abuzz and dressed in pink jerseys ahead of the concert: some having meticulously studied the festival’s setlist in previous cities, and some at peace with the suspense. Something to note about these SMTOWN LIVE concerts is that the structure is unconventional for a festival; London opened with 2nd Generation legends TVXQ to kick things off strong, but then continued with groups from most to least recent debut date. After Yunho and Changmin’s grand entrance, each artist whizzed away with two songs each, keeping the audience on their toes.
The chock-full arena was overwhelmingly iridescent with the glow of NCT fans’ lightsticks, however, all artists received an equally warm welcome to the O2 Arena. Despite the increased growth of new K-Pop fans in recent years, veteran idols were treated with the same respect as their juniors, with fans perfectly reciting lyrics to old but gold hits like TVXQ’s “Mirotic” and Girls’ Generations’ “Run Devil Run”: handled by the girls of Red Velvet. The latter’s own megahit “Psycho” got its own suave redo by TVXQ: such surprises are just what’s to expect at an event as rare and celebratory as SMTOWN LIVE.
Some more treats London received at its first ever SMTOWN concert were the late addition of SHINee’s Minho to the setlist: an adjustment well received. The heartthrob charmed all in his easy listening song “CALL BACK”, but didn’t refrain from reminding people what a brilliant team of vocalists he hatched from with the flawless delivery of his line ‘Will it be, will it be, will it be you?’
In true SM fashion all artists sung mostly live, including dearALICE, SM’s answer to global groups moving in the Asian pop music scene and taking the music industry by storm recently. Suho, Chanyeol and Kai breathed life into the ever-patient hearts of EXO fans with a performance of “Git It Up!” (originally a H.O.T. song), and was also ironically the closest thing Europe has ever had to an EXO concert in their 13-year run.
The older the group, the more chances of absent members due to mandatory military service and other career endeavours. Though every role was filled seamlessly, Johnny and Yuta who have previously had sub-vocal roles within NCT 127 )and naturally less lines in songs) got to undertake more duties at the show: exhibiting talent fans were less aware of, and giving London a truly unique spin on beloved hits like “Kick It”. HYO, originally one part of the eight member group Girls’ Generation, brought Aespa’s Giselle and WayV’s YangYang on stage for an uber-energetic rendition of her hit “Dessert”.
As is custom for these SM parties, the ending to such an exhilarating show could only be appropriately wrapped up with an all-artist singalong to “Hope from KWANGYA”, featuring artists in the same pink merch as fans, letting loose and interacting with their labelmates on this rare occasion.
Special days like these don’t come often, and fans and attendees of SMTOWN LIVE will be savouring these memories for years to come.
You can keep up to date with all SM artists on SMTOWN’s official Instagram.