SM Entertainment's super group, aka the avengers of Kpop, aka SuperM, made their much anticipated London concert debut yesterday. Hosted at the O2 academy, the evening was spectacular, filled with stellar live vocals, stunning dances and hilarious goofiness from the members.
The start of the concert was a little bumpy, with the sound suddenly cutting off part way through the group's first song I Can't Stand the Rain. The shock on Baekhyun's face was evident as the lights and sound suddenly went off. Nevertheless, the group handled the glitch calmly and professionally, and Mark, the group's best English speaker, stepped up to reassure fans. The group then started the song again from the beginning. As the members joked later, this was the only concert where the fans could hear I Can't Stand the Rain twice!
The concert itself was amazing. The group songs from the SuperM album were all performed majestically. Their unreleased track Dangerous Woman was clearly a bop. A stand out performance was No Manners, which had the members grinding and prancing up and down ramps throughout the song. Ten and Taeyong's performance of Baby Don't Stop was one of the best received throughout the whole night - the screams were delightfully deafening. Of course the final song Jopping was the best - the members' energy and the crowd's screaming was boundless. Baekhyun's high note at the end of the song executed perfectly.
What made this concert really special was that each member got to showcase their own unique personality and talents with a solo stage. The most memorable solo stages for me were those from Taemin and Taeyong.
Taemin performed his iconic songs Danger and Goodbye. The first song Danger was sung with true SHINee extra-ness, with a troupe of backup dancers and Taemin sporting an interesting looking wide-brimmed hat. For Goodbye, the stage then cleared an it was just Taemin alone in the centre, dancing with 110% effort. He truly owned the stage, and at that moment he really showed his artistry. His dance skills were staggering and since it was his solo stage he didn't have to subdue himself to match the members, so he really shone. I watched the whole performance with my mouth agape.
Taeyong as a performer is scary. Scarily talented, scarily ferocious, scarily sexy. Taeyong's solo stage was world's apart from Taemin's, but in it he too showed his unique artistry wonderfully. His solo song GTA was really unforgettable. You could tell that he'd spent a lot of time cultivating the song: from the composition, to the performance itself. He came onto the stage in a glittery mask which he cheekily pulled back to flash a sexy smirk at the crowd. In pictures Taeyong seems really quite skinny and lanky, but in real life this is not the case. He is tall and broad-shouldered, and more importantly, he really owns the space he is in.
Every few songs there was a break where the members got a chance to chat with the crowd. This was really fun, and you got a chance to learn a bit more about what the members are like. It is obvious that their chemistry as a seven is really good, as they were joking and vibing well throughout. Surprisingly, Mark was very mature and compassionate, and actually felt more like the group's leader than Baekhyun.
Even though Lucas cannot express himself fluently in Korean or English, you really could feel his happiness to be on stage. He was the member who smiled the most throughout the whole night, and his delight was infectious. Kai and Baekhyun are very manly - and were both immensely embarrassed when forced by the rest of the members to do aegyo. This was a meaningful concert for Kai especially, as he said that it had been his dream since debut to perform in London.
One memorable part was when Taeyong was talking about his solo stage. He that GTA stands for grand troubled artist. He said "I don't want to be troubled, I want to be your trouble". Needless to say the crowd went wild. Ten, being strong in English, was very talkative too. In line with his hilarious personality, Mark attempted a cockney accent saying "'ello everyone" which was met with many laughs.
They say time flies when you're having fun. (They meaning Mark Lee during this concert). It almost felt like as soon as the concert began it was time to wrap up. This was truly the best concert I've ever been to - I spent the whole night in shock at their talent.
Thankfully, this concert ended on a high. It very much seemed like this was the beginning of something and not the end. It is clear that SuperM are rearing to go and are desperate to continue making music, so they can come back and perform more.
So this wasn't a goodbye, it was a see you again soon.
Photos taken by Jessica