Wrapping up the U.S. leg of their [RIGHT HERE] World Tour, SEVENTEEN performed two sold out nights in Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium. Venue-wise, this tour has been the nine-year-old group’s largest one to date stateside, going stadium door to stadium door. Even then, they had no trouble selling out each stop in minutes, even adding additional show dates in larger Metropolitan cities. With Saturday night’s show being the original show date in LA, it came as no surprise that the venue was filled to the brim with fans — known as Carats — ready to cheer on their favorite group.
Most notably, ahead of the concerts, SEVENTEEN prepared countless festivities for Carats to enjoy in member JOSHUA’s hometown of Los Angeles. Known as SEVENTEEN THE CITY LOS ANGELES, the group partnered with various local businesses to curate special themed dessert, drink, and food menus with cupsleeves, photocards, postcards, and more, and decorated the city with various billboards. Not stopping there, the group also held two exclusive Carat club nights, one of which utilized a free lottery system for official fan club members to attend, and lit up Santa Monica’s iconic Ferris Wheel in their classic rose quartz and serenity. On concert days, the group also had a merchandise pop up, and a special CARAT ZONE outside the venue for official fan club members to receive an exclusive photocard. Even before the concert began, LA Carats were being thoroughly spoiled, emphasizing SEVENTEEN’s love for their fans.
When it came time for the concert, the show kicked off with a late start time. After a quick introductory VCR, the music began to increase in volume as the lights flashed all around. Soon, the eleven members on the tour (as member JEONGHAN is currently fulfilling his mandatory military duty and member JUN has conflicting schedules filming in China) appeared on stage and performed an explosive opening. Right off the bat, the energy was palpable from both SEVENTEEN and Carats, as the group launched straight into “Fear,” “Fearless,” and one of their newer tracks, “MAESTRO.” Taking just a short pause to greet their fans with their “say the name” greeting, the group individually greeted the crowd as well. As member HOSHI confidently raised his hand in the air making a claw motion, the crowd went wild, as several fans dressed in tiger inspired outfits screamed “HORANGHAE” at him. Each member was greeted with just as much fervor, and not before long, the next set of songs was queued up. Performing these tracks for the first time in LA, Carats in the audience cheered extra loud as the group continued on the dark and cool momentum with “Ash” and “Crush,” before it was time for another VCR.
One of the greatest things about attending a SEVENTEEN concert is being able to see their versatility truly shine on stage. For those who may not know, SEVENTEEN is made up of three units — Hip Hop Team, Performance Team, and Vocal Team — each with unit songs that emphasize their specialties, without limiting them to only their specialties, either. The next segment of the show highlighted these teams, as each unit performed special stages together. First up was the chic Hip Hop Team, the perfect team to kick off this section to continue the cool concept from the previous stages. S.COUPS, WONWOO, MINGYU, and VERNON performed two tracks back to back, “Water” and “Monster,” showing off their smooth yet powerful raps. Next up was Performance Team, consisting of HOSHI, THE8, and DINO, as fourth member JUN was not present.
Switching things up from the loud thumping bass of Hip Hop Team’s “Monster,” the Performance Team started off with their song “Rain,” a mellow slow pop song, followed by “Lilili Yabbay,” a track with a complex choreography. Both tracks emphasized this unit’s strong dancing skills, whilst simultaneously highlighting their vocal prowess as well. Though the vocals from Hip Hop Team and Performance Team were both fantastic, the next unit up was geared up and ready to truly blow the crowd away. Vocal Team started things off lighthearted with their latest song “Candy,” before ending their performance with their OST-esque track “Cheers to youth.” The song perfectly embodies SEVENTEEN and how they’ve spent their youthful years growing up and facing the world together. Although this unit’s members JOSHUA, SEUNGKWAN, DK, and WOOZI were missing their eldest member JEONGHAN, just like Performance Team, each person’s undeniable talent and adaptability made it impossible to find any missing piece of their stages unless you already knew someone was missing.
Taking another break for a VCR, the group returned with a much more lighthearted set, which was suitably prefaced with Vocal Team’s “Cheers To Youth.” The group performed their summer pop song “Oh My!,” which was paired with a silly skit, “Snap Shoot,” during which fans screamed along to youngest member DINO’s iconic part, and “God of Music.” Taking a second to speak to their fans once more, SEVENTEEN continued on with “Home,” a song many of their fans refer to as their “comfort song.” Before their next set, the group prepared yet another VCR, which then welcomed the “last” segment of the show.
This portion of the show began with the English version of their latest release, “LOVE, MONEY, FAME,” followed by the highly anticipated “March,” and the powerful statement song “Super,” which was paired with a beautiful fireworks display. Next was a fun segment dubbed CARAT TIME, where the focus was turned to the fans as the group retreated backstage for wardrobe change. Carats sang along to tracks such as “Darl+ing.” Almost ten years into their career, SEVENTEEN returned to the stage once more, throwing things back to their roots with a performance of their debut song “Adore U,” perfectly showcasing how much they’ve grown from debut until now. The show then came to its “end” with “’bout you” and “Campfire,” surprising fans by coming into the audience on carts to greet everyone up close before the group returned once more for their long-awaited and infamous encore.
Throwing in songs like “Our Dawn Is Hotter Than Day“ had Carats singing and swaying around, however, the main event of the night was what fans know as “never-ending Aju Nice,” when the group persistently performs their hit song “VERY NICE” over, and over, and over again. Rounding out the show with an alarming amount of “aju nices,” SEVENTEEN wrapped the night up with final words of gratitude, promises to return, and countless finger hearts, “HORANGHAES,” and laughter.
Paying homage to their youth, SEVENTEEN created a beautiful setlist that showcased their growth throughout the years, their passion for performing that’s never dwindled, and their love for their Carats that’s constantly increasing. With WOOZI at the center of the group producing, composing, and writing, S.COUPS who has finally reunited with the group as the overall leader, and every single one of their members showing off their versatility, talent, and love for one another through this show, the group reaffirmed their bond, their determination, and their strong presence. SEVENTEEN truly showed audiences why they’re here, and that they’re here to stay.
Written & Edited By Ephney Tsai
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
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