With icons of the genre like Stray Kids and BLACKPINK announcing huge stadium shows in the UK this summer, K-Pop seems bigger than ever on this side of the pond. But one act that has yet to make it to our shores until now is TOMORROW X TOGETHER, who are embarking on their first ever European tour and hitting up London’s O2 Arena as part of it. The boy group are signed to BigHit Entertainment (the Korean label that brought you BTS) and their first UK show has been hotly anticipated by MOAs (TXT’s fanbase). A sea of fairy wings, shiny lightsticks and sparkly make up is pouring its way into the venue for a surprisingly early start time of 7.30, and with no opening act, it looks like we’ll all get to go home early – petition for all shows to follow TXT’s lead, please!
The five members – Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Hueningkai, and Taehyun – appear on stage in matching embellished suits for opening number ‘Over The Moon’. As is characteristic of K-Pop concerts, the show is divided into acts interspersed with video clips that tell a vague story presumably surrounding the themes of the latest album – though it’s not quite clear how the story fits together, or what the individual acts represent, unless you’re a hardcore MOA immersed in TXT’s lore. A large chunk of the show is taken up by the band talking to the crowd and encouraging various chants, and whilst these are lapped up by fans, they do sometimes drag on a little – though there’s some endearing moments, like when the group take it in turns to do their best attempt at a British accent.
As is to be expected, the show is highly polished from start to finish, with some impeccable choreography (the dance break in ‘Can’t Resist’) and excellent vocals on display (Taehyun’s high note on ‘Higher Than Heaven’). Each member also gets the chance to shine in a solo performance – Soobin, Taehyun and Beomgyu all perform various impressive dance pieces, but it’s Yeonjun who steals the show with his swaggering, hip-hop influenced solo track ‘GGUM’. The variety of genres showcased in the music help keep the near 3 hour long show feeling fresh: the euphoric hook of ‘Thursday’s Child’ is a particular highlight, and ‘Quarter Life Crisis’ sounds like it could have been released by One Direction. But where TXT really stand out from other boy groups is on their rock inspired tracks like ‘LO$ER=LO♡ER’ and ‘Growing Pain’, the latter of which is preceded by Hueningkai’s brilliantly executed solo performance on the drums (he later said he was particularly worried about making a mistake at this show, with the UK being the home of rock and roll).
For the encore, the band emerge looking cosy in matching hoodies, this aesthetic giving a more intimate feel to the likes of ‘Magic Island’ and ‘Heaven’. With teary eyed fans in the audience singing along to every word, the lines between artist and fan suddenly feel blurred – and whether or not that’s a good thing will depend on your perspective. But whilst it may be a one sided love story to the most cynical of us, in moments like this, for MOA, it feels perfectly real.
