K-pop boy band iKON held a two-day concert “iKONCERT 2016 Showtime in Seoul,” which kicked off Saturday at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, the nation’s largest concert hall.

As the septet began the show with debut track “Rhythm Ta,” the hall was illuminated by a sea of red light sticks and around 12,000 fans cheered, screamed and sang along.

(YG Entertainment)

After performing two more hits “Dumb & Dumber” and “Sinosijak,” the singers greeted their fans known as iKONIC.

Lead member B.I. said in an excited voice, “It has been four months since we debuted last year. I am so happy to see the hall full of fans.”

Junhoe said, “I can’t still believe that our album has been released. Everyday is like a dream to me.”

The greeting was followed by solo performances of B.I and Bobby who each performed “BE I” and “Go,” songs they had unveiled at a rap competition program “Show Me the Money.”

(YG Entertainment)

Bobby, wearing a simple white tee-shirt and black ripped jeans, got down from the stage and walked into the stands to come closer to iKONIC.

After two more hits “Anthem” and “Apology,” they asked the fans, “Do you know this song? If so, let’s sing together,” referring to the little-known soft ballad “Wait for me.”

The lyrics were displayed on the screen although it didn’t seem necessary as the crowd confidently sang along.

When Junhoe said, “I think I truly love my fans. Whenever I am with you, I want to show my affection,” the fans screamed with joy.

The second half of the concert was dominated by special events where iKON performed songs of Big Bang, GFriend and EXID.

(YG Entertainment)

Jinhwan surprised his fans, by performing GFriend’s “Me gustas tu” in a sleeveless white dress and long brown wavy hair. The rest performed EXID’s “Up & Down” in black sleeveless dresses.

The show’s highlight was their performance of “Today.” While performing, they walked up to the second floor with cameras and took photos of the audience right in front of them.

The signers wrapped up the show with “Just another boy” and “Climax,” songs they had unveiled while they were still Team B at the Mnet “WHO IS NEXT: WIN.”

iKon is set to continue their concerts in Daegu on Feb. 27, in Busan on Mar. 5 and in five cities in Japan, including in Fukuoka and Tokyo, in March.





By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)