Concert Review: IU Enchants Malaysian UAENAs During Debut Show In KL
Singer-songwriter IU (아이유)’s headlining concert tour “Love, Poem” (taken from her EP of the same name) finally arrived in the heart of Kuala Lumpur last Saturday (21st December)! The event was organised by Galaxy Group (银河集团).
During the 3 hours and 30 minutes show held at Axiata Arena, concert-goers found themselves immersed with the star’s magical voice as well as her spectacular stage charisma.
The gate opened as early as 5pm. Despite the show kicking off at 7pm, Malaysian UAENAs (IU’s fandom name) started to line up prior to entering the concert venue to ensure they have a nice spot to witness the popular Hallyu star performing live in person.
After everyone was settled down in their seats, a montage video was played on the rectangular-shaped screen to warm up the party. IU (real name Lee Jieun) then appeared on stage – wearing a shimmery princess-like gown complete with a pair of silver-coloured heels – and opened the show with “Unlucky” before proceeding with her 2017 song “Palette”.
“Did you miss me?” IU asked the fans, before adding, “Since this was just the opening, you guys were so energetic. I hope you guys will keep up with the spirit for the rest of the concert.” Aside from that, the pop singer also showed off her skills in speaking Malay by uttering words such as “Apa khabar?” (How are you?) and “Terima kasih” (Thank you). She then continued the show with “Autumn Morning” and “Friday Night”, wowing the crowd with her flawless voice.
So what did she think of our country?
“I wasn’t able to go out. So, I spent most of my time in the hotel,” said IU. However, she couldn’t help but be impressed with Malaysia’s changing climates in a span of one day. “I love the fact that the weather here is changing. Back in Korea, you will only see one weather a day,” she further added.
Speaking about her next song “Secret Garden”, she revealed that the lyrics felt close to her, where it highlights the fact that no one is perfect in this world. The lights eventually dimmed as she exited the stage to prepare herself for the next performance.
The crowd was treated with another VCR video featuring the singer herself walking around a stranded forest. Moments later, she came back on stage clad in a black top beneath a long glittery cardigan with a pair of white pants. The 26-year-old then proceeded with the performance of “The Visitor” and “Jam Jam”. She didn’t miss the chance to interact with the audience with her cheeky facial expressions along with the cute lyrics.
Fellow local UAENAs then went bananas as she took off the cardigan to perform her hit songs “Twenty-three” and “BBIBBI”, along with her troupe of dancers. “Popularnya saya” (I’m so popular), the singer was quoted as saying, in response to the massive fan-chant during the latter song. For the next song, she asked fans to sing-along to “Hold My Hand”.
BBIBBI was lit ? Kuaena was screaming on top of their lungs ?? #IULovePoeminKL pic.twitter.com/k7LUAS8PqI
— EnCi (@LimEnCi1) December 22, 2019
IU singing Blueming and the fan project from Ku-aenas is a success with the blue balloon. #IULovePoeminKL #IULovePoeminMY pic.twitter.com/hmWtMWx3Bu
— ❌soso❌ (@naselection) December 21, 2019
Just when we thought IU was running out of energy after those splendid live performances, she took it up another notch with another quirky performance of “Last Night Story” – taken from her 2nd cover EP “A Flower Bookmark 2” (2017). “KL is so hot! I’m sweating as I was singing and dancing,” IU said after finishing the song. She then closed the second segment with her latest jam called “Blueming”, with fans waving light blue-coloured balloons as they chanted along with her performance.
Another VCR was played after the singer left the stage. As the clip was played, a few KUAENAs – a play of the words Kuala Lumpur and UAENAs – started to chant her name numerous times. IU then appeared on stage wearing a sky blue dress and proceeded to singing her chart-topping hit “Meaning Of You”. After that, she asked fans why they shouted for her name, which only hyped up the crowd even more. Praising their energetic cheers, she commented that fans’ voices were “louder than my own microphone. You guys completely won over my voice in this song.”
#IULovePoeminKL IU comes out again after vcr and asked Ku-Aenas why they were so loud and happy with cheers even when she wasn't on stage ? she said she envies us because we are happy all the time and assumes that it was the sunny-rainy weather effect, ?so comel la IU niii pic.twitter.com/TWoWEcgITB
— Malaysian Kpop Fans (@MsiaKPOPfans) December 21, 2019
Okay let’s cry together ?
I was getting teary eyed from Jang Man Weol’s performance last night.. now where’s my Ku Chan Seong? ✨#hahanyfancam #hahanyhallyu #iulovepoeminkl #iulovepoeminmy pic.twitter.com/wO8ljHzRTB— Hani Fadzil (@hanybunch) December 22, 2019
IU then talked about the immense popularity of her latest drama series “Hotel del Luna”. “I was informed by my manager that the drama did very well in the country! I am so pleased to hear that,” said IU as she expressed her gratitude to loyal followers of the show.
She then channeled the role of Jang Manweol (her character in the series) and performed a medley of original soundtracks for the drama; “Can You See My Heart” (originally performed by Heize), “Remember Me” (Gummy) and her very own song called “Our Happy Ending”. The screen also showed several scenes from the hit TV series.
The Seoul-born starlet continued to leave the audience in awe with her soulful take on the songs “Lullaby” and “Through The Night”. Her sincere and passionate performance of the songs gave us chills.
Sadly, the final part of the show was upon us. IU came back again on stage in a flowery dress paired with black heels and proceeded with the performance of “This Right Now”. After that, she took KUAENAs back to 2013 with her hit song “The Red Shoes” – taken from her critically-acclaimed 3rd studio album “Modern Times”. Right before her “last” 2 songs, she thanked everyone for having her here, “I was curious and a little bit worried since this is my first time performing in Malaysia. Thank you so much for coming! I can really tell that you’ve been waiting for me to come here.”
This dance sequence in #AboveTheTime is ?. The transition between this and #YouAndI is amazing #IULovePoeminKL #IULovePoeminMY #LovePoeminKL #LovePoeminMY pic.twitter.com/LdAAru9Up0
— ❌soso❌ (@naselection) December 22, 2019
bet you can't skip this clip! this is the opening view of today's concert in Malaysia. that firefly-like-ocean, I'm so fascinated. ✨? pic.twitter.com/St9vSot8AV
— IU｡ (@jieunlle) December 21, 2019
She further addressed the crowd by cheekily saying, “Jangan lupa hari ini! (Don’t forget today!)” She then closed the set with “Above The Time” from her latest “Love Poem” EP and the ever-popular “You and I”, taken from 2011’s “Last Fantasy”. However, prior to the performances, she gave out a slight hint of her encore performances to everyone. “I will come back on stage 5 minutes after the last song. After that, you guys can call out my name,” she assured everyone before leaving the stage.
To everyone’s excitement, she fulfilled her promise by appearing on stage again for the encore. During the session, she sang “Good Day”, the title song from her 2010 EP “Real”. Prior to that, KUAENAs showed off their skills in singing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, which received the singer’s acknowledgment. “You guys are so hot and energetic that even I cannot even control myself either,” said IU. She then bid farewell to KUAENAs with the ballad-driven song “Love, Poem”.
Encore with GOOD DAY! yes we having a good day today. #IULovePoeminKL pic.twitter.com/ooCaJ3Eql7
— crysalide [➕CROSS✖️] (@ygcrysalide) December 21, 2019
#IULovePoeminKL IU was looking at Ku Aenas banners and slogans ??? she spotted a lot of funny banners and said "Are you really my fan? " "You guys are mischievous " ㅋㅋㅋㅋ pic.twitter.com/vsMtWIhUS7
— Malaysian Kpop Fans (@MsiaKPOPfans) December 21, 2019
OMG Dream High Ost. SOMEDAY – woohyuk and IU was so cute in it. #IULovePoeminKL pic.twitter.com/9rO5tIcsK9
— crysalide [➕CROSS✖️] (@ygcrysalide) December 21, 2019
After a few minutes, her band members reappeared on stage, followed by the singer herself, clad in a more casual outfit. It was very heartwarming to see the star’s effort in connecting with the crowd in attendance. After jokingly commenting that she and the team “haven’t had dinner yet”, she continued by saying that the session will be brief and concise.
IU then asked fans what songs she shall sing for the special segment. A lot of fans came out with various suggestions including “Red Queen”, “Heart” and also her latest duet with fellow balladeer Sung Sikyung called “First Winter”. She then decided to go with a live rendition of “Leon”, a fast-paced number, before switching to a mellowed down performance of the song “Someday”.
She then ended the show with “End Of The Day” with a bang. “I will definitely see you guys again soon. I’m gonna finish this song with a message that I had a joyful time with my fans,” the “Scarlet Heart: Ryeo” star said. She waved one last time before bidding farewell for good.
If we were to describe the performer’s charisma on stage in one word; it would be colourful. We were beyond amazed that she could pull off various genres so well. Indeed IU is one of the most talented gems South Korea has produced. We were also touched with the singer’s commitment to interact with her fans.
We will definitely look forward for her future visit to our country soon. Till next time then Lee Jieun ?
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