Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Taemin performs at his second solo concert at Olympic Park in southern Seoul, Sunday. Courtesy of SM Entertainment. |
By Jung Hae-myoung
A splendid stage featuring steep inclines, flying wires, massive wide screens, fireworks and laser lights fascinated spectators at Taemin's second solo concert "T1001101" held at Olympic Park in Seoul, Sunday.
Taemin, a member of K-pop boyband SHINee, took the stage after breaking through a screen. As he made the dramatic appearance, dancing on a 35-degree slanted floor with a wire on his back, the song "Identity" filled the arena with fans cheering "I love you Taemin" while waving glow sticks.
His concerts, held from Friday to Sunday, came a year and five months after he had his first solo concert in August 2017.
During the show, Taemin suggested making a subtitle for his concert, saying "I know the title can be rather a mouthful, so I was thinking the subtitle should be TMI, shortened for Taemin's Identity."
Among the 25 songs performed, three songs ― "Identity," "Heaven" and "I Guess It's Love," ― were sung at the concert for the first time. "Holy Water," "Into the Rhythm" and "Goodbye" ― exclusively released on his first album in Japan ― were also performed for international fans.
"The song Identity was previewed in my last album. It was the outro for my album WANT which was purposefully included for this concert," Taemin said. "This song is my favorite because it really depicts how I have become myself."
He also performed "Heaven" on the stage with choreography.
"I wanted to write a song that can comfort you, and make you feel like I take you to heaven," Taemin said. "I really hoped you would like the song, and I am really glad you did."
 |
| Taemin talks to fans on stage at T1001101 concert on Sunday. Courtesy of SM Entertainment. |
Taemin entertained fans with stories about the stage setup noting the unique stage devices including the slanted floor and wire performances.
"I had lots of trial and error while practicing because this is the first time I am dancing at this angle. For the Heaven stage, the dancers and I don't use wires so we are slowly slipping down the stage if you see us up close," he said.
"All of these stage devices were very foreign to me and needed a lot of technique. I had to rent other performance venues for practice. I am glad you enjoyed it."
The ruffled shirt during "Press Your Number," the snake from music video "WANT" and the roses and fox from the videos in between the acts during the concert converged into a single metaphor of "Little Prince."
"Like the planet name in Little Prince, the title of this concert is also mixed with alphabet letters and numbers," Taemin said, wearing golden hair reminiscent of the character. "I am the Little Prince and you are my guests invited to my planet."
Although he was dressed up as a little prince, the dance, facial expressions and use of dynamics on stage clearly showed his 12 years of experience as a stage performer.
