REVIEW: P1Harmony Creates Glimmering Live Performance in VIRGINIA Amid Billboard Top 10 Debut
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY PATTI DOUD ☆
Photos provided by P1Harmony team
IN AN ARENA TYPICALLY UTILIZED FOR MID-LEVEL COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL STARS — filled with squeaking mustard-yellow hard plastic chairs, excited fangirl chatter overlapped indistinctly. It felt like an unlikely place for the shining energy of sextet K-pop group P1Harmony, but there’s an underrated talent in molding any old space into one’s artistic world. This special and safe world, built upon itself with intricate stories through each song, album and event, draws in a diverse crowd. Colorful, funky-shaped hair clips compliment pastel fuzzy legwarmers and thigh high boots, with plenty of p1ece (the name of P1Harmony’s fans) dressed up as the members from different eras or various fandom inside jokes.
In a unique position due to their Korean origin and organic international-market success, P1Harmony provides a great gateway into the Korean pop music scene. The personable and charming members include KEEHO, THEO, JIUNG, INTAK, SOUL and JONGSEOB; fluent in a variety of languages such as Korean, English and Japanese, they’ve created strong connections with various cultures. The passionate group can be recognized for their multitude of viral moments, or their deep involvement in their music as creative producers. P1Harmony’s most recent mini-album, coined “EX” after the title track, is a unique, fully English project created to coincide with their North American leg and emphasize promotions and events there.
A fun world-building video was played to introduce the group, which revealed a concept of universe travelers in a crashed spaceship. These details assisted P1Harmony’s overall world building in a fun and simple way, continuing in their visuals throughout the entire show. Filled with backup dancers, fire, confetti and flawless live vocals, it’s hard to pinpoint what made the show so exciting.
INTAK and SOUL reaffirmed the group’s dance skillset especially, while each member had a solo song highlighting their preferred talents (dancing, singing, both, or even a live guitar). KEEHO stood out with a cover of Rihanna’s “Phresh off the Runway,” while INTAK boasted a sexy performance of Usher’s “Good Kisser.” JONGSEOB brought his own lyrics into a cover of Tyler, the Creator’s “Sticky,” as the member with the most writing and creative contribution credits throughout P1Harmony’s discography. It was touching to see their personalized connections to American culture through music, and left me craving more original P1Harmony music inspired by these rap and R&B influences.
Some live show highlights included performances of their newest EP, including “EX,” “Dancing Queen” and my personal favorite, “Stupid Brain.” A special runway and smaller second stage were built to allow for more crowd interaction and closer viewing, which was a fantastic addition that created intimacy within a stadium. If the crowd was moved down into some of the unsold lower bowl to reward fans and create a fuller appearance, the atmosphere might have been even better.
“Work” was a cocky and fresh performance that featured a model walk from the entire group, which left an impression. Each song brought a different-yet-cohesive vibe to the show, nicely balancing choreography and One Direction-style jumping and singing.
Between sets, fans walked around passing out “freebies,” which are typically cute little crafts made to trade with other fans. Some of the gifts given included bracelets, keychains, bookmarks while I traded with stickers of their logo. Freebies are a staple in K-pop concert culture, along with lightsticks, which were decorated and hung at the hips of many. Lightsticks are different for each group, but typically include a logo of some sort, and when in proximity of the group’s show, will change colors to match. A brilliant light show coincided with the visuals ahead and the lightsticks of fans in the crowd, creating a truly unified vision.
Most K-pop tours don’t provide an opening act, but P1Harmony brought along their younger but equally relatable labelmates, better known as Ampers&one. The 7-piece group came out swinging, with sharp dance moves and great live vocals. It can be considered to be a brave move to bring along an opener, but Ampers&one proved they’re a worthy addition by performing like a singing, professional dance crew. They warmed up the crowd quickly, with random squeals of joy from people who didn’t even previously know the band. By the time they finished performing their short run of three songs, in which the house lights weren’t even dimmed to focus on them, the audience was in desperate need for more. While the quick moving pace was great for a younger fanbase, a longer set and lower lights would have amplified the experience and shown the true fusion of American and Korean traditions.
P1Harmony is continuing their Most Wanted tour through Latin America and Europe this winter, where even more fresh renditions will continue to surprise the audience. They provided an incredibly well-rounded and shining show that highlighted their versatile skillsets and glimmering crowd energy.
