On November 19, I traveled all the way to New York City to see the K-pop group, SuperM, perform live at Madison Square Garden.
SuperM is a K-pop boy group formed by SM Entertainment and Capitol Music Group. The group includes members from four different SM groups: Taemin from Shinee, Baekhyun and Kai from Exo, Mark and Taeyong from NCT 127, and Ten and Lucas from WayV. They debuted with their self-titled EP on October 4.
My journey from Philadelphia to New York City kicked off with a 2.5-hour bus ride to Koreatown, where me and my friend who I attended the concert with stopped for a bite to eat before the concert.
When I finally got to the venue, the first thing I noticed was a huge banner reading, “SuperM live at Madison Square Garden-SOLD OUT.” Considering the demand for more K-pop groups to tour globally (especially in the United States), I wasn’t too shocked.
After buying some merch, we finally headed into the arena. It was already filled with so many fans, and the light sticks shone everywhere like multicolored Christmas lights. At 7 o’clock, it was finally time for the concert to begin.
I had floor seating for the concert, which means that I was about 30 feet away from the wraparound extended portion of the stage. I was ecstatic, knowing that I was this close to seeing the people I loved so much and admire.
Once the lights dimmed and the music began playing, the screams of people filled my ears and the bass of the first song, “I Can’t Stand The Rain,” pumped in my chest. I had previously seen NCT 127 in May of this year, so I was super thrilled to know I’d be seeing Taeyong and Mark again and closer up this time.
Each song from the EP was played, ending, of course, with their title track, “Jopping.” SuperM also introduced two new songs into the setlist: “Dangerous Woman” and “With You.” It was genuinely amazing to hear the songs that have been on repeat in my playlist live and to be able to sing along to them with surrounding fans.
Along with the group’s songs, each member performed one or two solo songs as well. This portion of the concert was highly anticipated by the fans, with Twitter blowing up with fancams and videos of the performances. I tried my hardest to not spoil the concert for myself by watching them, but ultimately failed.
Although the concert was very short (about an hour and 45 minutes long,), the atmosphere was incredible throughout the entirety of it. SuperM announced at the end of the concert that they’d be back next spring. I don’t know if that means with a new album or a new tour, but all I do know is that my bank account is not ready.