I’VE noticed that in K-pop, there’s always strength in numbers. In fact, it doesn’t hurt for a K-pop group to have more than 10 members.
Good examples are K-pop greats Super Junior (with 12 members), Girls’ Generation (now with eight from nine) and EXO (which started with 12 but is now left with nine).
You’d think that they’d be too many to handle but actually, the more the merrier. Having more members means there will be more people (with different personalities, obviously) to pull in fans.
A similar yet relatively younger group is Seventeen, which features not 17 but 13 members: S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino.
They are divided into three areas of specialisation: hip-hop (rappers), vocal (vocalists) and performance (dancers).
As a group, they attract fans with their team chemistry and camaraderie, which was proven at their recent Diamond Edge concert at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur.
They seemed like a group of friends having fun on stage, all the while giving their fans (who call themselves Carats because apparently Seventeen has this diamond theme going on) a memorable night of music, dance and laughter.
The night started off with Pretty U, Beautiful and Adore U. These are sweet, cheerful and catchy pop songs that come with not-too-difficult choreography.
You’d think that with 13 members, their dancing must be disorganised on stage. Nope. They were very synchronised and their multi-coloured blazers and slacks made for an impressive performance.
I admire these boys for being heavily involved in their music production and choreography.
When greeting fans, DK said jokingly: “Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan (ladies and gentlemen), it’s only the beginning and we’re sweating bullets! But it’s about to get hotter in here!”
Seventeen then performed an R&B number Still Lonely and the catchy Very Nice (my favourite!). Again, their dancing was excellent. Swimming Fool was next, performed by the Performance unit comprising Hoshi, The8, Jun and Dino.
A slide show of the members’ pictures when they were in middle school was then played on the big screen. Fans, who were mostly holding their Seventeen lightsticks, could be seen giggling at how cute they looked.
Seventeen, back on stage wearing what appeared to be school uniforms, performed their upbeat hits Mansae and Boom Boom. The choreography looked tougher this time but the members performed it effortlessly and with precision.
The boys then interacted with the crowd but the banter among the members was more amusing. It shows how close they are, having trained together for years before their debut in 2015.
The Vocal unit (Joshua, Jeonghan, DK, Woozi and Seungkwan) showcased their talent through the ballads We Gonna Make It Shine, Don’t Listen In Secret and Habit.
The Hip-hop unit (Mingyu, S. Coups, Wonwoo and Vernon) performed the catchy tunes Un Haeng Il Chi, If I and Check In while the Performance unit presented the heavy rock number OMG and EDM track Highlight.
Then, a serious and darker performance showed a different side of the members compared to their earlier energetic and cheerful personalities.
The two members from China, The8 and Jun, also performed a unique dance involving a long ribbon to the tune My I.
Performed by the whole group, Crazy In Love was a cool song with a moderate-tempo and suave dance moves. Rock and Chuck are two upbeat songs with EDM-fused melodies.
The most awaited song of the night was the group’s most recent single, Don’t Wanna Cry, and the fans sang along wholeheartedly.
The LED screen then showed a video of each member describing what Carats means to them. Their answers were so heartwarming! And for the encore, Seventeen performed Shining Diamond and Healing.
Before closing the show, the members took turns to express their thanks and love.
“We will definitely return for another concert because the energy you showed us tonight simply made us want to come back,” gushed Los Angeles-born Joshua.
Seventeen Diamond Edge World Tour Live In Kuala Lumpur was presented by IME Productions.