“It’s such a nice day~.”
The last verse of singer IU’s representative song ‘Good Day’ resounded at the Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, Seoul. On the stage, the voices of IU and her audience of 43,000 were superimposed.
He ‘graduated’ the first hit song that made IU’s first name known to the world. Solo concert held on the 18th was from Celebrating the 14th anniversary of her debut, IU heralded a new beginning while arranging her 14-year long journey.
The concert started at 7 pm on the same day, around sunset, with ‘Eight’. ‘Eight’, which was co-written and composed with BTS’ Suga, and released in 2020, is a song about the feelings of IU, who was 28 at the time. IU appeared in a white dress on a large stage installed in the middle of the stadium and started singing with a refreshing voice. “I really wanted to sing ‘Eight’ just at sunset. It’s been planned since a long time ago, but the sky is so pretty that it puts my mind at ease.”
Hit songs such as ‘Celebrity’ and ‘Now’ and ‘End of the Day’ followed. When she sang her 2014 remake of ‘Meaning You’ and 2015’s hit ‘See you on Friday’, the entire audience sang in chorus.
As this is the first solo concert held in three years since 2019, the fans seemed to have fully prepared and attended. There were many fans wearing purple T-shirts, masks, hair straps, and bags, etc. in line with the concert’s dress code of ‘purple’. “I will be with you every step of the way. We are the perfect 14-year-old friend,” he said, holding up placards all at once and cheering for IU. The late summer heat in the fall was rampant, with the highest temperature recorded at 31 degrees during the day, but it could not beat the heat radiating from the audience.
September 18, 2008 Mnet He made his debut with ‘Mia’ in ‘Mia’ and celebrated his 14th anniversary today. IU expressed her gratitude, saying, “I feel so lucky to be able to hold a concert on a Sunday like this perfectly and take care of my debut anniversary.”
On this day, IU released two of her representative songs, ‘Graduation’. They said that they would no longer sing ‘Good Day’, which started the IU craze in 2010, and ‘Palette’, a song that was released in 2017 with the feelings of a 25-year-old.
IU said, “(‘Palette’) was a song that I wrote, composed, and sang dearly when I was 25 years old, but now I am in my 30s. I want to leave it to the 25-year-old Ji-eun (IU’s real name is Lee Ji-eun).” Regarding ‘Good Day’, he said, “It’s a song with many memories, but I made this decision because I thought it would require a new try.” She jokingly said, “‘I like ‘Oppa’, but now a lot of my brother is gone.” IU left the two songs that made her who she is today with the perfect ‘3 treble’ and her audience sang along with her.
The performance that lasted over three hours was filled by IU alone. Except for about 5 minutes, when the first singer Jay Park performed ‘Ganadara’ and ‘Like’ between the 2nd and 3rd parts, it all belonged to IU. He showed a colorful stage covering all genres, from lively dance songs such as ‘Strawberry Moon’, ‘Hold My Hand’, ‘Lilac’, ‘Blooming’ and ‘Knee’ to calm ballads.
At the concert that day, there was also a concern for satisfying the audience. As more than 40,000 spectators gathered in one place, the idea was mobilized to get closer to the audience. When the single ‘Strawberry Moon’ released in October of last year was released, a large hot-air balloon flew into the air at the concert hall. Like the title of the song, which means ‘the last full moon of June’, IU got on a red hot air balloon and went around the concert hall.
At the end of the third part, when the ballad song ‘Out of Time’ started, hundreds of drones appeared in the sky of the concert hall, and cheers erupted from the audience. These drones, which emit colored lights, created a spectacle of embroidering the logo of IU’s fan club ‘Uena’ in the sky from the appearance of IU.
On this day, IU became the first Korean female solo artist to hold a solo concert at the Olympic Stadium. The Olympic Main Stadium, the largest concert hall in Korea, is called the ‘dream stage’ for Korean singers. IU held her solo concerts in her 4 cities in Korea and 6 cities in Asian countries in 2019. Also, the first female solo singer to perform a ‘360 degree’ concert that utilizes even the backstage, attracting attention.
During the encore stage, IU confessed that she had recently suffered from hearing problems. He said, “It’s not serious, but I was nervous because I couldn’t control my ears well for a year ago,” he said. He continued, “I sincerely think that you all did everything for today’s performance. Thank you very much,” he said to the audience.
IU said, “With today’s memory, with a more humble heart, without feeling gloomy, I will go 14 more years while remembering the people who always support me.”
