2024 STAYC 1ST WORLD TOUR TEENFRESH IN PARIS | 05.03.2024

PROMOTIONNAL VIDEO

SALLE PLEYEL

Ideally located in the capital, a stone's throw away from the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées, Salle Pleyel is a beautiful renovated venue with a maximum capacity of over 2800 seats! A must-visit for classical music enthusiasts, the venue is now open to all! And recently, K-Pop and Asian artists have been making appearances here: ODD EYE CIRCLE, FISH LEONG, soon BamBam, and tonight, STAYC!

Renowned for its high-quality sound system for classical music, tonight the sound was decent, without saturation on the bass or treble. The voices of the group members, who sang live, were perfectly audible! The high notes were clear and enjoyable to listen to. As for the screen, it was well utilized with VCRs, image projections during each song, and of course, a beautiful image in the tour's colors during the MENT.

The lighting was generally very good, especially on dynamic pieces, where the spotlights did a great job accompanying the performance. More discreet on less highlighted pieces, with white-oriented lights, it still provided a fairly immersive experience into STAYC's colorful world.

In summary, good technical setup, effective use of venue resources, with confetti and streamers adding the final touch to the experience!

1RST PART

First time for STAYC in France! First world tour, but already several appearances in Europe, notably with KOREA ON STAGE IN LONDON last November, or KPOPLUX in Madrid in 2023 (check out our coverage). The young group, which debuted in november 2020, quickly captured a large audience with their colorful and joyful songs. Produced by Black Eyed Pilseung (a talented producer/composer who has been active in Korea for a long time, and who has produced hits for TWICE, Miss A, TEEN TOP), the group already has numerous hits to their name! STAYC (in Korean: 스테이씨), an acronym for "Star To A Young Culture," consists of 6 members: Sumin, Sieun, Isa, Seeun, Yoon, and J. And tonight, the group is in Paris!

The concert starts at 8 p.m. with an Intro/VCR on the theme of gaming. STAYC takes the stage, and judging by the setlist, they've decided to come out strong, opening with three big hits from their discography: SO BAD, RUN2U, and POPPY. SO BAD being STAYC's debut single, an energetic track that showcases their ability to perform synchronously on stage. SO BAD, featured on their very first "single album" Star to a Young Culture, immediately captivated K-Pop fans with its fast-paced style and remarkable rap parts interspersed with vocals. Accompanied by I Like It, performed later, this album marks the beginning of their career. For RUN2U, the lead single from "YOUNG LUV," it follows swiftly after SO BAD. Just like POPPY (released in Japanese in 2022 before its Korean release in 2023 as the B-side of Teddy Bear). You can feel a focused and determined group aiming to give their best, which will be confirmed later, especially during the MENT where the group expresses their desires to succeed and return to Paris soon.

We revisit YOUNG LUV then onto COMPLEX (from the STEREOTYPE album), where the 6 young ladies deliver an impeccable live performance, leading to a new VCR. We restart with Not Like You, with a beautiful screen adorned with roses. "Paris, you'd better not have a stereotype!" the girls announce the next track: STEREOTYPE from the album of the same name. Sports elements decorate the screen (tennis, yellow balls, and a parasol), everything is very colorful, it feels like a change of scenery!

Highly anticipated: TEDDY BEAR, from the album of the same name, the girls shout their "line": "STAYC GIRLS It's going down!" It's worth noting that up until this point, the group mainly performed in the center of the stage, tightly grouped, very synchronized, with little physical interaction with the audience. Well, TEDDY BEAR breaks this pattern, and the girls finally move around the stage! Teddy bears on the screen, girls waving, all that was missing was confetti and streamers, and there it is! After the new MENT, a trio of "B-side" songs is coming up: LOVE. A calmer, sunny mid-tempo song, the B-side of BEAUTIFUL MONSTER on the album "WE NEED LOVE". We confirm that the girls sing live, no playback, with beautiful vocal effects. It's now time for 24/7, with a lot of interaction from the group members with the audience: they point at the audience with each "Like you" in the chorus, greet the audience at the front or back of the hall, the fan service is appreciated. From YOUNG LUV, 24/7 is also a fairly calm B-side, RnB type that allows for a bit of rest. Last song before the next break: LIKE THIS (Star To A Young Culture), is also RnB-oriented, with a few more rap segments. The stage lights alternate between white, blue, and red, with twinkles and interesting effects. The petals on the screen make it all very beautiful to watch. MENT break! We acknowledge the exchanges between Sumin, Sieun, Isa, Seeun, Yoon, J, and the audience.

2ND PART

We catch our breath and we're back with Bubble! From TEENFRESH (the tour's name), Bubble is the group's latest single. With a magical setting, a castle, beautiful orange lights rotating around the stage, the girls give it their all again with beautiful high notes. A break? with a VCR this time, quite long, where the girls play various games to determine their affinity between members in order to create two "sub-units" of three. Once back on stage with a different outfit, it's time for the special Stage. Like in London, they will sing TWICE's FANCY. (a little hidden tribute to their producer, co-writer of FANCY). The song is also "reorchestrated" and rearranged to fit STAYC's style. After this performance, the group shares their thoughts on this cover during a new MENT. "We did a little remake of FANCY, in an RnB style as if it were STAYC." "We also changed the dance a bit, I don't know if you noticed, it's a bit different from what we usually do!". Let's go back, this time with a lead single, BEAUTIFUL MONSTER (We Need Love). The audience sings along with STAYC. We move on to I LIKE IT, still from the album WE NEED LOVE, then SO WHAT (B-side of SO BAD) which slightly dampens the mood. The song is adorable, the rainbow and cloud backdrop reinforcing this impression of "cuteness". New MENT: "three songs in a row, how was it?" "I saw that you sang So What with us too." "The atmosphere here is truly incredible." Teasing for the next song: "It's a song we often perform in concerts but hasn't been officially released." Tonight the girls will sing "Flexing On My Ex" which is not published on any album but is often sung live. Once performed, a new MENT awaits us. The group asks if the audience enjoyed the song "Did you like it?", "How do you say great in French?" "Super! Thank you!" The group asks "Are you ready to have fun for the last performance?" "We're going to dance!". And it's time for the much-awaited single 'ASAP', beautifully reorchestrated, which concludes this concert with a shower of confetti.

FOCUS MENT

STAYC had a lot of interaction with the audience, here are some quotes.

Note: the group tries French several times, which is very appreciable. Furthermore, the impeccable English of some members allows for real fluidity in the exchanges. Very good point: the audible translation from the translator!

"Thank you guy, merci!" "You saw we wore the French uniform!" "Here is Paris!" "Here you love music and sports" "We finally saw what Paris is like" "You are amazing" "I saw that you sang with us on all the songs we did! You are singers! Plus, you speak Korean so well!" "Are you guys Korean, your Korean skills are so good" (*in English) "We promise we'll come back, it's true" "Are you ready to receive our love that we received from you" "You guys are amazing" "Thank you so much" "You felt our love" "Because of you, my heart beats so fast" "We feel a lot of strength thanks to you" "We are really having a lot of fun" "Don't worry, we'll come to Paris often" "This is our first time in Paris, we keep saying that" "We had a lot of recommendations from the Swith in Paris" "The Louvre Museum, the Eiffel Tower, the Bread!" "We just had the baguette, it was so good" "The Eiffel Tower was too beautiful in real life" "Guy, did you hear "She said that we are shining more than the Eiffel Tower" "Thank you" "You shine too"

End of concert MENT

"I have a question, do you always have this much energy?" "How do you say I love you?" "je t'aime?". It was our first concert in Paris. You had so much energy tonight, thank you very much".

Sieun

"I think I'm still dreaming. I'm so grateful, I don't know what to say. People, you really love us. Thank you for your love and energy. People, you are my gift, you made my day. Today's performance is because of you, we wouldn't have made it without you".

Seeun

"It's something I often feel and I love this feeling of being with you all in a concert hall. Really, Swith, you are my energy to live my whole life. I hope we will be together for our whole lives. I love you".

Isa

"This is our first time in Paris. But the atmosphere tonight, I never would have imagined it. I saw the encouragement, the tears, the love you give us. I could see the looks of the Swith from Paris. And I really appreciated that. Next time, I promise to come back with new music, I hope you'll be there, I love you so much".

Sumin

"There's something that really amazed me tonight: Where does your strong energy come from? I really want to thank you for that. It's my first time in Paris but the Swith from Paris, you are better than Paris the city! I really want to come back and I promise to come back. Thank you again for this unforgettable evening, thank you!" (*in French)

Yoon

"I didn't think there would be so many Swith in Paris. I have to come back to Paris often to see you. If we come back, will you be there again? Thank you. I was really happy and it's thanks to you. And you too? I thank the other fans who come from other countries to see us in Paris"."

ENCORE

We repeat it on each article, but of course, that was a fake "end," and every good concert has its ENCORE! A VCR keeps us entertained with images of tour preparation, the group working, and practicing. And here come STAYC again in different outfits, with Yoon more or less dressed up as a butterfly? Guaranteed effect on the fans! It's time for SAME SAME (YOUNG LUV) and SLOW DOWN. "You're too strong until the end!" Photo moment with the audience, final exchange: "I think I'm still dreaming" or something like "We have the very last song left." You may be sad, but we're going to have fun. Are you ready to have fun?". And off we go for another round of Bubble! The group bids farewell to the audience, and it's the (real) end of the concert.

CONCLUSION

A joyful concert! Well-organized, respectful, in a healthy and caring atmosphere. We come out of TEENFRESH feeling energized, and we find ourselves humming POPPY in the streets. A great success for this concert and tour. Worth noting: a photocard offered to each person! It's a nice gesture. The concert was well-balanced, no "hit" was forgotten, the group interacted well with the audience, and the technical aspects were on point. Some liked it, while others felt a loss of dynamism, some songs and the numerous MENT segments may have dampened the mood, but the interaction between fans and the group revived the atmosphere each time. We hope to see STAYC again very soon, as promised!