Korean fans‘ favorite Japanese group, Yoa Sobi, ‘Tears up the weekend’
J-pop ‘Icon’ group Yoa Sobi held their second concert in Korea at Incheon Inspire Arena on the 7th and 8th. Photo courtesy of | Rivet (LIVET), KATO SHUMPEI, RISA NISHIMURA
They say that singers follow their titles, and these guys are no exception. Their representative song is ‘Idol.’
J-pop‘s ‘True Idol’ group Yoa Sobi had their second solo concert in Korea on the 7th and 8th, selling out an audience of well over 20,000. Despite having more than doubled in size in exactly one year, the Incheon Inspire Arena, which can seat over 12,000 people, was packed to capacity.
It was a sight that truly made you realize how popular Yoa Sobi is in Korea, having become a J-pop icon.
Composed of female vocalist Ikura and male member Ayase, Yoasobi performed a ‘hit parade’ of over 20 songs including the mega hit ‘Idol’, Guncheong(群⻘), Undead(UNDEAD), Monster(怪物), and the finale and encore song ‘Running Through the Night’ on the first day of the concert that was revealed to the media in and out of Korea on the 7th.
The two of them directly conducted a considerable portion of the talk between songs in ‘Korean’, showing their ‘sincerity’ toward their domestic fans. In cases of relatively monotonous expressions or long sentences, they had to resort to reciting, but the frequency of using it ‘considerable’ showed that they had ‘worked hard’ for a considerable period of time just for this concert in Korea.
It was noticeable that a significant number of the audience that filled the arena were ‘young male fans’, as if they had just moved the cheering scene of the boys of the past, the ‘Girls’ Generation’, back when they were ‘young’.
Yoasobi, which successfully attracted an audience of over 20,000 over two days of performances and proved its high popularity in Korea Photo courtesy of | Rivet (LIVET), KATO SHUMPEI, RISA NISHIMURA
Their bold ‘group cheering’ stood out in stark contrast to the ‘difficult’ hit numbers that Yoa Sobi boasted of a considerable range of octaves, and the ‘chant’ for one‘s idol was also naturally special.
The lineup of K-pop artists specially invited to their visit to Korea was also splendid. On the first day’s performance on the 7th, the ‘Topic of New Jeans’ appeared, and on the second day, the 8th, the brother and sister duo ‘AKMU’ appeared, drawing an enthusiastic response from the audience.
Yoasobi‘s female vocalist Ikura (front) and member Ayase Photo courtesy of | Rivet (LIVET), KATO SHUMPEI, RISA NISHIMURA
Yoa Sobi is a group that has secured a considerable fandom in Korea and is now considered a ‘Living Legend’ when it comes to anime tie-ups, as they have released a series of Japanese anime theme songs.
The second song in the set list on the 7th, ‘Blessing’ (祝福), was used as the opening song for the first cool of the anime ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch of Mercury’, and ‘Furelen of the Funeral’ for ‘Yūsha’ (勇者), which was the 14th song to be performed. Meanwhile, the ‘Idol’ that symbolizes Yoa Sobi was the opening song for the animation ‘My Favorite Child’.
Reporter Heo Min-nyeong mignon@donga.com
