ONE SOUND, ONE HEART, ONE DREAM
And we are all here to be....ONE
From survival reality TV show, Produce 101 to the world stage, WANNA ONE is the dream team consists of 11 talented young lads as they depict the golden era of Korean musical scene. The buzz, the craze and the hysteria surrounding WANNA ONE ever since their first appearance on your television was greeted with hoopla and fan frenzy thus carried their name into a league of their own.
(1) Hot Blazing Opener
As you already know, the brand WANNA ONE will only last for one year hence, as the clock is ticking, WANNA ONE make use of this precious time to make an unforgettable memory and a lasting impact to all their beloved WANNABLE (Wanna One fandom name) in Malaysia as they fired the Axiata Arena with 3 hot-blazing intro songs starting with Burn It Up, followed by Never and Energetic. Handsomely clad in white suits, they execute those sleek choreographies and synchronized dance moves perfectly as their opening stage was glistening and sparkling with an impressive pyrotechnics and lighting display.
(2) Sui Generis Sub-Units
With 11 members formed the group, it's strenuous to assess the individualistic talents of each member. Thus, their most recent comeback with 1 ÷ x = 1 (Undivided) gave the opportunity to showcase WANNA ONE's versatility in performing various musical genres via the sub-units.
Withered away from their super catchy and eargasmic hits, No 1, consists of Park Jihoon, Bae Jinyoung and Lai Guanlin take on the stage with their subtle and R&B groove track, 11. This mix hip-hop and R&B performance brings out the sexy and sensual vibe in the trio's performance. It's nice to hear a very clear rapping by Guanlin and Jinyoung's vocal was certainly the highlight for this stage.
Up next, Lean On Me unit comprises of Hwang Minhyun, Yoon Jisung and Ha Sungwoon. I'm a sucker for beautiful ballads hence their performance of Forever+ A Day definitely catch my attention. Their heartfelt performance and emotions poured while serenading the fans really drove and swayed this performance to be one of the best stage of the night.
Duet by The Heal unit, Lee Daehwi and Ong Seongwoo through another melancholic R&B track, Hourglass really hits the audience in their feelings. The harmonization vocals between this duo were on point and with the piano beat at the end, it definitely gave the audience a performance to be remembered just like the last verse of the song Like a stopped sandglass, I hope our memory will last forever.
Last but not least, Triple Position unit led by Kang Daniel, Kim Jaehwan and Park Woojin definitely gave different vibes from all the other 3 units. Their summer-ish track Kangaroo really gave the feeling of 'wanna' travel. The trio performance really makes you want to hit the road for a road-trip across Australia to watch kangaroo hopping on the side of the road. So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bag, sunglass and sunscreen, and joined WANNA ONE in their kangaroo-trip!
(3) WANNA Cheerlead in Malay!
After their inaugural visit to Kuala Lumpur in January for the fanmeeting, WANNA ONE brought ONE:THE WORLD World Tour to officially greet their beloved WANNABLE in this 2.5 hours extravaganza concert. Hence, when they were asked what they remembered about Malaysia, these are their answers. First, of course our signature dish, Nasi Lemak. Looks like these boys can't be separated with food afterall. Secondly, they mentioned KLCC, as the twin towers definitely bring the significant of Malaysia as one the most iconic tower in the world. Thirdly, they answered 'jungle'. Thanks to Seongwoo and Sungwoon who participated as part of the casts in The Law of the Jungle Sabah, the tropical jungle which was situated in the Borneo did gave a long-lasting impression to the WANNA ONE members. Speaking of 'being iconic' and 'memorable things', WANNA ONE did a CHEER-UP in Malay which I think one of the unique acts that have ever been done in any K-pop concerts in Malaysia. Chanting 'AWAK BOLEH' and 'AWAK BOLEH BERTAHAN' which loosely translated to YOU CAN and YOU CAN DO IT, each member gave their best version of the cheer. AND...The Best Cheerleader Award goes to (drumroll sound) Ha Sungwoon! His cute version and cringeworthy cheer resulted in a thunderous loud and screams from the audience.
(4) Flawless Hits
Since their anticipated debut, WANNA ONE have delivered multiple top charting hits and they offered a flawless performance when delivering their hit tracks such as Always, Beautiful, I Wanna Have, and Your Name. It feels like every fibre in WANNA ONE body was on stage to perform for WANNABLE, as each song was delivered beautifully. Their vocals were harmonized and never run misplaced nor a note missed. On each song, WANNA ONE was emotionally present; from a playful WANNA ONE, a seductive WANNA ONE, the bestie WANNA ONE and perhaps the best boyfriend WANNA ONE. In addition, there's nothing beautiful to back these performances as the fans organized a special project for Always. They raise a special banner and Daehwi specially acknowledged it right after they finished performed the song. He felt very touch of the warm love from the fans and WANNA ONE feel grateful for that.
(5) Wanna One Golden Promise Light Hopes For Another Show
Every moment with WANNA ONE in this ONE:WORLD TOUR in Kuala Lumpur brings the entirety of memorable feeling. They closed the concert with fan favourites Gold and Pick Me, the track that brought them to stardom and also gave a sense of lingering memory to those who have followed their journey since Produce 101. Before they bid goodbye to the fans, they gave one last explosive performance through Light and I Promise You, with the golden promise of they will be back vey very very soon! AND this probably the best news of the night as it offered a curtain of hope for WANNABLE to see them again before their 'expiry' date.
Kpopstarz would like to extend our gratitude to YJ Partners in partnership with IMC Live Group (Malaysia) for the invitation to the concert.
Writer: Amalina A. | Photos by: YJ Partners
