A Sunday night, hailed by cold weather and dark skies — there's not much you can do to get people out of bed and away from the warmth of the indoors. However, for the hundreds that flocked to New York's Brooklyn Steel on November 10th, 2019, there wasn't anything that could stop fans of Tiffany Young from experiencing the legendary night that was her 2019 Magnetic Moon Tour - the glow of Tiffany's love could melt down any icy wind.
The venue, Brooklyn Steel, is aptly named: a steely, gutted warehouse outfitted with bars and a stage. That night had the venue bathed in indigo blue lights with a bright, lit-up moon centre-stage — the 'Moon' of the Magnetic Moon Tour.
The 'Magnetic' part came shortly, hailed by the introduction of Tiffany's intoxicating falsetto — a siren spell calling fans into her presence and into inarguably one of the best nights of their lives. As Tiffany took the stage in an iridescent coat, a sequined, skin-tight bodysuit, a black, wide-brimmed hat, and long black gloves, we had no choice but to be placed firmly under her spell - not that anyone would complain about that.
The opening choir of "Run For Your Life" set up the rest of the night perfectly: a deep bass, a driving drum beat, and Tiffany's unmatched, throaty, diva-like vocals. A live band and two backup dancers elevated the song to unimagined heights when heard live — but even with all the extra stimuli, our focus was still glued to Tiffany alone. Oh, what we would give to be one of the jewels nestled in her hair. (Hint: it's a lot of things.)
Queen of everything from energetic dance tracks to soulful emotion-filled bops — "Heartbreak Hotel" had us in our feelings, even if we were dancing our hearts out to "Run For Your Life" just seconds ago.
K-Pop concerts always have a bit of a surreal feeling to them: after following your favorite artists on social media and jamming out to their songs and V-Lives to the point where they feel like your best friend, you finally see them in person, in the flesh, and all you want to do is to be able to remember perhaps the most precious moments in your entire life in perfect clarity. Do you do so by recording everything through the lens of your iPhone, or by letting the moments sink in and living them to the fullest?
Tiffany skews towards the latter, calling out sweetly to the audience: "I think we can put our phones down — it's really about me and you guys connecting tonight!" (And she's right — besides, we'd probably ruin our videos by shouting the words to all of her songs.)
"The Magnetic Moon Tour was my hope and wanting to bring everyone in this world together, and closer," she said, "so I want to say thank you, first and foremost." With a speech filled with gratitude and love, she called us all to feel, and to live— "Tonight! It's about moving! It's about moving freely and however, you feel. I want you to just take it in. Close your eyes, just for a second, and feel whatever it is you're feeling and that I love you no matter what." (And we are feeling... utmost love for the sweetest girl in the world, Tiffany Young.)
We often take it for granted — the love given to us by our idols, the way their songs and selves inspire us to move and feel. Tiffany Young's live performances give us a glimpse into how genuine she is in how she cares for her fans in both caring for their feelings and having them enjoy their night to the fullest. (That's something that you can't sense through a shaky video recording, though we're trying our best to recreate those vibes through words right now.)
Backed by live piano and drums, Tiffany jumped into an electric disco version of Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball." During the performance, she playfully praised one fan in the audience who had been jamming out the entire time — "Are you feeling good?" she asked. The entire venue answered in screams — who couldn't feel good in the presence of an absolute queen? From "Yellow Light" to "Teach You," all her songs were taken to the next level with live keys, drums, and of course, Tiffany's live vocals.
Her stage presence? Unparalleled. She knows how to play with the hearts of her fans: asking us cutely, "are you ready to dance the night away?" (Yes, definitely) before belting out the question again. Tiffany eased into her 2016 release "I Just Wanna Dance," mashing in Rihanna's iconic 'Don't Stop the Music' for an ultimate dance bop from our favourite powerhouse females.
Tiffany honoured divas even further, going back to her roots by honouring iconic K-Pop songs that, a phrase we all know and love, "paved the way." The crowd went wild at the mention of Girls Generation (many fans in the audience even had their official Girls Generation lightsticks!). Tiffany put her unique spin on "Run Devil Run," with her throaty lower register giving the song's vocals a fitting, devilish edge.
With sentimental jazz piano chords played quietly in the background, Tiffany shared more gratitude with her fans: "I know some of you have been with me for thirteen years — thank you! I am just so thankful, no matter if you have been with me thirteen years ago, or an hour ago," eliciting many laughs from fans.
"I am so lucky to be able to continue this musical journey of mine. It's such a silly story to me," she paused, elated, "to write and to share and to sing these songs."
With Mercury in retrograde right now, you may have been feeling like your life is crashing down around you. If this feels like you, then the words spoken by Tiffany that night are definitely ones you need to hear: "The Magnetic Moon tour is about embracing both light and dark, and throughout my career, I've been focused on sharing the light and the happy. I'm so thankful that you guys have helped me open up my heart and my mind in a way that I've never done on stage — I hope it inspires you to look for that light no matter what! I hope you are still excited about this unexpected, extravagant journey that we are on. It's okay not to be okay, and I would love to be the flower to your vase." Sentiments shared genuinely and truly — with love, we truly love Tiffany.
With the opening notes of "The Flower," Tiffany complements these genuine emotions with a song filled with good intentions of loving herself and loving her fans.
The Magnetic Moon Tour wouldn't be complete without a performance of its eponymous track — shrouded in blue light, Tiffany's performance of "Magnetic Moon" was as uplifting and gorgeous as Tiffany Young herself. With a final reprise of "Run For Your Life," Tiffany called her fans to join her in the track's iconic opening "Woah, oh oh's!" Imagine being able to say that you sang with your favourite idol — a dream come true.
Tiffany Young is perhaps the most genuine idol there: when she stares out into the crowd, her gaze is full of love, gratitude, and — a gaze reflecting the love, gratitude, and emotion given to her by her fans. The moments shared between her and her fans are ones nestled deeply in all of our hearts, and the night of November 10th, 2019, the New York stop of Tiffany's 2019 Magnetic Moon Tour, is one to go down in history.
