We’re wrapping up 2019 with a spotlight on one of our favorite groups: A.C.E! (And a happy belated birthday to Kang Yuchan, A.C.E’s maknae and main vocalist!)
The five idols of Beat Interactive – Jun, Donghun, Wow, Kim Byeongkwan, and Chan – recently finished up their 2019 [UNDER COVER: AREA US] Tour, spending their December bringing their talented, bubbly selves and stage-burning performances to fans across North America.
A.C.E’s sold-out New Jersey stop took place on December 8th, 2019 – White Eagle Hall was packed to the brim with Choice waiting to see their favorite boys. Clutching their A.C.E slogans, donning “CHOICE ♥ A.C.E” bracelets, and faithfully chanting every word to “Under Cover,” the love Choice had for A.C.E was evident.
“Choice” is the name of A.C.E’s fandom, Whether they were drawn in by A.C.E’s experimental, boundary-pushing sound, their otherworldly, laser-sharp dances or the way Kang Yuchan’s smile lights up his entire face or the hilarity of Donghun crying on every variety show (okay, yes we are biased), Choice have made the incredibly wise decision, or choice, to love the five talented boys of A.C.E. Many Choice have been with A.C.E from their very beginning, and have followed as A.C.E as traced the line from incomplete to complete in more ways than one.
The tale of A.C.E’s formation feels a bit like puzzle pieces fitting together: Wow trained at YG Entertainment before joining Junhee and Donghun training at CJ E&M; Byeongkwan and Chan met as JYP Entertainment trainees. As powerhouse trainees, they made their way to Beat Interactive, and it’s nothing less than fate that their talents and vocal colors match and blend as perfectly as they do. Pre-debut, A.C.E gained attention from the public for their busking, making tracks like BTS’ “I Need You” into their own.
In 2017, A.C.E debuted with “Cactus” (and you’re probably fondly reminiscing about A.C.E’s hot pants at the very second). The song had a strong, Hardstyle beat and even stronger choreography, and proved that the group is strongest when they’re complete as five. Not to say that the members aren’t strong individually – they put that into practice when they separated off to compete in MIXNINE and The Unit, two idol survival shows, to garner more public appeal. Donghun, Byeongkwan, and Wow participated in MIXNINE, while Jun and Chan participated in The Unit.
These survival shows left A.C.E “incomplete” for a while – Chan ended up winning a spot in the debut team of The Unit and promoting as a member of UNB for the majority of 2018. While Byeongkwan and Donghun also placed in the final team of YG-produced MIXNINE, contractual disagreements prevented the group from ever debuting and the two returned to A.C.E.
As a gift for Choice after their hiatus, the four acting members of A.C.E released “5tar (Incompletion).” In 2018, we sat down with A.C.E and asked them a question based on that release: “What is something that you feel incomplete without?” Unanimously, the group replied with “Chan!”
With their TO BE AN ACE World Tour that took place late 2018, the group was reunited as five. As much as we adored the sunny release of “Take Me Higher,” nothing hits as hard as A.C.E tracks with all five members. “Undercover,” their title track eponymous to their tour, incorporated hard-hitting rock beats with Yuchan’s soaringly clear vocals (an addition that we sorely missed). A special inclusion to the CD-version of their Undercover album was “5tar (Completion),” a re-recording of 5tar that included Chan. Where the Incompletion version ended unsatisfyingly on a faded out chord, the Completion version ends with all five members together singing in harmony.
United as five, A.C.E just needs one final piece to truly be complete: their Choice! That’s where the elation of their live shows, like their UNDERCOVER: AREA US Tour, comes in. With every show and busking event, A.C.E gets more opportunities to meet and give love back to the people who shower them with love in return. Wow says it best in “TMH”: “My choice, my life!”
The group began their show with “Undercover,” “Do It Like Me,” and “Take Me Higher” – fans and their cheers for A.C.E were instantly lifted to a higher level. Chan especially was shocked at how loud these cheers were.
The night was full of stages that felt like gifts for Choice. “Dessert,” a unit stage for Donghun and Byeongkwan, became a real treat as the rest of A.C.E joined mid-song. Covers of “Old Town Road” and “Someone You Loved” proved that A.C.E can make Choice swoon in any genre or language – and really, all we want to see for the rest of our lives is Byeongkwan in a cowboy hat. Between Byeongkwan’s unique vocal tone and Wow’s smooth vocals, the viral track of “Old Town Road” was taken to the next level. With A.C.E’s stage presence, this clearly was not their first rodeo.
The gifts just didn’t stop: the boys celebrated the holiday season with a Christmas medley, serenading Choice with “Last Christmas” and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” while adorned in reindeer headbands and Santa hats. A.C.E might’ve been playing around on stage, but with Donghun’s vocals, he clearly still… did not come to play, and brought out his jazzy riffs in full. A.C.E brought out their playful sides even more with “Mr. Bass,” a track that they choreographed to themselves!
As playful as A.C.E can get, they are equally as sexy, much to the dismay (or pleasure, who knows!) of many Choice. Byeongkwan even had the gall to warn choice about the sexiness of “Slow Dive” before launching into the body-roll, floorwork-laden choreography. Wow and Jun followed with “Black and Blue” – we’re always amazed at the way their bodies seem to move in ways we didn’t know were possible.
Wherever A.C.E is, that’s where Choice feel most at home. It just so happens that both A.C.E and Choice made a home out of New Jersey that night; Wow took that sentiment literally! The boys adventured in New Jersey by taking a ferry out onto the Hudson River, where Wow recalled, cheekily, that he loves it so much that he wants to live here. These moments of love never really ended: we watched as Byeongkwan and Junhee looked at the crowds of Choice with love in their eyes, as Donghun basked in the joy of all of Choice’s cheers, as Wow sent countless finger hearts out, and as Chan happily hit the woah with Choice in the audience. (Yes, that is a form of love!)
When A.C.E said “My Choice, my life,” in the lyrics of “Take Me Higher,” they really did mean it. You don’t often describe any moment at a K-pop concert as “serene,” but A.C.E managed to accomplish just that. A lulling, blue light filled the venue, and out of the darkness came a single, familiar voice: Kim Byeongkwan began to tell Choice the story of a cactus who bloomed and grew thanks to the love of Choice. That cactus… is A.C.E! Byeongkwan passed the story onto the other members, each detailing the gratitude and love they have for Choice through the narrative. “Thank you for breathing life into us… We thank you, Choice!” A.C.E really gave their Choice a soft, meditative, and loving ASMR session mid-concert – who else is doing it like them?
“When Choice loves us, I feel so glad to be a singer,” said Byeongkwan after the boys had returned to the stage. The first time he came to New Jersey, he was thirteen – ten years later, he is here as a singer, and he owes it all to Choice!
There’s something poetic about A.C.E’s encore song being “Cactus,” their show rolling to an end with the song that started it all. Here’s something even more poetic: they ended “Cactus” by hitting the woah simultaneously. Their encore continued with the Choice-dedicated track “If You Heard,” where A.C.E had the entire venue singing along, waving their hands, and smiling. A live performance of “If You Heard” is best described as the culmination of love between Choice and A.C.E, and that love continued as A.C.E ended the night by partying with “Holiday!”
Even after the end of A.C.E’s show, that party didn’t stop. As a nod to their roots busking in Hongdae and a move to see their Choice even more, A.C.E announced that they would be busking in New York the next day! Through drizzling, grey weather, the sun still came out in the form of the five dazzling smiles of A.C.E.
A.C.E’s UNDERCOVER: AREA US Tour and this article were made possible due to MyMusicTaste. Make sure to keep wishing and keep making to have more nights like this, and more amazing memories with Jun, Donghun, Wow, Byeongkwan, and Chan!
