Times Square’s bright lights and endless bustling noise always mark it as the heart of New York City — but on May 10th, 2022, our heart was actually located in the Palladium Times Square, the venue for CIX’s 1st Concert in U.S.! Our hearts all belonged to CIX as the five members, BX, Yonghee, Seunghun, Bae Jinyoung, and Hyunsuk, took the Palladium stage for the final stop of their tour in New York.
The night was long-awaited after the pandemic postponed CIX’s 1st Fan Meeting tour slated for 2020. Count on CIX to make their first U.S. tour worth the wait: it was a celebration in every sense of the word, complete with many fans decked out in party hats to honor Jinyoung's birthday! You could feel the anticipation for CIX in every single FIX - or, more accurately, hear it, with the way that every fan sang along to the CIX tracks playing in the Palladium as they waited for the boys to take the stage.
“Black Out” and “Numb” kicked off the night with a frenzy of synchronized choreography and hard-hitting beats, all to a backdrop of FIX’s endless excitement! In a mix of sleek, navy blue suits, sheer tops, silver chains, and leather harnesses, the five members of CIX were dressed to impress - and their dance moves were impressive enough. Plus, we might have gone a bit numb at the sight of Seunghun tossing his jacket off of his shoulders to show off his sheer undershirt.
The self-introductions shortly followed, with their iconic “In X!” sending New York into screams! Each member was even more excited to greet their FIX than the last, but we want to give a special shout-out to the king himself, Bae Jinyoung: he greeted fans with, “Today is… my BIRTHDAY!” with FIX happily cheering along. To lead into their next segment, BX teased with a little hint of the following songs choreography, giving fans exactly what they wanted.
And, you might have guessed the next song - “What You Wanted,” an iconic B-side from CIX’s debut album Hello Chapter 1: Hello, Stranger gave fans a delightful taste of their charisma and the life-changing chance to chant along to BX’s “Luceat lux tua!” in the bridge. The groovy, laid-back “Like It That Way” gave a chance for CIX to cool down and show off even more of their charms. Hyunsuk, perhaps, took that literally, taking off his jacket for a new look.
Finally, FIX could rest from the emotional distress onset from the body rolls of five beautiful men with a cute, short, VCR of "CIX-lhouette Talk." The members were able to show off their playful sides through interacting with mystery members from CIX’s story and trying to guess their identities (cue: the cutest laughter from FIX as they guessed wrong!)
And the party continued with CIX’s unit stages! Yonghee and Seunghun brought a flirty, American flair to their cover of The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay.” Dressed in oversized hoodies and denim, the two wouldn’t have looked out of place on the beaches of Los Angeles - and they did make a show out of unzipping their hoodies to show off to FIX, too! Bae Jinyoung and Hyunsuk followed up with a dance stage to T-Pain’s “Up and Down (Do This All Day),” with charisma and body rolls to spare. BX finished off the set with a solo stage of DPR Live’s “Text Me,” serving chill vibes as he rapped in a sleek pair of leather pants. Whether in units or as a whole, the talent of CIX was undeniable.
Following a brief VCR of CIX in suits (with a hint of ASMR from Bae Jinyoung that we now dub “BaeSMR!”), the five boys re-emerged onto the stage in a mix of otherworldly, embellished black and white outfits. Looking good and feeling good, the group performed “Jungle” and their ground-breaking debut track “Movie Star” - the two sensual tracks left FIX breathless. Every performance was filled with a new intensity, fueled by New York being their last tour stop.
Much of the ment that followed was filled with that sentiment - loving their FIX, knowing that these loving memories would soon be wrapping up. But, that’s all the more reason to fill it with fun! Seunghun cutely commented on their group stages, sharing that Yonghee’s abs were gone because they ate too much on their tour. With the end of the show quickly approaching, CIX used every moment to show off their love to their fans: singing along to Movie Star during the ment, grooving together as they jumped around on stage to “Lost,” and serenading their FIX during “Everything.” One fan even held up a large FIX ♡ CIX banner, prompting the boys to greet them with the sweetest “Thank you!” possible.
You can’t have the REBEL Tour in U.S. without the tour’s namesake. The driving beats and synchronization of “Rebel” had FIX singing and cheering along! And no K-pop concert is complete without an encore - CIX greeted us with an encore and beyond. The beyond was, of course, seeing Seunghun’s blond hair in little pigtails, a cuteness we can barely put into words.
Dressed in denim and their REBEL tour merch, CIX used their final songs to share all of their hearts with their FIX! The sentimental “Wave” and hopeful, loving “Cinema” provided the perfect ending to the night. Their ending ment was filled with unforgettable moments: staff bringing out a birthday cake for Bae Jinyoung, FIX and CIX serenading him together with “Happy Birthday,” complete with Jinyoung freestyle-dancing along; the members running after him to smear icing on his cheek; every member sharing their wishes to come back to their New York FIX as soon as possible.
The perfect line to encapsulate the feeling of the night coming to a close could be found in the final song of CIX’s concert, “The One”: We’re the perfect team. FIX and CIX were made to be complete together, the perfect team!
And with that, CIX wrapped up their 1st Concert in U.S. - the first of many! Thank you so much to CIX, C9 Entertainment, and Helix Publicity for providing KpopStarz with press access. We can’t wait for CIX to visit again!
