Our Newest Idols Take On New York: KCON 2022 US Tour

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It was the start of September, and we were celebrating the start of four incredible K-pop groups’ careers at the New York stop of the KCON 2022 US TOUR! The return of in-person KCON shows after years of COVID-19 era virtual events was long-awaited, and the hype was beyond belief. Fans lined up for hours outside of New York City’s Terminal 5 on September 1st, eager to dance and sing to their favorite tracks by LIGHTSTUM, CRAVITY, TO1, and STAYC!

Starship Entertainment’s CRAVITY, Wake One Entertainment’s TO1, and High Up Entertainmen’s STAYC all debuted in 2020, while CUBE Entertainment’s LIGHTSUM debuted in 2021 - all groups with no more than two years of experience. What they lacked in years, they made up for with an endless amount of talent and energy, making for an unforgettable night of performances.

As Terminal 5 filled up with attendees, a pre-show video of each group teaching the audience a bit of their point choreography got everyone hyped in advance! LIGHTSUM taught “Q,” CRAVITY taught “JUMPER,” TO1 taught “What A Beautiful Day,” and STAYC taught “ASAP” - though most in the audience already knew STAYC’s track as a result of the song going viral on TikTok upon its release. Fans even chanted the iconic “STAYC girls, it’s going down!” together, setting the stage for these rookies to take over.

Let’s dive into our recaps of the performances of the KCON 2022 US TOUR’s four monster rookies! (In the order that they came on stage, of course - if we tried to rank them, we’d have four rookies all labeled “1.” They are all simply that good.)

1. LIGHTSUM lights up the stage!

LIGHTSUM kicked off the night by taking us into space: the stage turned cosmic, and the girls’ dance stage showed off their otherworldly skills! “Vanilla” showed off how sweet the girls were, getting the whole of Terminal 5 to sing “Vanilla-nilla-nilla” alongside them. “VIVACE” brightened up the stage with its blossoming summer beat! LIGHTSUM proved that the power of rookies lies in their versatility with how seamlessly they switched between cute vibes and outright power with every verse.

For their following performance segment, LIGHTSUM embraced their girl crush energy with a cover of their senior group (G)I-DLE’s “TOMBOY.” While their first songs showed off how incredibly sweet they were, their hypnotizing command of the stage pushed the boundaries of sass! LIGHTSUM’s sass and cuteness didn’t stop there: for their ment, they called for fans to choose a member to show off their dancing skills! After an endless amount of cheers, the fans chose Jian and Juhyeon to show off the point choreography, who accepted the challenge shyly. Their shyness went away instantly as soon as they dove into the dance - dancing queens, truly.

“Q” and “ALIVE” closed off LIGHTSUM’s performance, allowing fans to sing and wave along with them! (If you weren’t a SUMIT before the show, you definitely became one after seeing how adorable they were.)

2. CRAVITY kicks it up a notch on their turn!

A vision in dress shirts, slick black pants, and a variety of different harnesses, you could have guessed that CRAVITY was the most fashionable team of spies just as easily as you would have guessed rookie K-pop boy group - and they stole our hearts just as easily as spies would! “ADRENALINE” kicked off their segment, and the groovy beat (on top of their dancing skills, smiles, and effortless stage presence!) had our hearts racing.

Lead vocalist and lead dancer Wonjin started off their next track “My Turn” with a smirk and an energetic, “What’s up, guys?” From beginning to end, the song was full of CRAVITY’s effortless dance skills and charisma. Main dancer Hyeongjun was the perfect ending fairy!

After CRAVITY’s first performances, Taiwan-born & Los-Angeles-raised Allen took the lead in welcoming LIGHTSUM back to the stage for group introductions! The members all did individual introductions - LIGHTSUM sharing themselves with enough aegyo to fill the entirety of Terminal 5 with smiles, and CRAVITY lighting up the venue with a resounding "What’s up?" In true New York City performance fashion, the members couldn’t get through the ment without singing Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind!” CRAVITY’s Jungmo took charge by asking fans which stage they preferred (and almost spoiling more awesome stages!)

For CRAVITY’s cover stage, they kicked the energy up a notch with NCT 127’s “Kick It” and Stray Kids’ “Back Door.” The energy of the songs translated perfectly to the dances of the Starship rookies, transitioning from formation to formation with ease. Member Taeyoung expressed his dreams during the next ment: that the next generation of rookies would look up to them and cover their songs!

After teaching the audience the lyrics and dance moves of “JUMPER,” they jumped into the energetic track, proving to all that they had energy in spades. The horns, beats, drums, and synths of the track all combined into a full body experience of creativity and gravity (the namesake combination of CRAVITY!)

CRAVITY’s final song “Boogie Woogie” was the perfect upbeat party anthem to draw a close to both the summer and their set. The boys were silly, loving, and bright as they partied and danced the night away - special shoutout to the way Wonjin conducted fans to wave and wiggle along, taking the center of the stage as he danced.

3. STAYC stays slaying on stage!

By the amount of fans that cheered and sang along to STAYC’s songs even before the High Up Entertainment girls took the stage, it was no secret which rookie group garnered the most hype. As soon as preceding groups LIGHTSUM and CRAVITY introduced the following performers, the entire venue erupted with cheers and the loudest chant of STAYC’s iconic, “STACY Girls, it’s going down!” that you’ve ever heard! (It might’ve gone down, but the hype only went up from there!)

Their opening performance of “RUN 2 U” came with an eruption of hearts, with every fan dancing along to the addictive point choreography. “SO BAD” continued the love as STAYC took Terminal 5 along with them on a journey of otherworldly, eclectic, and synchronized dance moves!

During their ment, STAYC introduced themselves with equal parts cuteness and sexiness - Yoon, in particular, charmed the audience with a spin!

For their next performance segment, STAYC returned to the stage for “ASAP.” Yoon asked fans to yell “ASAP” as loud as they could, and the entirety of Terminal 5 delivered and danced along to “ASAP”’s iconic point choreography! The dreamy beats and dance of the track had us all in a trance. We’re so happy that STAYC (and their perfect performances & cutest selves!) appeared before our eyes.

(Photo : Karen May)

4. TO1 has us calling their name!

TO1 was the most senior rookie of the rookies, (debuting on April 1st, 2020, a mere two weeks before CRAVITY’s debut!) and the stage presence that the boys developed from their participation on reality show “To Be World Klass” showed through! The nine-member group emerged onto the stage in neon streetwear outfits, dancing to a deep, drumming electric track - with their level of skill, their sharp moves filled the stage with energy like they were a full-on dance troupe!

“No More X” and “BOOM POW” had New York City calling TO1’s name! Singer J.You felt like a siren with how he led the bridge with impeccable riffs. A dance break solo from main dancer Kyungho had all of our hearts pumping even harder!

TO1’s next performance segment was welcomed with even more cheers for “What a Beautiful Day!” Even though Chan, one of their members, couldn’t attend KCON, it was still a beautiful day for TO1 to be with their fans - and the song was the perfect way to celebrate. After teaching the audience the point choreography, the members jumped into the performance, bringing wonderful vibes to each moment with their bright and bouncy moves.

Leader Jaeyun asked the fans for a word to describe their performance, and the fans offered “Slay,” sending the entire venue into screams and laughs. “Make some noise if you think you slayed,” asked Jaeyun, and Terminal 5 got even louder!

Their next tracks, “Son of Beast” and “Drummin’” took the volume of cheers to an even higher level, pushing past our expectations! The funky synth beats of “Son of Beast'' enveloped the stage in a warm light, while the cacophony of unique sounds of “Drummin’” had us all dancing along.

To conclude the night, all of the rookies - LIGHTSUM, CRAVITY, STAYC, and TO1 - returned to stage for final bows. While the New York show closed off the KCON 2022 US TOUR as its last stop, it showed a beautiful beginning of the fruitful careers of these rookies. We can’t wait to see them grow & glow even further (and to see their safe return to New York’s performance stages!)