FTI5

This was an encore approximately 4 months after ‘Five Treasures’. While the overall layout of the setlist remained unchanged, approximately half the songs were replaced. Additionally, there were songs performed live for the first time, and a showcase of new songs to be released in Japan and Korea as a present to fans. Inclusive of the double encore, there were a total of 24 songs. All 4 members were completely devoted to playing this setlist, which summarises the history of FTISLAND as they approach their Major Japanese Debut’s 10th anniversary next May. At the very end, Hongki who is enlisting on September 30th gave his farewell to fans with a smile: “thank you for these past 10 years! We’ll be back!”.

As Song Seunghyun (Gt, Vo), Lee Jaejin (Ba, Vo) and Choi Minhwan (Dr) took their positions, Lee Hongki (Vo) called his usual “shall we go?” and sparks rose from the stage. Then, the show kicked off with the full-spirited God Bless You. The band went full-throttle from the start. The fans also stood to meet them, waving their yellow lights. It was fantastic to see the shining jewel of the ‘Five Treasures’ tour opening this performance. With the venue immediately united, they began singing along as Hongki gestured and called out ‘Singing!’ during the chorus.

“At last, today is our final. We’ve also prepared a present for you. Firstly, we will be performing a song that Jaejin and I wrote from our album Everlasting, live for the first time,” Hongki said. With that, they performed If U Want. It is a song resonating with Jaejin’s sexy bass. From the outro, Seunghyun’s impressive guitar connected to their next song Top Secret. These two songs were rearranged specifically for the encore live. Next, was Theory of Happiness. Then, with Hongki’s words “I’ll receive your voices!”, the fans simultaneously started singing along to the beautiful Aqua. This song is a FT-style J-rock song which truly boosts the sense of unity.

With the prompt, “Can you go even crazier? SCREAM!”, they launched into the FT-style band rock songs Take me Now and Pray. It’s been repeatedly acknowledged that these songs helped them shed their idol image and become a rock band in Korea. While singing in Korean, Hongki showed off a different expression. As he sang more heatedly, the heat of the fans who sang along in unison also rose.

During the MC, Hongki laughed as he announced, “I’m soaked all the way to my pants!”

He continued, “Next year it’ll be 10 years from our Japanese (major) debut. However, we won’t be able to hold concerts. So we’ve organised a segment for our old songs with a seasonal theme. Despite this tour being called an ‘encore live’, you all expected us to change things up didn’t you? In order to catch those who didn’t expect it by surprise, we prepared different songs for this tour. Once again, I realised we have a lot of good songs. From here on out, I really want to keep creating good songs too.”

With the image of ‘4 seasons’ in mind, the next set of songs were rearranged into an acoustic medley.  Spring = Primavera, summer = Let it Go, rainy season = So Today, autumn = I Believe Myself and winter = Winter’s Night. All songs were rearranged and reconfigured for this performance.

The second half began with two songs which “radiate feelings of happiness when you sing along”. In response to the fans singing with full-power to Golden, Hongki’s whole face lit up with a smile and he shouted, “Amazing!”

“Ah, today is the end isn’t it? But it’s not the end forever! We will return unchanged so please don’t worry. So that you’re not sad while you wait, we’ve prepared various presents for you. I’ve also decided on something. This is true for Japan too, but in Korea our male fans have increased. I will invite 100 of my Army comrades to attend our concert.” Hongki spoke while smiling.

“To tell you the truth, I received the notice of my enlistment just as we arrived in Japan for these concerts. When I saw it, my heart sank. Even though there were so many things (schedules) planned for me, I’m sorry you won’t be able to see them,” he said frankly, with some bitterness.

“It’s a bit sad, but while you wait we have prepared a present. This next song is the new song we will release next year in celebration of our Major Debut’s 10th Anniversary. It’s called Sunrise Yellow. Our colour is yellow right? In order to achieve Freedom from now on, this song will become a staple at FTISLAND concerts! Therefore, today’s concert will become the PV!” he announced, introducing the invigorating new pop tune. It is a song with a springy rhythm, which will have you unconsciously jumping along.

After the new song solidified FTISLAND’s set of ‘iron clad*’ songs, the magical main part of the concert, which had everyone dancing passionately, came to a close.

(*staple songs, songs that are always strong performed live)

As the calls for FTISLAND grew steadily louder, the 4 members returned to the stage.

“I’m really sad that it will be the end after these next 2 songs. However, we will return safely!” Hongki said, and was met with loud applause.

“Promise that you won’t forget us. This year has been full of ups and downs. However, no matter what happens, we can only continue expressing ourselves. We will protect our voices, the members will not forget how to play their instruments. So promise you won’t forget us! We may be selfish, but we are serious about our music. We will continue to improve. Please believe in us.” He spoke earnestly.

“While you wait, please feel free to go enjoy our junior’s concerts. However, you cannot fall in love with them!” he said laughing.

With this, he introduced Don’t Lose Yourself from their upcoming Korean mini album Zapping to be released on Spetember 9th.

“The song we are about to sing is our new Korean release. As we were talking about earlier, this is a song which tells you not to forget your sense of self. The voices of the audience who sang the chorus at the Korean concert have been put onto the CD. But I also want to sing with everyone here in Japan.”

Hongki’s gentle voice enveloped the venue, and meshing with his gradually strengthening voice, the fans sang along strongly to the chorus. Seeming satisfied with the song they created with the fans, Hongki gave his thanks “thank you!” while singing.

“We’ll be reaching a turning point 10 years after our major debut in Japan, but we won’t be here for it. When we return, it’ll be the start of our second life. Please anticipate it. Our dream is to do music as a band even as we grow older. Men become cooler in their 30s and 40s. It’s the same for our music. I’m looking forward to it. Thank you so much for the past ten years! We’ll be off!” He gave his thanks with a gusto. However, it seemed as if he were trying to hide his tears by looking up into the back of the crowd.

Their ‘arigato’ was full of the thoughts they wished to convey. Hongki waved his hands toward the stands, to which he received an answering flurry of yellow lights.

More than ever, the lyrics (from Arigato) “in this selfish life, please stay beside me. From now on too, please support me” permeated the audience, filling their hearts.

As they brought it all to a close, Hongki shouted “Thank you! Laugh!” as he sang. Immediately, loud calls of ‘encore!’ rose.

“Don’t cry. We’ll do this song to leave you with smiles on your faces,” he said as he shouted Stay What You Are with all his power and sang for the audience with a smiling face.

Looking as if they were truly finished, the 4 members lined up in the centre and bowed.

“Thanks to you, I was really happy today,” said Seunghyun and Hongki clapped his hands toward the audience in praise.

After the members finished, Jaejin was left alone on stage. He said, “When we said ‘thank you’, I recalled memories from the last 10 years. Although you will be able to see me at my solo soon, FTISLAND will be going on a break from today. It’s lonely, isn’t it? I will remember this view so that when I am down, I can try my best.”

Then, as tradition, he shouted “thank you everyone!” without his mic. The answering “thank you” from fans carried a wave of gratitude in return to him.

FTISLAND started doing live activities during their teens. At that time, they couldn’t speak Japanese and their performance skills were still lacking. However, from their major debut onward, into their 20s, concert tours became the centre of almost all their activities in Japan. They grew into a band that could hold concerts in arenas every year. Of course, as their Japanese became more fluent, they were also able to talk frankly about everything with their fans, who they see as ‘friends’. At an FTISLAND concert, no matter the venue, the distance between hearts is close. FTISLAND accepts their fans, and the fans accept them in return.

Additionally, after all is said and done, I’ve become addicted to the 3 members’ tight instrumentals led by Hongki’s heaven-sent live vocals, which can lead you comfortably through the concert.

We won’t be able to experience this wonderful sort of concert for approximately 2 years. However, as Hongki said, they have prepared various presents in the meantime.

The first is Bassist Jaejin’s solo debut mini album Scene. 27 to be released on October 9th. He will also be holding his ‘1st Solo Mini Live Tour – Love Like the Films’ across Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

Then, the three remaining members (sans Hongki) will be representing FTISLAND in ‘2019 FNC Kingdom – Winter Forest Camp’. It seems we will be able to see collaborations with their juniors.

Jaejin, Seunghyun and Minhwan all plan to enlist in 2020. There’s no question that when they all return in their 30s, they’ll show us more thrilling live performances. At that time, I wonder what sort of songs they’ll bring back with them.

Report by: Yukari Sakamoto @ Excite News Japan Photography by: Seitaro Tanaka, Masahiro Yamada Translations by: @onafallingstar

Setlist

1.God Bless You 2.BEAT IT 3.Boom Boom Boom 4.IF U WANT 5.TOP SECRET 6.シアワセオリー 7.AQUA 8.Take Me Now 9.PRAY 10.Primavera 11.Let it go! 12.So today... 13.I believe myself 14.Winter’s Night 15.Golden 16.Hold the moon 17.Sunrise Yellow（新曲） 18.FREEDOM 19.PUPPY 20.未体験Future 21.Flower Rock

Before the show started, the fans in the fully sold-out audience naturally clapped along to ‘God Bless You,’ the lead track from their 9th Album ‘Everlasting’ (released on March 27), as they waited impatiently for FTISLAND to make their entrance. To mark the entrance of the members, the SE (Sound Effect) comprised of an edited and rearranged version of ‘FT Island’ from their 1st Korean album ‘Cheerful Sensibility’ (2007).

They announced, “since we can’t do a live next year to celebrate our Japanese Major Debut’s 10th anniversary, this tour will reflect our history, from our indie days to now.”

In line with this, the song ‘FT Island” was a concert staple during their indie days. As the clapping of the fans grew louder to this SE, Minhwan (Dr), Seunghyun (Gt) and Jaejin (Ba) entered. Then, as Minhwan started to drum a tight beat, Hongki (Vo) entered and they surged triumphantly into their major debut song, ‘Flower Rock’. Despite being a fast-paced song, Hongki was impressively able to stitch together a few words. Fans jumped vigorously with Hongki, and there was a sense of unity from the start.

During the section with FTISLAND’s anime and drama compositions, the lyrics to Satisfaction ‘I’ve been searching for the meaning of happiness. I wondered where it was’ were changed to ‘I wondered if it (the meaning of happiness) was in Kobe.’ Hearing the fans sing this loudly, Hongki grinned broadly. During ‘Haruka’, the theme song for a Japanese drama in which Hongki starred, Seunghyun demonstrated his rapping skills for the first time in a while.

As Hongki commanded the crowd to ‘Give me your voice!’, the ‘WOWOWO’ sing-along to ‘Aqua’ was born. Hongki opened his arms wide as if preparing to receive their voices. Then, he added his own voice thunderously to the fans’ singing. During the one Korean composition section, Hongki, Jaejin and Seunghyun head-banged to the heavy rock beats. To the fans riding the momentum of the music, Hongki sang back to them, returning the favour with his voice. During the sing-along hook of ‘Pray’, as the title suggests, Hongki clasped his hands at his chest as if in prayer. Hongki and the fan’s voices became entangled with each other in a whirlpool. As the song finished and the applause sounded, it felt as though they (the fans and FTISLAND) understood each other through the music. In FTISLAND’s lives, the rapport between the stage and the audience during this sort of stage is huge.

After the intense music, they continued on to a ‘cooling down’ acoustic set. Minhwan said, “We were worried about how we should let you hear the music from our indies era.

Seunghyun added, “so the songs we’ll play have been put into ‘blocks’ divided by season. In Japan, it goes spring, rainy season, then summer. However in Korea, the rainy season comes after summer. Without knowing this, we created the order according to Korea.”

To the backing of Seunghyun’s acoustic guitar, Jaejin started singing ‘Soyogi’, the ballad which conjures images of spring. Then, the bass was layered on top, and the vocal baton was passed to Seunghyun. During the hook of the song, Hongki’s vocals and Minhwan’s cajón overlapped, resounding in a beautiful harmony.

The mutual voices of Hongki and the fans in the venue took hold for the summery ‘Brand new Days’. Although it had been performed in this style since the first day at Toyosu PIT, the timing was changed from the original, and fans struggled to align with the new arrangement. However, fans finally succeeded during the final, and in response Hongki’s entire face lit up, and he gave the audience a thumbs up.

‘Raining’, the song coloured with the rainy season, started with Minhwan’s vocals and the fan’s voices layered upon each other. As the fans sang the chorus, Hongki would provide the harmony. He praised the fans, saying “I love hearing you sing. If I compare it to the first day, you’ve gradually gotten better.”

However, it wasn’t just FTISLAND’s main vocal Hongki singing, Jaejin, Seunghyun and Minhwan all took turns at the vocals. It was the addition of the fans’ vocals, creating perfect unity, which made this song so attractive. Sometimes intense, sometimes gentle, FTISLAND do not only push with power, but have also built up songs with varied expressions. Especially during this tour, there were many such scenes. The face of Hongki, who watched the fans singing along with gentle eyes, also created a lasting impression.  

“The atmosphere has become sad with only ballads, so we’ll raise your spirits with our favourite songs now,” said Hongki as ‘Hold the Moon’ started. When it was time for ‘Golden’, a song which Hongki professed he loved, he put his foot on the step and yelled ‘C’mon’. Gathering his voice, the excitement in the audience was roused.

The last section started with ‘Freedom’. Hongki descended from the stage and sprayed the audience with a water gun. After Seunghyun’s scream, Seunghyun and Jaejin both went from left to right, moving around all over the stage. At Hongki’s command of ‘sit down!’, the audience all sat in their seats at once. Then, at the height of the song, they all stood and shook their towels.

Continuing the excitement, next was the FT-style party tune ‘Puppy’. It was enjoyable experiencing the duet between the fans and FT, and there was also great unity enveloping the room for ‘Mitaiken Future’. With Minhwan’s drums gaining momentum, they brought their story to a close with their latest song ‘God Bless You.’ Its powerful sound enveloped the hall right until the end.

The encore opened with the magnificent ballad ‘Paradise’. On Hongki’s lead, Jaejin and Seunghyun sang solo, and then he pointed to the male fans in the audience and said, “just you (sing)!” Afterward, he said “Everyone!” and the whole hall sang as one.

“The next song is the last song of the tour. Everyone, you’ve worked hard,” Hongki said, while hanging his head low, “It’s been a long tour. We were ok with performing in small venues, because we said we just wanted to perform throughout Japan. To be the only Korean band to have been able to perform in so many different places, we held that sort of pride too.”

“Oh!” he shouted excitedly.

“Soon, we’ll have to head off, but we still have the Hiroshima live in August (replacement live), and my solo fan-meeting in July. We want to hold concerts until the very last moment before we leave. Even if it’s a sudden, surprise announcement, will you come play with us?” he asked the audience.

“This concert held a lot of meaning for us. We wanted to say ‘bye bye’ with smiles on our faces, however instead we made you worry. We will protect FTISLAND as 4. Even when we return (from enlistment), we will continue to be a band, so I ask that you please give us your continued support,” he said, which was met with long applause.

“We still have many things we want to show you, music we want to do, things we want to do. So we want to hold concerts until you all get sick of it,” he conveyed passionately to the fans.

Seunghyun, who became the lone guitarist this tour said, “during this tour, my position changed. Because there was not much time to practice, I considered cancelling the tour. However, I tried my hardest in order to protect our promise to you. You never know where life will lead you next. I received a lot of power from you. Thank you very much.”

On the first day at Toyosu PIT, his performance was filled with uncertainty. However, by the last day he showed us a stable and relaxed performance. There’s no mistaking it, Seunghyun was the one who grew the most during this tour.

“I’ve spent more than half my life with FTISLAND. From now on, we will work hard to protect the precious name of FTISLAND, so please give us your continued support.” (Minhwan)

“I used to worry about things like ‘why do you guys like us?’. Now, I just want to move forward with you all. We were nothing. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to shine.” (Jaejin)

One by one, they expressed their gratitude to the fans. Then, Hongki continued.

“Your support has strengthened our bond. You passed it on to us during every live, and I felt myself sigh after it was over. It wasn’t a sigh of worry, but rather a ‘thank goodness.’ I’m grateful,” Hongki said.

As he brought the concert to a close, he said “This is ‘Arigato’, a song that carries many meanings,” and launched into the first line of ‘Arigato’.

“We did it yesterday, so you would be mad if we didn’t do it today, right?” Hongki added as he surged into ‘Stay What You Are’. Hongki showed an amazing smile as he watched fans sing along determinedly. When the song finished, calls for another encore immediately rose. With ‘Orange Days’, this became the first triple encore of the tour. One final time, the sound of fans singing along swelled, bringing the concert to a close.

From now on, FTISLAND has become a 4-person band. On the first day, the fans conveyed their worries, however the 4 members responded one by one to these feelings during their performances. It felt as though the bonds between them and their fans have gradually grown even stronger. During this final performance, on this day, in this venue, it was certain that everyone thought, “even with only 4 people, this is FTISLAND.”

After this, FTISLAND will return to the Hiroshima City Cultural Exchange Hall on August 24 for a make-up performance. The previous performance on April 20 was cancelled due to the poor condition of Hongki’s throat.  

Hongki will also be holding his solo fan-meeting ‘Never Ending Story’ on July 12 and 13 at Pacifico Yokohama, National Convention Hall of Yokohama.

Jaejin will be participating as a guest bassist during ‘N.FLYING 2019 Live in Japan Brotherhood’ starting from June 4.

Hongki gave a teaser that “there might be a surprise soon.” It seems that FTISLAND could be preparing chances for concerts right up until the moment they leave.

Credits: Sakamoto Yukari @ Excite News

Translated by: [email protected]

Setlist:

1. Flower Rock 2. BEAT IT 3. Boom Boom Boom 4. SATISFACTION 5. ハルカ (Haruka) 6. シアワセオリー (Theory of Happiness) 7. AQUA 8. Take Me Now 9. Pray 10. Soyogi 11. Brand-new days 12. Raining 13. いつか (Itsuka) 14. Distance 15. Hold the moon 16. Golden 17. FREEDOM 18. PUPPY 19. 未体験Future (Mitaiken Future) 20. God Bless You

Interviewer: It’s your 11th year and you’re entering a new chapter with a new album! Last year you celebrated your 10th anniversary and this year it’s now your 11th, isn’t it?

Hongki: “The enthusiasm from our 10th year still remains, so I don’t particularly pay attention to the fact that it’s our 11th.”

Minhwan: “We all met in our teens, so it feels strange that our 20s will be over soon (laughs).”

Jonghoon: “As we’ve all reached adulthood, I think we need to work harder.”

Seunghyun: “Making music is fundamentally working hard together as a band. However, we show ourselves individually in front of our fans, so I think as individuals we also have to grow.”

Jaejin: “I feel that we’re starting anew now that our 10th anniversary is over. As we must fulfill our duties as Korean men (and enlist) soon, we are preparing music and various other things so our fans don’t get bored in the meantime. With these thoughts, we’ve been doing a variety of things lately.”

Interviewer: They created their 8th album ‘Planet Bonds’ with these feelings. What kind of album have you made?

Hongki: “There are many (songs) with bright lyrics full of hope. There are also powerful songs and softer songs reminiscent of our indie days. As implied by the title ‘BONDS’, the flow between songs is quite important. So, to begin with, we wish for you to listen to the songs in order, from the first track.”

Jaejin: “The word ‘PLANET’ holds great meaning, including Earth. However, recently, I feel like there are many ways to understand the word. Not only Japan and Korea but as we are able to communicate across various worlds, I feel there is only one ‘PLANET’. Therefore, I believe that ‘PLANET’ also means (large) scale bonds between people.”

Interviewer: The lead song ‘Hold the Moon’ is composed and written by Hongki. Please tell us about what happened during production.

Hongki: “Recently, I’ve really liked the atmosphere of songs featuring synth. I actually thought the song would have been good for my solo and was warming up to it, but I decided to provide it for the production of this album instead.”

Interviewer: ‘Hold the Moon’, is different from Jaejin’s works: ‘Dancing On’ which has a band sound, and ‘Game’ which has an impressive bass.

Jaejin: “I created ‘Dancing On’ while imagining it performed by a different band. It’s nostalgic as it’s got a similar atmosphere to the songs FTISLAND performed a long time ago. It’s been a while so I asked the members ‘what do you think?’ and their thoughts were, ‘let’s put it in!’. ‘Game’ is a song I originally made while thinking about FT songs. As there aren’t many bass-focused songs, I made the song while trying to be conscious of the bass sound. I adopted the same arrangement (although the chords changed) as Hongki’s ‘Champagne’ (included in the 7th album ‘United Shadows’) as I wanted to try something more fun.”

Interviewer: Did you insert the impressive bass line later?

Jaejin: “This time, I put it in from the beginning. From there, I put in the drums and guitar, then decide on the overall composition and then attach a melody. Usually, there are a lot of times I would create it from an orchestral accompaniment. By doing it like this, the way the melody unfurls will suit the song. There are many cases where the melody comes first in order to create the feeling of freedom. However, recently, we’ve been creating a lot of songs starting with the musical accompaniment first.

Interviewer: It’s been a while, but ‘Skyway’ is written and composed by Minhwan isn’t it?

Minhwan: “To begin with, I wished to convey feelings of hope in my song. Because I like the night sky, I wrote this song while thinking of the fans as I star-gazed.”

Seunghyun: “I also worked hard on composing, but the colour of my songs was a bit different from this album’s so unfortunately they weren’t included (laughs).”

Interviewer: During the ‘FTISLAND POPPING MINI LIVE’ in Nagoya in February, Hongki said Seunghyun’s song was ‘an amazing song’ didn’t he?

Hongki: “It felt a bit like 80’s rock and it really conveyed Seung-chan’s feelings well, so I liked that about it. When we met up to decide which songs to record, I said I wanted to arrange it and include it. However, we ran out of time, so it didn’t make it in this time. It might be in the next one!”

Seunghyun: “The songs I make all tend to be a bit different from FTISLAND’s colour. Next time I think it would be nice to make a song which suits the member’s performance style, so that no matter if Hongki-niisan or Jaejin-niisan sings it, it’ll get the ‘OK’.”

Interviewer: We anticipate it!

Interviewer: Composer Jonghoon’s ‘Flower Road’ is a song where everyone sings. In FT’s case, there are many songs where all members take the vocals aren’t there?

Jonghoon: “Yes, it’s always there. It’s been a while since everyone’s sung, so I have brought this song to close the album, but there’s also meaning there. From the very beginning, as I created this song, I was thinking all 5 of us would sing. I will be happy if you feel like your heart has been cleansed after listening to it until the end.”

Interviewer: Although the members created the songs separately, there’s a sense of unity when listening to them all.

Jaejin: “Even if we say it feels like FT, I don’t think it would be an FT album unless each individual’s personality was mixed in. So it goes without saying that it’s natural for us, as FT, to make songs and arrange them.”

Interviewer: What’s happening with your Spring Arena tour in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka?

Jaejin: “Nothing has been decided yet. We are releasing a new album, so while we prepare our new live I think it’s important that we show everyone a new (type of) rock. We’re thinking of making the image a little more ‘pop’ so that even people who don’t know our songs can sing along.”

Seunghyun: “When making a setlist, it’s usually Hongki-niisan who creates it initially. Then, after that, the four of us will check over it. However, as it’s a live in the Spring, I really want to line up songs which will suit the Spring. I like all the songs, but I really want to play ‘Sayonara’ while conveying the feelings of the lyrics.”

Hongki: “But I haven’t decided on anything yet, ok? (laughs)”

Interviewer: Although it’s a bit abstract, what does the word ‘band’ mean for FTISLAND?

Hongki: “Generally speaking, in simple terms, the word ‘band’ gives the impression of being cool or free. However, our true experience is that being in a band gives us a chance to translate the things we want to express about ourselves by our own hands. I think that’s good enough. Musicality depends on a band’s colour, but I think conveying your favourite genre, your favourite stories, your favourite songs, from yourself to your audience is what a band is.”