OnlyOneOf appreciation + concert experience
My love for OnlyOneOf is new but immense! I only discovered them recently but fell into them so fast and so hard that I decided to travel out of state to attend the last stop of their Grand America Tour!
A little over a month ago, my YouTube recommendations included a music video for "because" by Rie. As a BL enthusiast, I clicked because I saw two guys kissing in the thumbnail LOL, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good both the song and the video were. When I looked into it more, I found out that Rie is a member of OnlyOneOf, and that he was playing a couple in the MV with fellow member Junji! I also learned that "because" is the fourth in a series of six solo songs released by the group as part of their undergrOund idOl project, which explores themes of love and acceptance in support of the pride movement. The songs are all fantastic, each a different style to reflect their individuality, and the MVs, which feature the members paired off as couples, are beautifully shot and feel very intimate without fetishizing. I was so impressed with their music and the messages they were sending that I felt the need to look into them further.
In the comments on their solo videos, the song I saw mentioned most was libidO. I checked out the MV, then the "Guilty Pleasure" choreography video, and then a bunch of live performances. I was shooketh, it was soooooo sensual. I read that it received a lot of hate in Korea for being "controversial", but the boys stood by it and explained that the song is about a young man experiencing first love and exploring his sexuality, eventually deciding to leave it to instinct and primal desire aka libido. The MV and choreography express this concept perfectly, and honestly, it's so tastefully done in a way that is sexy, but not egregiously so, that I see no room for complaints.
I was hooked enough to do a deep dive into the rest of their discography where I found countless other songs, both title tracks and b-sides, that I loved. I'm not sure how to describe their sound in technical terms, but it's different and more experimental than most K-pop out there. They have a lot of songs that are mid-tempo, smooth, and sexy, and the way they process their vocals gives them this kind of ethereal, breathy effect. They have a very distinct sound and regardless of whether the song is an upbeat banger like seOul drift, a mid-tempo bop like gaslighting, or a slower, sentimental track like OnlyOneOf yOu, you can tell it's them. It's pretty niche, which unfortunately means less general public appeal and popularity, but I appreciate that they stay true to it and hope that one day it catches on. Either way, I was sold.
Of course, just because I like a group's music doesn't mean I go all out and commit myself as a fan. But I felt compelled to check out OOO's other content because I was curious about the group dynamics, seeing as how they seemed very comfortable acting as couples for their solo songs, libidO, and skinz. I'm sure this is true with most groups, but they are completely endearing crackheads! They are fun and silly, have great chemistry with each other (they are basically shipping themselves), and they show off their crazy abs on camera a LOT lol. I got sucked into them real quick.
One week later, I was pretty much a newborn lyOn club, and I was aware that they were touring in the US at that time. I still have huge regrets of not being able to see Seventeen in concert last year because I also found them while they were in the middle of their US tour, so I didn't want to experience the same thing with OOO and decided to check whether there were still tickets for any shows available. I live in Hawaii so it's not like I can just hop around the continent to see them, and I was in the middle of my busy season at work, so I had a lot of limiting factors. However, I saw that there were still general admission tickets for their show in LA, which was after my big work deadline. After finding a pretty good deal on airfare, I bit the bullet and bought concert tickets for me and my husband (bless him). YOLO, am I right??
In the few weeks before the the concert, I got more and more hyped and as I continued to fall even deeper into the lyOn den, I started to get a little greedy. I really wanted snapshot tickets for my two biases Nine and Yoojung. I was scouring Reddit and twitter in search of anyone selling, to no avail. But it's okay because two days before the concert, I was able to snag a VIP ticket from a kind Reddit user who was selling theirs because they could no longer attend the show. So even though I couldn't have individual polaroids with my favorites, I would be able to do a hi-touch with all of the members, plus a group photo! Ahhh!
04-30-2023 - GRAND AMERICA TOUR LOS ANGELES
The LA show was held at the Avalon Hollywood, a nightclub which doubles as a concert venue. We arrived at the venue and started lining up for VIP at around 4:15. Once they started letting VIP into the venue, my husband (again, bless this extremely supportive man) went to go stand in the general admission line while I went on ahead. I'm pretty shy and everyone around me was with another friend, so I didn't really talk to anyone while waiting. But once we got let into the room where the hi-touch and group photo were happening, the girls in front of me started freaking out so naturally I freaked out with them hehe. It was comforting because it was the first time doing hi-touch for all of us.
The hi-touch/group photo happened so fast, I wish I had a little more time to soak it in. I high-fived each member and definitely looked at them while I was doing it, but the only one who I can clearly remember now is Yoojung. The man is so beautiful that he dazzled me into remembering only his face, even over my number one bias Nine! xD For the group photo, I stood behind Junji and Yoojung and was probably cheesing so hard, I hope I come out looking okay in the photo lol. And that was it! But even in such a short time, I could sense the members' kindness and sincerity. They are seated for the group photo, but they stand up for the hi-touch and thank each fan as they go by. And then after the photo is taken and we're exiting, they stand up again and turn around to greet us on our way out. I was starstruck. Ugh, next time maybe I'll splurge for VVIP so I can get a few more seconds with each member~
The venue was standing only, so VIP got to enter after VVIP was all settled in. I'm a shortie, and I had done my research prior so there was a second-floor balcony that I was aiming for. Luckily, it was still open when I got in so I made a dash for it and secured a spot against the balcony railing, with an unobstructed view of the stage below. It was perfect for me and since the venue is small, I still felt so close. My husband joined me once general admission was let in and to his joy, there were couches behind us that he could rest on lol.
The concert itself was absolutely amazing! The boys, who I'm sure were exhausted as this was the last of an 18-stop tour over the course of one month, brought 110% of their energy to every performance. Before seeing them live, I was thinking that maybe some of their choreography just looks cool because of good camerawork, but I was wrong, they really are that cool. Moments I can't believe I saw in real life:
The entirety of skinz, especially Yoojung and Mill's body rolls, and the KB/Yoojung moment in the second verse
The chest popping in gaslighting
THAT part by Yoojung in the final chorus of chrOme hearts
Crazy chemistry between Junji and Rie during be mine
Iconic libidO crotch grabbing by Nine
KB destroying his shirt during a sOng Of ice&fire
Rie saying "OMG pleeeease everyone, jump!!!" for angel, and everyone really jumping!
I had also seen someone on Reddit who was disappointed after attending OOO's first show because they felt they weren't singing live (I'm thinking it was a sound mixing issue rather than the members actually not singing), but for this concert I could definitely hear them over the backtrack and they were so good! During one of the breaks, they took requests to sing parts of songs that they wouldn't be performing, and this was another testament to how well they can sing. I was screaming because I got to hear a bit of byredO live.
Just as they gave their full energy for their songs, they did the same for their ments in between. They are so personable, sweet, and funny, and full of fan service! They also tried their best to speak in English when they could, which was extra endearing. And I may be delulu but they definitely waved in my general direction of the balcony a few times, so I excitedly waved back! At the end when they took the group photo with the audience, they accepted pride flags from fans and set it in front of them or draped it over their shoulders. Stan these supportive, inclusive kings. *Flag not pictured below because Studio Pav doesn't have Pride :\
The very last song was OnlyOneOf yOu and it was magical hearing them sing this beautiful number while the crowd held up their phone flashlights and swayed them to the beat. When they finally left the stage, I was overwhelmed with happiness, wishing the concert could go on for like three hours more, and a certfied lyOn. I'm totally rooting for OOO's success and hope they come back to America again someday soon!
