[SINGAPORE] A Kaya-Sweet Night at ITZY Premiere Showcase Tour

Super rookie group ITZY held their ITZY PREMIER SHOWCASE TOUR “ITZY? ITZY!” IN SINGAPORE after bagging multiple award show wins in Korea. Held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre on Dec 13, this highly anticipated showcase was the perfect early Christmas present for MIDZYs. Despite its late showing at 8PM, fans were energetically singing along to ITZY’s tracks even before the girls graced the stage. 

Despite this being their first performance in Singapore, the support for the JYP Entertainment girl group was immense — the booming cheers that ensued when they opened with their latest comeback “ICY” was a clear indication. Following this popular summer track was “IT’z SUMMER”, another well-loved B-side off their <IT’z ICY> EP. Seeing their powerful moves on stage, it was no surprise that this rookie group managed to clinch so many records in the first year of their debut. 

The gap between ITZY’s onstage charisma and their cute off-stage personalities have always been a well-loved trait of the group. This was apparent from the get-go during their first talk segment of the night. All members specially prepared their introductions in English, and even mentioned how they were amazed at how loud the fans were even before they came onto stage. 

When asked to summarise the showcase in one word, Ryujin enthusiastically said “kaya!” Understandably, MIDZYs were confused, but of course amused, at her reply but there was an adorable explanation behind this sentiment — she thinks the Singapore stage is very sweet and attractive, just like kaya! 

The Q&A session that followed after was a heartwarming experience for both ITZY and MIDZY. Members were shown videos of fans asking them questions, and MIDZY were able to delve deeper into the personal thoughts of the members. The first question was where ITZY would like to visit in Singapore, and Yeji piped up saying she wanted to visit Marina Bay Sands. ITZY also mentioned all of them went to take a picture with the famous landmark, which went viral among MIDZYs on Twitter just hours before their showcase. 

The next question was what ITZY’s biggest inspirations were. Lia sweetly said MIDZYs are her greatest motivator. Initially, she was not sure “DALLA DALLA” would be able to inspire listeners, but hearing stories of how this song helped boost MIDZYs confidence made her motivated. Chaeryeong chimed in, explaining how she is constantly inspired by producer J. Y. Park. She admires his unwavering passion and wants to learn from him! 

During this segment, ITZY also shared they would like to collaborate with their company seniors TWICE as they “enjoy their good energy”. Yeji also mentioned they would love to work with soloist Chung Ha since all of the members have a deep admiration for her, and feel they can learn much from the hardworking singer. 

After the Q&A session, the girls went into a round of “Guess the Song”. In one second, they had to figure out what the track playing was and dance to it. The girls were exceptionally good at this, but the highlight was seeing them dance to the likes of Sunmi’s “Gashina”, BTS’ “IDOL” and TWICE’s “Fancy”. 

For the showcase tour, ITZY also prepared covers of their seniors’ stages — TWICE’s “TT” and GOT7’s “Hard Carry”. For us, this was the perfect cover combination that reflected the group’s personalities well: they are as sweet and lovely as  “TT” and as charming and alluring as “Hard Carry”. As expected, they executed the performance cleanly and many JYP Nation fans in the crowd were pumped. It is not everyday that you get to see groups performing covers of well-loved songs, much less in person! 

The final talk segment involved the girls playing the whisper challenge. This was certainly a fun time for MIDZYs, who got to see the energetic nature of the members in the games. Yuna and Chaeryeong were dancing endlessly to the songs blasting from their headsets (which were cute bunny ones with moveable ears!) while the other girls were animatedly acting out their given words. After the fun and games, fans got to see Lia, Yeji and Ryujin do aegyo, and Ryujin even did a cute version of “CHERRY”. 

Before heading into the final performances of the night, MIDZYs surprised the girl group with a fan-made video project congratulating them on their successes and triumphs over hardship in their debut year. Rounding off the video was the sentence: “MIDZY always trust in ITZY”. This was a nod to their fandom name, which comes from the Korean word 믿어 (“to trust”). ITZY were touched and almost close to tears after the video, thanking fans for their endless support. 

Lia also explained that she always felt sorry when she sees this video, and promised to do better stages for fans in the coming years. Ryujin shared the same sentiments, and ensures Singaporean MIDZYs they will be back soon. Chaeryeong sweetly rounded off their thanks by saying in English “ITZY always trust MIDZY”. 

It would not be an ITZY showcase without their debut hits “DALLA DALLA” and “WANT IT?”. And it was well worth the wait! Fans were treated to a final taste of the girls’ onstage sass and attitude. Despite two hours of being on-stage, there was no trace of lethargy in ITZY’s moves showcasing their prowess as JYP’s newest power rookies. It was definitely a night to remember for Singaporean MIDZYs, and we are looking forward to what the girl group has in store for us next! 

We would like to thank ONE Production and Live Nation Singapore for the generous invite! 

Written by: Cheyenne
Photo Credit: Live Nation Singapore

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