[SINGAPORE] A White Night of Soulful Taeyang At The Star Theatre

Taeyang, a fittingly-named stage moniker which means ‘sun’ in Korean recently held a concert at The Star Theatre in Singapore for his ‘WHITE NIGHT’ tour. Needless to say, the BIGBANG vocalist put on an explosive performance worthy of the name “Solar” that VIPs all around the world have come to know him for.

One step into the theatre and it’s enough to get one raring for the show to get started – an aesthetically pleasing promotional VCR of Taeyang’s WHITE NIGHT tour playing on the big screen and grandiloquent blue lights penetrating through the white mist on the stage, as if Dong Youngbae was going to appear from nowhere.

An abrupt dim to the lighting was enough to get the crowd cheering at the top of their voices, and a sudden appearance by the man himself, Taeyang, through the smokes was more than enough to get the crowd losing their minds. To the tune of ‘Ringa Linga’, they sang in unison marking the start of a white night.

Following the opening song, Taeyang greeted his fans in Singapore while talking in reminiscent of his first concert here with his bandmates in BIGBANG’s ‘Alive’ tour back in 2012. He thanked the fans saying that if it wasn’t for them, he wouldn’t have been able to return for a solo tour to which the fans responded with a heartwarming “awww.”

Up next were dance-oriented tracks ‘Body’ and ‘Superstar’, a blast from the past as the crowd witnessed an energetic Youngbae grooving to the rhythm of the songs not holding back any of his silky dance moves. Clad in a white on white outfit matching his blonde hair as if he was heaven-sent, there was no holding back the crowd from screams of admiration.

If there was anyone not feeling the energy yet, the next song was sure to get them up and awake. From pitch dark, Taeyang re-appeared singing to the benign tunes of ‘Wake Me Up’ while lying down on his back as the radiant spotlight shone on him, as if he wasn’t shining enough already.

Taeyang favourites ‘Only Look At Me’ and ‘Wedding Dress’ followed right after which had fans waving their iconic VIP lightsticks with even more grit, evocative of the old Solar era. It has been a few years, but it was apparent there was no difference between then and now – it was the same old Taeyang with the same strong passion to entertain with his sharp dance moves that we are all familiar with, accompanied by his serene vocals that we have all fallen in love with, as ‘Amazin’, ‘1AM’, and ‘Naked’ played in succession.

Youngbae went on to perform a combination of old and new installments, before teasing the crowd that the show was about to come to an end. He asked the crowd what time it was to which the crowd replied “8pm”, not wanting the concert to end (8pm was the starting time of the concert). Taeyang later brushed them off with a cheeky reply: “8pm? You guys are liars… I wasn’t even here at 8pm!” (the concert started at 8:15pm) 😛

As they candidly exchanged laughters, the conclusion of the concert that was on the horizon meant they had to soon exchange goodbyes. Taeyang saved the best for the last as the title track of his latest album ‘Darling’ proved to be the perfect installation to the end of the white night, caressing the crowd with his soulful voice for a last goodbye. But was it the end?

With everyone chanting ‘Dong Youngbae’ for an encore, a spirited Taeyang returned with ‘Break Down’ performing as if it was only his first song with so much energy left to spare. Subsequently, it was the famous GD x Taeyang ‘Good Boy’ which got the crowd on their feet and by the time BIGBANG’s ‘Bang Bang Bang’ and ‘Fantastic Baby’ were played, the concert was already set for its final climax.

It wouldn’t be a Taeyang concert without the quintessential ‘Eyes, Nose, Lips’, a song that he is arguably most recognised for, to close the affair. There was a nostalgic feel to the crowd waving their  yellow lightsticks, redolent of a BIGBANG concert with everyone secretly hoping that Youngbae would one day return as a quintet in BIGBANG.

Amidst the bright lights, fancy outfits and flashy stage, there was a sense of intimacy in Taeyang’s concert by the way he communicated with his fans, how he teased them, and the candid conversations with the sea of yellow about missing his fellow BIGBANG members, establishing a strong connection between the two.

It’s unsurprising how VIPs are known to be one of the oldest fandom that is currently still active considering how the BIGBANG members have presented themselves over the years, both collectively and individually. While everything has to come to an end, we sincerely hope that it wouldn’t be the last time that we’re seeing Taeyang in the shores of Singapore. We would like to extend our thanks to UnUsUaL Entertainment for an invite to the concert! 🙂

Written by: Syamil.S
Photo Credit: YG Entertainment

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