[SINGAPORE] BOL4 Unzips Breathtaking Vocals for First Asia Tour 

Over 1,300 fans gathered at The Theatre at Mediacorp on September 10 for singer-songwriter BOL4’s 2023 Asia Tour ‘Love.zip’ in Singapore. Known in full as Bolbbalgan Sachungi, Korean for ‘Blushing Youth’, BOL4 was accompanied by a five-piece live band for her first concert in Singapore, which also marks her inaugural visit to the country. 

The one-man indie pop act, who frequently tops charts in South Korea and is one of the most notable alumni of the audition programme Superstar K, decorated the unassuming theatre with her cheerful repertoire and authentic musicality in a breathtaking debut concert.

Captivating, yet laid-back

It was an obvious choice to kick the evening off with some of the singer-songwriter’s trademark love songs. She performed classics such as Tell Me You Love Me, Bom, You(=I), Chase Love Hard, and Love story in a butterfly-inspired ensemble: a flowy pink dress adorned with butterflies that cascaded down to a pair of platform Mary Janes, topped off with a silver butterfly pendant that matched the delicate butterfly tattoos on her right bicep.

Unlike the bulk of mainstream K-pop, which relies on earworm hooks or anthemic lyrics to rile up the audience, BOL4’s music features a catchy, speech-like quality, as heard in standout tracks like Some, Travel, Tell Me You Love Me, and Workaholic, which fans couldn’t resist singing along to. More than anything, what sets her music apart from her indie peers is the unmistakable timbre of her voice that harbours a hint of eccentricity, particularly in her quirky vibratos. Her husky yet honey-sweet vocal colour pumps a laid-back charm into her music that is hard to replicate. And that seemed to be what fans appreciated the most that night.

A different breed of K-pop 

BOL4 might not have roots in K-pop, nor does she boast the fancy choreography that has become a hallmark of idol music, but her excellent fan service ensures that she is qualified for the idol title. In the second part of the show, the singer ventured into the first-floor audience to serenade them with her solemn ballad tracks, When love becomes goodbye and Mermaid. “It was my first time singing while holding a flower,” she mused, referring to the white rose that she gently plucked from a gushing fan’s hand while meandering through the audience for Mermaid. 

But the singer also knows how to have fun. BOL4 had everyone on their feet for Rome, Seattle Alone, Workaholic, and Travel, returning to the floor to mingle with the audience during the latter, amid bursts of crimson lights emitting from fans’ official BOL4 lightsticks. 

It is safe to say that BOL4, endearingly referred to by her birth name, Jiyoung, is not used to the K-pop idol treatment herself. She expressed her surprise at fans breaking out in full, coordinated fan chants, despite most of the chants being in Korean. “I had never imagined this kind of reaction from you! I don’t usually take my in-ears off — I thought there was a technical problem,” said the singer, thanking fans for the chants that reached almost roaring levels. 

Surprise-filled, tear-jerking finale

The encore segment began with a soft rendition of Galaxy, arguably the song that catapulted the then-duo of BOL4 into domestic fame back in 2016. The singer then spontaneously accepted song requests from fans, taking extra care to attend to even fans on the second and third floors. To her surprise, fans suggested relatively obscure tracks like Butterfly Effect, Fix me, XX, and Hard To Love, but the singer did not shy away from performing a short snippet of each song. We personally choked up at her performance of To My Youth, an introspective ballad about the struggles of adolescence and healing.

To make the Singapore leg of the tour extra memorable for BOL4, local fans prepared an exclusive video montage of heartfelt messages to express what her music meant to them. The video montage abruptly started playing on the display just as the singer was getting ready for a group photo with the audience, moving her to tears. “Now I know why my colleagues rave about Singapore,” the singer said. “I will find a way to come back to Singapore no matter what.”

Special thanks to CK Star Entertainment for the media invite.  

Written by: Gloria
Photos by: CK Star Entertainment

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