by Paige Riding, News Writer
On February 6, SuperM made their Canadian debut at Rogers Arena. The group combines members from major K-pop groups already formed including EXO, NCT, and Shinee. SM Entertainment, one of the “Big 3” labels in South Korea, formed SuperM at the end of 2019.
As fans flocked in, it became apparent that SuperM practically sold out the 18,000+ capacity arena. Smiling faces and differently coloured fan lightsticks from the different groups lit up the sea of fans.
Due to how recently SuperM debuted and the limited number of songs they have released, a great focus of the concert was not the group performing songs together. Solo stages predominated the tracklist. The charisma and individual talents of each member shone through well-produced songs catering to each member’s strengths. Impressive visual accompaniments, including three large screens and a great number of stage lights, heightened the performances.
The group’s choreography accompanied powerful, catchy lyrics and driving beats. Despite popular belief, the language barrier that deters many people from the K-pop genre had no effect on the powerful performances each member provided, given the roaring crowd heard throughout the night.
Notable performances included the group coming together to perform an unreleased track “With You,” a bright, fresh song accompanied by the members throwing frisbees into the crowd, as well as solo performances by K-pop royalty Taemin and talented rapper Taeyong with “GTA.”
Two catwalks ending in smaller stages flanked the main stage at the front. This allowed the seven high-energy members to run out and utilize more space for fan interactions. Not only could all fans with floor tickets get incredible views as the group performed at different spots, but even those in the nosebleeds had their opportunities to zoom their phone cameras in and get half-decent shots of the members.
Between song streaks, the seven members took time to speak with the crowd. One member, Mark, grew up in Vancouver and was thrilled to be home to visit. SuperM worked to keep the high energy going throughout the night, focusing more on upbeat dance tracks rather than ballads. The few slower songs sprinkled in added balance to the act with leader Baekhyun showing his vocal skills with “UN Village,” and member Ten performing a moving dance to his track “Dream in a Dream.”
It seemed that as soon as the show started, the group were saying their goodbyes. It might be due to the fast-paced, immersive performances and lack of breaks due to members tapping out after their specific songs so other members of the group could shine. At the same time, though, the show itself was short, especially for the prices some paid for tickets. With platinum seats at the front of the floor selling at face-value for around $200, a show should not start at 7:15 p.m. and be done by 8:45 p.m. As the lights turned on for the audience to begin leaving, the crowd turned to those around to see if there was going to be an encore or something more.
Despite its fast pace, the concert provided audience members with well-rounded performances composed of singing, rapping, and dancing. SM Entertainment clearly knew what they were doing by joining these powerhouses together in one group. It was difficult to spot a single flaw in their show. Professionalism met playfulness as the young performers owned the entire stage.
