Concert Review: The KingDom Brings Their Unique Style and Energy to New York on the UNVEIL Tour

The KingDom, a seven-member K-pop boy group known for their unique concepts and powerful choreography, brought their UNVEIL tour to New York City's Webster Hall this weekend. This marks the second U.S. tour for the group, which is made up of members Dann, Arthur, Mujin, Louis, Ivan, Jahan and Hwon. However, it is the first time fans stateside have seen TKD since they underwent a complete change in their concept and brand, even changing their name, which was previously just "Kingdom". 

The KingDom shocked their fans earlier this year when it was announced that they would be changing their name, and taking on a more traditional boy group concept for their future endeavors, a full departure from the concept they debuted with, which was praised for being unique to the K-pop industry. In 2021, when TKD was just "Kingdom", the group was focused around the concept of historical kings from different places and eras, with each member representing a different king. Their first seven albums, known as the "History of Kingdom" series, each profiled a different member's king and focused heavily on the stylings and aesthetics of that king's era.

With their latest release, "Realize", which dropped earlier this year, the group has fully departed from the historical concept and taken on a look that fans of the K-pop genre in general are more likely to recognize.

All of this to say, I was very curious how the group would structure this concert, now that their concept has completely changed, while still performing songs from their previous eras. The show opened with songs from The KingDom's recent album, "Flip That Coin" and "X-Game", and the members wore more casual clothing, something that was rare to see from them in previous eras.

After introducing themselves and performing two more songs, the members retreated backstage to change costumes, while a VCR played, detailing the history of the group's previous eras. Watching this retrospective evoked a sense of nostalgia from me, as someone who has been following this group since before they debuted. It was definitely a treat to relive all of these eras on the big screen, while seeing the group, who has undergone immense growth and matured in their sound and image, in front of me.

When the members took the stage again, they were donning flashy red costumes, very much more akin to what fans may have become used to from the "Kingdom" of the past. They then performed songs from their "History of Kingdom" album series, including their debut song "Excalibur", as well as "Black Crown", "Ascention", "Karma", and "Coup D'etat."

Peppered in throughout the setlist were a few cover songs, including One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" and Imagine Dragons' "Believer", as well as K-pop hits "Baby Don't Stop" by NCT U and "Just do it" by BSS. The members seemed to have a lot of fun performing these covers, which allowed them to express themselves in unique ways and show a different side to each of their personalities.

The show closed with a fan-favorite B-side track, "Blinder", during which the members encouraged fans to jump while they reprised the chorus at least five times (I lost count!) The energy reached an all time high as fans jumped and sang along with the song that Dann described as being about removing obstacles from one's life to achieve happinesss. We all felt the power behind those lyrics, as a group of people all coming together for one purpose - to share our love for music, and the artists who make it.

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