Wrapping up the North American leg of their second world tour, Oneus returned to Los Angeles for the final show of their 11-stop tour. Filling up the historic Koreatown venue, The Wiltern, the group put on an energetic show, alongside their junior labelmates, NXD, who made a special guest appearance.
While fans were trickling into the venue before the start of the show, RBW’s newest group NXD took the stage as the opening act. Performing their pre-debut releases, “Jump” and “Giddy Up,” the group only paused to give a brief self introduction. The members were young, bright, and full of wonderment and gratitude toward Oneus and their fans, ToMoons, who were present for the group’s first overseas live performance. Shortly after NXD’s set, the show began promptly with the sound of waves crashing on a shore, and the screen morphed into a tumultuous ocean view. The screen introduced a unique aquatic concept, and then Oneus stepped on stage to open chapter one of the show.
The five members made their first appearance in light blue prince-like outfits with silver embellishments, as if embodying the ocean and its bubbly waves. Beginning with their latest title songs, Oneus immediately launched into “Baila Conmigo” and “Erase Me,” easing the audience into the show with two medium-paced songs that showed off their impressively synchronized choreography and steady live vocals. After taking a brief moment to catch their breaths and formally greet their fans, the group switched up their sound to perform sultrier, moodier tracks “Simulation” and “Full Moon” under dimmed lights, followed by debut song, “Valkyrie.” This quickly wrapped up the first segment of the show, as fans were introduced to the continuation of chapter one through an additional video.
In the video, the members joked around and rested in a shared living room of warm colors, yet scenes would appear like flashbacks of a deep blue ocean and splashes of the members falling into a red-tinted ocean. Fans were enthralled by the storyline, gasping at all the key moments. However, confusion only grew as the video ended with the bubbly blue water once again shifting to red. The red of the video smoothly transitioned into reality, as flashes of red lights welcomed the group back onstage in neutral-colored outfits with ruffles that were reminiscent of an older time period. The next few songs were coined by Keonhee as Oneus’ version of a tour of South Korea, as the group performed a medley of songs that feature more of a traditional Korean sound and styling: “Intro : Window” (featuring Choi Ye Lim), “Luna,” and the Road to Kingdom version of “Lit.” This led into “Same Scent,” “A Song Written Easily,” “Unforgettable,” and “Stupid Love,” before it was finally time for chapter two of the aquatic tale.
The next storytelling session took the audience through chapters two, three, four, and five, and then wrapped things up by introducing the backstory. The story began by revealing that the five members were mermen living in the ocean. As mermen, the Oneus members each had two hearts. While living in the depths of the blue ocean, they heard rumors of a lady that danced in a red shadow near the water’s surface. To satisfy their own curiosity, Hwanwoong, Xion, Leedo, Seoho, and Keonhee decided to venture up to the surface to catch a glimpse of this mysterious lady.
Once they had seen her, the five mermen were enchanted. They began to dance along until she dropped her ring into the ocean mid-dance. Being kind hearted, the five members devised a plan to become human by giving up their extra hearts so they could survive the red sun on land and return the ring. Unfortunately, the dancing lady was all an illusion. A witch made it appear there was a mysterious lady who dropped her ring, but it was all a ploy to trick the mermen and obtain their priceless hearts. Now, the members are trapped on land with a blue sun, dimly lighting the world above water. The final moment of the video showed the ring dropping back into the red-tinted water, transitioning once again into the group’s next performance.
Donning black leather jackets and dress shirts with silver chains and red accents, Oneus returned to the stage with “Come Back Home.” The song’s message conveyed the group’s yearning to return to their blue ocean, while the red lighting represented the witch’s deceit. This segment of the show was filled with powerful and strong songs such as “Lion Heart,” and it came to a close with “Bring It On” and “No Diggity.” While the next video featured the group’s behind-the-scenes clips from tour preparations, the audience could only be heard discussing the mermen lore. Now with the full backstory, it became clear that the first video was present time, as the members are living happily as humans, while having flashbacks of their mermen past.
After coming back for a multi-song encore, the group ended the show on a lighthearted note, while blowing bubbles, throwing fake money into the crowd, and running up and down the aisles to greet fans up-close. Wearing Dodgers uniforms with their own personal touches – such as Xion’s pink bunny ear beanie and light up shoes – the members joked around on stage and with fans, playfully dancing and enjoying the moment, just like they had in the first video This upbeat last section of the show alluded once more to the story, as the group had gone through darker times and moved forward into the light, and created a satisfying ending to the tale of five mermen.
Although slightly unexpected, the storyline ultimately added an extra layer to the show. Fans were ecstatic to see their favorite group perform, of course, but moments in between sets were filled with chatter, as everyone was so invested in the mermen tale. Though the concept didn’t directly tie in with any one of the group’s songs or comeback concepts, the story was simple to follow, and was paired well with the music being performed. Perhaps a time period storyline would work even better for the group given the nods they made to their South Korean history through traditional instruments and dress, but this unique mermen concept allowed fans a glimpse into the endless possibilities for creative storytelling.
Touring regularly only means that the group has to work harder with each tour to come up with something new for returning fans, and Oneus did just that. Delighting fans with a unique fantasy concept, the group not only showcased their performing talents, but also their acting in the recorded videos. As the venue began to empty out after the show, fans continued to discuss Oneus’ mermen lore and excitedly wondered what would be next for the mermen-turned-human group.
Click on the photo below to view our photos from the concert:
