Touching down in Las Vegas for the first time, KISS OF LIFE performed a sold out show at the House of Blues on December 7. Despite the cold weather, the four-member K-pop group brought the heat through a sultry, passionate concert, full of their biggest hits for their fans, known as KISSY.
The show began after a short 10-minute delay as attendees were still trickling in, grabbing drinks at the bar, and buying merchandise in the lobby. Once the audio cut off and the group’s debut song, “Shhh,” began to blast at full volume, the energy in the room exploded, and fans prepared for the girls’ appearance on stage. The thumping bass and flashing lights and thunderous cheers from the crowd welcomed the group onstage. Regardless of the stage’s simple setup, KISS OF LIFE’s presence filled up the stage, as they strutted one by one to strike a pose and launch straight into their first song, “Get Loud.”
In “hot girl” fashion, the girls stunned the crowd in skin-tight black leather outfits with short skirts and pants. As the show went on, the audience’s energy only continued to climb as the group performed with fervor. “Igloo” sent the venue into a frenzy when the youngest member Haneul took center stage for their iconic chorus choreography. Despite being known as the calmer, quieter member, the youngest showed an edgier side to herself, charming fans. Keeping up the momentum, the group moved into another sultry track, “Bad News,” before briefly pausing to formally introduce themselves.
After expressing their excitement and gratitude to be performing in Las Vegas, the group slowed things down a bit for their next two tracks — “Wine House” and “Chemistry.” Although known for their sensual dances and vigorous ass shaking, these two tracks also highlighted another aspect of KISS OF LIFE’s talent. Their vocals were on point, as Belle hit high notes and whistle notes with ease, Haneul harmonized with her as if it were second nature, and Natty and Julie impressed the crowd with their soft, clear voices. For Julie, her mellow, chill rap parts were also a crowd-pleaser, as her laid back style and cadence matched the sensual energy she brought to each performance.
Given the simple stage setup, there were no screens prepared for the show, so the group didn’t have anything visual playing on stage in between sets when they retreated backstage for outfit changes and quick breaks. Instead, the four members prepared something else special to keep their fans engaged. During their longest break from stage, the group played pre-recorded audio messages on the speakers, making comments about about wanting to look perfect for KISSY so needing a few extra moments to prepare backstage and making sure fans were having fun. In a touching display of care and love for their fans, one of the pre-recorded messages requested fans to stay safe. “Just as you all care about us, you are equally as precious to us,” Julie began in the message. “Our first priority is for everyone to stay safe, and the second priority is to enjoy the show.” Not wanting to end this break section on too sentimental of a note, Belle chimed in with a lighthearted, short rendition of Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.,” greeting their KISSY with a “kissy face, kissy face, sent to your phone, but, I’m trying to kiss your lips for real” to prelude their return to the stage.
While their previous stage outfits were dark and sexy, this next outfits were all white and silver, with sparkling arm and thigh bands to match. Although the outfits still consisted of short skirts and pants to emphasize the group’s “hot girl” aura, the brighter color brought on a brighter atmosphere as well, as if signaling some upbeat, summery tracks to come soon. One of the night’s highlights kicked off this part of the show, when the group huddled together on stage to choose Las Vegas’ lucky KISSY to sit in the KISSY CHAIR. Bringing the fan, whose name was Grace, on stage, the group seated her in the rolling chair, and the beginning notes of “Nobody Knows” began to play. Giving Grace a special, intimate view of the performance, the members got up close and personal, dancing with a hand resting on Grace’s shoulder, leaning on her with a hand on her leg, and more, nearly giving the fan a heart attack. As the sultry performance came to an end, fans began to bark aggressively to express their enjoyment, though Grace described it best when asked by the members: “It was super, super cool!”
Continuing on with their more upbeat songs, the group paused to briefly introduce another highlight performance of the night. “Your cheers make me wanna dance and make me wanna shake my ass,” Natty began, hinting at what was to come. “We gave it our all this summer, literally shaking it every chance we got, so I have a weird question for you. How long before we fall in love?” Belle continued, building up the anticipation. Finishing up Belle’s sentiment, Julie introduced the song with their final message to KISSY: “It doesn’t matter when you fell in love with us. Once you’re in love with us, there’s no way out, and that’s what’s important. Even if you try to pull away, we’re sticky and will stick to you.” Naturally, this led into the quartet’s performance of “Sticky,” their best-known song that earned them their first music show win. The crowd’s energy heightened and peaked as fans sang along to the lyrics and cheered raucously each time KISS OF LIFE shook their asses. Crediting this song for propelling their careers, the girl group put in extra effort to make it the most memorable performance, smiling, dancing, and singing their hardest.
Switching up the vibe, the group gave fans a chance to relax and take a break, which led to softer, slower songs that were more focused on their vocals again. “R.E.M” was paired with fans holding their phone flashlights up to create a beautiful ocean of light for the group, and “Nothing” was beautifully accentuated yet again with Belle’s effortless high notes. Taking the time after these two tracks to fully express their gratitude for fans, each member took a turn to share their thoughts. “Thank you for being on this KISS ROAD with us, and KISSY are our everything,” Julie began. “After this concert, we hope you can think of our concerts as being the best when you think of KISS OF LIFE, and we hope you can think ‘Wow, I saw those girls in person and they’re really hot!’ too.” Acknowledging that their show was a little more on-the-fly and impromptu than can be expected at a usual K-pop show, Julie shared that this was done intentionally. “For this tour, we wanted to be super real and raw, and to just vibe and feel each other’s energy, so we hope everyone is having as much fun as we are. Ending this segment with “Midas Touch” and “Shhh,” the only thing left of the show was the encore.
While the show was entirely geared towards showing off their authentic selves, the concert prior to the encore was a clear demonstration of the idol group, KISS OF LIFE. Fans got to see their sensual aura in person, listen to their vocal prowess, and enjoy watching their synchronized fun choreography, all while the girls were dressed in their stage outfits. But, when it came time for the encore, fans got to see best friends having fun doing what they love together. All donning oversized tour hoodies with their own jeans, shorts and skirts, the group came out casually and danced and jumped around to “Bye My Neverland,” “No One but Us,” and lastly, “Back to Me.” They showed off their endearing clumsiness, with Natty addressing the crowd as Los Angeles instead of Las Vegas and Belle forgetting to translate for Haneul, and they showed off their sentimentality as Julie was close to tears, describing her feelings as being overwhelmed by KISSY’s love.
As they held hands and hugged while running around the stage, they had their small “I made it” moments while looking out into the crowd from the high stage and seeing the love KISSYs have for them. Giving one last bow and cheer, KISS OF LIFE ended the night with bright smiles and promises to return again. “We’re saying goodbye for now, but we will see you again. Thank you for being on this KISS ROAD with us, and let’s keep building our KISS ROAD together!”
Click on the photo below to view our photos from the concert:
