Junsu Wraps Up World Tour in Germany

The last day of November marked the return to Europe of one of the biggest artists in the Korean music scene. Broadening his focus on his foreign audiences, Xia Junsu embarked on a world tour for the first time in 2012. During his tour “Tarantallegra,” he visited 11 different countries on three different continents. A year earlier the singer had performed in Berlin alongside his fellow members of JYJ. This time he conquered the stage on his own, performing at a sold out Turbinenhalle in Germany, the final stop of his tour.

Above the stage a screen displays Junsu’s logo, and as a warm up before the concert the music video Even though I already know draws enthusiastic cheers from the audience. Even though fans had to wait a little while longer for the beginning of the show, it raises the crowd’s anticipation. When the lights in the hall dim for the show to start in earnest, fans scream Junsu’s name. The screen plays a welcome message starting with an underwater scene with Junsu. It then shows a large gate through which it leads the viewer as if to welcome the spectators to Junsu’s world. Fireworks light up the hall as Junsu’s dancers make their way to the stage.

The first song of the evening Breath resonates through the hall as Junsu appears on top of the stairs, greeting his audience for the fist time. As to be expected of an artist known for his outstanding dancing skills, the choreography to the song is executed without flaws. Captivating the audience right from the start, Junsu displays a lot of energy and passion during his dance routines.

The screen continually changes color and themes, matching the songs during the evening. It displays stars at the beginning of the second song No Gain. The dancers disappear from the stage leaving behind Junsu on the blue-lit stairs. Before long the dancers reappear again, this time joined by several female dancers, who receive welcoming cheers by the audience. Junsu goes all out during the song and drops down to his knees to emphasize his powerful voice during the final notes of the song.

Junsu then takes a moment to speak to the audience, introducing himself in German and telling them how happy he is to be here. He then continues telling his fans about his prior visit to Germany with JYJ. He concludes his speech by expressing his hope that everyone will enjoy the concert tonight.

During the third song of the evening, Lullaby, the stairs light up purple as the track commences. Junsu shares an intimate dance with his dancers, before slowly descending from the stairs. The singer teases the audience with some provocative body rolls to his fans’ delight. Junsu then gets blindfolded at the end of the song, being left behind at the center of the stage by his dancers. The stage is lit in red when Intoxication starts playing and Junsu once again teases his fans by taking off his jacket and showing his bare shoulders. During Set Me Free the audience take out their red light sticks and move along to the beat of the song. At the end of the track, his long notes are emphasized with fire works, drawing enthusiastic responses from the audience.

As an interlude, the screen then shows scenes of Junsu’s dance rehearsals in a dance studio. It also takes the audience behind the scenes of his music video, where Junsu can be seen getting his make up done. After this short break, Junsu once again reappears at the top of the stairs wearing a long white coat when You are so beautiful starts. Bubbles float above the stage and Junsu descends from the stairs during the second chorus to sing to his fans.

He then asks his fans in German if they are having fun, to which the fans reply with loud screams. For a second it looks like the singer shies away and doesn’t know what to say and then giggles cutely. The translator steps in and lets the audience know it’s his last concert so he is very excited. Junsu reveals to the audience he had something special planned for them and is willing to grant the wishes of three fans.

The first lucky fan is a guy, who gets to come on stage with Junsu. He shakes his hand and bows for him, revealing to Junsu his wish of dancing to Tarantallegra together. Before he starts, he points to the microphone, leaving Junsu bewildered and amused at his straightforwardness. The fan lets the audience know his dancing might not be so good, but the audience reassures him with warm cheers. However, his dancing skills leave both the audience and Junsu himself amazed as they dance to Tarantallegra together. Pleasantly surprised, Junsu says this was the most special encounter during his tour and gives the fan a hug before the fan leaves the stage and Junsu continues with the remaining wishes. He fulfills another fan’s wish by singing a cappella. The third fan wishes for him to show his aegyo to the crowd. Slightly embarrassed, Junsu asks the men and the reporters at the venue to close their eyes. (Sorry, Junsu, we didn’t obey). He then shyly tilts his head to the left and cups his cheeks in his hands. He then continues to talk to his fans, telling them how the Christmas atmosphere of the town makes it look like a fairytale.

After performing a couple of songs Junsu bows to his audience, before he leaves the stage. Now it’s the dancers’ time in the spotlight. They invite the audience to clap along to the beat before they each showcase their individual talents. When they start dancing together again, the fans who know the routine join in and all dance to the music. The dancers start a wave before leaving the stage. Junsu once more enters the stage by descending from the stairs and starts the next song. The artist and his dancers perform a zombie-like dance, before moving on to the next songs of the evening.

Once again the screen shows a video clip as a short interlude. This time all the dates of his world tour are shown along with live pictures of his previous performances. The video ends with the message they are here now, to which the crowd answers with loud cheering. Continuing the rest of the evening, the dancers get ready for the next song and a chair is placed on stage. Just seeing their formation has already heightened the anticipation in the hall, for it is clear which song he is going to perform next. The screen introduces the song and as the planet shown on the screen bursts, red fireworks erupt and Tarantallegra commences. Junsu performs the English version of the track, and during the song fire erupts on stage, emphasizing the intensity of the song. After the song ends, Junsu returns to his chair and the lights in the hall dim. The audience screams his name, but he stays silent for a while, not moving until the next song begins. Junsu performs another song before the stage lights fade, leaving his fans in the dark to start chanting ‘I love you’ in Korean.

Once more the screen lights up and this time it shows the music video of Uncommitted. The audience take out their blue light sticks, which were given to them before the concert started. Before long a blue sea of light sticks illuminates the hall. After the video ends, Junsu reappears on stage and starts singing Uncommitted again. Afterwards he thanks his fans in German and tells them he loves them. He tells his audience they have reached the end of his show, to which the fans retort “Don’t go!” in Korean. The interpreter helps Jusnu during the rest of his speech once more. However, unfortunately the German interpretations could only be described as a lackluster attempt, leaving many people in the audience disappointed. Where fans were hoping to be told what Junsu had so elaborately tried to share with his audience, his stories are merely translated into a few basic lines. Junsu lets his audience know he was happy to see them sing along in Korean and that time passes ever so quickly when he’s on stage. He is happy to have shared his stage with the audience and tells the fans they are very cute. He then announces the next song he is going to sing is full of emotion and he has put a lot of tears into it. He sits down in the chair and starts singing I Don’t Like Love, before moving on to the last song of the evening. Bidding his goodbyes at the end of his performance, he leaves the stage. Fans scream his name in order for him to return once more for an encore. Junsu complies and reappears on stage for the last time, singing Fallen Leaves.

At the end of the night, he shows his appreciation for his audience one final time, saying: “Thank you and see you again.” He bows to his audience once more before he leaves the stage, still receiving heartfelt applause from his fans. Junsu has given it his all during his final performance of his world tour and it’s hard not to be in awe of Junsu’s amazing vocal skills tonight.