MALAYSIAN fans of Winner are a lucky lot. When the South Korean boy group performed in Malaysia for the first time in October 2018, it was held at the relatively small Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam.
For its second concert recently, the venue was grander and larger — the Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil.
This allowed more fans to have a chance to see Yoon, Jinu, Mino, and Hoony live. And which K-pop fan would want to miss seeing the group which has been releasing one hit after another?
Winner is popular for its self-produced music, but the boys are also known for their charismatic persona onscreen, though choosing to remain pretty goofy off it.
This time around, the quartet had come to promote its latest EP titled Cross.
Winner opened its concert with four of its biggest hits — Everyday, Love Me Love Me, Island and Really Really.
These tunes are known for their catchy hooks and lyrics, as well as unique melodies.
The crowd’s energy pumped up in no time.
The group’s signature choreography was a breath of fresh air.
While most boy groups employ sharp, dance moves that make your head spin, Winner on the other hand, chose easily replicable steps that fit their mostly “chill” kind of music.
For the concert though, some of their pop songs were remixed and turned into rock versions.
Coupled with strong vocals and superb showmanship, the whole show would have entertained even non-fans.
The concert vibe was amped up even more by the live band, while the moving strobe lights shining from above the stage only added to the party atmosphere.
After investing so much energy for the upbeat Mola, Dress Up and Special Night, Winner slowed things down for their ballads such as Different, Have A Good Day, Raining and OMG.
Here, I appreciated Yoon’s distinctive voice the most, especially when they sang their debut track Empty.
His soulful vocals complemented the poignant melody so beautifully.
Up next was a segment where each Winner member performed solo.
Fans sang along to “Flower Boy” Jinu’s cheerful solo debut track, Call Anytime, that also featured Mino’s rapping.
Donning silk pyjamas and a fur coat, Mino brought down the roof with his explosive tracks I’m Him, Trigger and Fiance.
Full of swag, he is arguably the most popular member out of the four; so naturally the cheers from the crowd were deafening.
Aside from singing Wind, Yoon went down memory lane with Instinctively, a chart-topping number he wrote right after becoming an artiste in 2010.
“My first manager is here tonight and he was with me when I first performed Instinctively 10 years ago.
To be able to sing it in front of him again makes me feel proud,” said Yoon, visibly emotional.
Meanwhile, I was most surprised by Hoony’s flamenco-influenced tune, aptly titled Flamenco.
The guy, who previously had introduced himself as “Abang Hoony” appeared mysteriously on stage decked in a male flamenco dancer attire, complete with signature hat and cape.
It's rare to see the inclusion of such things in K-Pop!
Before launching into his next solo song Serenade, he playfully said: “This is for all of my sayang! Who is my sayang?”
The crowd obviously enjoyed his shenanigans, and I knew I had picked the right member as my favourite.
Afterwards, Winner continued with the tracks Boom, Movie Star, Soso, Immature, La La, Hello, Millions and Ah Yeah.
JUST FRIENDS HAVING FUN
It was an entertaining concert by the boys who were just being their zany selves on stage.
For example, while taking a breather, Yoon revealed that he wanted to try speaking using the auto-tune function, just like how Mino did for one of his song performances.
Then all of their respective microphones were adjusted.
Thanks to the boys' giddy excitement, the atmosphere on stage turned chaotic because they were either shouting or singing, with some lyrics in Bahasa Malaysia: “What’s up, KL? Apa khabar? Aku gembira dapat jumpamu”, and “Seronok tak hari ini?”
Furthermore, the members’ close bond was evident in how they joked around, making one another laugh.
Together with the fans, they celebrated Yoon’s birthday with a huge cake.
Debuting in 2014, Winner originally comprised five members but saw Nam Tae-hyun depart two years later.
Despite that, the remaining four learnt to rise again together through hard work and perseverance.
“I can’t see myself doing anything else besides singing and dancing,” said Hoony in a poignant video played at the concert.
“I’m not good at consoling people but I know that my singing can bring comfort to some,” said Jinu.
Also in the video, Winner earnestly expressed its hopes and dreams to keep on making music and returning fans’ love and support.
It warms my heart to see artistes who are truly passionate about their art.
Judging by their hands-on approach to their music and their brotherly chemistry, they may go far in the competitive K-Pop industry.
Winner Cross Tour In Kuala Lumpur 2019 was organised by IME Productions.
