[RECAP] TOMORROW X TOGETHER Brings a “Sweet Mirage” of Fairytale Wonder to New York

Less than a year after selling out their first world tour, ACT: LOVESICK, the five-piece boy group TOMORROW X TOGETHER (also known as TXT) is back with the latest chapter in their story – ACT: SWEET MIRAGE. Featuring a beautiful, high-tech stage setup and cinematic VCRs, members Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai delivered a show-stopping performance to their May 9 show at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York. The show’s gorgeous production, youthful energy, and reverent theatrics were endearingly indicative of their growing maturity as artists.

The night began with a dramatic mood-setting VCR introducing the group as heroic princes on a multidimensional journey through magical forests and palaces. Yeonjun drank a curious green liquid from a crystal goblet, and the stage’s multiple screens transported the audience outside a castle and a lonely carousel on a starry night. A golden sigil opened to reveal TXT in the navy and white prince outfits worn in the VCR, and without further delay, they kicked off the show with “Blue Hour (Dance Break ver.)” The backdrop’s carousel visuals and pink and purple clouds were reminiscent of their viral Music Bank performance of the song from 2020. Up next was “Can’t We Just Leave the Monster Alive?” – an upbeat song that’s an illusion for more wistful lyrics about not wanting to grow up. 

After the song’s quick-paced choreography, TXT took a moment to breathe and greet their fans, called MOA. “It’s been ten months since we were last in New York and we are so happy to be back,” said Hueningkai. 

Soobin, the group’s leader, noted that they had put a lot of thought into building a setlist of songs MOA would want to hear. Yeonjun echoed the sentiment, adding, “We wanted to put on a third act that would blow your mind, MOA,” referring to ACT: BOY, TXT’s online-only concert held in 2021 that served as the first in a trilogy.

In an impressive, blink-of-an-eye outfit change, TXT switched out of their regal jackets into more casual athletic jerseys to perform “Drama.” As part of the show’s surrealism, the LCD backdrop consisted of a gritty basketball hoop placed on a tree in the middle of a colorful, glitching forest. After “Drama’s” first chorus, the music transitioned into the similarly high-energy track, “No Rules.” Equally impressive throughout the stage was TXT’s ability to remain in sync, harmonize seamlessly and even throw in ad-libbed vocal riffs despite the explosive choreography.

Next on the setlist was the English version of “Cat & Dog,” this time in a trap-inspired arrangement. MOA went crazy for the infamous track, but the English version was regrettably missing the memed lyric, “Feel like Cinderella naega byeonhae.” However, the entire arena chanted the line, “Let’s play forever, I just wanna be your dog!” and barked without missing a beat.

During the water break, Beomgyu asked the crowd how they liked the new version of the song, to which fans responded with excited barking. “We wanted to do a different version of ‘Cat & Dog.’ I mean, we can’t hide how cute we are,” he joked, throwing in some fanservice as he mimicked a cat. “Listening to you, it sounds like we were successful.”

“We found out during ACT: LOVESICK how much MOA loves to hear that song. So we knew we had to do it this time, too,” added Taehyun. 

Yeonjun was especially amused by the fans’ barking. “You guys were waiting for it right?” he asked, referring to the song’s iconic lyrics. When the crowd screamed in response, he told the audience to get ready again before shouting out, “Let’s play forever, I just wanna be your dog,” and signaled the audience to continue barking.

To the audience’s delight, the members continued repeating the lyric and encouraging attendees to bark in response as Beomgyu and Soobin did adorable and “sexy” – Hueningkai’s words – Zoolander-esque poses into the camera.

The solo signaled a darker tone shift in the concert’s story. The clock tower ticked and the group returned to the stage as a whole unit, still clad in their sports jerseys, for “We Lost The Summer,” a melancholic song about lost innocence. TXT then transitioned into “Can’t You See Me?,” an angsty track that details crumbling friendship. Pyrotechnics and lasers in red, green, and icy blue accentuated the inner turmoil of each song. The clock tower that Hueningkai had fled toward earlier was now in flames and played with the audience’s sense of reality by glitching in and out to the beat of the music before the entire arena went dark at the end of the song.

The next VCR saw our heroes exploring the palace they were transported to at the beginning of the show. It appeared that the goblet of green liquid gave the TXT boys magical powers such as levitation, the ability to harness electricity, summon plant life, and open interdimensional portals. Things seemed to take a turn for the worst as they found a ghostly girl through one portal. As Soobin reached out for her, the imagery and music turned suspenseful, with what appeared to be blood dropping onto a cherry that Beomgyu had summoned earlier, before fading into black.

TXT returned in grungy ripped sweaters, chains, and black jeans for “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You),” their 2021 pop-rock collaboration with Seori. The vibe was back to being upbeat and cheerful as the boys hopped into an old gray convertible for “LO$ER=LO♡ER” and went on a joyride through the desert tossing fake money in the air. The fan-loved hit gave TXT members the opportunity to showcase their cross-genre versatility with raspy, intense vocals and a little headbanging. Just when the crowd thought the song was over, the group got the audience to repeatedly sing the “I’m a loser” post-chorus for a couple more rounds in “aju nice” fashion. 

The fun pop-punk energy kept going with “Dear Sputnik,” but instead of a hot desert, the new setting was in outer space. The members forwent set choreography in favor of freestyling and getting MOA to jump and dance along with them. This allowed the members to let their vocal ability truly shine – Taehyun in particular had a moment when he impressively went from a low, raspy growl in the bridge into a smooth high note as if it was nothing. Still among the colorful planets, TXT then launched into “Magic,” another fan-favorite song that had the crowd jumping, dancing, and of course, singing along.

The members pivoted away from the bright, happy energy and brought the drama back to the stage with a dance interlude. The vivid colors of the previous stage were replaced by smoke effects and white spotlights that made the stage look as if it were in grayscale. Beginning with two pairs, first Taehyun and Hueningkai and then Soobin and Beomgyu, each duet dance seemed to tell the story of a stormy inner struggle. The stage lights then revealed Yeonjun on his own as he “limped” toward the catwalk, then launched into a lyrical solo. The rest of the members joined him not long after.

“Opening Sequence” was up next, though it was actually the midpoint of the show. The already-breathtaking transition performance leading up to the song was awe-inspiring on its own. But well-placed stage lights shone straight from the floor around the catwalk toward the ceiling to give the illusion of a cage. It was the perfect frame for an intense song centered on the emotional pain caused by the end of a relationship.

When it came time for TXT to take another water break and chat with the audience, Hueningkai teased Yeonjun for being the only member without a dance partner during the “Opening Sequence” interlude. 

Yeonjun scoffed at that. “I had my lovely New York MOAs, so I wasn’t lonely,” he retorted at Hueningkai. Ever the charmer, he turned toward the crowd and blew them a kiss. The audience erupted in screams, and then unexpectedly, Yeonjun began barking to get the crowd to bark, too.

“I love that!” he laughed.

Beomgyu then reined in the crowd (and his fellow members) and introduced the next song. “For some of the songs, we dance ‘til we sweat, but some songs have no dancing but only singing,” he said. “This song is one of those.”

The group then went into the TikTok viral ballad, “Anti-Romantic.” UBS Arena echoed with the sounds of attendees singing along, and in some sections, many fans were spotted doing the TikTok dance along to the chorus. 

The song’s slow tempo allowed TXT to transition smoothly into “Eternally,” a song that begins slow and saccharine but switches beats throughout to have a heavier, rock-inspired sound. The stage’s set followed similarly. The LCD screen displayed a dreamy blue ballroom and chandelier at the beginning, but as the vibe changed, flames shot up from the stage and the lights changed to red. 

The next VCR found the boys hidden inside their castle – but it seemed that each door revealed different dimensions that led them back to the crystal goblet of green liquid. The scenery changed again, this time to a terrifying cloud of dark smoke where horns and glowing red eyes could be seen. It turned out to be a black dragon, and as it breathed fire through the castle it seemed to trigger a transformation in TXT from something youthful afraid to something more sinister.

It was the perfect lead-up for the next song. As the opening riffs to “Good Boy Gone Bad” began to play, the backdrop raised and revealed TXT. Beomgyu, who was brooding in the center, had a rose in his mouth. In one very cool stage effect, he lit the rose like it was a cigarette then tossed it behind him coolly. The move triggered a well-timed effect on the LCD screens, making it look as if the stage had ignited. 

The dark, emo vibe continued with a performance of the loner anthem, “Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock),” from The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, their most recent release. TXT closed this shorter act of the concert with the unnerving track, “Devil By The Window,” the opening song of the same album. The graceful choreography was tough to look away from and effectively symbolized being torn emotionally.

Another shorter video showed the princes grappling with the horror of the dimension they were in. They seemed to find the portal they had originally gone through, where they had visions of themselves laughing and enjoying each other’s company in a normal life.

The stage then lit up to reveal TXT against a rainbow-filled screen to perform “Angel or Devil,” a playful hip-hop-inspired song that seemed to show the group had chosen good over evil. The latter half of the song had moments without rigid choreography, which allowed the guys to interact with fans around the catwalk. In the same vein, the next song, “Ice Cream,” also let TXT roam around the catwalk to say hello to MOAs and pose for videos. 

“MOAs asked us to do ‘Ice Cream’ at this concert, so we did it as a gift to you,” Beomgyu explained since they had previously only performed the song live during their online concert.

Hueningkai kept things moving. “We practiced many songs for ACT: SWEET MIRAGE but there’s one we’re most excited for. We even made special choreography!”

Fans began to get an idea of which song it was when Yeonjun mentioned that he had started it as a dance challenge on TikTok. “I started it because I wanted to sing and dance together at this concert,” he explained.

TXT took a few minutes to teach the dance to the audience, and when it looked like everyone got it down, they launched right into the beachy hit, “Happy Fools,” their collab with American singer Coi Leray. 

The group took another break to chat with fans and be a little silly. Each member competed with each other to see who could do the most seductive facial expression on camera. When it finally got to be Soobin’s turn, he shied away from the camera. Fans chanted his name over and over before he gave in, laughing at himself as soon as he made eye contact with the camera. 

For their “final” song, TXT performed the dreamy “Sugar Rush Ride.” Fans were delighted by the lush wisteria tree in the background and the complex choreography that has made its rounds on the internet. Once the song finished, they disappeared backstage.

Not long after, attendees were greeted with another dramatic VCR depicting the members fighting for their lives underwater as memories of their time in the castle flashed before their eyes. Onstage, panels were raised to show TXT sitting on what appeared to be a mini shipwreck in the night. The remarkable stage design provided the perfect setting for “Farewell, Neverland,” a somber pop-rock tune that again highlighted their vocal strength as a unit. The group had gone from princes at the beginning of the show to Lost Boys.

The VCR that played was much more poetic and hopeful. “Though the eye-blinding winds and speed of falling may trap me in horror, though I may be scared, I won’t run away,” the screen read. “The promise we made together that day…the promise of the stars remains by us as long as we sing with one voice.”

The stage’s backdrop changed to be full of twinkling stars in the night sky and the shipwreck was nowhere to be found. TXT returned to the stage and performed a new, heartfelt, mid-tempo song called “Blue Spring.” As of this writing, the song remains unreleased and has only been performed live throughout the ACT: SWEET MIRAGE tour. The lyrics were displayed on the jumbotrons and they asked MOAs to sing along if they could. They did so and more, lighting up the arena with lightsticks and phone flashlights.

“This song is not only our new song, but also a song for MOA,” Soobin remarked after “Blue Spring.” “I can’t wait for all of us to sing it with one voice at our concerts.”

Sadly, it was now time for the actual last song and their final remarks where they reiterated how appreciative they were of MOA’s energy during the show and support as fans.

“The more we stand on stage, the more we look forward to the next concert,” Taehyun said during his ment. 

“Thank you so much for making our dreams a reality,” Soobin said in his goodbye.

TXT closed the show off with the idyll and carefree MOA-beloved song, “Our Summer.” The group walked around the stage to give fans their farewell. Of course, the song couldn’t just end normally. This version of “Our Summer” featured an extended outro that made the conclusion of the show seem more emotional. The lyrics to the last chorus were displayed on the screens so that fans could sing the words back against a quieter instrumental. Hearing the entire venue ring out with, “눈앞에 펼쳐진 건 우윳빛 은하수, 피어난 금빛 계절 like our summer. 어디에 있어도 어떤 계절에도, 우리가 함께라면, feel like summer,” was a beautiful display of the love that existed between TXT and MOAs.

It seemed like TXT couldn’t bear to leave the stage as they kept saying thank you. They took their sweet time walking back up the catwalk as they said their thanks and waved at what seemed like all 18,000 people who packed into UBS Arena. Even as the LCD panels closed in front of them, the members got down on the floor so that they could see as much of the crowd as they could.

Overall, TOMORROW X TOGETHER delivered a thrilling two-hour show with top-tier storytelling. Though the tour has ended, the concert’s brilliantly thought-out concept and production will have New York fans eagerly awaiting their return.