The girls of Odd Eye Circle have had a non-stop year leading up to their Version Up EP release and Volume Up Europe tour. After leaving their former agency BlockBerry Creative, the three LOONA members worked tirelessly to be able to present their fans with their new creative vision under Modhaus. While all the members are working towards assembling the group again, Odd Eye Circle is here to provide Orbits with what they have been missing since the sub-unit’s debut in 2017.
Kim Lip, JinSoul, and youngest Choerry took the initiative to be the first to release music and tour outside of Korea after their departure from their previous agency. Having had their first show in London on August 5, the members reached Kesselhaus in Berlin on August 7. German Orbits showed all out for the girls with outfits recreating iconic looks from previous music videos and singing along to every LOONA and Odd Eye Circle song on the pre-show playlist.
The girls took the stage one by one following a brief VCR introducing the group’s storyline, with leader Kim Lip opening the show with her charismatic performance of “Eclipse.” JinSoul followed after the stage went dark, performing “Singing In The Rain” featuring a unique choreography with the dancers holding poles all around her for some parts. Youngest Choerry was the last of the three to be introduced with her lively stage for “Love Cherry Motion.” The song had fans screaming louder than ever when the beat changed to a slightly darker theme showing a more fierce side to Choerry. In a unique turn of events, the group did not assemble for the next song. In fact, they only did so at the sixth song. As Choerry left, JinSoul and Kim Lip returned for a duet version of JinSoul’s laid-back 2017 solo “Love Letter.” Kim Lip exited shortly after as Choerry took her place for the last song of the segment. Choerry’s solo song “Puzzle” also got a duet performance, debuting choreography as well as featuring vocal highlights from JinSoul.
The group finally got together and changed into all-white gowns for the sweet and bubbly “Uncover” highlighted by the bubbles blowing in the back on the LED screens. Another track off of their 2017 album “Max & Match” was next as the crowd chanted every lyric to “Chaotic” right back at the members. Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry surprised the crowd by covering a song everyone had to have been familiar with no matter what type of music they preferred – Doja Cat’s “Say So.” The trio finally took a break from back-to-back performances as they cruised around to say hello to fans and sing along to the popular song. The three members then stopped to say a couple of words to Orbits, showcasing the German words and phrases they learned that varied from basic “I love you” to Kim Lip sharing her TMI (in German) that she loves German beer.
With no time to waste, the trio introduced their newest album, Version Up, under their new creative team. The bass of “Love Me Like” shook the venue and the girls showcased a classic LOONA mix of spot-on choreography and vocals while smiling whenever the fan chants got particularly loud during the chorus. The fan-favorite B-side, “Je Ne Sais Quoi,” highlighted flowy and delicate choreography and the unique charms of each member for their solo parts that captured the audience before all lights went down and the girls exited the stage.
Orbits spent the next about five minutes watching a VCR of a pre-recorded charades game the trio played where they had to act out words such as “airport” and “soundcheck” to each other. Now clad in chic black outfits from jeans to Kim Lip’s all-black denim dress, the trio sat down on three chairs in the middle of the stage for a magical and intimate rendition of “Starlight.” Shooting stars and the Northern Lights lit up the screens behind the girls for “Lucid” while they walked around and tried interacting with Orbits who waved their crown-shaped lightsticks in excitement. An arguable highlight was the following two songs, an almost EDM-like “LOONATIC” with just Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry shining on stage hitting every beat with precise choreography and the group’s first single under Modhaus “Air Force One.” The latter had already received loud cheers when it was played before the show started but the venue exploded when the first beat dropped. Non-stop sharp moves contrasting the high-pitched vocals supported the performance and Odd Eye Circle truly went all out for every chorus.
Every fan who has been to a K-Pop show (or any show really) knows about encores but it is still fun to play along. As the trio expressed how sad they were to be leaving after the following song, the crowd feigned sadness and pretended not to know what was coming. The refreshingly sweet yet sharp “Sweet Crazy Love” closed the set and after Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry hit their last pose they quickly left the stage.
During a VCR the members each acted out one phrase given to them and invited fans to do the guessing of the word encore. Choerry pretended to take phones on the screen while JinSoul posed for photos and Kim Lip gave out her autograph, all foreshadowing the events that would happen in a second. Now dressed in their own tour apparel, the group freely bounced around on stage for “My Secret Playlist,” another track off of their most recent release. The trio returned to their choreography for the bubbly “Girl Front” and were all smiles for all the turns and twirls during the entire dance routine. To fans’ dismay, the members each started saying their goodbyes after this song. Highlighting how much they truly appreciated everyone coming and supporting them through the tough times, Kim Lip became a bit emotional talking about how they had prepared for the show. Odd Eye Circle expressed that they are doing everything for Orbits and that they will work even harder to see their fans more often. A final bow followed and in the blink of an eye, the energy in the room absolutely exploded when the first notes of LOONA’s “Hi High” started playing. Each member tried to take her time with fans — Choerry alone took at least 10 phones to take photos and videos on, while Kim Lip actually signed a copy of their album with her solo concept photo on the cover. Although they tried to delay their departure and could not stop waving goodbye to fans, the three members eventually wrapped up their show and in the midst of the addicting instrumental disappeared down the stairs.
Odd Eye Circle proved to everyone that night that they are here to stay. The power of the LOONA girls has not disappeared and no matter what, they will not be forgotten. The Volume Up tour featured a wide mix of covers of the 12-member group, as well as just the trio, but nonetheless, all songs certainly managed to make fans crave more. And while all members are preparing to re-enter the industry, by the looks of it CTDEMN will follow Moodhaus with their own group Loossemble which contains former members Go Won, ViVi, HyunJin, HyeJu, and YeoJin. Keep an eye out for them, they might as well be the next of the girls to stop by for a tour!