For the first time ever, North American fans of legendary, award-winning Korean singer-songwriter IU experienced being serenaded by their idol as part of her HEREH World Tour. Each of the six stops in North America sold out within minutes, as fans had waited 16 long years since her debut for such an opportunity to see her live tour performance. Every ticket holder at Oakland Arena in the San Francisco Bay Area received a chic metal container decorated with concepts from her latest EP, The Winning. Inside was a city-customized keychain, a selfie photocard, and a gorgeous magnet featuring a snapshot of IU herself.
The tour name, “HEREH,” is an abbreviation for the six acts of her carefully crafted showcase: Hypnotic, Energetic, Romantic, Ecstatic, and Heroic (Encore), each with a unique theme and complementing outfit.
As the lights dimmed, an explosion of color raced across an LED display that spread across the entire width of the stage. A single note from IU’s voice sent her passionate fans, known as Uaenas, into a manic cheer as she slowly rose up from a platform, holding onto large decorated red handrails fashioned from the letters HEREH. This first part of her set started with “Holssi,” the second single from The Winning, as she donned an enchanting fairy-white dress, complete with white boots and a glimmering tiara. Dancers dressed in loose-fitting white jackets and full-length embroidered skirts then bounced onto the stage to accompany her for “Jam Jam,” an R&B-inspired song with rhythmic bass lines that triggered the pulsating red and purple stage lights. Continuing the Hypnotic set, she transitioned into the upbeat “Ah puh” and “BBIBBI,” with dancers once again joining her on stage, flashing yellow prop cards on cue with her playful lyrics. She then closed the act with “Obliviate,” a sultry song that features her powerful belting vocals, stunning the crowd into an awe-inspired silence before cutting the lights out for intermission.
To start off the Energetic act, a small girl holding a candle frantically ran onto the stage, as the sound of thunder and cracks of lightning flashed along the moving platforms. With the smoke machines pouring out, she leapt from one to another, before finding herself within a beautiful forest. Lights began illuminating the steps in front of her, revealing IU in a light blue jersey, representing a beacon of light during the darkest times for her fans. Dedicating this section of her tour to her Uaenas, she started with “Celebrity,” a dance-pop track that uplifts her fans as if they were celebrities of their own. Fan-service filled the breaks between “Blueming” and “eight,” as she tossed roses to the most passionate members of the audience. The fervor peaked for “Coin,” where she kissed a coin for good luck and tossed it into the crowd. Finally, she pulled out a lightstick of her own for “I stan U,” cheering on the crowd, with live footage of her fans overlaid on the LED screen behind her.
Part three of her show revealed IU in a white dress decorated with frills and blue florals as she danced around the stage to the Latin-inspired track “Havana.” In line with the Romantic theme, she then transitioned to the ballad “Meaning of You,” encouraging the audience to sing along with the lyrics that flashed on the back screen. She then brought forward one of her band members to accompany her for the acoustic rendition of “strawberry moon,” before ending the section with “Through the Night.” Uaenas joined the lullaby, with lights resembling fireflies dancing across the pre-programmed glow sticks held in their hands.
Donning an elegant purple ball gown for the last part of the show, Ecstatic, IU started with the energetic song “Shopper,” accentuated by lasers strobing across, up, and down the stadium. Every chorus featured multiple shots of confetti, and she tried to hype the fans up even more. Imagery of the galaxy and gears of time scrolled through the screen for “above the time,” yet another emotional ballad that had Uaenas silently absorbing her outstanding aura. In a surprise to everyone, she then pulled out “YOU&I” from her repertoire, the title track of her second album that put her on the international stage. With just a single spotlight and a grey patchwork square on the screen, she concluded the “final” section of her tour with “Love Wins All,” her latest single.
Though the concert sections themselves were over, her live band slowly began drumming up the audience to cheer for an encore, with IU stepping back out and gracing her fans with “Sh…,” a flirtatious song that took advantage of her smooth, yet sultry vocals, and had fans bouncing their heads to her irresistible calls. IU then shared that Heroic “really is the last one” before diving into “Twenty-three” and a rock version of “Holssi.”
However, what fans had really been waiting for was the second “secret” encore, an unplanned section where she took requests from the audience. Looking around, Uaenas had prepared large billboards featuring the names of songs they wanted to hear. The Oakland crowd was then blessed with songs “LILAC” and “Wallpaper Pattern” before IU succumbed to the pressure and sang the first verse of “Good Day,” arguably her first breakout single. She admitted, “I didn’t plan to sing ‘Good Day’ at all on this tour, but the energy here was so good I had to.” Surprising her even more, the audience begged for more ballads despite the high energy throughout the show. In fact, some of the requests were so unique that her live band did not have the score prepared, such as “A Gloomy Clock,” “Only I Didn’t Know,” and “GANADARA.” Running out of time, IU finally concluded with “Someday” and “Palette,” then walked off with a heart for everyone: “Oakland, I love you so much, thank you.”
The three-hour concert featured a rollercoaster of emotions that covered her impressive 15-year catalog and showcased her broad range of skills as a veteran performer. For fans who had seen her for the first time, she left an impression of a lifetime and left them eagerly awaiting her return.