On September 28, boy group ONE PACT touched down at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey, for the second stop of their 2025 North America Tour: THE NEW WAVE. The nine-stop tour across Canada and the United States was hotly anticipated by &Heart (pronounced “and heart”), the group’s fans, after a knockout European tour earlier this year.
Fans milled around Grove Street, exchanging freebies as they waited to secure prime spots inside the venue. They shared their nervousness and anticipation at finally seeing Jongwoo, Seongmin, Jay Chang, and TAG perform in the States. Many &Heart also expressed their excitement to see New Jersey-native Jay return home seven years after he left to pursue music in Korea.
Typically a five-piece group, ONE PACT’s Yedam was unfortunately unable to participate in the night’s show due to visa delays. His absence, while disappointing for &Heart, didn’t stop fans from bringing small banners and photocards with Yedam’s likeness to show their support.
Once everyone was settled inside the venue for the concert portion of the day’s schedule, the house lights dimmed and fans screamed. A VCR introducing each ONE PACT member played on the backdrop. A ripple effect on the video’s animation turned into a wave, and Jongwoo, Seongmin, Jay, and TAG appeared onstage – this time in the flesh.
Without further ado, the dramatic piano opening of “FXX OFF” began to play. ONE PACT’s choreography began gracefully and balletically before exploding into the rest of the gritty, EDM-heavy song with hard-hitting dance moves to match. They transitioned seamlessly into “DESERVED,” a DnB-inspired track that had the audience shouting the lyrics.
Afterward, they took a moment to greet the audience. Jay kicked them off, cheekily saying, “I’m baaack!”
The screams were deafening in response. Jay noted that ONE PACT had been so excited to perform in North America. But since Yedam couldn’t make the show, he prepared a video message for &Heart. The silly video saw Yedam asking the crowd to scream as if he were actually there, along with encouraging them to cheer loudly for the members.
After intros, ONE PACT jumped right into “G.O.A.T.,” which offered their vocals and rapping skills a chance to shine. Jay impressed the crowd with his powerful, belted high notes. “Hot Stuff,” the confident opening track to their debut EP Moment, followed. The song’s concluding dance break made the crowd cheer, “Ay, ay, ay,” hyping up the members like it was a party.
They kept things moving with “WILD,” which was the song Seongmin told KpopConcerts.com he was most excited to perform on tour. It was a fun pop track with a Jersey club breakdown at the end that, of course, had the Jersey audience dancing along.
ONE PACT took another moment to take a break and cool off, noting how hot it was – both onstage and because of &Hearts. After a quick energy check, TAG addressed the audience.
“First of all, I’m very happy to be back here. I don’t know if you guys remember or not, but the last time I came here with Jay, and I told you I was going to bring ONE PACT here,” he said, referring to his surprise appearance at the Jersey City stop and finale showcase of Jay’s Neighborhood Fansign Tour last year. “I kept my promise.”
Seongmin added, “We’re having such a good time tonight, but it probably would be even better if Yedam was here.” Fans shouted out their agreement. “Since we all want to see Yedam, don’t you think we should call him real quick?”
Another video from Yedam played, this time imitating a phone call. Ever the jokester, Yedam playfully called out TAG for messing up one of his parts and exposed Jongwoo for needing to cry alone because Yedam wasn’t there. Even Jay jumped in on the friendly ribbing, saying, “It’s true, he’s done it every day!”
But Yedam also made sure to give his teammates their flowers. He praised Jay’s vocals, noting that he’d improved so much since their practices. “My brothers will fill my empty seat so well, so I’m really, really thankful. I will be participating soon, so don’t be too sad,” he said, tacking on, “or be too happy about it” after a perfectly timed pause.
Jay promised that they would come back to New Jersey as a quintet next time. “Last year was us two,” he said, referencing his last appearance at White Eagle Hall with TAG, “And then we added two more, but this time we’ll leave some space.”
Following the breather, it was time for a hotly anticipated song: ONE PACT’s debut single, “Must Be Nice.”
For the next portion of the show, the group taught the audience the fanchant to “YES, NO, MAYBE,” complete with easy-to-follow hand gestures. The final version would end up online as a TikTok dance challenge and serve as a fun memento from the tour. Jay joked that there was no pressure and it was okay if not everyone got the dance right, so long as most of them did.
Jongwoo, Seongmin, and TAG then left the stage, putting &Hearts under Jay’s care briefly. Once they were gone, Jay explained that there was a part of the intro for the next song that was a cappella that the audience would need to sing along to. He taught the audience the lyric, “It’s a vibe with you,” and had them practice the melody a few times before performing the real thing. Right as they hit the last note, the R&B beat of “lucky” kicked off, and the rest of the members came out to perform the song.
Up next was “blind” from ONE PACT’s latest album ONE FACT. In another heartwarming moment, they included a video of Yedam in the background doing the opening choreography with them, which charmed the crowd. They followed with the upbeat and playful track, “100!” This stage was full of fanservice: a little aegyo from Seongmin and TAG sitting along the edge of the stage and pointing at fans as he sang. At one point, Jongwoo lifted his shirt to reveal a fire tattoo on his stomach, which generated screams throughout the venue. They followed with “wait!” which put TAG and Jongwoo’s rapping on display.
The staff brought out mic stands, and TAG introduced “Never Stop,” explaining that it was the first song he produced entirely by himself. The airy, guitar-led ballad allowed ONE PACT’s vocals to shine through, from the pleasant harmonies and smooth runs to the dreamy falsettos. The romantic vibes continued with “&Heart,” a sweet ode to their fans.
They left the stage again, and another VCR played showing behind-the-scenes moments of ONE PACT’s journey preparing for their debut and comebacks. The video featured clips of rehearsals and from their concerts across Asia and Europe, city by city, with the text, “a flicker of light, a story begins,” displayed across the screen. Eventually, the VCR featured their current ONE FACT era with clips from each member’s solo song MVs and heartwarming moments as a group.
ONE PACT returned to the stage for an explosive performance of “DEJAVU,” with choreography that highlighted their chemistry as a group. Next was “illusion,” an addictive pop-hip-hop track. The song’s bridge saw Jay’s powerhouse vocals come out in full force.
They closed the show with the full version of “YES, NO, MAYBE.” The staccato beats of the song and the ’90s funk sound had the audience bopping and dancing along. &Hearts surprised the members by perfectly performing the fanchant they had learned earlier to the song.
The group went offstage again, but fans knew the show wasn’t over yet. After a short pause, another VCR played. This time it featured the ONE PACT’s handwritten notes to &Heart. The members themselves provided voiceovers reading their respective messages aloud in English, endearingly imperfect at times, but the love was felt among &Hearts all the same.
ONE PACT returned to the stage for the encore, this time wearing the tour’s official merch and wielding lightsticks. They launched right into the Korean version of “Until now” and encouraged the crowd to jump to the fun song. The members even threw a few t-shirts into the crowd for lucky fans to catch.
Sadly, it was time for the members to say goodbye. Seongmin said his final remarks in Korean. Jay began translating his speech, and to the audience’s amusement, Seongmin stood in front of Jay and pantomimed as if he were the one actually speaking. “Since it’s the first day of the American stop of the tour, we’re so thankful. And it happens to be in New Jersey, which is Jay’s home state. We were looking forward to seeing all the &Hearts in New Jersey, and you guys have not disappointed us at all.”
TAG went next. “Last time I said I was gonna bring ONE PACT here. I brought them,” he said, gesturing at his members. “I have one more promise today. I promise you that next year, we’ll go back here again.”
Jay added, “With Yedam!” The audience cheered loudly in response.
Jongwoo began saying his goodbye speech in Korean as well, and this time Jay proactively went to stand behind him for the translation. “Thank you guys for such a great, great time. It’s been such a wonderful night, and we have only you guys to thank. Thank you, and we love you.” Just like Seongmin, Jongwoo pretended he was the one speaking.
Finally, it was Jay’s turn to address the attendees.
“It’s really crazy that this is the third time I’ve been here. The first time was with B.D.U., the next time was solo with TAG, and now with ONE PACT – it’s kind of like a trifecta, and we had to complete it,” he said, drawing a triangle in the air. “And you guys are here for it, that’s kinda crazy. Thank you guys so much for all of the time, money, effort, everything that you guys spent for us. Seriously, it truly means the world to us to be able to stand here in front of you and perform the music that you guys love, and that we love so much. From the bottom of our hearts, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that today is truly one of the most special days of our lives. So thank you.”
Jay noted they had one more speech. Yedam appeared on the backdrop again. “Hey, New Jersey &Hearts! Thank you so much for coming to see ONE PACT today! I really want to say this today…I…LOVE…NEW JERSEY!!” The venue erupted in cheers.
“Short and sweet, in more ways than one,” Jay joked after, referring to Yedam’s height.
ONE PACT had a “final” song before they ended. They transitioned into “Loading,” a saccharine love song that was perfect after everyone’s sentimental speeches. Fans waved their lightsticks back and forth in time with ONE PACT as they sang. After the song ended, Jongwoo noted that he still wanted to do one more stage for New Jersey &Hearts. Before doing anything, though, Jay asked the crowd just how much they wanted another stage.
After loud screams and cheers, they wasted no time launching into a reprise of “DESERVED,” interacting with attendees and taking selfies on fans’ phones before taking a final bow.
Although ONE PACT was down a member, they gave &Hearts a night to remember, and New Jersey-based fans left the venue feeling pride in a hometown hero. &Heart will be eagerly waiting for the group to fulfill their promise of returning soon.