Riding the momentum of a very successful year with their hot summer comeback song “Flip That” and the title of runner-ups on “Queendom 2,” LOONA kicked off their first ever world tour [LOONATHEWORLD] on August 1 and 2 at The Wiltern. LOONA, also known as 이달의 소녀 which translates to “Girls of the Moon,” initially gained international recognition for showcasing a member every month leading up to their full group debut and not having set positions amongst the members.
Starting in Los Angeles was particularly special to the girls and their international fans because the last time LOONA performed in the United States was also in Los Angeles at KCON LA in 2019. Due to schedule conflicts, main vocalist Chuu will not be participating in this tour with the rest of the group. However, the eleven members were ready to show why LOONA is one of the most versatile and internationally popular girl groups.
After waiting for hours in front of the Koreatown venue, the fans called Orbits went crazy as the lights dimmed and the large screen played a galactic, dreamy VCR highlighting each member. Gleaming in sparkly all-white outfits, the girls strutted on stage for a mysterious, powerful dance intro. After striking a final pose, the familiar beat and lyrics “I’m so bad” played as the girls seamlessly transitioned into the start of the strong and sassy “So What.” Orbits throughout the venue sang along at the top of their lungs to the iconic English words and even the chorus’s high notes.
Feeding off the crowd’s energy, the members excitedly greeted Orbits and introduced themselves. Many members, especially Haseul and Vivi, showed off their English skills. Recognizing that it had been a while since they visited the States, they surveyed the crowd to determine how many fans had seen them in concert before – and welcomed both new and returning Orbits.
Upon successfully hyping up the crowd, the girls concluded their opening ment and continued the show by performing the sensual, playful “Heat.” Jinsoul boldly approached the audience during her high notes. Following “Heat,” the group treated fans to a performance of “Star,” the group’s first all-English track released back in 2020, which boasts of a retro synth-pop style that had the whole crowd bopping along.
Before the next song, the members chatted more with the audience, asking Orbits to guess what they ate recently. After multiple people shouted guesses of In-N-Out, the members delighted fans when they revealed that they actually ate Panda Express. Now having caught their breath, the next stage was “Butterfly” where ethereal and galactic backgrounds timed to the beat of the song made the entire performance a visual experience. Orbits loudly sang along and went wild for the dance breaks segments, especially the complex floor choreography. Upon completion of the song, fans showed their love by chanting “LOONA! LOONA! LOONA!” which visibly touched the members.
Gowon then explained that the first few songs were LOONA-style stages and that their next unit stages would show off their various colors. In turn, the members described the different sub-units. While LOONA yyxy was amazing, charismatic, and pretty, LOONA Odd Eye Circle was charismatic and sexy. Jinsoul even joked that the unit was a little bit more beautiful than all of LOONA. LOONA ⅓ was regarded as beautiful and amazing with unique and mysterious concepts.
First up was the yyxy unit composed of members Yves, Olivia Hye, and Gowon that sang the emotional and tender song “One Way.” While making eye contact with each other throughout the song, the yyxy unit showed off their flawless chemistry and vocals as they harmonized.
Immediately following the emotional tune, members of LOONA ⅓ skipped onto the stage, completely changing the mood. Heejin, Hyunjin, Haseul, and Vivi performed the bright and energetic song “You and Me Together” and made sure to interact plenty with the audience throughout the stage. Afterward, the members all approached the very edge of the stage and ended in a warm group hug.
As the members exited, the large screen illuminated with a quirky introduction to “LOONA’s Got Talent” with the members featuring as both the judges and the hopeful contestants. In a light-hearted parody, some members showed off their non-traditional talents in auditions such as Vivi flipping a water bottle, Kim Lip doing a sour food ASMR, Heejin resisting laughter, Yves being a LOONA merch salesperson, and Hyunjin doing various animal impressions. The audience was thoroughly engaged by the unexpected entertainment throughout the entire VCR and looked forward to Part 2 for the rest of the members’ hidden talents.
Carrying on with the unit stages, Orbits were treated to a special performance of “My Melody” by Haseul and Yeojin, who is the only member not officially in any sub-unit. Haseul’s appearance was much welcomed as Yeojin teased fans earlier that her duet today would not be with Haseul. Dressed in matching hot pink tops, black pants, and headbands, the pair, looking like twins, popped up from behind a couple of chairs placed at center stage. Showing off their sweet voices and high notes, the girls adorably ended the stage while saying, “Orbit, I love you,” before the lights faded to black.
Suddenly, the lights came back on to reveal Kim Lip, Choerry, and Jinsoul of the Odd Eye Circle unit on stage with mic stands for the English version of the dreamy, upbeat “Loonatic.” Leading the crowd in waving their arms to the beat, Odd Eye Circle had fun with each other and Orbits.
After the conclusion of the unit stages, all of the members returned dressed in pink and black and explained how long it had been since they’d done unit stages. They had prepared very hard and were super excited to show international Orbits their performances. To their fans’ delight, they also expressed that they want to show more English versions of songs in the future.
Next up was “Stylish” performed with mic stands. Orbits exceeded expectations by loudly singing along to the acapella choruses. After “Stylish” was the all English-track “Dance On My Own,” where the girls freely roamed the stage and even took cute videos and pictures with the pit audience members.
Wishing the girls could continue performing, the audience began chanting “LOONA! LOONA!” again before the girls sadly announced the halfway point of the concert. However, there were still more great performances to come, including stages from their most recent album “Summer Special [Flip That].”
Paired with animated stars and constellations, the refreshing song “Pale Blue Dot” transported fans to a happier place. To end the song and hype up the crowd, the girls all held hands and jumped toward them. Next was their most recent title track, “Flip That,” where the girls showed off their girly and bright sides in this summer bop.
As a continuation of the previous VCR of “LOONA’s Got Talent,” the rest of the members showed off their talents. Haseul demonstrated her operatic singing, Gowon put on a humorous ventriloquist show, Jinsoul used a lie detector to prove her lying abilities, Yeojin did her famous aegyo, Choerry posed and modeled like a star, and Olivia Hye drew uncanny portraits of her fellow members to finish off the show.
Returning to the stage in red and gold tops reminiscent of marching band uniforms, the girls skillfully danced and rapped in the intense and charismatic “Pose,” also from their recent mini-album.
During their ment, the members took the time to thank Orbits for their support and voting for LOONA during “Queendom 2.” Although it was a big challenge, Orbits’ love and cheers helped them gain confidence, which allowed them to achieve great results on “Queendom 2.” Each member then showed their appreciation for Orbits by doing their own versions of “I Love You.” Some of the member’s sexy hellos drove the crowd wild.
After the audience calmed down, the next performances were the playful and lighthearted “Wow” followed by the mysterious, energetic “Why Not,” which demonstrated LOONA’s expertise in pulling off many different concepts.
While the members were catching their breath, Haseul started to fake cry and exclaimed, “Oh no it’s the end of the show,” making fans protest as they did not want the show to end. Despite performing for the past two hours, the girls mustered amazing energy and effort for an epic, dynamic stage of “Paint The Town,” eliciting some of the loudest cheers and fanchants.
Upon completion, the girls exited the stage quickly, leaving the crowd wanting more and demanding an encore. A VCR began to play that featured the members behind the scenes while preparing for the concert and sharing their feelings about the process. The video concluded with each member sharing their own personal letters with Orbits.
Returning to the main stage in their white concert T-shirts, the members performed the sentimental “Playback.” They interacted with the audience members throughout the stage, taking phones and donning various fan girls like animal headbands. Heejin even wore a Stitch plushie backpack from the animated film, Lilo & Stitch.
During their ending comments, Haseul made sure to highlight fans sitting on the second level of the venue by asking for the lights to be turned on, making sure no Orbit went unnoticed. Hyunjin even teared up during her comments thanking the fans and struggled to finish speaking. Heejin made fans promise that if they returned, LOONA would also return. Through their ending comments, it is clear how much the girls love to perform and be with Orbits. To conclude the night on a happy note, LOONA threw it back to their youthful energetic debut song, “Hi High,” while still sporting all their fan goodies.
LOONA undoubtedly has a loyal international fan base. Through a night of wonderful performances and artist-fan interactions, the world tour united Orbits and LOONA members. This past year did not come without its struggles, but LOONA continues to pick up momentum and instead of just being a rising star, they are truly stars on their own merit.