On August 9, fans of SAAY, a Korean soloist (and former member of girl group EvoL), eagerly waited for her to take the stage at Brooklyn’s Zone One. The intimate stage is located inside Elsewhere, an iconic nightclub and music venue in the artsy Bushwick neighborhood dedicated to uplifting underground and rising artists. With a set comprised of her beloved hits and new releases, SAAY brought an unforgettable experience to SLAAYERs (as her fans are known) at her first-ever concert in the United States since her solo debut in 2017.
Kicking off the night was nguyendowsXP, a Hanoi-born and Brooklyn-based DJ and producer. They self-describe themselves as a “sonic explorer” who blends their Vietnamese heritage and global influence with a genre-fluid electronic style. Their set seamlessly wove chill beats, heavy bass, and Jersey club with pop hits from around the world, including fan favorites such as “LEFT RIGHT” by XG. While attendees trickled into Zone One, the mix was perfect for those who wanted to do a little dancing or who preferred to stay by the bar and vibe.
Finally, SAAY entered the stage dressed in sleek all-black, a high ponytail and futuristic silver eyeshadow. Under Zone One’s pink and red neon lights, sparkling disco ball and an LCD backdrop of pinks and purples, SAAY looked stunning. But when she soulfully performed “Talk 2 Me Nice,” it was clear that her vocals were her star quality as the audience bounced along to the R&B beat. She followed with the funky, fan-loved track “OVERZONE.” The audience cheered during her riffs and sang along word-for-word.
“When I announced this concert on my social media, I was like, ‘This is not going to happen in real life.’ Just in case, just in case,” she said with a big smile during a water break. “Right now, this moment is my biggest dream ever. I lived in Brooklyn when I was young, and now I’m doing my first show in Brooklyn! So thank you so much for coming tonight. Oh my god, I’m almost going to cry.”
She then went into “BAAD,” a funk-pop song featuring American rapper and choreographer Sharaya J. SAAY encouraged everyone to dance and the fans delivered throwing their hands up and hyping up SAAY’s every move. SLAAYERs ended the song themselves with a chorus of “ayys” and SAAY jumped on the energy by having the crowd keep it up once “BAAD” had ended.
“You guys are so…wow!” SAAY said, endeared at how the audience was vibing. When she went to grab another bottle of water and fix her top, the crowd once again cheered at the simple movement. SAAY played off of the whoops by doing a playful little shimmy. When she went to take a sip, some fans began to joke that the show was becoming WATERBOMB Festival, to which SAAY laughed.
From the crowd, a fan called out that they had been waiting two years to see SAAY. She replied with her thanks and that she loved them, walked over to their side of the stage and held their hand, to which the rest of the audience responded with “awws” and cheers. Afterward, SAAY took a moment to high-five as many fans in the front as she could.
Next on the setlist was “OMEGA,” from SAAY’s sophomore album FEELosophy. The hip-hop R&B song, about an unexpected passionate love, put SAAY’s lower register along with her ability to hit higher notes on full display. While she sang, the venue echoed with the sound of SLAAYERs singing the words and jumping. Attendees also got excited when SAAY took fans’ phones to take selfies and videos while she performed.
“This feels so weird to me because I always imagined this moment my entire life but now it’s happening. Thank you so much for spending your precious time with me. I’m just nothing but you guys make me special. So sincerely, thank you, thank you, thank you so much,” SAAY said after “OMEGA.” She bowed deeply to the audience, expressing her gratitude.
She continued, tearing up, “You know, when we live our lives there’s always a hard time. Sometimes it’s really hard to get up again. But every time I’m like ‘meh’ in life, when I see your messages and your letters and support, it means everything to me.”
SAAY then introduced the next song, “CIRCLE,” originally a duet with Tish Hyman. She noted that the song was very special to her since it was her debut single. The sensual song saw SAAY unlocking her smooth and flirty side – she twirled and demurely looked back at the crowd over her shoulder. She ended the track with an impressive,e acapella adlib vocal run. SAAY followed with “DOMINO,” her most recent release. The song, written in English, candidly shares SAAY’s fears and anxiety navigating life and the music industry.
She brought the high energy back with “ROCKY,” a soulful, self-confidence anthem clapping back at haters. “ROCKY” was a true highlight of the show as SAAY let her hair down from its tight ponytail, headbanged, and danced freely. Her raw adlibs had the crowd on their feet and cheering. SAAY kept the dance hall vibe going with “Shit Makerrrrrrrr,” another bouncy, self-love track. SLAAYERs clapped their hands at the bridge and continued to hype SAAY during the song’s sassy choreography.
Throughout the show, SAAY regularly interacted and spoke with fans sincerely. During a ment, one fan in the front row let SAAY know that she had been a fan for so long. In response, SAAY went over to thank them personally and hug them, leaving them in shock.
After “Shit Makerrrrrrrr,” SAAY then asked if anyone had any questions, which had fans raising their hands and clamoring to be picked. Through this mini Q&A session, SAAY confirmed that her next album, coming out in 2025, would have a global vinyl release. She also revealed that a “Team SAAY” collection e-commerce website was in the works.
Some fans made requests for her to visit other places on her next U.S. tour, such as Philadelphia and Florida, and another asked if they could expect SLAAY Worldwide, SAAY’s fashion brand, to make a return (although she didn’t confirm). SAAY also recorded a short video message for a fan who mentioned that their friend, who couldn’t be at the show, was a huge fan since her EvoL days.
“I know I keep saying this, but this has really been the biggest dream in my life so I just cannot believe it. I’m dreaming right now!” SAAY said once she finished taking questions. Tearing up again and her voice breaking, she continued, “I was trying not to cry while we were doing the meet and greet right before the show. And now I’m going to cry for the entire day after this show!”
SAAY then introduced “I’M OKAY,” a song about recovering from a tough heartbreak and regaining one’s confidence. Afterward, she asked the audience to guess what song would be next. Someone guessed “SWEATY,” her collaboration with Crush, and SAAY sang a couple of bars of acapella, once again highlighting her vocal chops. Unfortunately, it wasn’t officially on the setlist, but she made up for it with “Sweet as Hell,” a romantic soul-pop track.
At the song’s jazzy bridge, SAAY encouraged the audience to scream, and that was the moment when her tears finally broke through. SLAAYERs sent hand hearts and finger hearts her way, to which she responded with some of her own. The audience member who SAAY hugged earlier even offered her a tissue, which she gratefully accepted while she closed out the song. When the song ended, she apologized for being unprofessional, but fans told her that they appreciated her vulnerability more than if she were to deny her feelings.
SAAY then brought out a baseball hat, teasing the next song. The crowd correctly guessed that it was going to be “ENCORE,” in which a baseball hat was part of the choreography in the official music video. She joked that it was her first time performing the song while crying. She playfully wished she could bottle up the audience’s cheers to carry around and pull out whenever she needs encouragement.
Announcing that “ENCORE” was one of the last songs for the night, SAAY asked the audience to dance and jump. “I want you to remember this moment with me,” she said.
The crowd didn’t disappoint. Throughout the hip-hop-influenced pop track, they hyped SAAY up and even danced along during her dance breakdown without fail. When the song ended, SAAY took a bow and blew the audience a kiss.
She ended the show on a high note with “ZGZG,” an upbeat song with elements of jazz and hip-hop. It was clear that SAAY was feeling herself throughout the performance – she interacted with the crowd, threw her hair back, and got SLAAYERs to sing the chorus back to her.
With the concert reaching its conclusion, SLAAYERs chanted SAAY’s name when she took a final bow and wiped her tears. After taking a group photo, she made her way back to the front of the stage and had fans put their hands into a circle with her when she said her final remarks.
“I want you guys to save this energy that we shared with each other, and live better lives from tomorrow, okay? If you fall down sometimes, you get blue, think about me. I got your back,” SAAY said. “Thank you so much for your precious, precious lifetime for me. I’m so sad that there’s no words to describe how I feel right now but I love you guys so much.”
When she finished her speech, SAAY had everyone shout, “Fighting!” on the count of three and throw their hand in the air.
Fans were left on a joyful high as they filed out of Zone One. Though the show was short and sweet, SAAY’s first-ever U.S. concert and her easy, conversational nature with fans was a moment that attendees could remember forever. With a new album and more tour dates coming next year, SLAAYERs can expect to be well-fed once SAAY returns.