By Mulenga Mumba
The man, the legend that is B.I (B to the I) himself graced the OVO Arena Wembley stage this month as part of the Europe leg of his 'HYPE UP' Tour. In true B.I fashion, he TORE! IT! UP!
(Image: Hallyu Con)
I would like to preface this article by saying going to this concert was last minute (like suuuuuuuuper last minute). The concert started at 8pm, and we only got invited at around 6:30pm. Safe to say, we were running like mad men trying to get to OVO Arena by 8pm. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, we had missed about 20 minutes to half an hour, which in concert terms is like a billion songs. Anyway, let’s get into it.
With DJ Millenium on the decks and Shawn and Youngbeen of Aiitytoo dance crew providing dance accompaniment, B.I opened the night with ‘Michelangelo’ (a fitting opening if you ask me) which got everyone hyped up and set the tone for the rest of the night. He followed up with more hits such as ‘Waterfall’, ‘Illa Illa’, and ‘Loved’ which I can only imagine made the crowd go wild (sadly I missed all of these bops). Luckily, I made it just as he started performing ‘BTBT’ (I ran up those stairs so quick Usain Bolt would be proud). I would like to give special thanks to the OVO Arena staff that were kind enough to promptly direct me to my area in time to catch ‘BTBT’ and ‘Keep Me Up’. The energy in the room was unmatched. From the incredible sound system and roar of the crowd to the incredible synergy between B.I, Shawn and Youngbeen, it was absolutely electrifying.
(Image: Hallyu Con)
During a quick water break (for both B.I and fans), B.I took some time to express his thanks to the fans for coming to his show. He also expressed surprise at how big the OVO Arena venue was (which I understand, because I was shocked the first time too). Following the break, B.I introduced a demo song he’d been working on titled ‘Girl’. Having a slight afrobeat vibe to it, this song is definitely going to be a hit when it officially drops. He then went on to perform songs such as ‘Got it like that’, ‘Remember Me’, ‘Dare to Love’, ‘Nerd’ etc, before taking a well deserved break (songs were so hype a break was definitely required - I genuinely felt breathless just watching him perform). During this time, he made sure to remind fans about concert safety as well as how to alert him in the event of an emergency before exclaiming “I’m at f****** Wembley!”. I was honestly so glad to see him so excited, considering all the trials and tribulations he has been through to get to this point. He also took the time to interact with fans which led to an impromptu Korean lesson. Word of the day: 뛸 준비 (Ttwil Junbi), which means “get ready to jump”. He said no exceptions, "everytime you hear 'Ttwil Junbi' you get ready to jump, 2nd floor, you too”. And everyone understood the assignment.
(Image: Hallyu Con)
Intro'd by fan vocals, B.I performed his latest track ‘Tasty’ (I’m ashamed to say I didn’t know this track but after this, it’s been on repeat on my playlist). The choreo for this track looked like so much fun, it made me want to get up there and dance with them. On top of that, the fans chanting “Tasty” in unison as they sang along was mesmerising, I was living for this whole moment. It got even better. He performed ‘To Die’ (a lot of water spraying), ‘TTM’ (which features Uncle Sik-K - don’t ask me why I call him that, and Reddy), ‘Flame’ (All I can say is Ummmmmmmm~~) and ‘Lover’ before another quick break. During the break B.I interacted with fans taking a particular interest in what lightsticks fans brought with them. B.I might be one of the only artists i’ve seen who encourages fans to bring light sticks from other artists. He seemed genuinely excited to see a wide variety of lightsticks which is quite refreshing.
(Image: Hallyu Con)
Following the quick break, DJ Millenium joined B.I, Shawn, and Youngbeen to perform ‘Idol’ from their Billenium Mixtape (so much chaos with DJ Millenium twerking being a highlight - it was hilarious). They went on to perform some other tracks like ‘Freaky Boy’ before taking a short break. During this break, B.I asked the people in the back seated area if we could see (we honestly couldn’t but that was okay - we were just happy to be there) before inviting anyone who wanted to go to the ground standing area to come down because there was still some space left there. Safe to say, we made our way down there so quick security had to tell us to calm down. He then went on to perform the last section of the concert (or so we thought - you’ll see why in a bit) with songs such as ‘Nineteen’,’All Shook Up’,and ‘Die for love’ before going backstage, changing into his tour shirt. All changed, and with Union Jack in hand, he performed the final songs ‘Black Velvet’, ‘Wave’, ‘Beautiful Life’ and then closed the concert with ‘Cosmos’.
(Image: Hallyu Con)
Taking a final concert photo with everyone, we had come to the end of the concert. However, we (B.I included) soon found out that the concert had run under and that we had at least 20 minutes left. Cue the encore! We were blessed with six extra songs. He performed ‘BTBT’, ‘Tasty’, ‘Illusion’, and ‘Michelangelo’ again (I completely lost it when Michelangelo played, I was screaming up a storm - so glad I got to hear it live). We then got treated to DJ Millenium’s new track ‘Trance’ before listening to a new never played before demo (made us feel extra special - this was my favourite track of the night). It was an amazing way to close the concert. As a pièce de résistance, B.I finished the concert with a brief acapella serenade (left us questioning like “so, what are we?”) before taking a final bow with DJ Millenium, Shawn, and Youngbeen and saying their goodbyes to fans. Overall, despite being late and missing some bops, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. From the amazing tracklist and choreography to the fans singing and jumping along, it was an unforgettable and HYPE night. I look forward to even more amazing things from B.I.
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