[Herald Review] Taeyong shines as soloist at his first stand-alone concert

Taeyong, the leader of NCT 127, proved his ability as a solo artist through his first solo concert, "TY Track," held at Olympic Hall, Songpa-gu, Seoul on Saturday and Sunday.

After debuting as a member of NCT 127 in 2016, Taeyong released his first mini album "Shalala" in June last year, marking the start of his career as a soloist.

Taeyong appeared on the stage with a large T-shaped structure – T is his initial. About 3,000 audience members cheered enthusiastically as the singer kicked off the concert with an unreleased song with intense rap, “Concrete.”

The concert included songs such as "Virtual Insanity" and "Move Mood Mode" from his previous albums, as well as unreleased songs such as "H.E.R." and "Lonely." All of the songs were composed and written by Taeyong.

After singing nine songs in a row, Taeyong greeted the fans and had a brief chat. The audience welcomed Taeyong by chanting his name. "This performance is organized like a scenario with a story, so I minimized the chat time to let you guys focus solely on the stage and music," Taeyong said.

Several artists who are close to Taeyong, including Jisung, Yuta of NCT, Seventeen Woozi, Red Velvet Seulgi, and choreographer Lee Jung, were in attendance in a show of support, and Taeyong thanked each of his colleagues by calling their names.

Taeyong went on to perform diverse genres, from intense rap to emotional vocals. Spectacular visual effects stood out -- the stage background became a starry night sky with a moon during the "Moon Tour" while the video of Taeyong and his dog Ruby decorated the stage of “Ruby.” Taeyong also hung from wires as he performed "404 File Not Found," walking in the air.

After finishing the concert with 18 songs, including "Tap," and "Run Away," from his new album "Tap," which will be released at 6 p.m., Monday, Taeyong surprised fans by appearing among the second-floor seats to perform an encore. While singing "Long Flight" and "Back to the Past" on the encore stage, Taeyong held fans' hands and made eye contact, greeting as many fans as possible.

Taeyong shed tears and thanked his fans. "Because of you, I was able to grow up strong. As long as you, my fans, trust me, I will return with even better stages and songs."

"It took me 10 years to hold this kind of performance where I can pour everything into it, and I believe I'll be able to do it again one day. I will be with you all the time."