SuperM: We Are The Future, Live In Fort Worth. 2019.

Posted on November 12, 2019 by kpopjacketlady

Korean Entertainment company SM is well known for being somewhat fluid with its idol groups, famously mixing them up since 2008 at their SM Town series of concerts, and of course more recently when they deliberately created NCT to be an unnumbered group of performers. So in some ways it was no surprise when they formed SuperM from 4 groups. Members Baekhyun and Kai from EXO, Taemin from SHINee, Lucas and Ten from WayV (and NCT) and Mark and Taeyong from multiple NCT sub groups.

This ‘super’ group brought fans from all these groups together for one jam packed night of music and dance. Although somewhat unfair to say that it had been formed from the best of each of these groups it definitely contained extremely talented performers and a lot of fans favorites.

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Taemin, although technically the not the eldest in age, did debut first and so in many ways he’s the most experienced, is well known for losing and breaking things so the leadership position defaulted to Baekhyun the actual oldest. However, as with the formation of the group itself, the lead role also appeared somewhat fluid throughout the evening, with Mark often stepping up to help when the hired translator seemed to not be on the ball.

The concert took place in Dickie’s Arena, a brand new state of the art venue in Fort Worth Texas on one of the coldest nights of this year. The wind chill put the ‘feel like’ temperature well below freezing but even that couldn’t put a damper on the fan’s spirits. Light sticks from each of the member’s original groups as well as new SuperM lightsticks were abundant, as were bags overflowing with treasured merchandize.

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The concert started a little late as it took a long time to get everyone into the venue. I had a fairly good seat, particularly for the price I paid and was surrounded by happy and enthusiastic fans. When the seven young men rose up on the platform on the main stage for their first number, I Can’t Stand The Rain the crowd went wild. (As well as the main stage there was a long walkway to the center stage as well as a truncated spur on the other side of the arena. The members used all of the available stages to get as close as possible to as many fans as possible.)

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I’ve been a Kpop fan since 2009 and have a special place in my heart for SHINee, so one of the evening’s highlights for me was Taemin’s solo performances. When the music started up for Danger you could tell I wasn’t the only one. Taemin seems to turn into a completely different person when he performs, he absolutely breathes and lives the moment. He draws everyone into the world of his creation. He is mesmerizing to watch. It is when he is no longer the goof who loses and breaks things but becomes his true self. And it got even more wonderful when he followed up with Goodbye, a song dance combination that is pure art.

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It would be hard for anyone to follow Taemin, but Taeyong and later Ten performed well, with both being popular with the crowd. Then Lucas, the youngest with the goofiest grin and maybe the longest legs performed his solo. I was prepared to be a bit underwhelmed but he actually ended up being another of my highlights. The unnamed song which repeated the refrain When That Bass Goes Down was remarkably fun and catchy and had everyone bopping along to its compelling beat.

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Baekhyun of the amazing voice sang Betcha and then UN Village which suitably awed the crowd. But someone should tell idols that wearing white, particularly with blond hair under the harsh spotlights washes you out and it is hard to really see you even on the big screens. (This also happened somewhat to Ten during his solo performance.)

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SuperM came back together to sing Dangerous Woman, which I though a little repetitive and then Baekhyun, Taemin, Mark, and Lucas sang 2 Fast. This may have been Mark’s best moment as throughout the evening I felt that he was like the backbone of SuperM, always supporting the others so they could showcase their best. He really needs a great song, his solo Talk About was well executed and performed but he should be given better material so he too can soar. In my opinion SM works him too hard, although many of SuperM are in the midst of grueling schedules right now.

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Another highlight for me was Ten and Taeyong’s performance of Baby Don’t Stop. I was so happy I was able to see it performed live as it is one of my favorites. Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos as I didn’t want to miss a second of their performance, but I’m sure you can find famcams on Youtube.

Kai, a semi favorite of mine, I mean who really can resist him, performed well all night but I wasn’t as impressed with his solo as I was expecting to be. I mean yeah he was sexy Kai and showed his abs and stella dance skills, but his outfit and background screens made everything very red and hard for him to stand out on stage. I enjoyed his group moments much more, and really loved his smile.

The final set came much too soon, even with the almost non stop performances, and of course the evening ended with Jopping, a song with a silly premise but wonderful singing and dancing by everyone. Overall a tremendous show that kept everyone screaming and bopping through every performance. A really fun concert, well worth the 600 mile drive and the absolutely frigid weather. If you get the chance go see SuperM in concert, you’ll have a blast.