A black-box-theater styled event space in Fresh Meadows, Queens was brought to life on a Friday night by boisterous fans welcoming the pre-debut showcase for Beomhan of M.O.N.T. Arena. It was the first stop on the trainee’s rookie show tour across America.

On January 30, 2021, Beomhan was revealed as the first member of the sub-unit for the boy group M.O.N.T. In an Instagram post, the company FM Entertainment explained that M.O.N.T. will be made up of three teams, including the existing three member group and two upcoming sub-groups. M.O.N.T. Arena is where new members, like Beomhan, will be introduced. 

The intimacy of the theater, which sat at the top of a two floor walk up, allowed Beomhan to give the crowd an almost individualized experience that can’t be done in larger venues. One might have expected a rookie performing for the first time in front of an audience to have some element of shyness and nervousness, but if Beomhan had any of these feelings during his showcase, they were masterfully hidden behind his genuine excitement to meet with fans and determination to show off his skills. 

The show opened with Beomhan hopping on stage for his first single “Sun’s Up,” to which the excited crowd faithfully sang along. The summery song was released on July 1, and was produced by his label senior Roda of M.O.N.T. Although bright in sound, the contrasting lyrics were written during Beomhan’s quarantine, and tells the story of his move from New York to Korea and the pain of waving goodbye to his family and previous Atlanta-based label. 

Up next, Beomhan gave a surprise cover of BTS’s “Mic Drop” and fearlessly took on j-hope’s and SUGA’s verses, pulling it off with as much vigor as the song demanded. Beomhan’s attentiveness to making sure he showed off his moves for both sides of the stage didn’t go unappreciated; the crowd’s cheers and fanchants made it hard to believe this was his first solo tour as a pre-debut idol and not that of a long standing soloist.  

After showing off his triple threat skills, he took a rest to play with fans through trivia and a Q&A session. He posed with a couple of lucky fans who travelled from as far as California and Florida, and gave heartfelt advice to another who dreamed of becoming a performer saying, “If you can only win [in life] by rolling a six on a die, then you can win by rolling more die.” He even called up Roda on KakaoTalk, who was enjoying the showcase livestream at 7 a.m. in Korea. 

Beomhan, who originally auditioned as a dancer and rapper, took the next half of the show to further show off those skills. He jumped on stage to his heavy-hitting rap song “ASHES,” which was also produced by and featured Roda, and showcased Beomhan’s choreography skills as well as his flow technique as a rapper. Although Roda wasn't able to deliver his verse in person, Beomhan filled the space by hopping off stage to greet fans with fist bumps, selfies, and handshakes.

The performance wrapped up with a dance focused version of “Sun’s Up,” which Beomhan introduced as having choreographed with his previous dance teacher. Fans in the crowd sang along just as loudly and excitedly as they did during the opening of the show. 

In heartfelt closing comments, Beomhan spoke honestly about his humble beginnings from a small company, his hopes to grow as an artist, and his deep appreciation for his parents, siblings, and fans who came to cheer him on. To the crowd's delight, Beomhan's young nephew waddled on stage to present him with two bouquets of flowers to commemorate his successful debut showcase in his hometown.

Dominique has been drowning in the K-Pop wave for a decade ever since SHINee’s Taemin danced into her high schooler heart. These days she’s known in her local newsroom as the local K-Pop stan and loves to find stories about NYC fans bringing the community offline. Her favorite pastime is devouring the latest Hallyu updates on Twitter while enjoying a caramel macchiato.

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