MIDZY Went LOCO for ITZY At Their First Overseas World Tour Stop
JYP Entertainment’s girl group ITZY kicked off the U.S. leg of their first world tour CHECKMATE on Wednesday, October 26 at the Hollywood Park YouTube Theater in Inglewood. For two exciting hours, the five members—Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna—dazzled in stylish outfits while showcasing over 20 colorful stages and greeting beloved MIDZYs who packed the venue sporting the group’s official light ring on their hands. Previously, the girls also came to the U.S. in 2020 for their premiere showcase ITZY? ITZY! in five North American cities with Los Angeles being one of the stops. Making up for the lost time due to a long 2-year halt of performing live caused by the pandemic, ITZY was just as thrilled to see their fans in person again and their energy shined brightly like the blinding crowns they rocked during one of the opening stages, “SHOOT!”
SETLIST
“In the morning”
“Sorry Not Sorry”
“SHOOT!”
“WHAT I WANT”
“365”
“Boss Bitch by Doja Cat (Ryujin’s solo)”
“CHERRY”
“ICY”
“Free Fall”
“#Twenty”
“Maniac by Conan Gray (Yuna’s solo)”
“Red by Taylor Swift (Lia’s solo)”
“WANNABE”
“DALLA DALLA”
“SNEAKERS”
“bloodline by Ariana Grande (Chaeryeong’s solo)”
“Hotter Than Hell by Dua Lipa (Yeji’s solo)”
“Boys Like You”
“NOBODY LIKE YOU”
“LOCO”
“Not Shy”
*Encore*
“DOMINO”
“Trust Me (MIDZY)”
“IT’z SUMMER”
“Be In Love”
ITZY made their grand entrance with a powerful performance of “In the morning” (also called “Mafia in the Morning”). Fiercely posing in shiny white cropped blazers next to life-sized chess piece props on stage, the five members entered to the roaring screamings of fans who were jumping from their seats in excitement as member Ryujin started the song with the iconic “Guess who loves you? 나야, 나” intro from the song. The performance also accelerated to an impressive electric guitar dance break, and the next two songs, “Sorry Not Sorry” and “SHOOT!,” were the perfect follow-ups with their similar badass vibes. ITZY took a moment after the three opening songs to greet the audience with their beaming smiles. “Thank you for being with us, let’s have fun tonight,” the girls exclaimed.
The concert continued with “WHAT I WANT” and “365,” two hyperpop tracks from their discography with glitchy futuristic background visuals to enhance the performances. Each member of ITZY also showcased a solo stage covering a song of their choice throughout the night. The first member to take the stage on her own was Ryujin with her cover of Doja Cat’s 2020 hit “Boss Bitch.” Ryujin showed insane charisma in a black fur coat and her rapping skills awed the audience who were dancing along to the club anthem. The members joined Ryujin on stage again after to perform the popular B-side “CHERRY” that was a crowd pleaser. “I chose a song with a repetitive chorus so everyone can enjoy it together,” Ryujin explained as she talked about the decision for her solo stage song for this tour during a short break.
“ICY,” “Free Fall,” and “#Twenty” started off the next set of the concert. The chart-topping 2019 title track “ICY” had the crowd singing along to the catchy chorus and cheering for the girls during their impressive dance break. Yuna and Lia continued the series of solo stages by the members. Riding a bike around the stage, Yuna performed Conan Gray’s “Maniac” that showed her fun and youthful energy. Slowing things down, Lia covered an acoustic version of Taylor Swift’s “Red” that later progressed with melodic electric guitar instrumentals. Lia’s name was displayed on the LED screen behind her covered in red roses and flying petals.
After a VCR and outfit change, the trio of bops, “WANNABE,” “DALLA DALLA,” and “SNEAKERS,” was next up in the packed setlist. Rocking girl crush outfits, the girls went all out for the many intensive dance breaks between the songs. “These three songs we see lots of love from our MIDZYs and they’re very meaningful to us because we have our debut song (“DALLA DALLA”) on there,” said Lia during a short break to talk to the crowd. Rounding out the five solo stages were members Chaeryeong and Yeji in respective order. Chaeryeong’s dancing skills were in the spotlight as she tackled Ariana Grande’s “bloodline” for her solo. Graceful and captivating with her skillful moves, she did not disappoint with her performance. “Are you guys ready? Make some noise!” Yeji shouted before starting her stage covering Dua Lipa’s “Hotter than Hell.” Confident and carefree, Yeji channeled her inner pop star to the fullest and had the most fun on stage.
The LA stop was lucky enough to be the first concert to get the premiere live performance of ITZY’s new English release “Boys Like You.” Although the song only came out less than a week before the concert, MIDZYs were singing along word-by-word with the girls. Following the English single was the cheerful and anthemic “NOBODY LIKE YOU” from their debut album. Interacting with each other and their fans throughout, ITZY uttered the sweet lyrics of the song “Ain’t nobody like you, yeah!” to the adoring crowd. “LOCO” and “Not Shy” received immense reactions from the crowd from the first beat and were the perfect ending songs to keep the hyped energy until the very end. ITZY said their ments after finishing the main setlist and walked off stage. Eager for an encore stage, MIDZYs’ chants and screams filled up the venue. They were introduced and got involved in fun “missions” to complete in order to bring ITZY back on stage. From dancing, singing and doing fanchants in 2x speed, passionate LA MIDZYs completed the challenge with ease.
Gracing the stage with their angelic presences in the literal form as they were spotted wearing angel wings, ITZY performed a whopping four songs for their encore including “Domino,” “Trust Me (MIDZY),” “IT’z SUMMER,” and “Be In Love.” With confetti blasting and flying for the last performance, ITZY and their fans were able to enjoy the last few moments together in the picturesque scene. Wrapping up the concert, the girls took pictures with the crowd and held up the show’s slogan that read “Love you MIDZY– Ain’t Nobody Like You.”
ITZY will continue their sold out North American leg of the world tour with seven more shows in other U.S. cities including Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, and New York.
Edited by Cara Musashi