The energy emanating from the audience at the New York Palladium Times Square on May 10 was tremendous. They knew, not only was this the last leg of the CIX 1st Concert REBEL in U.S. tour, but that this was a highly special day. It was Bae Jinyoung’s birthday.

For New York FIX, this was the first time they’d be able to see their idols perform in person. CIX, which stands for "Complete in X," debuted in 2019 under C9 Entertainment with their first EP, Hello’ Chapter 1. Hello, Stranger, with members Bae Jinyoung, BX, Seunghun, Hyunsuk, and Yonghee. Due to the pandemic, they were not able to tour as originally planned in 2020, and therefore fans were incredibly excited to have them make their way stateside finally. Though still a young group, they’ve shown their incredible capacity with the scope of their work, their stand out songs, and their performance abilities.

Starting off with a VCR that showed off their mind-blowing visuals, the guys walked onto a dim, red lit stage amidst ear numbing screams as they jumped right into “Black Out” to open the show. Dressed sharply in dark pants and stylized jackets decorated with silver epitaphs and chains, the heat emanating from them gave us barely any time to breathe. Moving smoothly between synchronized choreo and group formations while moving spotlights played the dark stage, the guys showed they were not there to play. The rhythmic energized beats to these hard-hitting songs hyped an already lit crowd as they continued seamlessly onto their next song, “Numb.” Here, we might have been ready for the “Ooh, na-na-na” at the chorus, but we were not ready for Seunghun peeling back his jacket to a very revealing mesh undershirt. The show had barely begun, and our eyes were already being gifted.

BX: “What’s up New York! Wow, there are so many people here tonight. Is it really Tuesday night?”

CIX (for their group intro): “In X! Hi, we’re CIX. Finally, we’re in New York!”

BX: “It is so hot in here today, right? I think the weather here is so hot, that we already spent all our energy on the first two songs.” 

Starting with Hyunsuk, they all began their intros, but when they got to Jinyoung, he was the first to proclaim, “Today is… my Birthday!” to deafening cheers.

Hyunsuk: “This is the last stop of our U.S. tour. We finally made it to New York. We’ve been waiting to be here so long with our New York FIX, so let’s have fun tonight.”

Finishing up the introductions, BX gave a bit of choreo to hint at the next song which was “What you Wanted.” More chill with a sexy vibe, the song was definitely a fave. FIX chanting, “what you wanted,” and, “Get it, poppin', keep it comin', Bust it, open, I'll be takin'..,” after BX’s smooth rap segment rang in ears and throughout the venue. It was getting hotter in temperature as Seunghun couldn’t wait to pop open his jacket again, and for the next song, “Like it That Way,” Hyunsuk lost his jacket as well. With body rolls and moments of Jinyoung solos, the song gave plenty for everyone to like. But it wasn’t only the moves; Seunghun and Hyunsuk’s steady vocals brought the song alive for us.

Allowing everyone to take a breather, the boys stepped off for a “CIX-lhouette Talk” VCR. We all watched and tried to guess with them who the figures behind the screen were. For me, this was a total fail, as they ended up being figures close to them such as their manager.

The “Awes” turned to “Ahhs!” as the first sub-unit came onstage. Yonghee and Seunghun swapped suits for a hoodie, button down shirt, jeans, and shades for a fun cover of The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay.” Seunghun, who had been trying to remove his jacket all night, finally zipped down the hoodie to show off his six pack to everyone's screams. Dancing and singing with his hoodie barely on, the playful Seunghun decided that the fun should be shared, and unbuttoned Yonghee also. Playing the tease, Seunghun made a shy move to cover up at the end of the song, but let it go for a final pose. Clearly, this vocal unit definitely has more than their voices going for them, though their vocals were on point throughout this cover. Playfully bouncing around the stage, their energy infected all of us.

The heat was still on as the dance duo sub-unit came on stage. Jinyoung and Hyunsuk, also dressed down, followed up with a dance cover of T-Pain’s “Up and Down (Do This All Day).” The hip-hop routine was as slick as they come. Smooth isometric popping and rolling combined with the lightning fast shifts in tempo had me enthralled. Jinyoung was especially mesmerizing when he threw off his red hat and just gave it his all. Showing off an innate flexibility and fluidity, his skills would have the most accomplished dancers in awe. Hyunsuk’s dancing was on point as well, showing that he could definitely hold his own alongside Jinyoung. But in this dance arena, it was truly Jinyoung’s effortless moves that had me shellshocked.

The last unit stage was BX’s solo rap cover stage of DPR Live’s “Text Me.” He would later tell everyone the song was chosen because it was one of his favorites. FIX was in agreement as we all sang along with him. The heat he generated came more from the projection of his voice than with his body. As leader and rapper, BX has a strength of presence that carries through. I only wished the back track was toned down in some sections to hear his amazing voice more clearly in the song.

With a quick VCR of the guys dressed to the nines amidst monochrome backdrops set to an instrumental of “Movie Star,” they were back for their next stage. “Jungle” started with the guys seated in a circle looking up at lights shining down on them. Their seated choreography was tantalizing, and with a seamless transition to standing via linked arms, we could finally see their full new wardrobe change. I think we all mentally thanked the stylists for their black and white almost sheer poet shirts which highlighted their sensual and elegant movements. This sexy elegance transferred into the anticipated “Movie Star.” As the lead single from their debut EP, this was a song FIX knew by heart as the voices and chants filled the air.

It was time to check in with FIX again as CIX returned to the stage for their next ment, each taking a moment to reflect on their unit stages, abs, Vaseline, and Gillette. It’ll make sense, I promise.

Yonghee: “Because it was our last unit stage, we set that stage on fire.”

Seunghun: “So actually, I need to tell you something. Yonghee’s abs are gone because he ate too much while touring. So actually, in Korea we were able to ‘jjang,’ show it off, but here he couldn’t, but ‘jjang’ we showed it off anyway.”

Jinyoung: “So Hyunsuk and I did hip-hop for the first time and I knew you guys would like it.”

BX: “Thank you! How was it? So ‘Text Me’ is one of my favorite songs, so I did it. Do you guys like it? Thank you. And that ‘CIX-lhouette Talk’ that we showed you. So, especially for the U.S. FIX we added the subtitles.”

Seunghun: “So hyung, what you were actually typing through the night were these subtitles?”

BX: “Yeah (pretending to type). And we have something fun planned. We’re going to spill everyone’s secrets here tonight.”

Seunghun: “I feel like we’ve shared everything, so I’ve run out of things to say.”

BX (grabbing questions from the audience): “What is the next album?”

Hyunsuk: “So, for our next album, nothing’s decided yet. So whose secret do you want here?”

Seunghun: “My secret! Members, share my secret!”

BX: “No, you have to share a secret that none of us know.”

Seunghun: “I love FIX too much, well I guess that’s boring. But this is not really a secret and not something big, but something actually needed. So, I actually bought Jinyoung a present, but I think Jinyoung, when he sees it, will be like, ‘What?’ Are you guys curious what I got him? (to big cheers of ‘Yes!’)... It’s at the hotel though, so Jinyoung will actually show you guys when he goes on the V app. But it’s a little out there.”

Hyunsuk: “It’s not 10 tubs of Vaseline?”

Seunghun: “No, it’s not like that.”

BX : “But if you actually got him that, he’d like it.”

Seunghun: “How about for his next birthday, I’ll get him a box of Vaseline.”

BX : “Before ‘Jungle,’ there were a lot of VCRs. We actually had a lot of fun shooting that. I know what was memorable for me was Yonghee close-ups.”

Yonghee: “So actually, while I was showering, I thought really deeply about this. So when you do the Gillette (as in Gillette shaving pose)…”

BX (interjecting): “You look cool!”

Seunghun: “After you shave, you have to look in the mirror and look cool!”

BX : “So show us. Has this been upgraded? So here you go.”

Yonghee showed off his classic Gillette commercial face poses with his hand touching his smooth skin and then running his fingers through his hair to the cheers of everyone watching and exclaiming, “I’m so handsome.”

BX : “We showed you ‘Jungle’ and ‘Movie Star.’ Did you like it? When we performed ‘Movie Star,’ you all sang along from start to finish. So while we were performing the two songs, I thought, ‘Should I even be singing?’, because I wanted to hear you sing.”

Seunghun: “So, should we all sing ‘Movie Star’ together? Let’s sing Jinyoung’s part. 5, 6, 7, 8….”

And we all started singing. Before letting them go, FIX asked for an acapella of BX’s rap section too, which he complied before the next stage. The guys would then start the next two songs, “Lost” and “Everything.” Rather than having choreo, the time was given to FIX. Singing while giving fan service, the guys took the time to make eye contact, smile, and send finger hearts while giving love to all the FIX who were there for them. Like that, it was time for them to announce their “last” song of the show with wishes to return very soon. As Jinyoung said, “This is the song that fits the theme of the tour.” A Rebel tour wouldn’t be complete without its namesake. “Rebel”’s heavy beats led to more dynamic choreo, giving them another chance to show off their dancing chops. The guys gave their all to the cheering crowd. 

Of course, any experienced concert goer knows that the first end is never the real end. The guys came out in their casual jeans and augmented CIX concert shirts. With adorable little blond pigtails, Seunghun turned from sexy to puppy. His pigtails and Jinyoung’s ponytail were irresistible as they began the first of their encores, “WAVE.” The ponytail boys’ vocals were the highlights of this song as they smoothly hit the upper registers without a hitch while dancing their all. Next was one of my faves, as well as a favorite to many FIX. “Cinema” was hailed by many as one of the top K-Pop songs of last year, and hearing it live was a treat for everyone. With its hopeful and loving melody, it was a great song to add to the closing songs of the show.

But all was not yet done. We can’t let a birthday boy leave a night like this without some birthday love. At their final ment, aside from chatting about pigtails and the three songs, Yonghee reminded everyone that it was a special day: “You guys know it’s a really special day for us. Because it’s Jinyoung’s birthday and CIX’s first time in New York, it’s a special day.” Seunghun led the “Happy Birthday” train, getting everyone in the venue to sing. As every birthday boy needs a birthday cake, one was provided with lit candles and another round of happy birthdays to a dancing Jinyoung. As he got ready to blow out the candles, a sly Seunghun, Hyunsuk, and Yonghee dipped their fingers into the frosting. Jinyoung has the fastest reflexes in the world and apparently knows his members well, as he quickly blew out all the candles and then flew as his members went after him. It was Seunghun that charged the fastest and managed to tag frosting onto his face. When Jinyoung was asked about his birthday wish, he replied, “This morning my birthday wish was that we would complete this tour well, but now that we’re rounding out this tour tonight, my wish is that we have another U.S. tour.” Looking over the sea of FIX, Seunghun pointed out all the birthday slogans and signs to Jinyoung. FIX had done a great job.

Closing out the night was “The One.” Walking around to everyone with frosting on their cheeks, waving to everyone in the room, the warmhearted melody was the perfect way to end the night. BX thanked everyone, “for making today so precious,” but every fan in the room knew that what was precious to them that night was standing in front of them. 

Thank you to KOHAI & C9 Entertainment for the images and for providing the opportunity to cover the show.