Woosung Melts Hearts at the New York MOTH Showcase

As you approached Gramercy Theatre on May 23, the theater marquee read, “WOOSUNG SOLD OUT.” It wasn’t immediately apparent, but the line for his showcase wrapped around the block from the side of the theater with some of the chillest fans I’ve seen in awhile. About a couple hours before the show, Woosung stepped out, and those who saw him waved from their spot, but no screaming and no following—it was a rare moment to see such dedicated fans giving their artist a bit of space. He smiled as he returned and waved back to his fans and all those patiently waiting for the show to begin.

Woosung, also known as Sammy, is a soloist as well as the leader and lead singer for the Korean band The Rose. A Korean-American who initially was noticed during the first season of K-Pop Star and who would go through the K-Pop idol trainee process before finding his own path with The Rose, Woosung started the North American portion of his MOTH EP showcase tour in New York City. With four songs entirely in English encapsulating the theme of the moth, the EP was released a couple weeks before the showcase. Woosung realized soon enough that most of the fans inside had already memorized its contents.

Even before he took a step on stage, the music from The Rose’s “She’s In The Rain” came on and immediately the air filled with singing from the packed hall inside. Greeting “New York!” Woosung sauntered towards the audience and started immediately. “FACE” kicked off the showcase and as the chorus filled the air, an instant bond in the room was created. Among screaming cheers and those singing at the top of their voices, the room was so lit that you could almost touch the energy being emitted. In a sheer button down white cuffed shirt that was unbuttoned almost to his waist with a prominent silver chain and pendant necklace, he moved with ease around the stage, emitting a sexy elegance with every word. Though it was only the first song, he owned the room, and he knew it. That confidence of self that emanated was probably sexier than the unbuttoned shirt. Immediately onto “Lazy,” Woosung’s voice moved from raspy to sweet, and with the occasional wolf howls, his pack (those listening) were ready to follow his lead. Yelling, “Sing with me New York!” was almost unnecessary as most everyone was already singing at the top of their voice. The “okay, okay” in the song was almost like an okay to breathe. And, let’s be honest, any chance that New Yorkers can yell out, “f*ck you, f*ck you,” as a song lyric is going to get full volume.

“What’s up, New York!” was barely out there before “Dimples” began. I might have forgotten to mention there was a live band on stage, which completely leveled up this song. The drums gave off a vibe different from the recording, where the electro synth sound took prominence, proving why live music makes such a difference. “RED,” a song released by The Rose, continued to fuel the energy in the room. I didn’t think the temperature could really go higher until Woosung asked, “New York, are you ready to sing your heart out?” The melodic “woah” of the song, sung by everyone, filled the room and raised the level.

Taking a moment to bring the energy a notch down, Woosung introduced himself, though honestly, the introduction probably wasn’t necessary in this room. Taking a moment to tune his guitar, he spoke casually, “I’m so happy to be back. And since we’re back, I’m going to bring back The Rose songs. This next track is about loving. This next song I’m about to play is ‘I.L.Y.’” Here his vocals took prominence, and as the simple sweetness of his voice echoed the lyrics, “I love you, our love is true,” the words touched not only ears, but found refuge in hearts as screams were silenced in exchange for melody. Woosung, also touched, remarked, “Beautiful voices, beautiful.” The only suitable follow-up at this moment was “I Love You So Bad (ILYSB).” Still seated, yet every subtle gesture with his fingers was elegant and meaningful. At one point he even conducted the answering “ahhs” from the crowd. This was a true love affair moment as Woosung pointed to everyone and sang, “And you need to know that nobody could take your place.” Then, smiling that knowing smile, he pointed to himself, while everyone pointed at him too, singing, “I'm hella obsessed with your face.” Frankly, nothing was truer.

Afterwards, Woosung spoke again to all of us: “So this next song I haven’t really played a lot. This next song was the last song of my first solo EP called WOLF and it’s called ‘lonely.’” The song’s haunting melody undulated, and in this case I wished that the percussion dialed down a bit to allow the voice to carry the song. As he brought back the guitar for, “the first song he ever finished writing,” the lyrics of “Beautiful Girl” filled the room, quieting some of the over excited fans. As fans rapped along with him, he kissed the mic in response. Keeping the vibe chill, the next song was “Island” on the guitar.

“Since this is a showcase, I wanted to make it very intimate and wanted to get to talk to you guys a little more. I”m so glad that you guys all came today…but I really wanted to talk about my new album. My new album, MOTH…” From there, Woosung started reading the fan signs. Hilarious signs including, “You give me MOTH in my stomach,” and, “Can you please draw me a tattoo?” For the last he answered an empathic, “No,” and explained how he couldn't draw. The funniest had to be, “I shaved for this,” though his follow up question of, “Shaved where?” was actually never answered. Taking a bunch of sunflowers offered and a stuffed animal of Simba, Woosung made the gathering just as intimate as he intended.

As he told the story about how he was inspired for the album MOTH, Woosung explained how while outside in Korea, he saw a big moth that he first feared, but after he saw the pattern on its wings illuminated against a sign, he realized how beautiful it actually was. This realization made him think how butterflies have such a different perception from moths, getting him to ponder, “Maybe some of us are just moths and we just need a little bit of light to shine on us to show our true beauty.” 

The lights were dimmed and he asked for eyes to be closed to get into the trance-like state he was in when he created the next song. Thus started “ComE dOWn” with a haunting melody at the start that built into the rock body of the song. The song was followed by “Side Effects,” also from the MOTH album. It was clear this crew knew all these songs by heart already. Back at the guitar, now in his concert T-shirt, jamming to music, Woosung was in his element. 

Before “Modern Life” Woosung wanted to send a message about the song: “I think these days we have so much information, everybody sees everything, anybody can see everything, and there may be things you see that you don’t want to see, but you still see, because there’s so much information. Especially on social media. And then, what happens is you start seeing all these beautiful things, good parts of everybody else’s life, that you start comparing yourself to their good sides, and then you forget, these emotions we get, the sadness, the downside, the frustration are a very normal thing that we have. And that becomes the process of, ‘I’m the only one feeling this way, I am not okay, I am in this special need,’ and you get into this deep, deep hole of digging yourself under the ground, and we get depression and sadness. And I just wanted to write this song and present it to you guys and tell you, that these feelings that you’re feeling, that I'm feeling at times, are normal. Sadness, happiness, anger is such a human thing. We just feel it and don’t think too much about it…so when you sing, ‘F*ck this modern life,’ I want you to really mean it.”

As stated, New Yorkers have no problem yelling, “f*ck,” therefore the heartfelt, “F*ck this modern life,” shook the theater again and again through the song. With that, it was time for his last song, “Phase Me.” As he stated that the next time we would see him it would be with The Rose, he melted into the song. Woosung appeared completely relaxed and lost in the moment. With his final thank you to the crowd and the band, the showcase, and the showman, were done for the night. 

Some would stay for the VIP meet and greet and photo opportunity, but most would filter out heavy hearted that it was over, still yearning to hear his voice again.