Sunmi - Good Girl Gone Mad in London
Photos courtesy of KEvents
On August, 21, Sunmi returned to the UK with her Good Girl Gone Mad tour, performing in London in the city’s Troxy music venue. This tour stop marked three years since Sunmi last performed in front of her UK fans (also known as Miya-nes) with her first-ever world tour Warning back in 2019.
With 15 years experience in the music industry, having debuted as a member of JYP girl group Wonder Girls in 2007 before debuting as a solo artist in 2013, there’s no denying Sunmi’s talents as an artist. She can sing, dance, and she can play the bass guitar, all of which she showcased during the Good Girl Gone Mad concert. With a solid playlist, featuring many of her popular hits and well-loved B-sides, this tour was colorful, energetic, and personal, with Sunmi wanting to show, “all of [her] sides and stories” to her Miya-nes through each song and performance.
Accompanied by four dancers, Sunmi stepped onto the stage in a blue denim dress matched with sparkly blue calf boots to perform her first song of the night “Siren” followed by “LALALAY” and “pporappippam.” Two more dancers joined her on stage partway through “Siren,” one of whom can be recognised from his appearance on Netflix’s Korean dating show Single’s Inferno - Sunmi’s longtime backup dancer, Cha Hyunseung.
Sunmi and her dancers brought high energy and fun to these performances and the crowd was loving it, dancing and cheering away. Sunmi then went on to perform “SUNNY,” a B-side from her 2021 EP 1/6 and “Black Pearl” from her 2018 EP Warning followed by “Narcissism” and “Borderline,” with the latter bringing part one of the concert to an end. As Sunmi and the dancers left the stage, a short film montage appeared on the stage screen, giving us a visual interpretation and narration into Sunmi's own mind while we waited for her to come back.
Sunmi returned to the stage with an outfit change, this time wearing a black strappy bodysuit, a pink mini-skirt, sheer thigh high socks, and black boots, fitting for the noir, femme fatale vibe of some of her songs. Starting with "Gotta Go'' and "Call," Sunmi took us into the second part of the concert. Here, and in between the songs, Sunmi interacted more with the audience, telling us how she finds it difficult to express herself but always finds a way through her music. She told the audience that she puts a lot of effort into her stages, videos, and outfits, expressing how she wants to convey her honesty and sincerity to her fans through all of these things.
"⅙" and "Childhood," the B-side single off of her recent single release Heart Burn, were the next two songs performed, before Sunmi brought out her bass guitar to play a special rendition of "What the Flower'' and a gritty, rock version of "Noir." Sunmi said she was nervous to be playing the bass again, but her performance said otherwise as she was great and her Miya-nes loved it. Watching her play the bass guitar was an incredible experience to witness live and that rock version of "Noir" seriously needs to be released someday; it was amazing! Putting the bass guitar down, Sunmi then ended this second part of the concert with her latest single "Heart Burn" before exiting the stage again with another short film appearing on the stage screen as she left.
The third part of the concert opened with an older track, her 2014 single "24 Hours" followed by a more recent track "Oh Sorry Ya" from March 2022, with Sunmi back with another outfit change, this time wearing a matching patterned two piece set. She then performed "TAIL" to an excited crowd, whose screams and cheers were deafening at this point of the concert. The audience had been loud throughout the night, but “TAIL” was clearly a fan favorite. Sunmi then performed the last few songs of the night: "burn," "Heroine," and her iconic and incredibly popular single "Gashina," complete with the famous finger gun pointing dance sequence which, of course, everyone in the audience had to dance along to.
For the entirety of the concert, the room was hyped and full of excitement for Sunmi, from those standing on the floor all the way to those in the seated areas further back. Looking around, there was so much love and appreciation for her in the building. This love extended into the gifts Sunmi received from those in the audience; she was gifted with pictures, letters, flowers, a duck plush toy, and a United Kingdom flag that had personalised writing written across it. She wrapped this flag around her waist while talking to the crowd.
After “Gashina,” Sunmi then left the stage before returning for an encore performance of "You Can't Sit With Us," with her and her dancers all dressed in matching black and red tour t-shirts that fans could purchase from the merchandise stand outside the venue room. Although it was coming to an end, the energy was still high and the crowd was still loud: chanting, singing, and cheering away. Once “You Can’t Sit With Us” ended, Sunmi made sure to thank and introduce her dancers, giving each of them their own spotlight to shine. She also thanked her crew, including her manager, who appeared on stage a few times during the show to help Sunmi with her microphone and microphone stand, and her brother, Lee Dong, who was at the concert as Sunmi's very own official photographer.
Just how Sunmi described it, the Good Girl Gone Mad London concert was "an unforgettable night," with Sunmi showcasing her incredible vocals and the sweet personality she exudes online and on variety shows. With so much experience under her belt, Sunmi clearly knows how to put on a show and wow her Miya-nes with her energy and talent. After the Europe stretch of the tour has now come to an end, Sunmi is now embarking on the North American stretch of the tour, Sunmi performed across different cities in the U.S. and Canada before returning to South Korea with a performance in Seoul on October 8. Go witness all of your favorite Sunmi tracks live through her incredible Good Girl Gone Mad tour today.