Fans stood in line for over 12 hours to get as close as possible to their favorite artist at the Brooklyn Monarch. Despite the wait, there wasn’t a fan in the house that would tell you that it wasn’t worth it. Though Korean-Canadian artist and songwriter JUNNY debuted in 2017 with his solo EP Monochrome, his latest album blanc would be his first full studio album. Known as much as a songwriter as a singer with credits under his belt for working on songs for artists such as IU, NCT 127, Suho, Baekhyun, and JAY B, it’s no surprise that his own discography is equally impressive. With his North American blanc tour, JUNNY had already melted hearts from the Pacific to the Atlantic. New York, to be more precise, Brooklyn, as his second to last stop, would prove to be no exception.

The opening act was the gorgeous and alluring 芯竹 XENZU. With braids and sparkling translucent pants, XENZU took over the house. She kicked up the energy level performing songs such as “Copycat” and “Dom Pérignon'' from her Burn Book & Glow Up album. XENZU quickly had everyone falling for her as she easily engaged with the crowd. Deepening the love affair, she treated everyone to unreleased tracks, including “Jelly” and “Tell Me You Want Me.” With the latter, XENZU told everyone that it was a “deeply emotional'' song for her. Asking everyone to turn on their phone lights, you could feel the emotionally-charged air fed by her dynamic vocals.

One beauty would follow another as DJ Minjeong took the stage with a great set that had everyone moving as much as they could. But, it wouldn’t be long before the star of the night appeared and everyone was more than ready for him.

JUNNY started with “Color Me,” the original track which featured Chungha on the album. From the start of his set, he had everyone under his fingertips. Pointing to the crowd after the lines, “Cause you got what I need,” the room reverberated with, “To satisfy my needs.” And he did. Immediately jumping into “Obvious,” JUNNY had hands pumping to the beat and everyone singing along to the chorus. As soon as the song ended, the room erupted to a spontaneous chant of, “JUNNY,” as he stopped to welcome everyone to the blanc tour.

With “Not About You,” everyone continued to sing along, yelling out, “I ain’t talking about you.” It was clear that JUNNY’s gift wasn’t just his voice, but his ability to engage the crowd. Following would be “Mugshot,” “AURA,'' and “nostalgia.” With “nostalgia,” a song with JAY B, JUNNY had everyone’s arms pumping again. At one point during the song, a fan waving an aghabomb (GOT7’s lightstick), handed it to him and JUNNY grabbed it, waving it for a verse. A fit homage to JAY B who was on the original track.

JUNNY let everyone know it was his first time in New York smoothly stating his gratitude with the words, “Brooklyn, thank you so much for staying by my side,” and singing a bit of “By My Side” acapella before starting the full song. Not only pulling in everyone to sing along, JUNNY showed off his vocal range, hitting the upper registers and sending shivers down our spines. This acapella token would be the first gift of many that night that JUNNY would give to show how much he appreciated every single person there.

For the next song “MOVIE,” JUNNY created an appropriate “movie scene” by getting everyone to turn on their phone lights. The lights and the vocals from the crowd as they sang along created a vibe that definitely was silver-screen-worthy.

Totally relaxed with the crowd during his next ment, a fan yelled out that her mom was mad at her for being out that night. In a hilarious twist, JUNNY asked for the phone and spoke to the mom (“Your daughter is at my show, yeah, don’t get mad at her.”) to laughs around the room. The next songs were from his Vivid albums called “Distance” and “Trust,” followed by “Say,” “Zone,” “Feel That,” and “For The Weekend.”

Taking a break to let everyone know that it was close to the end of the show, JUNNY wished a fan “Happy Birthday'' before starting on “OH!!.” JUNNY prefaced that the song was “dedicated to you guys, dedicated to my fans. If it’s your first time listening, please listen in on the lyrics, it means a lot.” With his honey voice, the lyrics combined a feeling of gratitude with some of his insecurities. Those insecurities seemed unfounded that night as every hand was willing to be his “hand to hold” that night as well as for nights to come.

“Get Ya!” would be one of his last songs before he took a moment for a fan request for “2oclock,” a song by emoji in which he featured. As another gift, JUNNY sang a few verses acapella for the room. Before his final song, JUNNY had a few more words to say that touched everyone there. “Well you guys, I just want to say, thank you so f*cking much for tonight. You guys have been amazing today. My first time in New York, first time in Brooklyn, and you guys were beautiful, singing along, and guess what, I’m definitely f*cking coming back. ‘Cause I feel so damn thankful tonight, I’m going to end with this song.” Of course, the song was “Thank You.”

Cheers and chants of “JUNNY! JUNNY!” filled the air following a moment of confusion as people were unsure if there would be an encore. But no fear: JUNNY wouldn’t leave without a group photo and one more song. Singing “NEW GIRL” as a special encore and another gift for Brooklyn, the official final song was definitely a treat to hear. Even then, that last song wasn’t the end of the concert, as what followed the end of the setlist was a mutual love fest. Walking from one side of the stage to another, even popping off the stage into the pit and on top of the speakers, JUNNY did his best to reach as many fans as possible, signing everything in sight from phones to shirts, posters, and arms. JUNNY gave his all to everyone as many walked away with some reminder of him in their hands a well as in their hearts.

Thank you to JUNNY, 芯竹 XENZU, DJ Minjeong and Unbound Entertainment Group.

Edited by Vivian N.