Whenever there’s a discussion about a K-Pop artist who can really sing, JUNNY comes to the forefront. As an artist that garnered a following first as a songwriter, there’s a sensitivity to sound and just really good music that gets delivered flawlessly every time. JUNNY isn’t a stranger to New York, but each time he comes, his charisma just escalates. This time, it was not just the vocals. Putting some moves on stage as well, JUNNY pushed the sexiness barrier as if fans needed another reason to swoon. Mondays in Brooklyn shouldn’t be this hot, but at Xanadu, the stage was steaming, to the point that it set off the fire alarm, and the energy on the floor was on fire.

Getting the crowd ready for the show were JUNNY’s openers. DJ DAUL, aka Kim Hyeongtae, had JUNNY’s back all night, and HOHYUN was the first of two vocalists to take the mic. With his soulful soothing voice, the self-taught Korean-American singer and songwriter had the floor fully engaged. Opening up about his personal struggles and hardships, HOHYUN spoke encouraging those hurting to seek help as well. Bringing on a special guest, Sarah Kang, they sang “loml.” With her ethereal voice against his, it brought a magical aura to the stage. Finishing off with his popular “Sunset Boulevard,” it was soon time for the next opener of the night.

Jinsol is known as much for his OHT jewelry line as his singing. A bit more low key in style, but carrying a more upbeat sound that night, he set off a nice contrast to HOHYUN’s vocals. Singing songs such as “All Night Long” and “CSW,” he did his best to engage with the crowd despite some technical issues. Those issues were all forgotten when he brought out his violin to play the final song of the night to cheers all around.

With the floor completely warmed up, JUNNY came out with his latest EP's lead track, "RUSH (ft. BOBBY)." The EP titled Dopamine, the same as the tour, has six tracks that he’d share with us through the night, alongside favorites and requests. From the start, echoes of “feel the rush” echoed through the space. Letting Bobby’s rap lines flow on the backtrack, JUNNY’s powerful voice pumped the room while his moves got everyone energized. It was clear that everyone was feeling the energy he was emitting.

Opening with his welcome and unneeded introduction, his “Are you ready to party” was met with resounding screams. With the sexy “AURA,” the vibe definitely pulled in the sensual direction. JUNNY’s killer vocals were solid throughout, along with his solid rap skills. Flowing seamlessly into “TASTE,” everyone was continuing to ride the sexy wave. Letting everyone know that he was enthralled with the energy in the room, he jumped right into the next track.

“EARLY,” the song he collabed with SOULBYSEL and DUT2, was next in line. The sultry beat was pumped up by JUNNY and DAUL and the night just got hotter. JUNNY had arms pumping and people moving to the song. The crowd was hype: this wasn’t a hearts and flowers JUNNY moment, but sweetness was just around the corner as the first notes of “Not About You” flowed. A favorite of all JUNNY fans, everyone was singing along. When he pointed the mic to the crowd, everyone sang to the tops of their lungs and paired with one of JUNNY’s killer high notes, the performance just hit another level. The show was going at a non-stop pace and you couldn’t even take a breath and suddenly you were dancing and pumping arms to the insane rap lines of “Optimist.” Though we’ve heard JUNNY rap before, his flow was on point in Brooklyn.

Taking two minutes to breathe to let everyone know that this was his first U.S. stop on the tour to cheers, the title to the next track was aptly placed. “Here We Go Again” wasn’t just a title, it was the theme of the night. With moves that were more fluid than we’ve ever seen and had fans screaming, everyone was yelling the chorus. Crazy barking ensued as JUNNY proclaimed, “And now we know y’all can sing, right Brooklyn?” Yeah, Brooklyn could sing, and scream, and bark, and was ready to sing along and to make the next song as “f*cking memorable” as JUNNY wanted for “INVITATION.” A veritable sing-along, the vibes were insane.

Telling Brooklyn, “You’re f*cking loud,” and, “That just means that I have to come back,” was just what the floor wanted to hear. Proving that they hadn’t hit their limit yet, even more screams, with barks, filled the air. Telling everyone, “You gotta believe me, you gotta trust me,” was the setup for “Trust,” followed by “For The Weekend.” 

Though claiming he was a bit nervous, none of the nerves seemed visible. Taking the energy a notch down with “solo,” JUNNY’s voice did what it did best, filling the room with yearning as his vocals pulled at your heart. The pull continued with “MOVIE,” a song impossible not to sway and sing along to.

JUNNY”s interactions still remain a special part of his shows. As he started his ment, a fan yelled out, “Do you like older women,” to the response, “I like all women.” He let everyone know that he landed that morning and had pretty much showered and just came to the venue. “That’s why I was a little nervous, because I wanted to give you my 200% tonight.” With screams of support, he gave his thanks:

“Thank you for showing up tonight, thank you for listening to my music. Thank you for letting this Canadian, Vancouver kid, achieve his dreams.. thank you for staying right by my side.”

Of course, it was easy to guess the next song, “By My Side.” He had the room singing along to the chorus of this crowd favorite and the room lit up when he hit and held the long high note in the song, impressing us again with his vocal range and power. “Nostalgia” followed, but as JUNNY was finishing the song, the beeps of a fire alarm started going off in the room. As smooth as he is, his words, “It’s not me, it’s actually f*ing hot tonight,” had everyone laughing amongst the high-pitched beeping. Almost at the same time he started with “Get Ya!,” the beeping ceased and the air was clear for “Complications,” stating that he’s never heard a crowd sing along to the song and said, “You got some taste out there in Brooklyn.”

As a singer that can pretty much sing anything, JUNNY put it all out there stating, “What do you want to hear Brooklyn?” Taking a capella requests, the first song up was “Better Days.” Though DJ DAUL was doing a fabulous job, there’s something special about hearing a clear unencumbered voice. “Rendezvous,” “2oclock,” KAI’s “Mmmh,” that JUNNY helped compose and write, and “FAME” which he sang with JAY B, were the next requests.

Soon it was heading towards the last songs of the night. Bumping up the temp with “Color Me” and “Daylight,” JUNNY had the floor in motion again. For the final songs of the night, he brought the tempo down. The emotive “figure 8” was the last song from his Dopamine album that night. It’s self-proclaimed as one of the most favorite songs that he’s ever written, stating that the song is “about leaving home and going to Korea to achieve a dream and being able to make music and reminiscing of when we were all kids and didn’t know anything better.” He further noted, “I feel like we can connect in that sort of way tonight, by thinking about our childhood days. Singing a song together with me.” Asking for lights to be put on, the glow and feels from the lovely song were so moving that it had fans in tears. The last song echoed his final words, “Thank You.” Though he came back for a short encore with a repeat of “INVITATION” to lighten the vibe, the memories and feelings from “figure 8” still lingered. The feelings from hearing his voice and the collective emotions of the night had everyone so happy that they were a part of it. 

Thank you to MAUVE Company and JUNNY for allowing us to cover the show. We look forward to his return and hope that everyone has a chance to catch this tour!