Nothing Stops OnlyOneOf’s Odyssey in New York City

Photos: Jean Libert

With the influx of K-Pop concerts throughout the U.S., there are shows that you shouldn't miss, and OnlyOneOf is one of them. Though touring as five, as Rie enlisted in January, KB, Yoojung, Junji, Mill, and Nine proved that even though Rie was missed, their innate skills, humor, and comfort on stage could pull off a show that was solid in their own right. 8D Creative’s first boy group has shown a lot of promise since their debut in 2019 and Our Only Odyssey is already their third tour. Starting in Toronto at the end of March, the tour hit ten cities across North America and is finishing up their west coast dates this week. We had a chance to catch the first U.S. stop of their tour at Melrose Ballroom in New York. The guys showed off their charisma, solid vocals, and undeniable innate sexiness and humor as they rocked through an impressive setlist that included solos, verse tutorials, chest pops, torn pants and a ton of love for lyOns, their fandom, in an intimate space where every fan could absorb their energy.

Though styled for the tour, their opening outfits in stylish black was very apropos for New York, whose natives often see stylish black as a kind of uniform. Sharp, but casual, the five guys opened the night with “chrOme hearts.” From the opening, their sharp choreography combined with sultry movements and solid vocals—not to mention Junji’s bare arms—had lyOns agog from the onset. Immediately jumping into introductions, each member shared their excitement to be in New York and their love for the group. Their playful character was exposed at the beginning with Nine joking with KB about exposing his armpits, and Yoojung jumping in stating, “I want to see,” as KB unbuttoned the top of his shirt. Though Junji tried to make it happen for lyOns stating, “Keep going,” and Nine tried as well to physically assist, in the end the top was too tight and KB was only able to expose a shoulder. Mill acknowledged that KB tried his best, and the guys finally let him off the hook, saying that it was time for the next stage, “give me the lOve, bitxx.”

The next song was a song they stated could be enjoyed together. Yoojung stated that the dance moves were easy and taught the basic core moves, asking everyone to dance along. Mill was more open, letting everyone know that any type of dancing would be great. Starting a quick acapella, it was soon time for everyone to strut their stuff.  Though we all tried our best, it was not easy matching their smooth moves, but with smilies and sweet expressions, it was hard not to feel connected to them.

Following with “gravity,” the focus was on fan service and interactions as well as their vocal lines. Though everyone had solid vocals, Nine and Junji were especially standouts. Getting everyone’s arms up and singing “na na na” created a special synergy throughout the song.

Wanting more input, the guys started taking requests and singing excerpts at the request of lyOns. It was clearly a night for anything. Getting into formation for “bOss,” they sang the song with ease through their moves. Mill’s little “Love you New York” adlib was a sweet addition straight in before jumping straight into “dOra maar,” whose strong melodic flow fed the rhythmic flow of the song.

While the guys took a breather, Mill built up the anticipation stating, “I think the next few songs will have the best crowd reaction. Do you guys like powerful songs, do you guys like sexy songs?” Yoojung asked, “What’s our most powerful song?” The word “gaslighting” filled the room, and when followed by, “And what’s our most sexy song?” it was “libidO” on everyone’s lips. Yoojung gave everyone 100 points. Not ready to begin, Nine started to tell the story of their outfits. It seems Nine’s outfit originally was designated for KB and visa-versa. At the screams to swap, KB teased again at his buttons before Yoojung came in to tell everyone that it was the first time wearing this wardrobe for the tour, though the first stop on the tour was Toronto, they wanted to show off these outfits in New York. As predicted, the next two songs would be highlights of the night. Though on point before, the energy was on another level and the chest pops were, um, impressive to say the least. “libidO” is a favorite and OnlyOneOf clearly knows it. The performance was over-the-top sexy, with actions that matched the sensual words. Nine and KB’s play off each other had the floor screaming, only to get louder when Junji’s couple moves with Nine followed, and out of control with Junji’s solo. The song wasn’t just sensual: the power in the movements showed that the guys really wanted to give the crowd their all. At a venue that was intimate to begin with, the heat was definitely on.

The VCR break was sweet, but also a reminder that Rie was missing from the show. The next segment would be the solo stages of each of the members. Yoojung started with “begin,” dressed in poetic white, and the short solo stage showed off his elegant moves. KB started dramatically, shedding off his shirt and finally showing of the arms that lyOns were teased with prior. With “be free,” he carried the mic stand with confidence and had Yoojung back for a short duet moment. Junji’s sexy moves in the smooth flowing white for “be mine” was followed by the power in Mill’s “beat.” Nine was last with “beyOnd” and had Mill back for a short sexy duet, heavy on the inferences. 

KB asking, “Who was best?” was met with everyone before they started all jumping in to sing some of the solo songs. Mill took a picket of Rie from the crowd, so he would be represented, and then asked if “because” could be played, as it was Rie’s solo. As it wasn’t on the setlist, they instead asked everyone to sing along with them as they sang acapella with the floor. Chairs were brought out as was time for the softer side of the show. “byredO” and “lOve me” proved further that each of the members had solid vocals despite their positions. Engaging more crowd reactions, they began to stand in “lOve me” as arms waved to the flow of the song and the shouts of “love me now” reverberated throughout the space. Standing and giving waves and love to those on the floor, it was clear that there was love in the room.

Engagement only increased as they taught the room the vocals for the next song, “Stay.” The up and down modulations of “Oh - Oh, Oh Oh Oh” were made crystal clear through their instructions. The recently released song is lovely and any lyOn there, or who participated in the tour, is likely not to forget their “Oh’s” in the song. The “Oh’s” reverberating throughout the room was magic and it made sense why they would want to repeat that moment. Members announced that it was perfect and they were really touched. KB professed his love for lyOns before they announced, “Are you ready to charge your ’dOpamine?’” Apart from “libidO,” this is probably the most well known song of their repertoire, and the title of their last tour, so the song had everyone’s vocal chords working overtime and the chorus was screamed by fans.

It was soon time for the final songs of the official concert starting with “skinz.” But before the final song, a fashion emergency occurred, as Junji split his pants. Members joking about his red underwear led to a longer ment than initially intended. Upon his return, Yoojung joked, “Don’t look at Junji, he’s not wearing underwear.” Not the case most likely, but hilarious, before ending with the powerful “seOul drift.” 

The expected encore in concert shirts began with “OnlyOneOf me” and included “angel” as the group sang sweetly to the lyOns while giving fan service to the intimate crowd. With much love and energy, the guys truly gave everything they had. Nine gave the final words of the night stating how happy they were to feel the energy in New York. Saying how much they love being in New York, and with a last greeting and love for New York, the show ended with many hearts, exclamations of love, and smiles.

Thank you to 8D Creative, J&B Entertainment, and most of all to OnlyOneOf for having us again on this tour. We hope to see you on tour again soon!