N.Flying Flips the Energy on in NYC

Photos by Jean Libert

Finally back with all members, the most energetic band to tour this year landed in New York City on August 20 for their 2025 N.FLYING LIVE ‘&CON4:FULL CIRCLE’ in USA tour and simply killed it. N.Flying joined the roster of epic pop bands under FNC Entertainment in 2013, following the footprints of the powerhouses of this genre: FTISLAND and CNBLUE. The quintet is made up of leader, vocalist and rapper Lee Seunghyub, powerhouse vocalist Yoo Hweseung, drummer Kim Jaehyun, guitarist Cha Hun, and bassist and maknae Seo Dongsung. Filing The Palladium, the band was fresh from Korea, with two members back from military service, ready to kick off their U.S. tour and this was their first stop. There was no sign of jetlag from this crew though, especially energizer bunny Seunghyub who was all over the stage. The energy from N.Flying was on from the start to finish of this frenzied and fabulous show. If you want to hear live music at its best, N.Flying is where you want to be.

With hazy red lights and dressed in streetwear, from the first strum of the guitar it was clear that the night was going to be hot. Opening with “Born To Be,” from their recent Everlasting album, the song pulls off the skills that N.Flying does best, balancing rock, hip-hop and ballads in one song. Seunghyub, wearing his alter ego J.DON (his soloist name), kills on the rap sequences that demand pumping arms from the start, only balanced by Hweseung’s killer vocals in the melody. Rock that doesn’t forget its core melody continued with “Moonshot.” The title track from the 2021 Man on the Moon album, the song's addictive chorus had bodies moving along with the arms. The whole concert was high octane without a moment to breathe. Though Korean artists these days are well versed in English, it’s actually nice to hear eloquently spoken Korean, especially if it's from the sexy deep voice of Seunghyub. Noting that they were there to keep their promise to return from their 2023 DWUW: Do What You Want Tour, they were excited to return for N.Fias (their fandom). Seunhyub stated that the show wasn’t supposed to start with “Born To Be,” but decided to start with a song that sparkles like stars.

The next set started with “I Like You.” It’s always a treat to hear Hweseung’s voice, as it’s one of the best in the industry, seen with the ease that he hit the higher note in “Into You,” the reputation was well warranted. From the opening chords of “Rise Again,” Seunghyub’s voice hits the heart only to be fed by the rhythm and melody that Hweseung would build. The music was head bopping and the ease and clarity of live vocals, especially when Hweseung belted out “Rise Again,” had the floor completely engrossed. Hun and Dongsung moved upstage while the room filled with “yayaya,” waved their arms in a huge arch encouraging everyone to do the same.

Seunghyub was particularly hilarious in the next ment stating, “up until now you have been following along well, and even if you don’t know the lyrics, just mmm…mmm… and follow along as well.” After cheers he continued, “we have to show our hotter side as well,” stripping off his red leather jacket baring his defined arms in a black tank top, it definitely did feel hotter. Hweseung followed by stating, “all we need is confidence.”  Everyone was pretty confident that the temperature levels were about to rise. The sexy vibe was on for a group known more for their wholesome, sometimes off-beat style, starting this set with “Sunset.” The vocal duo killed “Run Like This” getting everyone to sing acapella, “Run like this, run like this, everybody come and go” multiple times at the end. Seunghyub's “confidence” during the second round almost broke the chain with laughter, and his “love you” had us sighing with whatever breath was left. Highlighting “Blue Moon,” after the set, our leader stated, “it’s something that’s been hard to see in my life, but like that moment that you get a glimpse of the blue moon, I’d like to stop this beautiful moment with you for a very, very long time.” As beautiful as his words were the vocal lines of the song with Hweseung’s high bolts shattering the air. We witnessed Seunghyub's mastery of jumping non-stop while singing in key again and the “Da-la-la-la-la, da-la-da-da (oh, my blue moon)” vibe was infectious. Though impossible to match the energizer bunny, we all tried to follow, and hop, along.

Grounding things a bit to catch our breaths, “Firefly” was next. Explaining in the ment following, he explained that the song was about who you meet during the hot short period of adolescence, but actually for his dog that passed away. Urging everyone to live passionately, the longing melody of the song was sung beautifully. Hweseung’s "Dangerously" was one of my favorite discoveries of the show. Though he can effortlessly sing the big notes, his ability to play with a more jazzy vocal flavor was honey to the ears. Seunghyub, wearing his J.DON hat, pulled the rap verses effortlessly. 

Giving the other members a chance to speak, it was great to hear Jaehyun speak with his energetic voice. He noted that he had already broken 2 sticks due to the energy. He noted that he had brought a lot of sticks to New York and that he’ll see how many will be broken that night. Seunghyub mentioned that they were concerned about their energy level due to jetlag, but seeing everyone’s faces energized them. Going into food talk, he was excited to share that they had eaten steak with the members. Telling his story, he never realized that some steakhouses have dress codes, they had to remove their caps and ate with hat hair to the laughter of everyone. Frankly, it seemed like he would just be happy chatting with the crowd all night. Hun also took his time to share noting that the last tour was the first time they had come to the U.S. and that they had worried then if N.Fias would be there. They were so happy and moved to see so many fans and reflecting on the moments then, and combining them with the memories they’re creating now they’d go onto the next song, “Flashback.” A gorgeous song and Hwesung, who is usually without an instrument, looked natural playing the guitar here and singing. Though not an easy song to sing with difficult high notes, the vocal master Hweseung sang without issue. 

“Oh Really” is an older song on their roster, but one of the most fun songs to sing along too. Introducing the song, they explained the root of the term, “a soulless reaction,” asking the crowd to scream, “Yes,” and “Oh Really.” It wasn’t an issue with this energized crowd. Seunghyub ditched the jacket again, and hyped as much as physically possible, punching the air and encouraging arms to waive again across the room. Egging on a nonstop stream of cheers after the song, it was surprising how much of a voice people still had in the room.

With huge smiles, it was clear their energy and excitement was generally on an insane level. The jumping was back with “Anyway.” It was certain that everyone met their step quota at this point if they were tracking. The guys made a point of moving back and forth across the stage to make sure that they could connect with as many old, new, and just established N.Fias in the room. Hun moved over to Dongsung’s side to share the light of his presence to the other side of the room. Dongsung would do the same across that other side. The next song “4242” had the same nonstop energy. The lines in English in the chorus, “Not good, lover, you're not good, lover” were sung over the roar leading into “Say Goodbye.” 

The transitions between songs were so smooth as the final beats here shifted slowly into one of their early classics, “The Real.” The song itself is solid and so much fun to listen to, but hearing it live, which could be said to many of the songs in this show, was just completely next level. Clearly more than a few knew this song by heart, regardless of it being almost completely in Korean, and he proved it as well as the crowd yelled out the catch phrase in perfect Korean.

Speaking again before the last couple songs of the night, it was Hun that touched the hearts with his words. Referring to the D.W.U.W. tour, he noted that he just felt “full.” Sharing that the vibe and energy were amazing, and commenting on the beautiful eyes he saw in the crowd, his words touched the hearts in the room. Seunghyub explained the complex concept of “Moebius,” noting that we all have days that we feel like we are moving around in circles, and noting that they had taken those feelings and put them into the song. Giving thanks to all for coming, it was time for “Moebius.” The song demanded participation from its first “Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh” to “hey hey hey” had, and demanded, everything was a wild ride that you didn’t want to get off. “Everlasting” was the final formal song of the night. The title track from their latest album started with an impressive guitar solo before moving into Hweseung’s vocals. With the steady beats, the song opened into a moving ballad well fitted for a concert’s end. 

The encore started with one of their most popular songs, “Rooftop.” A song that became popular much later after its debut, it still encompasses all which a good song should have. The actual final ending used one of their current songs. “Songbird” started with Hwesung the call and answer of “Whoa oh a oh” and the show finished as strong as it had begun. With their final ment, the guys noted that they won’t forget tonight, and asked for everyone to pinky promise to return. Each member shared their love and emotions with a neverending show of appreciation. Asking everyone to share in their last call and answer of the night, the band yelled out,”We are N.Flying, Thank you!” answered by the words, “We are N.Fia, Love you!”

Thank you to FNC and N.Flying for giving us the opportunity to cover this show.

*Quotes in Korean have been translated to English and edited for clarity.