ONEW Charms his Way Into Hearts in Brooklyn

All Photos: Jean Libert

SHINee is an institution in K-Pop. A second generation group that debuted in 2008, their music has been at the forefront of the genre both as a group and as individual soloists. Though they’ve been around almost two decades, in the last couple years they’ve made strides touring as soloists. ONEW himself performed for the first time in New York last April as a soloist, KEY performed just last month at the same venue, and TAEMIN hit the stage on the same day as this show in Vegas. Friday, January 16 would be the second time member and vocalist ONEW held a solo stage in New York, this time at the King’s Theater in Brooklyn. On the second to last stop of his ONEW THE LIVE: PERCENT (%) world tour, the seasoned artist came on stage and effortlessly charmed everyone in the house. With his steady vocals, heartfelt words and unintended double entendres, the venue, though quite a large theater, felt more like an intimate space as his voice warmed up bodies and hearts on a cold winter night.

As the smoke drifted around the stage, spotlights lit up defining a solitary silhouette and mic stand. Elegantly attired in a suit and tie, ONEW was very much the gentleman ready to croon his audience. As the cheers from SHAWOLs and JJINGGUs (SHINee and ONEW fans) filled the air, his voice began singing the opening notes of “PERCENT (%),” a song from his second album by the same name, released last year. With his smooth voice playing along the mellow R&B flow of a song rife with insecurities, one thing would become clear as the night went on: contrary to the lyrics here, he would definitely be “enough” for everyone present that night. With a setlist that echoed his other stops, including London which our team also covered, the next song would be “Parachute.” The soulful timbre of his voice started the song before the rhythm picked up. Moving across the stage, he was in full command of his audience. As the notes to “Yeowoobi” began, screams filled the air, going louder as he said “make some noise.” 

The song had the turquoise lights of SHINee lightsticks swaying across the floor as the lyrics, “Your love takes me higher than I've ever been,” were felt as much as heard in the theater. The last song of this set was “Far Away.”

Taking time to greet everyone, ONEW’s “Welcome to my show” was met with deafening cheers. Asking everyone if they’ve been well, he noted how close everyone was. Those fortunate to have the front seats at this theater were definitely below his nose when he was at the edge of the stage. “I’m so happy to perform here in the U.S., the last country of my world tour,” he stated in Korean, using a mix of mostly Korean and some English throughout the night. The ments would be a highlight of the show overall. Talking about the name of the tour, ONEW noted, “I titled it this way because I wanted to show you live stages and show off my various charms live…and I’ll try my best tonight, for you and I, so our happiness goes over 100%.” Reminding everyone that it wasn’t that long since his concert last April in New York, he was happy to see everyone happy and healthy. Asking the room if there was anyone who wanted to share good news, he pointed to one fan waiving furiously, who stated it was her birthday that night. Gifting her a short “Happy Birthday” acapella, he went ahead to ask if there were any more birthdays, humorously dismissing those who stated it was next month. “I’m curious to know what kind of happy moments we’ll make tonight. One by one let's build up our happiness percentage and to do that we’ll need a bit of conversation.”

That was the segway into “Conversation.” Picking up the pace for this set, the beat of the song had bodies moving.  Moving onto smooth beats of “All Day,” the beats held steady moving smoothly into one of the highlights of the night. Showing off a few moves, the drama really turned on with “MAESTRO.” Single-handedly holding the mic stand in the air, ONEW brought the drama with flourish and its performance quickly got the crowd energized at a level not yet seen that night.

Moving onto his next ment, ONEW asked, “What song that I’ve performed so far have you liked the most?” Screams of “MAESTRO,” “all of them,” and more could be heard. Switching to asking about faves in his entire discography, the house lights were turned on so he could see the crowd.. One fan answered, “Always.” ONEW noted, “One of the reasons I like this part of this show the most is I love being able to sing live for you.” Starting to sing "Always” acapella with his lovely voice, he then paused and stopped, noting that he had forgotten the lyrics. Asking his team to look it up, he first whistled a cute toon, before asking if he could borrow a fan's phone to sing the full song acapella. After, Onew noted, “the reason I wanted to sing the song well, it’s a song that no matter what happens, night will fall and relax you and it was a song that I wrote to comfort you guys…The next song is one that I wanted to sing the last time we were all together. It’s a Korean song, it’s one about you guys being the main character. If you know it, please sing along.”

With that the opening notes to“밤과 별의 노래 (Starry Night)” began. With its sweet melody directed at fans, the song set a mellow warm tone for the songs that would follow. Seated with warm lights behind him, “Winner” was next on the setlist. One of the best ballads of 2025, the song highlighted his vocal tone, range and ability to emote. A beautiful song and a definite highlight of the night before the equally emotional "Epilogue” rounded off the ballad set.

Joking that he thought that he was finally getting over the jetlag, ONEW noted that he felt a bit of pressure knowing everyone’s ears were so focused on him. “So I think my happiness has surpassed 100%...What do I do? I feel so good tonight.” Speaking about his Percent album, ONEW shared his thought process: 

“Thinking of percentages, I thought, at what percent is my happiness at, when is that percentage high and when is it low. Even though we live across the globe and different time zones, your love for me and my ability to receive that love is very meaningful. Those many moments and experiences make up who we are. The reason I want to sing well is that I want to make someone happy with my songs. I think there have been many moments where I've listened to songs along and been comforted by them.”

Trying to transition into the next song “Silky” in a meaningful way didn’t quite happen the way ONEW intended as New Yorker’s minds are not PG. Stating, “The next song is about my second happiest time. It’s a song that’s nice for when you want your own time lying in your own bed.” As giggling ensued, a light went on in ONEW’s head, “Why are you laughing? Don’t be…no…that’s no. No. Like when you’re comfortable (more laughing). This became weird…uh…I wanted to express when we’re comfortable, I was hoping you can listen with that feeling in mind.”

“If you want, let’s dance,” ONEW stated before the beats of “Beat Drum” started. Dancing himself, everyone was moving to the beat of the song, as well as screaming out the call and answer part of the song.

Though any K-Pop concert goer knows that there is an encore, nobody has spelled it out clearer than ONEW. “I do have to say this is the last part as this is my last ment section of the main show. You know if you’ve been to my shows, you don’t have to worry too much... I'm just saying we’re done. Do you not understand? I’m just saying we’re done now, I’ll come back out afterwards. Let’s sing along until the end to fill your 100%.”

The next song ONEW stated was probably the easiest to sing along to: “MAD.” The uptempo continued with “Caffeine.” Singing into the mic with the stand on the other hand, he wielded it like a baton rather than an actual mic stand. The formal concert section closed with arms pumping to the air with “Animals.” As ONEW noted, he would come back, and he did with a comfy outfit change for the encore.

Ready to gift more than just his voice, ONEW had signed plushes and balls ready to go. The distance thrown was impressive. Finishing on a sweet note, the first encore song was “Oreo Cake.” Not ready to go yet, with “Yay” he took the time to do a circle of the floor to get even closer to SHAWOLs and JJINGGUs.

Before the actual final song of the night, ONEW shared his gratitude: “Thank you so much for loving Korean culture and loving me and my team. I'll work really hard to show you new better music and a newer better me. There’s one thing I want to check one more time. Where is your happiness percentage at?” With everyone cheering it was clear that the objective had been met. He ended by saying, “I hope you guys can wait until we can meet again. Isn’t it great that when I say I’ll see you again soon, it doesn't mean years.”

Noting that the last song of the night was one that also spreads happiness, the night ended with sweetness and love. ONEW’s ”Happy Birthday” filled the theater and per ONEW, “If you listen to this song on your birthday, it’s like I”m wishing you a happy birthday. Happy Birthday to the fan who’s birthday is today, and who’s birthday is next week and next month. Once again thank you, thank you very much.”

ONEW showed a sincerity and charm that melted hearts that night. Though sometimes a bit awkward with English, only really apparent as his Korean is so eloquent, the awkwardness was also disarmingly charming. Always with a hand mic, there was never a concern that what we were hearing was anything but his true voice. The unique tone of his voice and emotions behind his songs made each song a joy to hear. His presence brought warmth to a cold New York evening in more than one way and we can only hope that he returns again as fast as he did this time.

Thank you to Griffin Entertainment, Wonderwall, and of course, ONEW, for having us.

*Ments in Korean were translated and edited in English for clarity.