[K-Exclusive]: ARTMS Send OURII to the Moon and Back
After ODD EYE CIRCLE’s Volume Up tour, fans, known as OURII and Orbits, heavily anticipated Moonshot, ARTMS’s first world tour. Former LOONA members Choerry, Heejin, Haseul, Jinsoul, and Kim Lip excitedly prepared for the day they’d come back together again to perform in Los Angeles. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait long, as they came prepared to send OURII into orbit with an unforgettable show at the Orpheum Theatre.
Starting off with “Birth,” the pre-release single from their debut album Dall, the quintet stood in formation in front of a ticking clock backdrop. The alt-pop track slowly builds anticipation for the return of the reformation of the members after their tumultuous time in 2023. A sense of haziness sets in, metaphorically, as the passage of time between last year and this year remains a fleeting memory. Of course, the members couldn’t let the energy drop. The Modhaus team made sure fans were on their toes as streamers shot out during the upbeat song, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” The dreamy synths of the track’s melody are reminiscent of LOONA’s “Butterfly” as both songs are composed by G-high. Checking in on the crowd, ARTMS made sure OURII weren’t too shocked by the popping confetti. “Please take them as a memory!”
After a brief introduction, the five members expressed how excited they were to come back. “It feels like we came back to our hometown. It’s ODD EYE CIRCLE’s second time being here. But unlike then, we have another floor of people screaming. Did you miss us?” As a surprise, they revealed that their LA performance is special because they were filming behind the scenes footage. Transitioning to the next set of songs, the quintet balanced a heavier bass dance track with two slower rhythmic songs to highlight their vocals: “Distress,” “Flower Rhythm,” and “Butterfly Effect.” They took their first break as the screens projected a VCR of their photoshoot.
Moving on to the solo stages, Haseul showed off her vocal range with her song, “Plastic Candy.” Among the many attendees in the audience, Haseul revealed her family from Colorado were also there to support her as well. “I was really nervous because my family is here!” She added variety to her solo performances by taking audience requests. “There’s a bit of an event I started while on tour, and it’s singing a verse from a song you want to hear,” said Haseul. As shouts for Go Won’s “One&Only” reached a fever pitch, the singer happily sang the chorus line from the song. The audience’s second request was for another LOONA song, “HULA HOOP,” which was from their Japanese debut single. “You guys are giving me songs I never expected!” To close the loop on her time in LOONA, she ended her set with her debut solo “Let Me In.”
Pumping up the volume to pop punk, Heejin showed off her guitar skills to Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend.” Her confidence was on full display as she flipped her hair after the song and told the crowd she was “very demure and very mindful.” Before moving onto a rock cover of her solo song, “Algorithm,” the singer gave insight into what she’s been doing while in LA. “I really love the vibes. As soon as I got here, I started listening to a lot of songs by California artists like Snoop Dogg and Tupac.” She sang a line from Snoop Dog and Wiz Khalifa’s “Young, Wild, and Free” but cautioned the crowd to not actually get drunk. In the spirit of being in California, Heejin showed off her temporary tattoos, and sang a line from her song, “ViViD.” A bold fan in the crowd yelled that they would “break up with their fiancé for her,” but she told them not to fight.
Moving onto the next subunit, ODD EYE CIRCLE walked onstage to a deafening wave of screams for “Je Ne Sais Quoi.” During their talk section, the three members shared how grateful they were to be back again. As a part of their task to sing a line from a requested song, the performers got in formation for the fan favorite, “Girl Front.” Although OURII were sad that the full song wasn’t part of the setlist, the trio slyly teased the audience. “For those who didn’t come to our tour last time, I’m sure you’re regretting it now. However, there will be more chances in the future.” The crowd had yelled for the next song to be “LOONATIC,” but the ODD EYE CIRCLE girls hinted that the next song would be much easier to sing. Jumping into position for “Air Force One,” Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry sprung into action with power in every kick and every move.
Joining the trio onstage, Heejin and Haseul came back together for a cover of Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer.” The free-flowing and relaxing stage gave all five members a break before turning the heat back up for their “LOONA time” section. “Stylish” remained a stand-in-place cover, but the quintet went all out for their version of “Satellite.” As if no time had passed between their time in LOONA and in ARTMS, the rearranged twelve-person to five-person choreography made sure that every member was given plenty of spotlight. The song highlighted how much all five members have grown since they first performed the song as LOONA four years ago.
For their final costume change, the members changed into cute pastel pink dresses for the last portion of their concert. Because this section focused on the remaining songs from their debut album, the stage projects and lighting focused on light, dreamy imagery. Throwing in a bit of fun ad-lib, the members encouraged Haseul to close out “Unf/Air” with an improvised dance. “I was so embarrassed because my family is watching,” she said. “We didn’t tell you to do a sexy dance! We gave you a special Haseul time because your family is here, but I guess you wanted to be sexy,” joked the other members. Haseul shared that she hasn’t seen her Denver family for ten years, so she wanted to make sure they were having an extra special time.
Closing out their concert with their title track, “Virtual Angel,” the quintet gave it their all for the synth-pop song. Well-rehearsed from their music show performances of this Eurodance hymn, the performance was a storybook conclusion to their orbital adventure with OURII. Though, the concert wouldn’t truly be over without the crowd pleasing “Hi High” as the encore. Although the twelve members of LOONA are now in different companies and have re-debuted into separate units, Orbits and OURII can enjoy both the familiar, yet new, sides to ARTMS.
Special thank you to the Modhaus team for allowing Officially Kmusic to attend the show! Be sure to check out all photos from the show from our Facebook page now.
Written By Kalai Chik (Guest Writer)
Edited By Ephney Tsai
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