IU electrified the crowd recently in Washington D.C. on the third stop of the US portion of her HEREH World Tour. The show was completely sold out, filling up the 20,000 seat Capital One Arena. Hours before the show even started, fans were already lined up for merch and eagerly awaiting the chance to get inside and get to their seats with anticipation and excitement.
As fans bustled into the venue, people started getting situated, finding their seats. At every seat was a gift for attendees, an unexpected but thoughtful gift that IU later let the crowd know was from her mom. As the lights dimmed and the stage lit up, the live band could be heard well and clear. Starting the show off with “Holssi,” the crowd was screaming so loud it felt like the floor was shaking.
The production value of the show was insane, from the insane amount of confetti used to the spectacular light show that was put on on stage. One highlight of this was during the show where IU held up one of her lightsticks and all the lasers in the venue converged on it, giving a breathtaking visual. In addition, those from seats on the floor and lower bowl may not have been able to notice without looking at the screens but during every song there were even graphics and lights projected down on the floor around IU, giving a complete immersive experience. This is not even mentioning the great performances by IU’s band as well as the backup dancers. Most notably was the performance of the little girl who acted as a younger IU leading into “Celebrity”. These shows were like nothing else in terms of the effects and work that must have gone into them, providing all fans in attendance with an unforgettable night.
Photo Cr. Edam Entertainment Besides performing hit after hit, IU made sure to make plenty of time to chat with the crowd and let them know how she was feeling. Showing huge improvements since her early days, she barely needed a translator at all except for moments when she got a bit flustered. Early in the show, she let us know that her flight into DC was canceled the night prior, and that she and her crew made a 10 hour drive just to make it to the show. Although she was worried she wouldn’t make it initially, she still managed to put on a great show for us. In another moment, after she finished "Blueming" and was looking for someone to give her flowers to, she spotted a little girl with her dad in the crowd. She took a second to talk to the little girl and asked “How do you know me? Do you even know me?” playfully as the girl laughed and IU’s staff rushed down to hand her the flowers.
Photo Cr. Edam Entertainment Musically, IU blew the entire venue away. You could feel the power behind her singing clearly. The setlist was well curated, combining some of her more popular songs to get the crowd going with some slower songs to change up the mood a bit going through the 5 parts of the show. The only sad part of the setlist was that DC did not get Lilac during the encore. We did, however, get “Windflower,” “Hold My Hand,” “Autumn Morning,” “Knees,” and closed the show with “Palette” (as she always does). The entire show felt like a singalong, with the entire venue screaming out the lyrics along with her on stage. For those that didn’t know the lyrics, the production crew had the foresight to have lyrics up on the screens. The feeling of hearing an entire arena of people singing along with the artist on stage is unforgettable.
Photo Cr. Edam Entertainment From start to finish, IU’s show was perfect. From the live band to the backup dancers to IU herself, everyone on stage could be seen performing their heart out and leaving nothing behind for fans. The amount of work the production crew must have put in designing such a unique stage with a unique light show and stage effects for every single song must have been mind-blowing (but worth it seeing the final result). You could really feel the love IU felt for Uaena during her speeches and performances, and the crowd did as much as it could to convey that love back to her.