K-Pop sensation Enhypen returned to Long Island’s UBS Arena for two nights amid their milestone WALK THE LINE world tour on August 6 and 7.
Debuting in 2020, Enhypen’s story thus far is one of sharp success. With five albums placing in the Billboard 200 Top Ten in just five years, landmark performances across stadium tours and festival stages including the likes of Coachella, and a litany of awards under their belts, Enhypen is a force to be reckoned with domestically and globally.
Returning to the United States once more and embarking upon their first ever tour across Europe, Enhypen’s WALK THE LINE tour hosts an impressive lineup of dates globally. Beginning in October of 2024 with a series of dates across Asia, Enhypen began WALK THE LINE’s United States leg within the walls of Long Island’s own UBS Arena on August 6 and 7.
For those who are less familiar with the genre’s going-ons, the best indication of a K-Pop concert occurring in your area is the sudden presence of absolutely stunning outfits on public transportation. Smatterings of red, black, and white moved about crosswalks and train stations throughout the afternoon and evening – and all it took was one cursory look from one to the other for the unspoken bond of fandom connection to click into place.
Engenes (the official name of Enhypen’s fanbase) made quick use of their routes to the arena, simultaneously strutting their stuff on their makeshift runways, be it a subway platform or sidewalk, and exchanging fervent compliments and general excitement for the evening ahead.
I myself experienced this magic with two incredibly sweet Engenes who were waiting for the same train as me- within mere minutes and a few quick compliments we had gone from complete strangers to friends, exchanging our biases, personal anecdotes, and hopes for the evening, eventually making the remainder of the voyage together.
This unspoken yet unwavering sense of unity was undeniably present within the walls of UBS Arena as well. As the pre-show excitement built, Engenes sang along to music videos word for word… only to utterly explode into cheers and screams once the lights dimmed and the cursory VCR began to play.
Introduced by the enrapturing visuals of a moon surrounded by shimmering stars that suddenly began to burn a deep blood red, Enhypen arrived on stage with the stunningly suave and brightly blazing “Brought The Heat Back.” Very quickly the group made it clear that they were to take full advantage of the venue’s offerings as it pertained to the night’s production, red and green lasers shimmering over the audience as deeply saturated fireworks shot upwards for the track’s killing points.
A shower of confetti marked the end of the track, but Engenes had approximately half a moment to catch their breaths before the song and its visuals effortlessly bled into the entrancingly smooth “Fever.” Within a mere two tracks Enhypen had already set a stunning standard of production quality for themselves- one that would carry admirably throughout the evening.
After establishing the tone and allowing the audience to cool from the sudden realization that Enhypen was, in fact, breathing the same air as them… they amped up the energy. Revealed from behind a shower of sparks with “ParadoXXX Invasion,” the track’s heavy-hitting beat and memorable lyrics were used to get people not just on their feet but jumping, dancing, and waving their lightsticks with renewed vigor.
The screen immediately behind the members raised as “ParadoXXX” came to an end only to reveal the first of many awe-inspiring set pieces to come. A spotlight surprised a delighted gasp out of me as Jungwon appeared, stood before a podium made of dilapidated speakers and surrounded by seemingly post-apocalyptic fragments of buildings upon the stage.
Delivering a mere six lines of “Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)” before briefly handing it off to Engene (who continued the verse with a sharp intensity), the performance of this song was a show of faith, a dialogue– it was reliant upon the assumption that the audience would return Enhypen’s fervor… and they certainly delivered. Pyrotechnics blazed and the remixed bass thrummed at double time,bringing the first set to a close, Enhypen made it clear that their return to UBS Arena would burn brightly.
Separated by a VCR that featured the members taking mugshots for unidentifiable crimes before burning the files on them and looking good while doing so, the second set and first costume change of the night came in the form of “Given-Taken.” The seamlessness felt in the show’s production extended into the group’s performance and choreography as they danced- it’s no secret that idols will practice day in and day out to ensure coordination between members, but Enhypen was another level of connection. It seemed less of a practice and more an engrained instinct as they danced, communicating without needing communication.
Kicking off the unit stages was Jay, Sunghoon, and Jake’s “Lucifer,” which took a well-deserved pause from constant movement to instead highlight their jaw-dropping vocals while leaned up against or perched atop a sharp-cut crystalline structure. While Enhypen is certainly no stranger to maintaining even breath support given the extensiveness of movement in their choreography, their ability to pose pensively while seated upon the stairs and float falsettos like there’s no tomorrow is impressive nonetheless.
“Teeth” brought Sunoo, Heesung, Jungwon, and Ni-ki on to the stage for a performance that was half-country, half-phonk, and all party. As a personal favorite from both the setlist and their discography at large, the live performance certainly did not disappoint; its energetic choreography and accompanying neon lasers took the pre-established energy in the air and elevated it into something purely electric.
Capitalizing on the momentum, Enhypen carried directly into an utterly astounding back-to-back run of “Blessed-Cursed,” “Fatal Trouble,” and “Bite Me,” all of which contained crowd-captivating vocals and even more entrancing choreography. The group’s consistency and skill as dancers both individually and as a unit shone through once more during “Fatal Trouble” which featured visuals that mimicked the effect of a large hall of mirrors. If not for the clear difference in hair colors on the screen, one could very easily assume they had genuinely managed to mirror the performance occurring onstage.
Checking off another cornerstone concept was the next VCR, which featured honey-toned home-camera style clips of Enhypen laughing and playing games with one another in various parts of an unidentifiable school building interspersed with the members posing against a patchy blue background with an array of sports equipment and general high school paraphernalia… the sort of vague youth concept that makes you nostalgic for that period of your life in lieu of remembering exam season or braces… but most importantly, a bright tone that contrasts the previous set and perfectly sets the vibe for the next!
Arguably my favorite part of the night came in the shape of “Your Eyes Only” and “Loose,” the former’s performance washing the arena in bubblegum pink as the members offered Engenes silly poses and waves while excitedly controlling swaths of lightsticks with a sway of their arms and the latter a track that made it simply impossible to fight the grin on my face with its suave summer vibrancy that said “We’re talented, we know it, and we’re going to have fun.”… the act of performing the two back to back was a bottling of utter sunshine.
Following the reflexive tonal ebb and flow of their performance, Enhypen took position behind a set of mic stands for “Scream,” which had the entire venue clapping with just a few gestures– a track perfectly tailored for amping a crowd up, given Engene’s energy for “Tamed-Dashed.”
Not a single person was still, at minimum bouncing on their heels if not outright dancing like no one was watching, during “Tamed-Dashed”… at least, given they weren’t being mesmerized by Ni-ki’s improvised falsettos over the repetitive “na na na”s of the pre-chorus. Having been my introduction to the group (I’m unashamed to admit the amount of times I’ve watched clips of the chorus’s choreography with its impressive small shifts in weight and momentum) it was utter magic to see it happen in real time.
Keeping the party going, the deceptively vampiric-sounding “Sweet Venom” descended UBS Arena into a world of neon signs and lasers galore. It’s at this point where an admittedly somewhat shrieked gasp was startled out of me by the intro to “Go Big or Go Home…” with a discography so jam-packed with energetic hits, a setlist this impressive frankly should have been expected from the beginning! The song’s lime green visuals and irresistible club energy had the venue jumping with a fervor not seen until that point.
Lights dimmed as the next VCR separated the evening’s final set, a video-within-a-video that featured an enchanting animation of a silhouette waltzing with iridescent butterflies among the stars. The awe-inspiring clip turned out to be tucked within the imagination of one of the members who were posed and stood among rooftops, all pensively staring up into the sky… perfectly cooling the air and setting the precedent for a performance of “Moonstruck.”
Clad in absolutely stunning, almost crystalline vests, “Moonstruck” was large gestures and elongated, complicated structure. The song, both in its sonic and performance qualities, was clearly a labor of immense love. Utilizing the visual capabilities of a unit when choreographing to the fullest extent, Enhypen embodied the unplaceable and perhaps untouchable emotion planted by its preceding animation… something ethereal and beyond worthy description.
Meeting the audience’s applause and cheers for their final moment of the evening, Enhypen bid New York City farewell (for now, as was emphasized by multiple members who insisted they’d return “As soon as possible!”) with statements that glowed with love for the craft, the city they were visiting once more, and the Engenes who had shared the past two evenings alongside them.
Hearts full and sentimentality at its peak, the final set for the evening was revealed for an introductory piano rendition of “XO (Only If You Say Yes).” By far the most stunning stage of the evening, Enhypen’s creative team clearly had held nothing back for their final project of the production. Blooming with flowers that felt as though they would spill into the crowd was a series of seats that framed a stunning white piano whose top board was painted to resemble a butterfly’s wings.
The members descended to the front of the stage to perform the choreography as heart-shaped confetti showered around them, the audience taking over for the final verse. It was a moment that so perfectly captured WALK THE LINE’s energy as a tour production in its entirety- each aspect of the show interweaved with the rest to create a beautifully holistic atmosphere.
There was no chance to pause for Enhypen, however, who danced and sang seamlessly into “No Doubt” and “Bad Desire (With or Without You).” Leaving Engenes in utter awe at their seemingly endless amount of skill and stage presence, Enhypen descended beneath the stage, the walls and floor of UBS Arena bathed in a honey hue.
Audience members gave it a solid twenty seconds of pretending they weren’t at least expectant of if not intensely anticipating an encore, cheers and waves of sound bouncing from one side to the other. The camera crew took a moment to highlight some audience contributions to the evening in the form of signs, banners, and flags, which among many things featured sentences like “ENHYPEN is the FUTURE of K-POP!” and “With ENHYPEN everything will be alright!”
Before long, the screen faded from the orange-toned smoky visuals of the title screen into a vibrant blue… and Enhypen bound down the stage from behind the screens to deliver an exhilarating rendition of “Helium.” Clad in tour merchandise and reinvigorated for their “final” song, the group had seemingly left it all out on the stage. So when the lights coated the arena in a slightly more visible blue after the group had bowed out for the second time, some Engenes began to tentatively trickle towards their respective exits… only to be called out by Enhypen themselves who drew them right back to the stage by asking where they thought they were going!
Returning once more for their final, final, final performance of the evening with “Paranormal,” Enhypen had truly left it all out on the stage in their triumphant return to UBS Arena: a performance never to forget, a production that never ceased to astound, and hours of memories for Engenes to treasure for a lifetime.
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