South Korean soloist Eric Nam opened the Singapore stop of his “Before We Begin” World Tour with something offbeat.
Using a pre-recorded video footage then appearing on stage with the aid of a rising platform is pretty much customary for concerts.
But Nam decided he would start the intimate 90-minute set with a rib-tickling hook yesterday (11 Jan) at The Pavillion.
“Welcome to my TED talk (session),” he paused for comedic effect. “Oh, I mean, concert.”
If you’re thinking why he likens the show to a TED talk session, I had that question in my mind too.
But Nam subsequently offered a mathematical explanation, “my concert is 30 per cent music, and 70 per cent will be me blabbering away”.
Though an overstatement, there were indeed numerous chitter-chatters.
Since Nam is Korean-American, he’s at ease speaking to fans in English. Or perhaps it’s his stint as a podcaster for his show “K-pop Daebak” which shaped him to become an eloquent speaker.
Of course, he did prepare a fair bit of tracks too. Such were earworms like “This Is Not A Love Song” (2018), “Miss You” (2018), “Runaway” (2019) and more.
At one juncture, Nam was open to song requests.
He sang a snippet of his debut track “Heaven’s Door” (2013) acapella and he did an impromptu rendition for “You’re Sexy I’m Sexy” (2019), a fan-favourite in his latest album. Coupled with body waves.
Speaking of his latest album, fans became Nam’s aunt agony. Nam knows his fans are looking forward to his works. But “I have people asking for the next when I just released my album,” he joked.
Jokes aside, he went all out to serve up personal numbers like “Love Die Young” (2019). Later he explained that these love songs he penned veils deeper meanings.
Attempting to break stereotypes, he says that love songs don’t have to be confined to relationships. Nam says “it can be your family, work, pets and many more.”
So is Eric Nam’s show in Singapore a TED Talk, or a concert? You’ll decide.
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