Words and Photos by Alicia Cypress
Rising South Korean boy band 8TURN burst into the K-Pop scene with debut track “TIC TAC” on January 30, 2023. They are the first boy group of music label MNH Entertainment and consist of Myungho, Jaeyun, Minho, Yoonsung, Haemin, Kyungmin, Yungyu, and Seungheon. 8TURN embarked on their first world tour in the beginning of April, with the third stop being the beautiful city of Orlando, Florida at The Plaza Live on April 14th.
8TURN kicked off their set with “WORLD”, “RU-PUM PUM,” and “WALK IT OUT,” all of which were fast paced and energetic performances. After the members gave their introductions with a cute Elsa bit from Haemin, they proceeded to perform tracks from the album UNCHARTED DRIFT, “EXCEL” and “SKETCH.” During the first subunit, Jaeyun, Minho, and Yoonsung surprised their fandom TURNING with a cover of “SUGARCOAT,” a solo song by NATTY from the girl group KISS OF LIFE.
During the set, 8TURN discussed what choreo was most difficult, and both “Love Dive” and “Future Perfect” by IVE and Enhypen were brought up. Another question asked was which artists gave them inspiration, and Jaeyun mentioned Lady Gaga and Enhypen.
8TURN proceeded to slow down the show with “I Want You Now,” and the crowd swayed their arms back and forth. A single from their 2023 debut EP and tour namesake 8TURNRISE, “Say My Name,” hyped TURNING a little bit before the maknaes Yungyu and Seungheon surprised fans with their own rendition of the hit song “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar.
Afterwards, 8TURN talked about their participation in the competition survival show Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace, which was met with screams and applause. Jaeyun stated that the impact from that show garnered international love and support for 8TURN. Donning their leather biker jackets from the show, they performed a dance medley of “WE + THE GAME” followed by “Love Dive” and “Future Perfect.”
Another fun segment was the 4 vs 4 group dance battle. 8TURN jokingly bet on who should get extra time to sleep in on their next tour stop. TURNING, of course, voted for the group who did the ATEEZ’s bouncy dance challenge. During the last unit, Myungho, Haemin, and Kyungmin were barefoot, dressed in all black, and covered “Black Swan” by BTS. As fans of the BTS and the song, the tall members wanted to take on that concept and give it their own spin.
While the tall members went to get dressed backstage, the rest talked to TURNING about the activities they’ve done while in Orlando. Everyone except Minho bought something when they went shopping. Disney World was one thing the group wished they had time for. Jaeyun joked that if they had too much fun, they wouldn’t have been able to give their best performance that night. A couple of members had surreal moments while standing in front of their fans and thinking about their debut onstage.
The end of the show was near when fans heard songs “WE” and “TIC TAC” from the group’s debut album. Before the final song of the set, 8TURN taught a little bit of choreography to TURNING. The performance of “LEGGO” excited everyone, which was demonstrated with their collective dancing along. After this concluded, the fans were not ready to leave just yet and chanted for an encore.
The boys came back onstage wearing their tour merchandise to sing “Like A Friend.” For the next song “ING,” they walked the aisles while handing out lollipops. Lastly, 8TURN gave their ending speeches one by one, thanking everyone for all the love and promising to come back with more music soon. After taking a photo with TURNING, the boy band closed out the encore with the final song “You Are the Reason,” giving TURNING a night they will never forget.
Loudspeaker Collective 