Playful is its middle name and cheeky is its forte; in its first performance at southern Seoul’s KSPO Dome, boy band BoyNextDoor didn’t just put on a concert — it filled the hot summer evening with three hours of a musical-themed performance, unveiling each song with an organic flow best utilizing the street-hip, flirtatious mood of the band’s music.

BoyNextDoor held the finale of its “Knock On Vol.1” Asia tour on Sunday at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul, closing the curtains to the band’s first solo concert series with 23 events across 13 cities around the world. The band performed for 33,000 audience members in three days from Friday to Sunday.


"We've prepared a lot for this performance, and we're finally here on this massive stage," Woonhak shouted to the crowd. "I've said before that you'll like what we've been planning. Well, what do you think? It'll only get better from here on out, so enjoy yourselves!"

“Knock On Vol.1” began last December with two concerts at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, followed by concerts in Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka, Miyagi, Fukuoka, Kanagawa, Singapore, Manila, Taipei, Hong Kong and Jakarta. Having finished the tour in April, BoyNextDoor added three more dates in Tokyo and three more in Seoul for the encore and finale performances after rave reviews from fans.

The final Seoul concerts boasted a new set list of songs revamped from the previous Incheon concerts.

In addition to the band’s biggest hits including “I Feel Good,” “123-78,” “If I Say, I Love You,” “Nice Guy” (2024), “Earth, Wind & Fire” (2023) and “Dangerous” (2024), BoyNextDoor divided itself into two units to perform famed Korean pop songs, such as rapper Primary’s “See Through” (2012) by members Sungho, Riwoo and Myung and rock band DAY6’s “Congratulations” (2015) by members Taesan, Leehan and Woonhak.

The concert was perfected not only by the members’ energetic choreography and vocals, but also by how the songs were presented. The opening performance of “Nice Guy” was Broadway-themed, decorated with red curtains and marquee letters. The show then moved on to flirtatious, jazzy pop songs “Serenade” (2023) and “123-78,” and continued with boyish love songs “But I Like You” (2023), “One and Only” (2023) and “If I Say, I Love You.”

The highlight was when BoyNextDoor bombarded the audience with its best hip-hop hits, “I Feel Good,” “Dangerous” and “But Sometimes” (2023), all reinterpreted in a heavy rock style, and then softened their music, crooning emotional pop songs like “Crying” (2023), “Dear. My Darling” (2024), “Gonna Be A Rock” (2024) and “Earth, Wind & Fire.”

"It really feels like we started the tour yesterday, but it's already the end," Myung said, tearing up as he looked around the packed venue, which was sparkling with the band's lightsticks that fans were waving in support.

"There were hardships during the tour, but I had my members, who thought of me more than I thought of myself," he continued. "But most of all, it's thanks to everyone here that the six of us can do what we do together. You are the reason that we are BoyNextDoor, and we hope you never forget that. We promise to spend every day of our lives making the best music, so that your love for us does not go to waste."

BoyNextDoor has been witnessing gradual success ever since its debut two years ago.

The six members, Sungho, Riwoo, Myung Jae-hyun, Taesan, Leehan and Woonhak, debuted in May 2023 with the single “WHO!” under KOZ Entertainment, a HYBE subsidiary founded by rapper Zico of Block B.

Due to the influence of producer and mentor Zico, BoyNextDoor’s music has always carried a heavy resemblance to Block B’s cheeky music style but with a young and trendy touch that has made BoyNextDoor stand out from the so-called fifth-generation K-pop groups that are dominating the Korean music scene.

The boy band sold 1.16 million copies of its latest album "No Genre" within a week of release in May, 1.5 times more than its previous album “19.99” (2024), which sold 759,156 copies in its debut week.

BoyNextDoor is now off to Lollapalooza Chicago on Aug. 2 and 3, marking its first appearance at one of the biggest music stages in the world.

"We'll always try to be artists deserving of your undying support," Taesan said. "We hope you look forward to 'Knock On Vol.2,' whenever that is, and the upcoming Lollapalooza, too. We love you so much. Thank you."

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]