Seotaiji celebrates 25th anniversary at star-studded concert
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Seotaiji performs during a concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of his debut at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, Saturday. / Courtesy of Seotaiji Company
By Kim Jae-heun
The legendary singer Seotaiji held a solo concert “Lotte Card Moov: Sound Track vol. 2”, Saturday, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his debut with over 35,000 fans at Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, Seoul.
It has been two years since the veteran held the nationwide tour concert “Quiet Night” in 2015.
Seotaiji invited guest bands Urban Zakapa and Guckkasten to open his concert.
Gukkasten performed their hit-songs, including “Transform,” “Pulse” and “Thief” and Urban Zakapa sang “Thursday Night,” “Just” and “I Don’t Love you.”
After an hour of the rock band and R&B group’s performances, the legendary rocker appeared onstage, greeting his fans.
“It has been 25 years since I first met you,” Seotaiji said to the fans. “I still remember that I was shaking then. I dedicate this stage to each of my fans who’ve made the number 25 meaningful and breathe life into all my songs.
“As you have made the name ‘Seotaiji’ a hero 25 years ago, I want to go back in time and make your names a hero,” he said.
During the two-and-an-half-hour show, the singer performed 24 songs from nine albums. The singer kicked off the show with “My Everything” and “Juliet.” The highlight was the collaborative performance with popular K-pop band Bangtan Boys (BTS). They performed eight songs together, showing off the chemistry between the legend and the reigning K-pop kings.
Both Seotaiji and BTS are loved by their fans for singing songs that criticize an unfair society.
Fans particularly loved Seotaiji’s performance with the boy band, as he has not shown his dancing skills for many years. The singer became a rock star with his guitar after the group “Seotaiji and Boys” disbanded in 1996.
The stadium was filled with loudest cheers when Seotaiji and BTS sang the veteran singer’s most popular song “Come Back Home” and “Hayeoga.”
Seotaiji mentioned the rumor regarding his song “Pilseung.”
“I heard the rumor that my song Pilseung is too high for me and that I can’t sing it. It is included in my fourth album and it was a time when I was most active as a singer,” said Seotaiji.
He proved the rumor wrong by performing the powerful rock song for his fans. He continued with another rock song “Good Bye,” which was included in the Seotaiji and Boys’ last album.
“I had no way to express my sadness except to write this song. Now, I can sing this song for you. Just thinking about then makes me struggle to sing this song,” said Seotaiji.
The rock star also expressed his frustration that he wanted to see every one of his fans while performing on a truck in the stadium, which he was not able to do for lack of technology.
After his collaboration with BTS, the singer performed some of his solo songs such as “Take One,” “Take Two” “Robot” and “Zero.”
The tracks showcased Seotaiji’s musical identity as a rock soloist.
“It is amazing that I am here with you guys and it is also amazing that we are able to travel time with music. My songs take us to times of our childhood,” said Seotaiji as he began to perform “To You.”
Seotaiji ended the concert with the message, “To my friends,” on the big screen.
“There are difficult times when I wanted to give up everything and collapse. But the times we spent together are very precious and I did not want to give that up. We kept our promise to meet again 25 years ago and that is why we are here again in 2017. I love you,” wrote Seotaiji.
Debuting in 1992 as a member of the legendary band Seotaiji and Boys, the singer released nine albums in the last 25 years. Seotaiji has not only influenced the music industry but also the overall cultural scene.