The co-ed four-piece touched down in sunny England for a Camden concert to remember.

You’d be hard pressed to find a K-pop fan that doesn’t know of KARD, the pop/RnB/tropical house/dancehall/hip-hop blending foursome from South Korea.

Having performed in South and North America for their Playground tour, BM, J,Seph, Somin, and Jiwoo headed to Europe for five shows, including London as the penultimate one on 6th September. With temperatures in the city hitting over 30°C, things were set to be scorching onstage.

Piping hot performances

Toeing the line between idol and artist, KARD are in the unique position of having established a hefty global fanbase whilst struggling to find as much commercial success in their home country. Luckily for their international fans (Hidden KARDs), this has meant that the group are shifting the idol paradigm, allowing themselves and their music to be progressively bold, colourful, and — dare we say — sexy!

This was certainly the case on the night of the show, with the group passionately covering everything from their pre-debut tracks like “Oh NaNa” and “RUMOR” to more recent releases like “ICKY” and “Ring The Alarm”. The Electric Ballroom club venue was perfectly suited to the group’s party anthems, with fans dancing, cheering, and sweating the night away.

Each member appeared to be having the time of their lives, grinning from ear to ear and playing games with the audience in between tracks. There was a certain level of effortlessness to the event, reminiscent of a night spent with a large group of friends thanks to KARD’s distinctive party style and their constant antics!

When the members weren’t disintegrating typical images of K-pop idols by catching bras thrown onstage, having sultry dance off competitions, or quizzing the audience about their age range, the group were providing vocal skills galore, intense dance routines, and gritty rap verses that kept fans enthralled throughout the night.

KARD LONDON 2023 SETLIST:

• “ICKY”

• “Without You”

• “Ring The Alarm”

• “Hola Hola”

• “Oh NaNa”

• “Fxxk you” (Somin and Jiwoo)

• “LIE” / “Broken Me” (BM solo)”

• “Been That Boy” (BM and J.seph duet)

• “RUMOR”

• “Don't Recall”

• “Break Down”

• “Bomb Bomb”

• “CAKE”

• “Dumb Litty”

• “Ride on the Wind”

• “RED MOON”

• “ICKY”

Despite the show being two hours long, fans would have revelled in having a handful more songs, but KARD’s Playground performances were pulsating with energy nonetheless. Fans were left thoroughly worn out, particularly after the charisma and vibrancy of tracks like “Dumb Litty” and “RED MOON”.

With promises to return soon, and a comeback on its way, KARD are looking to be unstoppable as they change up what it means to be a K-pop idol in the traditional sense. The members’ joie de vivre in their sizzling London show was replicated in Paris for their final world tour concert, leaving fans clamouring for more. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s next on the cards.

Edited by Chelsea Cheetham.