SEVENTEEN’s brilliant, multifaceted showcase in Singapore

Korean boy group SEVENTEEN’s Ideal Cut concert in Singapore last night was, as its name suggests, like an ideally cut diamond, dazzling CARATs (as their devotees are officially and affectionately termed) with multiple facets and sides, each shining just as brightly as the rest.

For instance, although the two-hour showcase started in an epic way with the dubstep track ‘Intro (New World)’, there was an immediate and sudden transition into a sultry and dreamlike version of ‘Highlight’, before going into the powerful and energetic ‘Thanks’. And that was just within the first 15 minutes or so of the gig.

Fans got their first taste of syrupy sweet shenanigans during the opening talk, when the boys introduced a new meaning to the ubiquitous finger heart. Speaking in Mandarin, Chinese member The8 explained that the index finger represents CARATs, and the thumb represents SEVENTEEN, so when you put them together - voila! Finger heart. Very smooth.

A wider variety of performances was brought in by the three subunits: the hip-hop team’s S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu and Vernon were all swag, badass charisma and impressive flow; the vocal team’s Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, DK and Seungkwan melted hearts with ballads ‘Habit’ and ‘Pinwheel’; while the performance team’s Hoshi, Jun, The8 and Dino lit up the stage with bright colours, adorable antics and smooth moves for ‘Swimming Fool’ and ‘Jam Jam’.

A silly side came courtesy of the video clip that played before ‘Thinkin’ About You’, which featured SEVENTEEN as tiny beings navigating a giant bedroom. The 13 members then emerged wearing the exact same outfits as seen in the video, complete with huge diamond-topped headbands and various props.

It was here that they decided to tease fans a bit by launching into the typical “let’s see which side of the arena can scream the loudest” competition. But instead of picking a victor (most celebs let the entire stadium win, from what we’ve seen), they feigned dissatisfaction and remarked, “Our members can do much better than that!” (After hearing CARATs’ cheers for ourselves, we are quite sure the boys were joking.)

The clowning around continued after their cool presentations of ‘Shining Diamond’, ‘Adore U’ and ‘Oh My!’, when several members were singled out to perform short solo dance routines for the audience. DK did some body waves to the Korean ‘Three Bears’ children’s song (the group was visibly shocked that the audience knew the jingle); Mingyu attempted to replicate BLACKPINK’s smooth moves from ‘Ddu-Du Ddu-Du’; Jeonghan did a fierce model-like strut down the stage extension (before quipping, “I have no clue why I’m doing this”) and Woozi, despite appearing quite reluctant and unamused, sportingly boogied to TWICE’s ‘Likey’.

As entertaining as all that was, perhaps the biggest highlight of the segment was when Seungkwan did all of the above: he attempted his best catwalk sashay, unleashed some sensual freestyle choreography, and ended it all off with a grin and peace sign. While all that was going on, his cheeky members decided to pretend to abandon him, but unfazed, he took the opportunity to declare that it was now his solo concert, titled The Ideal Boo (Boo is his surname).

​The show resumed on a more serious note with a fiery (literally - those pyrotechnics and that flame-filled backdrop were intense) performance of ‘Clap’, followed by a video interview of the members sharing their candid thoughts on being performers and producers, and of course, on their dear CARATs (awww).

SEVENTEEN then addressed concertgoers in person, with almost every one of them saying that they’d love to be back again very soon. “It’s been a year since we came and I’ve been waiting so much to come back and we did, and it’s all thanks to you guys,” said Vernon, as Mingyu added, “When we return, we hope to see even more CARATs.”

“To be here with you while it’s raining outside is actually quite romantic,” grinned The8. “I will miss you guys.”

And it seems the members themselves weren’t quite ready to say their final goodbyes for real, judging from the number of times they restarted the last song of the night ‘Very Nice’. But all good things must come to an end, and the group eventually retreated backstage. We don’t think CARATs need to worry though - we have a feeling they’ll be back again before we know it.