Singer IU. /News1
Singer IU said, “I am the happiest person in the world today.” The performance started with her saying, “My name is IU, nice to meet you Washington,” followed by her hit songs like ‘Holy,’ which she wrote the lyrics for, ‘Celebrity,’ ‘Eight,’ ‘Letter to Myself,’ and ‘You & I.’ Particularly, the audience singing along to ‘You & I’ at the end of the performance was amazing. The duet song that IU sings with Kim Chang-wan, who is 40 years older than her, is still well-loved since its release in 2014.
This concert marks IU’s first U.S. tour after debuting at the age of 15 in 2008, making it her first performance in the United States in her 16-year singing career. Having mainly worked in Korea as a singer-songwriter, actress, and movie star, IU’s performance in the U.S. serves as a test bed to see if she can succeed as a ‘Global Artist’ on the American stage. Singing a total of 25 songs over 3 hours, IU herself seemed deeply moved by the experience. Her family, including her parents and niece, were also present at the venue. After performing the song ‘Schiaparelli’, IU modestly said, “Honestly, I didn’t expect this level of response,” and described it as one of her best performances ever.
Although the concert has ended, American netizens are praising IU on X (former Twitter) for driving 10 hours to get to the venue. Comments like “It must have been torture driving from Atlanta to DC,” “Her kind heart is so touching,” “She was a princess that night,” and “It was a beautiful night” were pouring in. The ticket prices for IU’s U.S. tour ranged from around $300 (approximately 410,000 won) for the cheapest seats to nearly $2000-$3000 (approximately 270-415 million won) for the ‘Royal Seats.’ IU will continue her U.S. tour in Rosemont, Illinois (July 25) and Oakland (July 30) and Los Angeles (August 2), performing at arena venues larger than Olympic gymnastics stadiums.
Poster promoting IU’s North American tour in Washington DC. /Capital One Arena website