The K-pop mastermind made a stop in London for a jaw-dropping performance on his Ephemeral Gaze World Tour – here’s what went down on the stellar evening.
If there’s one word to sum up seeing TAEMIN perform live, it’s awe. In a time where terms like “iconic” and “legendary” are thrown around so loosely they’ve started to lose their punch, TAEMIN reclaims their true weight. The South Korean superstar, dubbed the “Idol’s Idol” for his overwhelming impact on K-pop, blurs the line between dancer, actor, and apparition on stage, moving with an almost supernatural precision for his first-ever solo world tour, Ephemeral Gaze. If London’s Troxy feels too small to contain him, that’s because it is.
Troxy has its charm, with its art deco swirls and impressive acoustics. But for an artist of TAEMIN’s calibre, it feels comically undersized; the addition of a later date at Manchester’s AO Arena, a venue almost seven times larger, only confirms this. The official reason for the intimate setting remains a mystery, but the result is a ticket so scarce it became one of the most coveted of the year. The air crackles with pre-show hysteria. Merch tables are mobbed. Light sticks flicker in neon waves, fans gripping them like talismans. This is TAEMIN’s kingdom – we’re all just lucky to be here.
The setlist unfolds like a Top Songs playlist; all the hits are here, alongside popular deep cuts. Even the transitions feel intentional, with TAEMIN using interludes and a cappella snippets to connect the dots between songs. It’s a setlist that tells the story of his career to date, and the tour’s title, Ephemeral Gaze, knowingly permeates everything – the fleeting brilliance of his footwork, the way he dances like a beast, all fire and intensity, yet sings like an angel, his voice soaring with ethereal beauty.
The show opens with a giant heart rate racing across an LED screen before TAEMIN emerges in dramatic fashion for “Deja Vu”. Slowly revealing his silhouette in figure-hugging all-black, he commands the stage with every step; hands immediately shoot up, phones raised in an unspoken agreement that this moment must be documented. The choreography is razor-sharp, each movement deliberate yet fluid, as if he’s cutting through air itself. Sonically mellow, “Deja Vu” is a delightful opener that eases us into TAEMIN’s style.
The momentum barrels forward with “Guilty”, TAEMIN’s 2023 megahit that still dominates thanks to its viral choreography. The signature move – a quick, deliberate crawl of his hand under his shirt, followed by a self-chokehold – triggers deafening roars, as expected. This moment is peak K-pop: a dance so iconic it etches itself into your memory as deeply as the melody itself. TAEMIN knows exactly what he’s doing by unleashing it so soon, instantly locking the audience into his orbit.
“Advice” follows, where he dances beneath projected puppet strings, the imagery biting and personal. As he moves in sync with the invisible strings, the performance of the scathing song becomes a thought-provoking exploration of the lyrical themes of control, freedom, and the price of stardom. After the chaos, TAEMIN pauses to remind us that London is familiar ground: SuperM in 2020, a visit to Abbey Road Studios in 2011. He speaks with unscripted confidence: “I think you were a baby when I last came here,” he jokes to the audience. He recounts it all, but this is the first time he stands here in all his soloist glory. “I want to show you guys my all,” he reveals to thunderous applause.
After the melancholic determination of “Goodbye” – where a soft cascade of confetti flutters from above against the sharp, cutting beams of laser lights – he ramps up the energy with the stormy “IDEA”. Its fan-favorite choreography, a swift hand slicing across his face, is executed to perfection and met with roaring approval.
“Heaven” – the undeniable highlight – is a theatrical production that leaves the audience breathless. As the opening church bells and choir chords begin to reverberate, the stage is engulfed in a thick, otherworldly smoke, transforming the space as if heaven itself has descended to Earth. The crowd, already spellbound, begins chanting the lyrics back to him. Their voices rise in unison. It feels spiritual. Sacred, even. TAEMIN, at the literal center of it all, embodies the role of a visual storyteller, his every movement amplifying the song’s emotional weight. As he sensually promises spiritual liberation, he stumbles back up the staircase, and then, a dramatic, staggering drop – one moment, he stands; the next, he’s freefalling into nothingness, swallowed by the blackness of the stage. The energy ignites like a spark on kerosene, racing and crackling with unstoppable force. The crowd’s screams are deafening, a full minute of raw, unbridled fervor as they process the sheer audacity of what they’ve just witnessed.
For all his celestial grandeur, TAEMIN’s true magic lies in his ability to strip it all back, no more apparent than when he reemerges in a single spotlight for “I’m Crying” – an armchair, and digital raindrops cascading across the screen to create the illusion of a private, melancholic space. His pitch-perfect vocals are delivered with a raw vulnerability that cuts through the silence and pierces straight to the heart, a reminder that even without the bells and whistles, TAEMIN’s artistry shines brightest.
The ballad-heavy section is stitched together with moments like “Not Over You” and “The Unknown Sea”, TAEMIN’s physicality mirroring the emotional struggle embedded in the lyrics. It’s a pause in the whirlwind that showcases the softer, more vulnerable side of his artistry, and the melancholia contrasts with the sultry aggression of the first segment – proving his power lies not just in spectacle (à la “Heaven”) but in his ability to connect on a deeply human level.
The show’s third and final act leans into TAEMIN’s versatility and from the moment he steps out in his Air Max SNDRs and streetwear cargos, he embodies London’s energy, exuding an effortless cool. He kicks off with the manifesto “G.O.A.T”, its chant of “O-M-G-R-E-A-T-N-E-S-S” reverberating through the venue. With a lesser artist, this bravado might feel aspirational, or even performative, but for TAEMIN, it’s an undeniable reality. He obliterates expectations, his confidence unshakable, his presence magnetic.
Standout tracks like “The Rizzness” and “Sexy in the Air” are delivered with ferocious energy, blending gritty drill and grime influences with his rockstar energy. “The Rizzness”, polarizing in its title, finds unanimous approval tonight, the crowd embracing it wholeheartedly and vibrantly singing the chorus at the top of their lungs. Chaotic lighting and glitching stage displays amplify the song’s frenetic energy, while the sound system delivers every beat with seismic force to enhance the full popstar fantasy on display here. The “sit down and listen up” hook, already infectious on record, takes on new life in this live setting, becoming an anthem of self-assurance and defiance. The lighting shifts to a dangerous, siren-like red for “Sexy In The Air”, casting the entire venue in a fierce, fiery glow that mirrors the song’s seductive intensity.
“London, are you guys having fun?” TAEMIN asks, his voice brimming with warmth. “You guys are elite,” he adds, earning cheers from the adoring crowd. He takes a moment to reflect on “The Rizzness”, describing its “hip-hop and rap sound” as part of his evolving artistry. “I’m not used to hip-hop yet,” he admits, “but I love this genre and I want to show more in this style.” Then with a teasing glint, he declares, “For this part, I’ve gathered my hit songs.” What follows is a mind-blowing run of boundary-breaking hits.
The holy trinity closes out, masterfully capped off with “Horizon” from his latest album. TAEMIN takes us back to 2017 with “MOVE”, its genderless choreography still as fresh and revolutionary as the day it sent shockwaves through the industry. The impact is magnified by his troupe of all-women dancers, their movements fluid and defiant, embodying the song’s ethos of freedom and expression. With just mere seconds for the audience to catch their breath, the warning-shot synths of “WANT” cut through the air, the smoky, seductive dance track pulsing through the speakers. The set crescendos with “Criminal”: TAEMIN literally shackles himself, writhing around smoothly underneath the lights, embodying the track’s dark allure and commentary on the complexities of pain and pleasure.
Then comes “Horizon”, an energetic synthwave track as neon-bright as the electric blue glow of his lightstick. It takes off like a spaceship, its lurching synths and sleek ‘80s rhythms propelling the energy to new heights, the crowd enthusiastically joining in with the anthemic ‘woah-ohs’ of the post-chorus. TAEMIN ascends the staircase where it all began, bathed in rays of light as the final note fades into the air, a moment so cinematic it feels like the climax of a blockbuster film – definitive, conclusive, it would seem.
TAEMIN isn’t done. Neither are the fans. The unmistakable opening of “Danger” rips through the venue, followed up by the big band funkiness of “Crush”. He’s back to dazzle once again. The encore vote – a cheer-off between his ballads “Hypnosis” and “Pansy” – lands decisively on “Pansy” and the song’s repeated refrain, “How lucky am I?” resonates like a mantra. At its core, “Pansy” is a celebration of gratitude, but tonight, its meaning transcends to a perfect encapsulation of the connection between artist and audience that makes live music so magical.
As he prepares to take a photo with the crowd, a fan video suddenly flickers to life with a patchwork of voices and dialects from across the UK and beyond. TAEMIN absorbs it all, his expression a kaleidoscope of awe and exhilaration. He bounces across the stage with unfiltered, childlike joy, his Kuromi hair clip adding to the charm. “This is the TAEMIN kingdom,” he proclaims, delivering the line with sincerity and a theatrical bow: half monarch, half mischief. He then launches into “Say Less”, a closing statement laced with newfound certainty. “I feel like I can do anything,” he repeats in the song, the phrase poignantly rippling outward like the perfect punctuation to a night of transformation.There’s a recurring image in Ephemeral Gaze; TAEMIN with his arms outstretched in a T-shape, alone beneath a single spotlight. It bookends the night – opening the show, reappearing for “IDEA”, and resurfacing once more in the final seconds of “Horizon”. There’s something almost Jacksonian in the composition, a deliberate stillness that commands attention. It’s in these moments, where the audience is left to simply witness him, which conjure the image that refuses to fade: TAEMIN, a solitary figure held aloft by sheer presence and artistry, doesn’t just define the boundaries of K-pop but reshapes the very essence of performance art itself.
Words – Hasan Beyaz
Photography – Ryan Coleman
