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There are a few artists that you must see live and IU is one of them. After 8 tours, this #1 K-pop artist finally comes to the United States with her “H.E.R.E.H. World Tour.” The South Korean ‘Nation’s Sweetheart’ drove 10 hours from Atlanta to perform at The Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. after the tech outage disrupted airports around the States.

Loyal to her fans, or ‘Uaenas,’ she makes it just in time. With Northern Virginia having one of the largest Korean communities there’s no surprise the show was nearly sold out with 20,000 fans.

The two and a half hour performance was broken down into five parts. Part one’s Hypnotic opens up the stage rises revealing IU performing “Holssi.” Her slick black dress with gold accents is a classy yet alluring look, which sets the tone for her next few song performances with “Jam Jam” and “Ah Puh.” Backup dancers also captivate the audience with their white uniforms, which appear to be a modernized version of a traditional jeogori.

Part two’s Energetic opens with her outfit changing to a grunge streetwear look, with IU wearing a jersey and baggy ripped jeans, which gave a fun and loose rocker vibe. Even her dancers came out in similar streetwear. Her performance of “Celebrity” got the crowd cheering and chanting along with the song's lyrics on screen. The fans are also able to build up the energy of the show with their light sticks, which flash and sync to the stage lights.

Throughout the show, IU engages with her fans. She shares the slang words she’d learned along the tour. Words like ‘slay’ and ‘ate it,’ even though IU thought it meant what she ate for breakfast, the audience continued to cheer and laugh with her. No one was left unseen as she shared a bouquet of sunflowers to her 5-year-old fan and a gold coin to a dancing fan in the front row after performing her song “Coin.” But that doesn’t mean the rest of the people who attended the show left empty handed. In each seat contained a small gift box put together by her family.

Part three’s Romantic shifts to another wardrobe change. IU surprises the stage in a flowing white summer dress followed by her dancers in tropical style formal wear performing her song “Havana.”

This segment of the night is the softest set of the show with songs “Strawberry Moon” and “Through the Night” joined by an acoustic guitar. Slowing down the energy leaves everyone enchanted and hypnotized by her voice.

Part four’s Escentric leads with her biggest performance of the night, with her glowing on stage in an elegant red dress, performing “Shopper.” Lights, lasers, and a generous use of the confetti cannon left the arena feeling like a large party. IU herself said, “This was probably the best performance of ‘Shopper’ ever.” Of course, what better way to end the night with “Love Wins All.” The stage rises and IU disappears.

As the lights dim, the arena quiets down and the quick cut of the screen shows IU driving off into the sunset. We figured the show was over. Suddenly the lights flash red and the IU appears once again. Her encore Heroic begins. She continues to play three more songs, “Shhh…,” “Twenty-Two,” and ends with “Holssi (rock version).” IU rises once again only to disappear leaving the band playing her out.

The arena dims once again. Lyrics of her song “Meaning of You” appear on the screen but no music plays. All 20,000 Uaenas join together and begin to sing the lyrics playing on the screen. The voices of her fans filling the arena make the moment even more special. Halfway through the song IU walks out once more to the stage and sings along with her fans.

Before we knew it IU surprised us with an En-Encore. Instead of a rehearsed performance, she casually takes requests from the fans. She then ends the night with an iconic jazz rendition of “Palette.”

IU’s performance was so magical and left us with a final bow and a bittersweet smile. It’s surreal to believe this night even happened. Even a day later it all felt as if it was a dream I never wanted to end.

Setlist:

Part 1: Hypnotic

Holssi

Jam Jam

Ah puh

BBIBBI

Obliviate

Part 2: Energetic

Celebrity

Blueming

eight

Coin

I stan U

Part 3: Romantic

Havana

Meaning of You

strawberry moon (acoustic ver.)

Through the Night

Part 4: Ecstatic

Shopper

Above the Time

You&I

Love wins all

Encore: Heroic

Shh..

Twenty-three

Holssi (rock ver.)

En-encore

Windflower

Hold My Hand

Autumn Morning (shortened)

Knees

Palette