K-pop girl group XG will be on the road all year long in 2024, kicking off their first world tour, The First Howl, in Osaka, Japan, in May. They then played a series of sold-out shows in Asia in October, culminating with a show at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena on October 21st.
Along the way, group member MAYA narrated advertising billboard They were happy to see their super fan ALPHAZ showing up in large numbers. “We had a lot of fun [and] We met a lot of American Arafazis and they were all wearing amazing cool outfits and they were singing from top to bottom… They were full of energy,” she said in the full video of what they felt from their American supporters love.
After completing their Asian tour, Xavi added that the seven-man group harnessed good energy to fuel their performance and said it was a good “give and take” for them at the upcoming European leg. I was so excited about the outing before. JURIN said it was also nice to add new songs and choreography along the way. With a slew of new songs released this year, they have plenty of fresh tracks to fill out their setlist, including Valuation The video game soundtrack hit “Undefeated” in April and “Woke Up” in May, followed by “Something Ain’t Right” in July and “IYKYK” in October. They also released their second EP, aweLast month, it featured the latter three tracks as well as “Howling,” the first single from the eight-track mini-album.
“We want every performance to be fresh and exciting,” JURIN says of adding “IYKYK” and “Something Ain’t Right” to the live mix. “Whether they’re long-time ALPHAZ or they’re seeing us for the first time.” Unsurprisingly, she noted that although the songs were brand new to North American swing, ALPHAZ already knew the choreography and lyrics.
The women also discussed the concepts behind Asia ExpoJURIN explained that the EP, which mixes R&B with upbeat dance music and the signature hip-hop/pop style they are known for, was inspired by “the sense of curiosity and shock that people experience when encountering new things. We hope that through our album you will feel a sense of awe and experience many surprises and exciting moments.
Elsewhere, the group (member Cocona was not present for the interview) talked about the outer space theme of the “IYKYK” video, and how their own style is sometimes inspired by the outfits viewers see on ALPHAZ. Watch the full interview above.
