South Korea’s top tier acoustic-folk singer 10CM returned to Singapore to perform TWO sold out shows after 5 years. 10CM, who fans regularly call by his real name Kwon Jeong Yeol, saw an upgrade in the capacity of the performance venue which doubled from his previous show back in 2019, proving a surge in his popularity in Singapore.
Unlike the name of this tour “10CM Closer to You”, though the 41-year-old singer might have been closer to the audience musically since he has been constantly releasing new music over the past 5 years, he was literally more than 10CM further away from his audience that evening. Jokes aside, we’re glad that he chose to kick off his 2024 tour with Singapore’s two sold-out shows where the South Korean singer could enjoy the popularity he deserves overseas.
Here are some factors that contributed to the completion of two successful shows.
Curation of Setlist
10CM knew what was popular with the overseas crowd.
The setlist for both performances were planned around drama soundtracks from very popular Korean dramas including Start Up, Crash Landing On You, Hotel De Luna, Our Beloved Summer, My Demon and Lovely Runner. While introducing the drama soundtracks that he would be singing, he received a huge response from the audience including loud cheers, proving the popularity of the songs among the audience that evening.
10CM most likely also took into consideration that there would be members of the audience who would prefer to watch him perform his more popular songs. That is why the curation of Day 2’s setlist was more well-balanced than Day 1’s since 10CM had complete performances of his popular songs on Day 2 in comparison to performing short snippets of his songs in Day 1.
Live Band & Lighting
10CM could have easily done a one-man show while performing with an instrumental music backtrack. However, in order for him to maintain the quality of his performances for his audience, the musical accompaniment performed by his trusty live band members elevated the whole musical experience for the fans who attended his shows. The live music complemented his unique vocals which was a treat for the ears!
The sensible and smart use of lights for the show and the smooth transitions made watching his performances all the more enjoyable. The lighting director chose colours that went well with the atmosphere and songs. For example, the song Gradation was intended to suit summer and spread positivity, so the use of multiple “summer colours” palette was used to give off a cheerful fun vibe. As for the drama soundtracks, songs that had a slow pace and were usually used during sad scenes had lighting that made the stage look like a starry night sky.
10CM’s efforts
The well-known extreme introvert’s efforts to communicate with the audience didn’t go unnoticed. 10CM’s choice to speak in English during the different talk segments came as a surprise as he could have enrolled a stage interpreter for him to share what he had to say. The fans cheered for him and responded to his questions or adhere to his requests whenever he needed help. This was indeed an example of a powerful successful communication.
The action of speaking in English helped increase his appeal to a mostly female audience and was well-received by everyone. 10CM seemed to be comfortable enough to joke about how the audience were able to respond to him in simple Korean terms. Every action of his was a form of entertainment to others and made him more appealing and charming.
Not to forget, 10CM’s encore segment was another avenue where he was able to show off his musical skills and talents by playing song requests on his acoustic guitar on his own. Him finding his persona as a performer boosted his confidence in trying out old songs and collaboration songs. He definitely deserves special mention for putting in all his effort.
It was a pity though that audience members were not as familiar with his own songs from his albums (not just his drama OSTs) because it would have been so beautiful to listen to the audience sing along loudly with him during those songs too.
We hope more fans will attend his future concerts in Singapore as it is an experience one shouldn’t miss! For the next show, it would be a dream if 10CM could be literally 10CM away from the audience (hi-bye session, anyone?). Maybe he’ll also have a longer setlist then, with an even bigger audience.
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Text by: Wan Ling | Images by: Mode Entertainment
A special thanks to Mode Entertainment for the media invite!
