KNK Light Up The Stage With Their Stellar Performance in London

K-Pop is the leading trend these days, there is no doubt about it; it does not only stand for a change of power on the charts, no: the door to South Korea’s cultural and commercial invasion of western markets has been blown wide open. It comes as no surprise that more K-talents have been set to visit London, and this growing list includes KNK.

After a series of successful shows in the USA, KNK came to Europe and performed in five big cities, including London. Received with a warm welcome by their UK fans, the young men gave their all on that stage.

Seoham, In-seong, Ji-hun, Hee-jun and Dong-won arrived to London’s O2 Islington Academy in the early afternoon, to greet their fans and to prepare for the show. The anticipation grew minute by minute and when the time came for the group to appear on the stage, the audience went wild. KNK kicked off their show with songs from their newest mini-album KNK S/S Collection: We Are The One and Sunset – a superb track with a 90’s disco vibe to it. With precision-engineered choreography from the get-go, the group set a high bar for themselves and the rest of the show.

Following We Are The One and Sunset, KNK addressed the fans and expressed their gratitude towards those who came to their concert as well as those who have been supporting the group since the beginning. After the introduction and with charming smiles on their faces, KNK members swiftly changed the pace of their performance and sang a slower song; the strong and faultless vocals from In-seon and Hee-jun brought silence into the venue for a few seconds, and little by little, the fans started to groove to the sound of their music. The rhythm of the next song, Lonely Night, urged the fans to an almost-dance and definitely brought a certain stamp to their feet.

KNK cleverly combined their set with slow and fast-paced songs, allowing the members to catch a breath in between their performances. After a couple of ballads, the boys sang I Remember, a song from their 2016’s first extended record Awake. While various K-Pop groups perform their individual moments on stage alone or in duos, KNK stayed together and each of them sang acapella, with the most memorable performances from In-seong, Ji-hoon – whose Glen Hansard’s Falling Slowly was positively breath-taking – and Hee-jun, whose brief performance of Coldplay’s Scientist really showed his striking vocal capacity.

The gig’s atmosphere was easily enjoyable as the South Korean quintet spread love, positive energy and happiness throughout their show. Dressed in matching black outfits and bathed in blue, pink and yellow shining lights, everything visual perfectly matched the mood of the performed songs. What is also worth praising is that almost every bit of KNK’s choreography (that people might have recognized from music videos) was nicely carried out during their 90-minute-ish concert. In addition to a few more ballads, with one dedicated to Tinkerbell (the official name of KNK’s fan base), the group also performed Back Again, Rain, and U.

Without any elaborate stage design, with no outfit change (KNK only changed before the encore) and no break, there was only one thought that came to mind: simplicity is, after all, the ultimate sophistication. With their stellar London show, the group showed that their future is as bright as the morning star.

Rating: 5 stars