2PM Make Fans 'Go Crazy' On First U.S. Tour Stop In New Jersey [Concert Review]

2PM kicked off their U.S. tour at Newark's Prudential Center on November 14. After a six year career in K-Pop, their “Go Crazy” tour marks the first time the group would make their way through the United States, with scheduled stops in New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles. The group previously performed in New Jersey in October 2011 for the New York Korea Festival which was held in Overpeck Park. While they shared the spotlight for the NY Korea Festival, 2PM were the center of attention for their “Go Crazy!” concert.

Like most recent K-Pop concerts, fans began to lineup for hours prior to the show. For many concertgoers, it would be their first time returning to the Prudential Center since Big Bang performed as part of their “Alive” tour in 2012. The fans patiently waited to enter the venue, while fondly exchanging stories about their favorite members of 2PM.

2PM delivered an energetic and highly engaging concert which consisted of twenty-three songs including two encores and one medley. The concert promptly kicked off at 8PM, with a video montage that included a mix of 2PM hits including “Go Crazy!” and “Hands Up.” The first song that was performed by the group was “Heartbeat,” with Wooyoung and Jun.K taking the stage, followed by Nichkhun, Taecyeon, and Junho. While the audience for all of the members, there were resounding cheers throughout the stadium when Nichkun began to perform during “Heartbeat.”

2PM are one of the strongest groups on JYP Entertainment, with well-developed harmonization and intricately executed choreography. They kicked off the concert with synchronized dance moves which were delivered with precision. 2PM topped off the choreography of “Heartbeat” by forming a human pyramid, a move which would be replicated on other occasions during their concert.

The group segued from “Heartbeat” into “Without U,” a signature J.Y. Park (Park Jin Young) track from their 2011 studio album “Hands Up.” Taecyeon led the vocals on “Without U,” before being joined by the rest of the group. Chansung playfully brought the members of 2PM from the main stage to the extended stage. The extended stage allowed the group to interact with audience members who were standing in the VIP or General Admission section of the concert. Fans who were seated in the front rows of the areas closest to VIP were also able to make eye contact with the group. 2PM demonstrated their capability as veteran performers by actively engaging all members of the audience, including those who were seated in the highest seating levels.

2PM transitioned from “Without U” to “Hot.” “Hot” was another fan favorite from their album “Hands Up” which benefits from composition and production by 2PM member Jun.K. Jun.K is a consummate vocalist whose voice along with Wooyoung, stands out during live performances. The stage for “Hot” was topped off by an acrobatic leap over Jun.K, which was performed by Junho. Taecyeon then asked if everyone in the audience was ready to “Go Crazy!”

The members of 2PM were playful and reflected a youthful spirit during “Go Crazy!” They enthusiastically performed the choreography, with the entire group engaging with one another. Jun.k jumped on Chansung's back which added to the whimsical nature of the stage.

The members of 2PM were playful and reflected a youthful spirit during “Go Crazy!” They enthusiastically performed the choreography, with the entire group engaging with one another. Jun.k jumped on Chansung's back which added to the whimsical nature of the stage. In breakdown of the song, the dancers were explosively charged. The differentiating component of a JYP Entertainment show is the use of the stage with a significantly large crew of supporting dancers.

They then performed “10 out of 10.” The hip thrusting choreography combined with the vocal acrobatics delivered by Wooyoung and Jun.K made this song even more entertaining. Chansung and Taecyeon then performed “Saying I Love You.” The start of the song was a little pitchy, which was most likely attributed to the audio difficulties which were revealed later on in the show. The treatment of the stage was celestial, providing the sense of being in a starry sky. The duet of Taecyeon and Chansung provided an interesting contrast to the stage set by the group as a whole. “Saying I Love You” was the first sub-unit song of the night.

The sub-unit stage between Chansung and Taecyeon continued with “Please Come Back.” “Please Come Back” would eventually lead to the Taecyeon and Chansung removing their shirts, along with their backup dancers. As they shed their sparkly silver jackets, the resounding sentiment of audience members was that they would make great members of the Chippendales, if 2PM hadn’t been so successful. “Saying I Love You” was a ballad stage while “Please Come Back” highlighted the dance-pop talents of the duo.

The group then transitioned to the soulful song “It's Raining” from “Go Crazy!” “It's Raining” was a solid ballad which off-set the sexiness of “Please Come Back.” 2PM then performed “I'm Sorry” which highlighted Taecyeon's rap skills. They followed “I'm Sorry” with their first talking session of the night. Nichkhun enthusiastically addressed the crowd with, “Hi! New Jersey!”

Chansung said, “Hi, nice to meet you” in English while Junho and Wooyoung introduced themselves in Korean. Taecyeon, who spent most of his adolescence in Massachusetts began to chant “East Coast.”

Glen Choi, who was one of the co-writers of "Go Crazy!," was present in the audience. Taecyeon noted that he was the man with the light-up sneakers but graciously thanked him for his contribution to the album. After speaking about Glen Choi, Taecyeon turned the mic over to Junho. Junho introduced himself while saying "English was hard" but he had been practicing. 2PM followed their introductions with the R&B hit "Come Back When You Hear This Song" from their 2013 album "Grown."

The group then performed "A Night Like Tonight" from "Go Crazy!" before singing one of their biggest stages of the night "Hands Up." The audience, from the VIP section to the highest parts of the rafters, could be heard singing along with "Hands Up." As the title track of their second studio album, "Hands Up" serves as one of the 2PM's classic songs. Throughout the chorus, the entire stadium could be seen jumping in their seats while literally putting their hands up. The stage was completed with silver streamers which featured the signatures of the group.

2PM then performed Wooyoung's solo release “Sexy Lady” as a group stage. There was an interruption in the show prior to “Sexy Lady” due to technical difficulties which caused an electrical problem. During this point, the audience had an opportunity to watch a video interlude of “Go Crazy!” The group recovered from the electrical glitch, which was apparently attributed to a power outage, with a solid stage of “I'm Your Man.” “I'm Your Man” is a classic 2PM song like “Hands Up” and the audience went crazy, as they sang along with the track.

The group followed “I'm Your Man” with “A.D.T.O.Y” (All Day I Think of You) from “Grown.” Each member incorporated the chairs on stage into the choreography, in a manner similar to what is performed in the music video for the song. “A.D.T.O.Y” is a song which brilliantly encompasses the vocals of the entire group and the live performance of the track did not fail to deliver the brilliance which can be heard on the recording.

Junho and Nichkhun then performed their unit stage of “Love Is True.” As Nichkhun later noted, “Love Is True” provides a sweeter contrast to the shirts-off, in your face nature of other 2PM songs. The duet was followed by the second talking session of the night. During this time, Junho and Nichkhun discussed “Love Is True with Nichkhun stating that he wanted to “do something sweeter” after everyone else was ripping off their shirts. Taecyeon pointed out that the group normally would sing a song that represented they were performing in. He led the group into rounds of the children's song “Twinkle Twinkle.”

2PM then performed another fan favorite, “Again and Again.” They followed “Again and Again” with a medley of three songs, “I Hate You,” “Tired of Waiting,” and “Maja.” Following their medley, the members of 2PM engaged the audience in brief conversation with Nichkhun reciting part of the chorus from Nicki Minaj's hit song “Anaconda” which Taecyeon declined to sing earlier in the night. The group then launched into “I'll Be Back” from their 2011 release “Still 2:00pm.”

The night began to come to a close with “Don't Stop Can't Stop” which segued into the militaristic, video game-themed stage “Game Over.” The group then performed “Farewell Journey” prior to their final address of the audience. Taecyeon expressed his surprise at the turn out for the show, since it was their first tour in the U.S. Fans who were in the VIP section were treated to all out fan service from the group, which included Chansung shedding his shirt and Taecyeon posing for photos with lucky fans.

2PM concluded their concert with encore performances of “Hands Up” and “Go Crazy!” By the time they reached “Go Crazy!” the members were cheerfully jumping on the stage and posing with as many fans as they possibly could. Their concert was a total success, with satisfied fans departing from the venue, hopeful that 2PM would be returning to the United States. This may have been their first tour in America, but 2PM has established themselves as one of the most pivotal K-Pop groups for international fans.

Kpopstarz sincerely thanks 2PM for their shout out. Thank you also to JYP Entertainment and Powerhouse Live for the opportunity to cover the concert.

Tags
2PM
JYP Entertainment
Go Crazy! U.S. Tour
Taecyeon
Nichkhun
Wooyoung
Chansung
Junho
Jun.K
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