As part of his continuous effort as a solo artist, CNBLUE member Jung Yong Hwa held his first solo concert in Singapore to a nearly sold out crowd at the Star Performing Arts Theatre on May 30, 2015.

The 14th concert on his One Fine Day tour, Jung appeared adept at what he does best - live performance to an appreciative crowd. Even without his CNBLUE band members, the leader still had the fans eating out of the palm of his hand.

Jung had previously mentioned that while it gets lonely preparing and promoting his first solo album and tour, it does give him more flexibility on the type of songs and performances that he wants to present to his audience. This is apparent in the wide range of songs that the musician is able to handle.

The concert started with slow-tempo songs, capturing the fans with his husky yet melodious voice. It was unfortunate that local singer JJ Lin was not in town to sing "Checkmate," a song in which he collaborated with Jung. However, Lin is expected to be the special guest for Jung's Taiwan concert on June 20, which will be held two days before Jung's 27th birthday.

Similar to his ONE FINE DAY encore concert in Budokan (Tokyo) in early May, Jung sang 2 English covers songs - "Pay Phone" (Maroon 5) and "Treasure" (Bruno Mars). This round, Jung showed tremendous improvement in his grasp of the English language, which he proudly claimed "I can speak English very well" during the 2-hour concert, while injecting local flavours "Thank you lah" to the enthusiastic crowd.

The energetic performer who prances around the stage is just as captivating when he sits composed at the piano, hitting the black and white keys to produce the emotional music accompaniment. It should be noted that although Jung's supporting band has been following him on the solo concerts, the chemistry for certain songs somehow still paled in comparison to CNBLUE's repertoire. This is especially evident in "Like A Child," where the drummer plays a key role in setting a vastly different ending mood for the song.

Jung, visibly in high spirits, gave a top-notch performance; he even danced to a verse of "Uptown Funk" that was added to the newly arranged "Feeling." Without the safety net of a guitar that he usually lugs around at a CNBLUE concert, Jung appeared confident using his body movements and actions to woo the crowd. Despite his weak foundation, the viewers responded warmly to his dancing, further pushing his unfounded conviction to the next level.

Well loved by his fans for being a chameleon - Jung, a talented musician acknowledged by peers, a strict leader respected by band mates, and a young man living within his own strict rules, had no qualms showing his childish side mimicking Japanese cartoons. The star later turned up the heat when he opened the top few shirt buttons, unveiling a toned chest before launching into "I'm Sorry."

Ever the gracious entertainer, Jung took pride in introducing the members of his band, who have been with him throughout the solo concert series. He interacted with each member, always starting with "I'm very happy, are you happy?"

It is always a pleasure watching the CNBLUE leader enthusiastically performing his self-proclaimed greatest hit, "You've Fallen For Me," be it with CNBLUE or during his own solo concerts. His high energy level evidently spread to the audience, who in turn, responded wildly to the fast-paced song. All too soon, the concert ended on a sweet note, with a lively performance of "Goodnight Lover."

Kudos to the Singapore fans who executed the impressive fan projects during the encore segment. For the first song, "27 Years," fans who were seated on the ground floor raised their Red LED finger lights to form the letters JYH.  This was quickly followed by the yellow reflectors, swaying to the rhythm of "Star, You," creating a beautiful sea of stars.

Being both the songwriter and performer allows the charismatic artist more flexibility in varying the arrangement of his songs, as seen with "Love Light," a light-hearted song that was turned into a fun show-piece featuring a reggae music style and Jung's cabaret dance, much to the amusement of the audience. His various experimentations on the song's arrangement created a sense of disassociation from the original version, yet the core melody remained intact - such is the skill of Jung Yong Hwa! 

Overall, the ONE FINE DAY concert definitely offered a very different experience for fans who have seen CNBLUE in concert. While the latter tends to focus on the chemistry within the group, producing top-notch band sounds, Jung's solo concert centered on his ability to try various genres, together with an impressive stage backdrop generating stunning visual projections. Ending the concert with an astounding performance of "One Fine Day" left the audience overwhelmed, longing for more from the brilliant all-rounder. We will just have to wait, until another fine day surfaces.

Setlist

1. Without You

2. Cruel Memories

3. One Time 

4. Checkmate

5. Payphone [Maroon 5 Cover]

6. Treasure [Bruno Mars Cover]

7. Mileage feat YDG

8. Last Leaf

9.   Like A Child

10. Feeling

11. Energy

12. Can't Stop

13.   I'm Sorry

14.   Lady

15.   Man In Front of the Mirror

16.   You've Fallen For Me

17.   Goodnight Lover

Encore:

18.   27 years

19.   Star, you

20.   Love Light

21.   One Fine Day

Get to experience the action with this recap reel of the event:

Special thanks to DATZENTERTAINMENT for inviting KpopStarz.com to cover 2015 Jung Yong Hwa Live [One Fine Day] In Singapore.

Writer: Wang | Photo Credits: DATZENTERTAINMENT and Ong Melin | Video Credits: Ong Melin