Concert review: Super Junior keep things fresh with intriguing alternate realities (2024)

2024 Super Junior Super Show Spin-off: Halftime In Singapore With Lotte Duty Free

Singapore Indoor Stadium
July 14

When a group have been around for 19 years and performed in Singapore so many times, how do they keep things fresh?

Second-generation K-pop boy band Super Junior pulled this off in their latest tour, deftly using a conceit from many a K-drama – alternate realities.

Eight out of the 10 members of the South Korean group were in town on July 14 as part oftheir Asia concert tour,which kicked off in Seoul in June and has stopped in Bangkok. After Singapore, it will travel to other cities such as Ho Chi Minh, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei.

They last performed here in 2022, also at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

This current tour is an extended chapter of Super Junior’s Super Show tours, which have been running since 2008. During this special project, members can showcase novel concepts and new sides of themselves. And that they did, grouping members and presenting songs in ways that surprised even their long-time fans.

Apart from familiar hits such as Sorry, Sorry (2009) and Devil (2015), here were three alternate realities presented during the 170-minute concert to a sold-out crowd of 7,000.

1. More new sub-groups?

Since their formation in 2005, Super Junior have spawned a number of sub-groups, such as Super Junior-K.R.Y., Super Junior-T and Super Junior-M. But audiences might not have expected the unlikely groupings which appeared on July 14.

For example, what if leader Leeteuk formed a sub-group with dancing machine Eunhyuk and the suave Donghae? You would get L.E.D., an acronym of their names. The trio performed the sartorial-themed number Suit Up (2024), appearing onstage like Ken dolls in toy boxes and jiving up a storm, all in the name of fashion.

And what if plus-sized Shindong teamed up with youngest member Kyuhyun and the sweet Yesung, who at times was teased by the other members? The result would be a sensitive threesome called S.K.Y., with enough heart to nail the tender ballad Let’s Not (2009) in their all-white outfits.

And in the event that the newly married Ryeowook and leading man Siwon agreed to collaborate, it would make for sizzling chemistry, as the two pulled off the electro house number Danger (2019). A fiery R&S duo? You can see it happening.

2. All K-pop groups are now called Super Junior?

Perhaps granting fans’ ultimate wish fulfilment, the show envisioned a parallel world where all idol groups are called Super Junior, thanks to a “gateway system” where new members continually enrol and graduate through the group.

What might these versions of Super Junior look like? Fans got a peek, thanks to the guys’ dance cover of fifth-generation boy band Riize’s Get A Guitar (2023).

Except it was not “Riize” but “Super Junior 23”, with Donghae, 37, Yesung, 39, and Leeteuk, 41, playing their younger K-pop counterparts, currently aged 20 to 23. Donning school blazers, ties and white sneakers, the three did not exactly give off Gen Z vibes, but proved they are young at heart.

There was also a dance cover of Hype Boy (2022), a big hit by the girl group NewJeans. In this alternate reality, the group was “Super Junior 22” – essentially Donghae in a cat-eared headband, Eunhyuk in a bunny-eared cap and Kyuhyun, Shindong and Ryeowook sashaying in their cutesy best. The three-minute farce – peppered with hip swings, shoulder shimmies and much arm waving – was comedy gold.

3. All solo releases are now subsumed into the group?

In another reality, a “banning solo promotion agreement” was in effect, where all releases by soloists now became part of the group’s repertoire.

This allowed for solo works such as Yesung’s emotional ballad It Has To Be You (2010) to be performed by all eight members. Ditto for At Gwanghwamun (2014), one of Kyuhyun’s most popular tracks, which was soulfully crooned by the octet.

The collective rendition of Ryeowook’s The Little Prince (2016) was particularly effective. The love song’s original version was a solitary reflection about being apart from a loved one, but having everyone sing it together imbued it with a sense of community, allowing the pain to feel less acute.

These intriguing, imaginative scenarios brought both laughs and heart from a supergroup which celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2025. If you could suspend disbelief, traversing these refreshing permutations made for a super fun time.