I.M of Monsta X Wows London with Solo Tour Debut

I.M of K-pop boy group Monsta X finally kicked off his Off The Beat tour with his first ever solo show outside of Korea in London at Shepherds Bush O2 Empire on the 26th of July! This main rapper has been releasing solo music since his early days in Monsta X, but between group activities and the pandemic he has only just had the opportunity to start his solo world tour. The world tour is named after his 3rd EP Album which follows his specific solo style of Trap, Deep soul and R&B with elements of jazz. I.M has been a K-pop idol for almost 10 years now whilst releasing a lot of solo music on the side, so the anticipation for his eventual solo tour has been very high.  

He kicked off his show with the song ‘Burn’, the screams from the crowd overwhelming as he made his way onto the stage while singing the first song very coolly. His experience shows as he easily interacts with the crowd while maintaining a very stable and strong performance.  

His solo style strays far from his normal K-pop idol image in Monsta X as he performs without dance routines, the energy being much more like a performance from a K-hip-hop or R&B artist. As he moves into his second and third songs ‘More’ and ‘nbdy’ he struts across the stage keeping the energy high, the audience singing along loudly whether the lyrics are English or Korean, showing a love that isn't defined by language.  

After these first few songs, the house lights came up and he greeted the audience as a whole. I.M (or Changkyun his real name, as many fans refer to him) spent years in America when he was young so interacting with the audience was very natural with no translations needed. During this short ment he made sure to let us as the audience know that he absolutely loves London. It's been 5 years since he was last in London with Monsta X and he said he wanted to make sure to come to London to see the fans over here.  

Then the lights turned red as ‘OVERDRIVE’ started playing. I.M looked shocked at the reception this got with it being the loudest the crowd had been yet. These particular shows are being performed with a live band formed of 4 members, Jongwoo on Bass, Yechan on Keys, Wonseok on Guitar and Seongyeon on the Drums. These live band versions completely alter the sound of his music, making the performances truly one of a kind. This was closely followed by the song ‘Bust it’ keeping the energy very high and again really suiting the live band sound.  

After these high energy songs Changkyun took to a stool at the back of the stage to sit for a few of his more chilled vocal songs. When with Monsta X his style is much more heavy rap so it was very refreshing to hear him sing these more vocal songs creating a very entrancing atmosphere with their slow R&B sound. He finished this slower section with his song ‘flower-ed’ - where the fans organised a blue light event where fans help up their phone flashlights covered by a blue sticker to create a “blue ocean” in the crowd which was very special to see, these surprises are organised by fans to show a collective love for the artist. 

The lights went dark and the band played a continuous instrumental before I.M came back onto the stage in a very dashing all black suit and tie. His groove on stage shone as he performed songs like ‘LURE’, ‘Not Sorry’ and ‘Habit’, his performance following the sexy vibe that Monsta X have always been said to be kings of in the K-pop industry.  

The next songs he introduced as “quite old” and stressed that if fans don't know the words it's okay to just dance along, this was then followed by the loudest singing of the entire concert as he sang ‘God Damn’ which was his first EP released in 2021. He was clearly shocked by the pure volume as it seemed that every person in the crowd knew every lyric, it was a defining moment of the concert and showed just how much the audience love him and his music.  

He followed this by a few other songs from this EP and yet another very quick costume change into a more casual look. The next song was another clear fan favourite ‘Skyline’ which Changkyun included a very impressive choreographed dance break. Although he has never been a main dancer or main vocalist in his group this show really portrayed his skill levels outside of just rapping creating a mesmerising show with great versatility and clear experience on stage.

Photo Credit: I.M’s Official Account (@IMxSMEK) on X/Twitter

He then moved onto ‘MMI’ which he quickly taught a small fan chant for the audience to sing along to which created an extra interactive element to the concert. After this he made his way off the stage while telling the fans “you know what to do” clearly implying it wasn't quite the end of the concert yet.  

Sure enough, after adequate cheers for an encore he made his way back onto the stage for two more songs ‘Happy to Die’ and ‘Dumb’, these songs he spent a bit more time casually making his way up and down the stage interacting with fans, waving and posing to those from the very front to the very back of the theatre trying to create a special moment with as many fans as he could.

During his final goodbye he took a large group photo with the crowd and took a flag which the fans had spent the day leaving loving and encouraging messages on. He left the stage with a message of gratitude, being so happy that this many fans had come out just to see him!  

Overall this show was an overwhelmingly great show of I.M and his range of talents as a soloist, I wish him great luck with the rest of the tour which has many cities from Europe, to the US, then back to Asia to go. His concerts are a must for any fans of Monsta X and fans of K-R&B/ K-hiphop alike, the high energy paired with this very experienced performer makes for a very enjoyable and memorable night!