Billboard Reviews FTISLAND’s Debut NYC Concert

On February 2, Billboard published an article reviewing FTISLAND’s debut New York City concert, which took place on January 28 at Best Buy Theater.

In the article, entitled “FTISLAND Rock Out, Preview Future Sound at Debut New York Concert,” Jeff Benjamin noted FTISLAND’s passionate fanbase, “A blizzard earlier in the week put FTISLAND’s debut New York City concert in jeopardy. While the weather was less fierce than predicted, the K-pop/rock band’s passionate fans probably would have happily met the quintet at the airport if it came to that.”

Although “Hong Ki greeted the crowd after ‘Madly’ telling them ‘Annyeonghaseyo’ (Korean for ‘hello’), to which the crowd responded with an ‘Annyeonghaseyo’ right back. When Hong Ki asked the crowd a question in Korean and it appeared that a huge chunk of attendees knew what he was saying. The almost-eight-year-old FTISLAND audience skewed older, likely indicating fans who have been immersing themselves in Korean pop culture for a significant amount of time,” Jeff Benjamin says, noting the fans’ fluency with the Korean language and culture.

Jeff Benjamin also admired the band members’ stage presence and chemistry, “The quintet moved into the impressive, stripped-down part of their set that saw Seung Hyun and Jong Hoon using acoustic guitars and Min Hwan sitting on a Cajon drum. Not only a set highlight, it was a rare chance to hear the other FT talents shine through like Min Hwan and Jae Jin‘s beautiful harmonies during ‘Stay’ and Jong Hoon’s Spanish guitar skills on ‘I Wish.’”

Meanwhile, FTISLAND are on their first-ever Europe-America tour entitled “2015 FTISLAND FTHX LIVE,” which includes stops in Paris, Santiago de Chile, Mexico City, and Los Angeles, spanning a total of four countries and five cities.