Seventeen's 'Right Here' tour in U.S. is a love letter to fans throughout the ages
The K-pop group's long-awaited U.S. return has officially concluded, leading some to believe this might be "goodbye for now"
(Photo credit: Pledis Entertainment)
It was a long wait.
But two years since Seventeen’s Be The Sun World Tour, the K-pop group finally made a return to North America in the fall of 2024.
I was part of the last North American audience to see Seventeen back in December 2022, when the group took the stage for the inaugural LA3C Music & Food Festival. Ever since then, Seventeen has only gotten bigger, entering the Billboard charts, setting records in album sales and winning top artist awards in their home country.
In an industry that has often looked toward Blackpink and BTS as example of K-pop groups who have achieved global success, Seventeen—composed of S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino— has always been on the cusp of reaching such heights.
The last three years have marked a major turning point for the Seventeen. And the band’s latest world tour Right Here only proved their staying power.
I’ll be remiss to say that I, like many fans, lamented the fact that Seventeen spent the majority of 2023 touring Asia, with many of their dates in Japan. Follow was a setlist I would honestly describe as Seventeen’s “Eras tour”. The songs the group sung spanned the course of the band’s greatest hits over the years, such as ‘Hot’, ‘Kidult’, ‘Don’t Wanna Cry’ and ‘Don Quixote’. And while I’m sad I never got to experience it live, I also acknowledge what a difficult year it was for the group.
For a large part of 2023, Seventeen was not able to perform as a full 13-member group. Leader S.Coups and Jeonghan had to sit a number of shows out due to injury. While Seungkwan, whose close friend Moonbin died suddenly in April, stepped away for a number of concert dates to take care of his mental health.
That’s why when Seventeen announced the Right Here tour dates, many fans rejoiced. It meant all 13 members would be back together. But days before tickets went on sale Seventeen’s label Pledis Entertainment announced Jun and Jeonghan would not be participating. Jeonghan would be fulfilling his mandatory military duties, while Jun would be stepping aside to pursue acting opportunities in his home country China.
Online, a number of fans soon took their displeasure towards Pledis and the group, feeling the band’s North American fans did not receive the same level of love as Seventeen’s Japanese supporters. Then came the complaints about the setlist following the band’s dates in Goyang and Chicago. Many felt they deserved the same songs as the Follow tour, and complained about feeling “disheartened” to attend their concerts.
“I feel cheated,” read one comment I saw on X.
“We haven’t seen the songs you have deprived us of. ‘Spell’, ‘I Don’t Understand But I Luv U’, ‘Lalali’. ‘SOS’, ‘Don Quixote’?? These have not been performed in the USA.”
It’s true that every fan has favourites. But considering that Seventeen’s April anthology album is called 17 IS RIGHT HERE, the tour’s goal was to clearly show newer sides to the group all while bringing to life the classics.
It felt a disrespectful towards the hard work Seventeen put into their concerts. Why not use this as a chance to get to know the band beyond your favourite tracks? Seeing a song live can help you gain more appreciation for it. Don’t knock it until you’ve experienced it yourself.
To me, the Right Here world tour marked a new era, one where the group could reintroduce themselves to fans throughout the years. And throughout the two shows I watched in New York’s UBS Arena, the band showcased their versatility through different concepts, jumping from dark and sexy, adorable and chaotic to casual boy-next-door.
Seventeen has often been praised for being the “musical theatre kids of K-pop.” They write and produce their own songs. They’re heavily involved in the artistry and choreography of their performances. And on stage, they are known to ham it up for the crowd.
The Right Here concert showcased the best of Seventeen, all while highlighting key messages from their tracks. Kicking off with the 2019 hit ‘Fear’, the band explored the emotions they face during the creative process. Then jumping into ‘Fearless’, fans saw the band overcoming their concerns, discovering that the only thing setting them back were themselves.
During the show, the band also split off in their respective sub-units. The hip-hop team (S.Coups, Mingyu, Wonwoo and Vernon) showcased their swagger with ‘Water’ and ‘Monster.’ The performance unit (Hoshi, The8 and Dino) glided seamlessly across the stage with their smooth and sexy dance moves while singing ‘Rain’ and the 2017 banger Lilili Yabbay (a song I never thought I’d get to see live!). While the vocal unit comforted fans with their gorgeous voices with a double-header performance of ‘Candy’ and ‘Cheers to Youth.’
While Seventeen has often been known for treating fans with multiple sub-unit performances, I truly believe that the group is strongest when together. After all, Seventeen’s ethos has always been to create a festival-like atmosphere with their fun-loving personalities and versatile skills. One can see this when they all reunite back on stage, singing a trio of tracks: ‘Oh My’, ‘Snapshoot’ and ‘God of Music’. Throughout this particular set, their backup dancers even joined them on stage wearing inflatable costumes.
Seventeen also delivered messages of comfort, performing tracks like ‘Home’ and ‘Campfire’ while exploring themes of friendship and love towards their fans. It’s particularly fitting, given that members of the group will likely start embarking on their mandatory military service in the coming years.
It means we might be quite some time until OT13 will be together again. While the mood was cheerful, there was also an air of bittersweetness.
“Thank you for your patience,” said Vernon, who was born in New York. “It’s always great to see your faces light up.”
“I was a little worried some Carats may be gone because we’ve been gone for so long. First of all, I want to say sorry because we should have came back more often,” added leader S.Coups.
“From now on, I want to try harder to come back even more.”
As someone who started listening to Seventeen in 2020, I found joy in their songs at a time when the world seem to be thrown into uncertainty. 2024 is undoubtedly a year of change for Seventeen, but it’s been a comfort for me to be able to relish in the moment of being in the same room as the band again.
Before the show ended, S.Coups also acknowledged Jeonghan and Jun.
He also assured fans that the group would be together again soon.
“Until 13 of us come back, please be with us.”
As for me, I will be patiently waiting.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Accountability is important to me, so please address corrections and concerns by sending me an email at bunnipopnewsletter@gmail.com. Continue the conversation by following bunni pop on Instagram and Threads.
are you sure that they are in U.S. because I don't think of that but tell them I love them and my name is Jasmine Lambert.