IU’s “HEREH” World Tour Review: Unsurprising Talent and Surprising Warmth

IU’s Chicago concert made clear how and why her music captivates and resonates with so many people.

It is astounding for an artist to still cultivate an intimate atmosphere through music and live shows after reaching a sustained level of stratospheric success, but IU does so and proved it throughout her Chicago concert. The show was a testament to IU’s natural skill at connecting deeply with an audience regardless of its size, and it spoke to a core part of IU’s appeal since day one: the sense that she roots for her fans as much as they root for her.

Why IU is So Beloved

One of the ways IU’s fans have grown emotionally invested in her journey is by being encouraged to watch every step of it. Fans have literally grown up with her, and they are constantly reminded of that because of her age-themed eras. Her debut single is called “lost child;” her debut studio album is named Growing Up; she has a song about her mindset at “Twenty-three” and one about being 25 (“Palette”). IU’s often-confessional song lyrics make fans feel like they get glimpses of her diary, and songs like “Shh..” add to the sense they are being told exclusive information. IU lets fans in on her secrets, making them feel more like friends than fans. This essence of IU, this “just between us” nature, was present throughout the “HEREH” show. She had incredible live vocals and charisma in spades, yet she acted as if the audience members were her equals. She humbly requested fans’ help in making her songs feel complete (going so far as to insist one song would be a “masterpiece” only if fans joined in), talked in a peer-to-peer way between songs, and made everyone feel like they had received a personal invitation to this specific show. Everyone was treated like a guest of honor, bringing home the “U and I” meaning of her stage name. IU’s crowd size has changed, but her ability to connect through music in a way that feels one-on-one has not. 

An Actively Engaged Audience

Every detail of IU’s show contributed to the feeling of witnessing something special and exclusive. 

Physically, the space enabled close proximity, with rows of seats extending out closer to the stage than they do for most concerts. IU spent the majority of the night near the front of the stage, and she spent plenty of time engaging with the center, left, and right crowds. 

The background screen wrapped around the sides of the stage and added an immersive quality to the viewing experience, which was compounded by the use of props that brought IU’s music videos to life. Further absorbing viewers’ attention were backup dancers and a live band, both with palpable enthusiasm that reinforced the sense of witnessing had-to-be-there musical magic.

In line with the theme of songs like “I stan U,” the crowd was repeatedly treated like the actual star of IU’s show! Countless times, her image appeared transparent and layered on top of crowd shots. The cameras often turned to the crowd, giving fans of all ages and backgrounds time in the spotlight. There was even a mid-show video montage with footage of fans lined up outside the Allstate Arena from earlier that same day!

IU’s show was also made to feel incomplete without the audience through her instructions. After performing “BBIBBI,” she said, “From now on, I [will] erase your memory of the opening. Act like you have never met me before, and then, when I come back in part two, you should [act] as if you’re seeing me for the first time.” After taking group pictures while making the cute poses that she requested, she promised to spend her “lifetime… cheering for you with my own fan light!” And at the end of the show, she said, “This is the last song. Of course [there is] an encore!... [But] it would be great if you could listen as if it’s the last song of this show!” IU also interacted with specific audience members, passing a flower bouquet to one lucky person and a coin to another. IU made sure no one left empty-handed, though. Every standard ticket-holder received a free gift: a tin can filled with merchandise that was prepared by her mom!

While IU’s talking segments were likely not totally spontaneous, they often seemed that way; she talked to the crowd like one would chat with a friend. She told them to stop laughing at one point despite her laughing too, interrupted herself to say “I love you too” to someone, and asked if the crowd could do her a favor and not scream for the encore until she got a few minutes to touch up her hair and makeup first! “Thank you for being my audience today!,” she said mid-show, followed by a bow, and she repeated similar comments and bowed to the crowd throughout the night.

IU also showed gratitude for the Chicago crowd specifically. She repeatedly commented on how “romantic” the town name of Rosemont sounds, how she packed all her rose-themed clothes just for this occasion, and how she felt like “Blueming” was a song she was always meant to perform here! 

All attendees got to feel like equally welcomed party guests with the inclusion of Korean and English, too. The sing-along on the side screens featured lyrics both in Korean and with phonetic spelling, and IU smoothly went back and forth between English and Korean sentences all night.

There was yet another way all IU fans were made to feel like the show was made with them in mind! Her career-spanning setlist ensured that both those who grew up listening to her music and younger fans who are more familiar with her newer material got to hear their personal favorites.

The Effectiveness of the Transitions 

The transition scenes kept the show interesting and gave people the drama an arena show warrants, but some of them impressed more for the subtle ways they spoke to IU’s endearing ways of communicating.

The transition between parts one and two of the show was befitting a live musical. Long story short, the screens, platform movements, lights, sound effects, and fog machine helped tell the story of a little girl nervously waiting out a scary storm before being transported into a safe, magical forest (after some moral support in the form of the crowd waving back at the child actor). The story ended with IU stepping onto the stage and facing the little girl. As a spotlight shone on each of them, it was as if IU was staring at and offering reassurance to her younger self that everything would be okay. 

Other transition scenes were less touching and more just plain fun, like when IU dressed in a pastel pink mini-dress that made her look like a flower bouquet and “blossomed” out of beams of pink light! 

Later transitions included videos, one being a multi-chapter, suspenseful mini-movie and one looking like an outtake from the “Love wins all” music video. 

The pre-encore video included IU changing the placement of birthday candles on a cake so that they said “32” instead of “23,” an on-brand reminder of her literal growth. 

Not all of the transitions were most memorable for acting-related reasons. Messages appeared on the screens periodically, written in chalkboard font and sounding like letters to loved ones. One message included the sentence “I am on my way to protect you from all the prejudice in the world,” another wished for the recipient to get a “peaceful” night, and one shouted out the fandom, UAENA.

Conclusion

With remarkable ease, IU was as polished and professional as she was personal and unpretentious. While she dazzled for all the expected reasons, like her phenomenal voice, what really took her show to the next level were the ways it crystallized the less obvious reasons for her popularity. One reason to adore IU has always been her approachability, and that played as prominent of a role in making her concert wonderful as her other natural talents did. 

For more IU coverage…

Check out this episode of 17 Carat K-Pop (also available on Spotify here and Apple Podcasts here)!

Read a review of The Winning here!

Read an analysis of the “Love wins all” music video here!

And subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for future IU coverage!

View the “HEREH” World Tour Setlist for Chicago Below!

Part 1: “HYPNOTIC”

Holssi

Jam Jam 

Ah puh 

BBIBBI

Obliviate 

Part 2: “ENERGETIC”

Celebrity

Blueming

eight 

Coin 

I stan U

Part 3: “ROMANTIC”

Havana 

Meaning of you

strawberry moon 

Through the Night 

Part 4: “ECSTATIC”

Shopper

above the time

YOU&I 

Love wins all 

Encore: “HEROIC”

Shh..

Twenty-three 

Holssi (Rock Version)

Bonus Encore

dlwlrma

Someday

LILAC

Love poem

Palette

Photo of merchandise is original; all other photos courtesy of EDAM Entertainment.