TXT’s “ACT : PROMISE” World Tour Review: The Long Version

A look at the references to TXT’s music video world that were present throughout their concert

For a shorter concert review, click here, but read on for a deep dive on TXT’s setlist’s significance!

While at times surprising, in hindsight, every “ACT : PROMISE” setlist choice made sense. Better yet, each song and its live rendition contributed to the story that TXT have been unveiling throughout their music videos and short films. The concert brought to life everything from the whimsy of the “TEMPTATION” era to the perils of the “CHAOS” chapters, and it did so in ways that kept circling back to the “TOMORROW” era, the one inspired by The Little Prince around which this tour is themed. Below is a detailed look at the ways that “ACT : PROMISE” connects to TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s ongoing narrative.

Part One

The show’s opening visuals drew heavily from The Little Prince, a story in which a young prince from another planet lands on Earth. After the TXT members were shown in the same situation (but with a railroad crossing sign added to the desert setting), text on the screen read:

“Do you remember? The promise we made to each other at the world’s end? If you hear this voice, call out my name.” 

These words, which recall both their “TOMORROW”-era song “Deja Vu” and the apocalypse theme of their “CHAOS” eras, dissolved as if made of sand that blew away, before all the screens went dark. 

The screens showed rain, lightning, and blustery winds as TXT rose up from an underground platform, wearing the white outfits from the opening video. Blue spotlights shone on them as a Morse code message played, which is part of both their “TOMORROW”-era album and reminiscent of the Morse code message in their debut song, “CROWN.” A gold crown dropped down from the ceiling, as they stood together and stared up at it. YEONJUN took and wore it, seconds before the “sky” turned a fiery orange and the blustery “winds” blew even harder. 

A montage of scenes played in a mid-screen circle, some showing their “home planet” and some showing their previous eras’ music videos. The memory reel was a bit reminiscent of the Pensieve in Harry Potter, so the nods to their Harry Potter-inspired era that came next made perfect sense. 

The train station platform that takes people into the wizard world in Harry Potter is Nine and Three-Quarters, and this number appeared both on the sign by TXT in the concert video and as the time on a clock (nearly 9:45) in the train station backdrop when they performed “Deja Vu.” The second song was “9 and Three Quarters (Run Away),” and the previous nods to the “CHAOS” era appeared to foreshadow the next number, “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You).”

Lava-lamp-style, deep shades of purple, blue, and green stayed moving on the screens during the next song, “Devil by the Window.” This song is from the “TEMPTATION” era, which portrays Peter Pan as secretly evil. He robs people of the chance to grow up, adding meaning to the red lights that flashed and criss-crossed over TXT as they danced as if under a spell. The final “gasp” in the song had an amplified effect live, timed to match colors draining out of the imagery.

The “TEMPTATION” era is about waking up to the devil’s bargain that is choosing to follow Peter Pan to Neverland, a decision with unanticipated consequences that were embodied by how BEOMGYU stumbled off the stage into thick clouds of smoke. The other members’ images resembled ghostly silhouettes as they faded into the night, and taking their places on the screens was a set of claw-like hands reaching forwards. These black shadows resembling hands disappeared with a flash of light. 

The reenactment of TXT’s “TEMPTATION”-era concept album continued apace. On the album, “Sugar Rush Ride” follows “Devil by the Window,” and the story ends with “Farewell, Neverland.” The setlist stuck to that order, although TXT performed a new version of “Sugar Rush Ride” in the traditional Korean “Buchaechum” style, wearing robes and using fans. 

While it was admittedly disappointing to have “Farewell, Neverland” (an admitted personal favorite!) shortened and remixed, it was a good move for the story’s “This isn’t what we expected!” message! And the sentiment stayed true to the original song: A boat that gives TXT the chance to leave the island of Neverland appeared on the screen, as did a rainbow of ocean waves.

Part Two

The “FREEFALL” era is what chronologically follows TXT’s “TEMPTATION” era and is when the boys willingly fall back to the “real world.” They try to hold onto some of the positive lessons Peter Pan has taught them, though, like keeping one’s inner child intact and not caring about the judgment of others. While the next few songs were from different eras, they all conveyed that “FREEFALL”-era message. The live versions of the songs did the music videos justice: “Chasing That Feeling” included the video’s multi-colored bursts of magical energy on the screen, “MAGIC” included the official choreography that epitomizes youthful energy, and “New Rules” was performed in a train station setup and signaled a new journey. 

The next few stages stayed true to TXT’s story when considered collectively. They went back in time, performing 2021’s “LO$ER=LO♡ER” and then 2020’s “Ghosting.” “Thursday’s Child Has Far To Go” and “Trust Fund Baby” are from a “minisode” era, like “Ghosting,” but what came next made viewers know this “minisode” section was just a brief break from their story’s more turbulent chapters.

Fittingly, TXT returned to the “Deja Vu” era, aka the “TOMORROW” era, next. BEOMGYU, TAEHYUN, and HUENINGKAI performed their song about going through a “Quarter Life” crisis while in the train station setup and, later, below a circle of screens showing the return of a storm. Facing their future selves became a clearer message with YEONJUN and SOOBIN’s stage, “The Killa (I Belong to You).” They showed off smooth and seductive moves that matched the song’s mood, but they did so while highlighting the era’s deeper context. The background showed two full-length mirrors into which it was hard to see, due to always-moving tendrils of red and purple fog. The hold that “TEMPTATION” has on them, despite it making their futures blurrier, was apparent, as it was during the “TEMPTATION”-era follow-up stage, “Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock).” 

Between performing “The Killa (I Belong to You)” and “Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock),” TXT performed “Back for More.” While this story interruption would have been easy enough to forgive just because of how dazzling its dance routine was (not to mention the cute, sparkly outfits!), it also didn’t feel too out-of-place because it occurred amid dark-toned flashing lights, constant lightning strikes, and rain imagery on every screen. 

The “FREEFALL” era was followed by some “minisodes” but then came back, as if TXT were destined to deal with the latter on and off again for “ETERNITY.”

Part Three

The “ETERNITY”-era song “PUMA” was next. The members performed it on different tiered platforms on the smaller stage, wearing leather looks, encircled by a line of smoke, below screens showing jail bars and caution tape, and as green lasers shot across them. YEONJUN looked particularly transformed, but all five embodied animal personas through facial expressions to an impressive extent.

The palpable angst kept accelerating with “Good Boy Gone Bad” (during which the screens turned red and puffs of smoke shot out where sparks once did) and “Growing Pain” (during which the imagery on the screens appeared to be destroyed in real time, enveloped in a fiery orange hue). The head-banging and authentic frustration throughout these three songs matched the rage of their video characters in “Good Boy Gone Bad” and in parts of the “FREEFALL” era.

Part Four

TXT’s music’s appeal lies in its head-on way of confronting the state of things. They do not sugarcoat how startling and difficult it is, for example, when one takes the leap of faith out of the “Neverland” mentality and into the “adulthood” one. Similarly, they warn listeners about the inevitable sorrow that comes after forming fond memories; those never last. Much like their past eras have been about believing it is worth it to take the bad with the good and keep on living, their “TOMORROW” era and this corresponding tour depict ways to weather life’s storms. Both in their “TOMORROW”-era videos and in The Little Prince, the young characters decide it is better to bond with someone one will miss when that person leaves one’s life than to never bond at all, and it is better to take chances and fall sometimes than it is to never find out what one could have succeeded at doing. These beliefs are stressed by the text on the screen during the video interludes (combined into one long monologue below for clarity’s sake), which seemed to take on the voice of the wise fox from The Little Prince with whom the prince decides to bond (to “tame” him):

“Floating in the air before me, a light of a distant memory flickered. Even though I’m afraid, I must go farther down… The moment I encountered the light, I knew it instinctively… what I was chasing… At the end of a long, long darkness… ‘Who are you?’ ‘I am a star, and I am the ancient future… I’ve been by your side the whole time. As you wandered your own path… you kept stepping of your own free will… A promise looking at the same place… we dreamed the same dream. While you had forgotten me, I fell into a long sleep… But it was just a nap… if you remembered the promise and intend to keep it, I will shine by your side again… make me shine. Tame me.’... Now I have to take one step at a time with my own two feet toward the place where we made that promise to each other. I don’t want to run away or turn away anymore… the name I’ve finally found so that I can live as a dreamer…”

Just as they do in their “TOMORROW”-era videos, TXT “tamed” the fox in the concert’s video; they established ties with someone who made tomorrow worth looking forward to and who helped them feel like they have a purpose.

The group sang “Dreamer” next, a song about embracing that label, with all the screens showing starry night skies. Their images appeared to blend in, camouflage-like, among the stars. There was a similar faded look to their on-screen images during “Deep Down,” when an optical illusion made them appear to dance with their own reflections! It looked like their spirits kept popping out of their physical bodies and then re-merging with them, as they sang about a life-altering realization.

TXT became one with their environments, living in the gray area where their video characters find their true sense of purpose.

Appropriately, this portion of the show ended with the “TOMORROW” / “Deja Vu” era again. They sang “I’ll See You There Tomorrow” (a reference to the fox’s monologue in The Little Prince about looking forward to tomorrow because he has a new friend - the prince - who will visit him then), while a glowing light appeared in the images of flower fields. Walking towards that light together, the side-screen cameras zoomed in on the members’ hand-holding and YEONJUN’s look back at the crowd. It replicated the pose on the “ACT : PROMISE” tour poster, while symbolizing the group’s ultimate ethos: embracing tomorrow together.

Part Five

The final video was very similar to the opening one, a presumably intentional “Deja Vu” moment! But this time, it ended with bright beams of light shining down on the boys in the desert, implying that spaceships had arrived to return them to their home planet. Before going back, the text on screen read: 

“I remember the promise we made to each other at the world’s end… You and me, I remember our name.”

Long story short, the little prince discovers his true self (his “name”) after befriending a fox and becoming emotionally open, no longer putting up walls and calling them shields. In the world of TXT’s videos, they repeatedly have to learn that lesson, that it was worth the pain to become emotionally open with each other and learn their true “names.”

Perfectly matching the “Deja Vu” concept, in the final concert video, TXT went back home as changed people. The scene was emblematic of them both going back to where their story started and being people who continue to grow, and therefore people who have to constantly try to embrace and see the bright side in the unknown.

As TXT embodied both more sureness in their identities and more comfort with the aspects of identity that are always shifting, a metamorphosis unfolded on the screen. The screens stayed dark but soon filled with colorful butterflies, matching the colorful spotlights above the members’ heads. 

The Encore

After singing “Magic Island” and making the crowd pinky-promise to stay “together” for every “tomorrow” there is, the screens that were once just filled with the image of stars in a dark sky grew nature-themed, rainbow-colored borders. They sang an uplifting trio of tunes: “Miracle,” “Happily Ever After,” and fan-favorite “Cat & Dog.” “Cat & Dog” was the only song in the entire show from TXT’s debut era, and choosing to end where it all began was meaningful.

Conclusion

TXT’s music video and short film world-building involves a complex and compelling narrative that mixes the fantastical (intergalactic adventures, time in “Neverland,” Harry Potter references…) with what is as real as it gets. The “ACT : PROMISE” show did justice to that story. It took viewers on a journey, following the members as they searched for clarity and stability; as they did not find either but found things that are even better, like friendship and self-confidence; and as they ended where they started but did so as changed people. What this group does so well is speak to what life is all about: celebrating the “MAGIC” phases despite corresponding “CHAOS” ones, learning from “TEMPTATION” phases as much as “FREEFALL” ones, and believing in the silver linings that can appear “TOMORROW.” The live version of TXT’s message about keeping faith in the future was powerful proof that the best life imitates art and vice versa.

Check out past TXT write-ups and podcast episodes here! 

A note about the video monologues: The text on the screen during the concert videos moved so quickly that I didn’t get to jot down everything, hence all the ellipses! I apologize if my spelling/grammar does not match up exactly with how those quotes were written on the screen! I hope I took enough notes to capture the gist of it!