ITZY Bring Five Sides of Star Power to London

K-pop girl group ITZY have never been a group that needed much convincing when it comes to confidence. Since debuting with ‘DALLA DALLA’, YEJI, LIA, RYUJIN, CHAERYEONG and YUNA have built a reputation around doing things their own way, and their ‘3RD WORLD TOUR ‘ is a pretty perfect showcase of that. Bringing the tour to London for the European leg, the five members took over the OVO Arena Wembley with everything from huge choreography and dramatic visuals to surprisingly sweet moments with MIDZY.

The show starts with a cinematic interlude that immediately pulls you into the world of TUNNEL VISION. The visuals build and build before the opening notes of ‘TUNNEL VISION’ hit, and suddenly the whole OvO Wembley arena is awake. It’s a confident opener that doesn’t waste any time getting the girls on stage and the crowd screaming. ‘DYT’ keeps the momentum going before ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ really kicks things up a notch. This is where ITZY start properly showing off what they came to London for: the looks are on point, the choreography is sharp and the energy from the crowd only gets bigger. Afterwards, the members introduce themselves and, honestly, it’s such a cute contrast. After watching them absolutely destroy the stage, seeing them turn into five giggly girls chatting to MIDZY is impossible not to love. Followed up, ‘Walk’ keeps the cool-girl energy going. The styling, the choreography and the way the members carry themselves make the whole thing feel like a runway that just happens to have thousands of people watching. And then ‘Kiss & Tell’ comes along with another complete change of look. ITZY really do love making you wonder how they managed to change outfits that quickly.

Then, of course, it’s time for ‘WANNABE’. You can almost feel the arena recognise the song before it even starts. One of ITZY’s defining hits, it gets exactly the reaction you would expect, with MIDZY singing along to every word. The performance is followed by a dance break from the dancers, adding another unexpected moment to an already high-energy section of the show. After the chaos, ‘Imaginary Friend’ provides a much-needed change of pace. It’s one of the performances I was most excited to see, and it doesn’t disappoint. The choreography is genuinely beautiful, with a softer feeling that gives the song room to breathe. It also brings a little more emotion into the show without losing the impressive production around it. ‘Motto’ follows and feels like another moment made especially for MIDZY. There’s something really nice about watching the members enjoy these songs alongside their fans, particularly when you can hear the entire arena singing back at them. Then the solo stages begin, and this is where the show gets to play around with the members’ individual personalities.

LIA’s ‘Asylum’ is sweet and understated, giving her vocals the space they deserve. YUNA takes things in a completely different direction with the elegant, almost retro feeling of ‘Tangerine’. YEJI’s ‘Pocket’ brings the leader’s signature energy back to the stage, while CHAERYEONG’s ‘Undefined’ is playful, fun and clearly a fan favourite. And then there’s RYUJIN’s ‘LOOK’, Miss Ryujin ate that stage up and owed the stage with her confidence. The choreography is made for her and she absolutely owns every second of it. Finishing the solo section with RYUJIN is a great choice because, by the end, you’ve seen five completely different performances that somehow all make perfect sense together. It’s one of the clearest reminders throughout the night that ITZY may have a very recognisable sound and image, but the members themselves are incredibly different.

‘GOLD’ then signals another shift in the show. The production gets bigger again, with decorations appearing on stage during ‘Wild Wild West’, while the girls seem to get more and more energy as the set continues. ‘In the morning’ brings out another huge reaction, but ‘THAT’S A NO NO’ might be one of the most fun moments of the entire night. Even though the song is shortened, it was very obvious that London MIDZY had been waiting for it. After seeing the track gain a whole new wave of attention, hearing the arena erupt for it was a particularly fun moment. The members also seemed to be having just as much fun with it, which somehow makes the performance even better.

After talking about their solo stages and what they mean to them, the members take a moment to express how happy they are to be in London before moving into ‘Sorry Not Sorry’. The energy quickly picks back up with ‘Not Shy’, turning the arena into one massive party. And if there was ever a song to close the main set, ‘LOCO’ makes perfect sense. It’s still one of those ITZY songs that feels impossible to sit still through, and ending the main show with it leaves the crowd wanting more.

Thankfully, ITZY aren’t finished yet. The encore begins with a cute dance challenge moment between MIDZY before the girls return with ‘Mirror’. It’s a softer start to the encore, followed by the equally sweet ‘FIVE’. Then things get fun again with a mix of their songs ‘8-BIT HEART’, ‘SNEAKERS’, ‘CAKE’ and ‘DALLA DALLA’ turn the encore into a little trip through ITZY’s discography. These are the songs where you can forget about trying to take everything in and just enjoy being in the room. Everyone knows the words, everyone is dancing and the members are clearly having a great time.

ITZY have always been good at making confidence look fun rather than forced, and that really comes across live. Their ‘3RD WORLD TOUR ‘ gives each member their own moment while still making the group performances feel like the main event. For a group with so many songs that have become fan favourites over the years, London was ultimately less about looking back and more about showing just how much fun ITZY are still having together.

Highlights: Girls Will Be Girls, WANNABE, Imaginary Friend, MOTTO, THATS A NO NO