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Show Review: BOL4 belts out feel-good love songs in first Singapore concert

Flanked by a five-piece live band, here are three highlights from BOL4’s first concert in Singapore held at The Theatre at Mediacorp.

Avier Tan

| September 12, 2023

BOL4 may be known for catchy earworms like Some (2017) and Galaxy (2016). But BOL4, now a one-piece act fronted by Ahn Ji-young, is much more than just feel-good tunes.

Flanked by a five-piece band, here are three highlights from BOL4’s first concert in Singapore.

1. An insight into her newest album

BOL4 made sure to give fans a deeper insight into her newest album, Love.zip (2023).

And since the tour’s titled after the album, she brought all the songs live for her fans. She wittily slotted all five tracks from the album into different junctures of the show.

Fans were also taken behind the scenes of how the album was conceptualised.

“Each of the five songs talks about love but in different shapes and forms,” Ahn said in a pre-recorded interview clip.

And here’s a fun fact: She’s a night owl. So she starts working on the album at 9 pm, only finishing four hours past midnight.

Ahn believes that she does it for a good reason. “I hope that you not just receive a lot of love from the album, but also give lots of love,” she said.

2. Dynamic fan interaction

Fan chants are ubiquitous in the K-pop community. But I was not expecting to hear fan chants for ballads and relatively slower tunes.

I was mistaken.

BOL4’s fans are thunderous when it comes to chanting along to her catchy tunes, like You(=I) (2016) and Chase Love Hard (2023).

Looking visibly pleased, Ahn asked the crowd: “How do you know the fan chant?” Before an English translation was provided, fans shouted that they practised it beforehand.

“I usually don’t remove my in-ear monitors (during my performance),” Ahn said. But she did, just to register the crowd’s screams once again.

3. Laid-back, intimate set

Held at The Theatre at Mediacorp, BOL4’s show is very much laid-back and intimate.

There are no big props or excessively flashy stage effects, just occasional confetti streams. Well, the whole point is for the fans to tune in to her sultry vocals, and even sing along with her.

When singing Mermaid (2019), a song meant for her fans, she even took a tour of the stall seats.

Ahn even received a gift from a fan, which she told the audience was her first time doing so – singing with a flower in her hand.

Back on stage, she said: “I want to stay close by you, and always sing for you,” drawing loud cheers from the fans.

Author

Avier Tan

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Ahn Ji-young

BOL4