[Event Coverage] In Full “Bloom”; 2024 Doh Kyungsoo’s fan concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Barely a month since Suho lit up Kuala Lumpur in yellow, this time it was Kyungsoo’s turn to paint the town sky blue! From the moment the light dimmed, the crowd was a sea of enthusiasm with fans (clad in sky blue, the dress code for the day) clutching onto their EXO lightsticks and anticipating Kyungsoo’s entry into the arena. In contrast to many other singers, Kyungsoo opened the night with a more soothing song, Mars, the title track from his 3rd mini-album, Blossom. Armed with his cheeky smile and relaxed vibe, he engaged his fans with his sincere vocals in the huge venue.

He first thanked the fans for attending, stating that it has been 8 years since his last visit to Malaysia with EXO. The concert then transitioned into a short Q&A session with help of his witty translator, April. Kyungsoo went on to reveal some recent tidbits from his life, including what he has been working on lately (apparently, a role he has been deeply immersed in), the last time he cried (which was while he was watching Our Blues) and what he ate in Malaysia! This led to a funny anecdote whereby he confessed to mistakening the local “teh tarik” (milk tea) for a type of sauce instead, and had poured it into a bowl. Thankfully before dipping the “roti tisu” (a flatbread of sorts) into the “teh tarik”, he drank it and realised it was so good!

Kyungsoo also displayed a lot of tact when asked to suggest the post-concert dinner menu, saying that there is no way he should be recommending “samgyupsal” (pork belly) to Malaysians. And after much thought, he settled for Korean ramyun instead. Next up, he wanted to pick some questions from the fans’ message board but realised that they were mostly song requests among the many well wishes. Relenting to the messages, he started a mini medley session, delighting the crowd with acoustic versions of Lucky (EXO), All of Me (John Legend), The First Snow (EXO), Boyfriend (Justin Bieber) and Overdose (EXO). It doesn’t stop that and after a short break, he continued to display his beautiful vocals with snippets of The View (from his own 2nd mini-album), Rose (from his 1st mini-album) and even Small Girl (Young-Ji).

“Kyungsoo, cutely expressing his surprise at being able to hold his own solo concert!”

The night then continued on with more singing as Kyungsoo effortlessly maneuvers the set list, which included Simple Joys, That’s Okay, I Do, My Dear, Ordinary Days, Good Night and About Time. In between, he stopped to tease the audience that jumping is impossible with his songs and promised that he will be back with faster tempo music next time! The fans were continuously being mesmerised by his high notes and before they know it, it was time for him to leave the stage with Somebody.

He returned to the stage for his encore with Popcorn but not before getting a surprise! The fans have actually recorded a video message for him and also sang “My Love”. This actually led to an endearing moment when he ‘reprimanded’ the fans for not being in sync and led them to re-sing the song again properly. In the end, the VIP ticket holders who were entitled to the send-off session also received a bonus as he happily accepted requests to sing bits of other 5 songs! This included 4 from his EXO days (Peter Pan, Eldorado, Monster and Don’t Go) and well as Supermarket Flowers (Ed Sheeren), which he previously covered on Lee Mujin Service.