OMEGA X holds a special place in my heart. They were the fourth group I got into when I started listening to K-Pop, and they’ve had a chokehold on me ever since.
The whole reason I ever even started listening to them was because I saw that they were going to be playing in Cleveland in December of 2024. The fact that a K-Pop act was coming so close to home was a catalyst for me to check them out. Mad respect for including Ohio in that tour at all. But just a couple of weeks before the show, the tour was abruptly canceled. I think it was related to visa issues, but it sounds like OMEGA X might have dodged a bullet with that touring company. Still, I was gutted. I’d even splurged for a VIP experience with my bias, Yechan. They did still try to make up that bit, which was awesome, but I would have also loved the concert.
So anyway, barely over a month ago they dropped a bunch of US tour dates, and southern Ohio was on the list! I snatched up an everything ticket as fast as I could. And then the waiting. Luckily, I was busy enough that the show rounded the corner pretty quickly. As with many of the shows I’ve attened by this same touring company, a lot of the events before and after the concert were the same in execution. Prior to the show was the fansign, which I was able to a little sneakily, bring “photocards” I’d made out of the drawings of them all. Jaehan was first in the fansign queue and he looked confused and curious about the photocard as he signed it. Kevin asked if it was a sticker and seemed really impressed when I explained I made drawings into the photocards. Yechan again was super impressed that they were drawings, and Hwichan made the funniest impressed noise when he saw it. It was a top-tier experience.
Next was the group photos, which are always kind of stupid to me. But, me and a friend I’ve made at other K-Pop shows ended up beside each other in line, so it wasn’t as silly as past ones. We both got to make hearts with Jaehan! There weren’t nearly as many VIP ticketholders as I was expecting, so I was way too close to the stage for soundcheck. They played three songs and did some fun audience interactions. I got to hear “Play Dumb,” “Omega X,” and “Venus!” After that, I moved back a little bit to both get better pictures and videos, but also to cool off a little bit. It was hot in there! Which seemed to be a theme for the evening. I was a little surprised at how much the venue filled up by the time the actual show started, but I’m glad it did. We needed to show them that Ohio is worth coming back to!
The start of the show hit me with a quadruple whammy with “VAMOS,” “Junk Food,” “Love Me Like,” and “Day Zero” – I was in heaven! And I have to give them all of the credit in the world – to be an original group of 11 and only having six members present is tough! They danced so hard, but had so much more to sing! With Hangyeom and Taedong in the military, Hyuk busy with acting, Junghoon quitting, and Xen getting sick right before they headed to the US left them really short-staffed, but they made the absolute best of it! I was actually really impressed with the parts some of them were covering! A section in the middle of the concert showcased unit songs, as well as some by their subunit OX:N, and Jehyun biased wrecked me in real time for most of the show. Yechan is still number one, but damn Jehyun! The crowd was so loud, which made me really happy. And the guys were postiviely tickled by the “O-H, I-O” chant – they did it before almost every song!
After the show we did the group photo with just me, which was more intimidating than I thought it would be, but they are all so sweet and cute. The selfies were also a fun experience! I love that every time I’ve done selfies with groups that the members take the photos. I’m so bad at it, so I really appreciate it. It’s also crazy to me how close they get to my face a lot of the time. They are brave, and I am weak hahaha. But gosh, they turned out so good I kind of regret not buying an additional seflie bundle…oh, well!
I do hope that this tour is a successful one, and that new music is on the horizon for the whole group in the future. And another tour! I hope they can find more success, but I know I’ll be supporting them no matter what.
