KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — South Korean soloist and former IKON member Kim Han-bin, better known as B.I, returned to Kuala Lumpur for the final stop on his “The Last Parade” tour on Sunday night.
The 28-year-old was last here in June last year for his B.I 2024 HYPE UP Tour.
Again performing at the Mega Star Arena in Bukit Bintang, B.I showed practised ease performing 30 or so tracks (he performed over 50 at his tour opener in Seoul!) for an enthusiastic crowd of around 2,000 fans.
Kicking things off with his latest title track Parade, B.I set the stage for a night that felt more like a rowdy hangout with friends at a private club.
The crowd was enthusiastic throughout, gamely shouting along fanchants and singing along.
At times you could see B.I smiling in response when fans demonstrated they really did know the words of his songs — especially gratifying as he is known for not just being a performer but writing and producing music not just his own but for artists such as Jeon Somi and Heize.
B.I isn’t a ballad guy and that’s not a bad thing.
It was a testament to the artist’s stamina that he could perform so energetically to a setlist that was very much uptempo.
The setlist was definitely tailored for fans judging from their responses to tracks such as Cosmos, Illa Illa and Lover boi.
He even performed the summer viral hit BTBT that was probably on everyone’s K-pop YouTube autoplay the year it came out.
Shoutout to the production team that lit up the arena with laser displays making it feel like a fun rave rather than a staid indoor concert.
He wound down the show by surprising the audience by appearing with a Malaysian wau kite strapped to his back and out of nowhere, someone (a fan?) passed him a Jalur Gemilang which he gamely draped around his shoulders.
Fans were then treated to a listen of unreleased tracks, including Rainy Day and Mambo.
Earlier, in casual banter with the audience, he’d asked if there were anyone who were experiencing a B.I show for the first time.
He declared that he would make sure they wouldn’t regret it and judging from the euphoria from his fans, you could probably consider his promise kept.
