MUSIC
Portena successfully completes first solo concert ‘Empire in Seoul’
Portena's first solo concert 'Empire in Seoul' was held at COEX Shinhan Card Artium on the 2nd and 3rd.
This performance is Fortena's first solo concert since its team formation and debut. Portena attracted a lot of anticipation and attention by selling out all tickets for two performances in two minutes from the previous ticket opening.
On this day, Portena made a grand opening by singing the title song 'KINGDOM (Moonlight Tears)' of the same name as the first mini album released in December last year. In particular, the Latin intro that goes well with the song, “Imperium, Nostri Amores Hie Verimus.” “Forténa ad te venit. Nox nobiscum carpe (Empire, our love. Here comes Fortena to you. Enjoy this night with us)” to heighten the mood.
Portena said, “It is meaningful because it is our first solo performance. “We decided on the name of the performance with the ambition to build Portena’s Kingdom Empire around the world through this concert,” he said.
The atmosphere was heightened by the performances of 'My Dad', a song from the mini album 'KIMGDOM' and a song about love for one's father, and 'Caruso', a new cover song arranged in the bossa nova style. Portena said, “We have put out a lot of covers through the Phantom Singer contest so far, so there were a lot of strong and powerful songs due to the nature of the contest. “The original song ‘Caruso’ is such a powerful song, but we prepared it in a soft and sophisticated bossa nova style with The MC Orchestra led by music director Kim Moon-jeong.”
Next, they sang Schubert's songs 'Nacht und Träume' and 'Erlkönig' with rich vocal volume and excellent emotional expression, creating a rich stage that felt like an opera performance.
As this was the first solo concert, there were solo stages that gave a glimpse into the diverse charms of each member. Seo Young-taek chose 'Loving You Keeps Me Alive', a number from the musical 'Dracula', and Austin Kim chose singer Yang Hee-eun's 'About the Loneliness of Love'. The stage was filled with a variety of songs that crossed genres and moods, such as Kim Seong-hyun performing the musical Mozart's number 'I Am Music' and Lee Dong-gyu performing a rock version of 'Habanera'.
In addition, duet performances that showed off perfect combinations were performed, such as Seo Young-taek and Kim Seong-hyun's 'Tornera l'amore' and Dong-gyu Lee and Austin Kim's 'To You Who Don't Love Me'.
Portena presented delicate and beautiful harmony by singing ‘Cinema paradiso’ along with ‘A Very Beautiful Place’, a song gifted to her by Hyeongju Yoon, whom she met through ‘Immortal Songs’. Soon after, they performed a dance medley consisting of 'Swing Baby', 'Tell ME', and 'Elevator', turning the atmosphere around with their overflowing talent and witty dance moves.
Portena then took the time to share precious memories with fans by personally reading the audience's stories related to Portena that they received before the performance. The audience introduced in the story was given joy with small events such as gifting signed CDs from the mini album and Polaroid photos.
Portena, who sang the first single 'Miracle (Miracle Called Us)', pre-released the new remake song 'Hard To Say I'm Sorry', which is scheduled to be released soon. Fortena said, “I reinterpreted the band Chicago’s song in Fortena’s style. Our members and music team worked really hard on it. “This song will be released as an official music source at 6 PM on March 5th, so please show a lot of anticipation and interest.”
Portena performed 'Falling Star' and 'Believe', songs from another mini album, and left memories by taking commemorative photos. Portena, who spoke about how they felt after completing their first solo concert, gave their final greeting by thanking the staff who performed with them and the audience who attended.
Portena ended the performance with 'Neapolis' as the last song and sent the audience off with two encore songs, 'Just The Way You Are' and 'Gift'.
Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr
