On January 24, 2020, MIDZY and k-pop fans from all over descended upon The Warner Theatre in Washington, DC. ITZY Premiere Showcase Tour, presented by Subkulture Entertainment, was their first official tour in the States, and everyone was buzzing with excitement.

     Walking into the venue, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew only two songs from ITZY and wondered how they were going to fill two hours. Promptly at 8 pm, the house lights dimmed, and the girls took to the stage to perform their smash hit, “Icy”. The crowd was on their feet, swept up by the music. Before they even had time to return to their seats, ITZY went directly into “IT'z Summer”. 

     After the song was over, Danny Lim, the MC for the tour, came on stage and applauded the crowd for being the first stop to do fanchants. The audience cheered with triumph. He quickly got everyone back on track and announced that the members of ITZY would be coming out to start the Q&A section of the showcase.

     The smiling quintet came out to more cheers and took their seats after a quick introduction. This was the first time I've attended a showcase, so I was interested in how the segment would work. Two members of the audience had won a chance to ask the members a question via pre-recorded video.

     The first question was what animal you would be, if given a chance. All members had hilariously cute answers, but Yeji won me over as she tried to mimic what animal she wanted to be while the audience shouted out what they thought it was. PS. She chose a bear.

     The second question was which girl group they wished to collaborate with. All the members explained their answers in detail, and the fans were treated to snippets of the girls doing choreography to the group they chose.

    Once the questions ended, it was time for the first game. The members had a few seconds to listen to three songs being played at once and then name the song and group member. The next moments were nothing but chaos, and at the end of it all, Yujin was the winner - having answered two out of the four rounds correctly. Yuna and Chaeryeong ended up with zero points causing them to have to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, complete with EDM background music, as cute punishment.

     What I enjoyed about the game was how interactive the girls were with the audience. They would ask for assistance and would run to various points of the stage to get the answers from people who thought they knew the songs. They would high five the people who helped them and ignored the MC when he asked them to stop getting answers. Ryujin seemed to insist that she knew the answers and would be devastated and acted as such when the MC told her she was wrong.

     Once the game was over, the girls wanted to show us their different sides by covering two songs. They paid homage to their sunbaes and showed us some aegyo by performing Twice's “TT”. Afterwards, they showed that they could handle challenging choreography by performing GOT7's “Hard Carry”. 

     After the covers ended, the audience was treated to a VCR of all their achievements from 2019. I hadn't realized all the awards they'd won. These ladies are indeed a force!

     During the second game, the girls had to perform the choreography to their song "Icy" while completing various missions. The ladies kept their composure while completing hearts, blowing kisses, and dancing slow motion but completely dissolved into laughter when chasing Ryujin around the stage, trying to tickle her. It took two times before the MC allowed them to pass.

     As soon as the game ended, the MC said goodbye and ITZY announced that they would be performing their final set of the evening. The venue erupted in sorrow, but the girls promised to be back soon and promised all MIDZY that they were going to give their all for 2020.

     When the first notes of “Cherry” played, the fans rushed the stage, ready to dance along with the girls. The final song of the night was their debut hit, “Dalla Dalla”, and the fans welcomed it by shouting the fanchants at the top of their lungs. The fans' energy was so contagious that I found myself clapping and cheering along.

     I left the venue a new fan of ITZY and am looking forward to what they have in store for their fans soon. Thank you to Subkulture Entertainment and JYP Entertainment for allowing us to cover this event! Be sure to follow ITZY on all their social media to keep up to date on what they’re doing. Also check out the rest of our photos from ITZY’s showcase on Facebook.

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