This past Friday night, I was fortunate enough to see a Canadian K-pop idol return to his home and perform in an arena. The idol I am referring to is Keeho, leader of the K-pop group P1Harmony and he and his group really knew how to put on a show. From the high performance to comedic breaks, the concert was nothing short of memorable. I will talk about that and the group in more detail below in this review which will be helpful for those planning on seeing them in an upcoming show. See below for more info and pics from the show and note that I do post a bit more clips on my social media (TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook) so follow there to not miss out on more concert content! For a visual POV/teaser of what to expect, watch the reel below!
About
P1Harmony is a K-pop boy group that debuted in 2020 consisting of members Jongseob, Theo, Soul, Jiung, Intak, and Keeho. Fun fact: Keeho is Canadian as he was born in Toronto and raised in Markham he went to Unionville Highschool which has other notable alumni including Hayden Christensen, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Connor Price, and Iman Vellani. Each member of the group brings an interesting personality and incredible talent which reassures the meaning behind their name (combination of “plus” “one” and “harmony” so they can achieve endless harmonious possibilities). During the concert, you get to see that during their solo and group stage performances from Jongseob’s clever wordplay to Soul’s enthralling dancing, Theo’s soothing vocals to Intak’s immense energy, and of course, Keeho’s impeccable live performance skills. Unfortunately, on this tour, I wasn’t able to see my other bias (besides Keeho), Jiung as he was diagnosed with a thigh muscle rupture. Hopefully, I get to see him perform in the future because I love the versatility he brings to the group in their music, interviews, and performances. On this tour, you do get to see a brief solo stage of each member with songs that best represent their unique style (pictured in the collage above).
Tickets & Venue
Their concert was at Coca-Cola Collesium, which is the same venue where I saw the South Korean-based rock band, The Rose, live last year. Similar to what I said in that review, the venue is in a very busy area where a lot of sporting events and concerts are held. You can access this venue by car or public transit (GO or TTC) but it is congested, especially after the concert ends. The venue also is for known artists that are still growing so it is a bit smaller than other known stages but still a great venue for P1Harmony at this stage of their career, especially since it was a bigger venue than the last time they were in Toronto. I do want to say that the staff/security working at this venue yesterday were extremely nice and helpful, so I am very appreciative of that.
In terms of tickets, I remember getting a code at the end of February to unlock tickets for this show but ended up getting tickets at the beginning of April after finalizing some things about my recent grad trip. We ended up sitting in section 116, row DD for $100 CAD each which was only a bit more than The Rose. For the view, I would say it was a great deal as I was able to sit at times and still enjoy the view without the need of my phone. I believe there were still several seats available even on the day unfortunately, but I think they should have done a better job promoting it, especially since it was a homecoming performance for Keeho. I would recommend next time they do interviews at CP24 or even do a bubble tea/boba collaboration pop-up or even something in Markham to generate more interest and get more seats filled because these guys deserve a sold-out show.
Merch
There was merch available at the entrance and inside the venue, but I wish they had multiple booths or at least two lines for each stand to keep things moving. Thankfully, we were able to get merch right before the show but it would be helpful if they opened the doors earlier so merch can be secured sooner. There were several options for merch and the prices weren’t horrible. Thankfully, they had lightsticks available so if you are a new P1eace (P1Harmony’s fandom name) like me you were able to secure it and get a little added experience for the show. Besides the lightstick, things that I saw were cool the baseball jersey ($165 CAD), the necklace ($69 CAD), and the tote bag ($28 CAD). Also, during the final act as you can see, the guys wear some of the merch shirts.
Performance and Overall Thoughts
As hinted before, the performance was great! Also, like other K-pop concerts, the show starts promptly as stated (7:30 P.M.) and ends at 10 P.M. You certainly get your money’s worth because the guys barely took breaks and performed a lot of favorites and songs off their new album while also showing a fun music video for their song, “New Classic”. I noticed that a new song I really like from their new project called “Late Night Calls” wasn’t performed. I am not sure if this is something that occurs for the rest of the tour or just happened to be the case for Toronto but wanted to give a heads up just in case you were looking forward to that as well. You can expect great lighting, fun visualizers, confetti, and overall amazing energy throughout the show. I thought it was a nice surprise that the guys actually walked through the audience and interacted with fans when they came out for their encore stage.
I did wish they took a bit more breaks in between the stages because I did notice at one point you could tell they were getting a bit tired which makes sense given the amount of choreography, crowd interaction, and live singing they were doing. Nonetheless, it didn’t take away from the overall concert experience, just goes to show how much these guys care about giving the best they can for their fans. If you are going to their show I would say you won’t be disappointed and would most likely leave a bigger fan than you were before (like myself). I highly recommend seeing them live, and I hope to see them return to Toronto for a bigger venue with better local promotion next time. If you have been to a UTOP1A show or plan on attending, let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on social media by giving a follow on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook!
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