This past Thursday, I got to finally see an artist live after several years of listening to them, who also happened to be my first K-Pop/K-R&B crush. The artist is Bibi, and I will provide more details about her, share my honest thoughts on the concert including a trigger warning if you plan on seeing her, as well as what I think should be improved in the future, and offer additional insights such as merch details, things you might find interesting, and more, in my detailed review below. Before you read below, please make sure to follow me on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook for more concert, k-pop, and music content! For a visual preview of what to expect from watch the video below!
About
As mentioned before, Bibi, born Kim Hyeong-seo, is a singer and actress from Ulsan, South Korea. Unlike other K-pop artists I have reviewed, she is not actually an idol, and her music is predominantly more K R&B, similar to Yugyeom’s solo music. Still, she also has certain songs that can be categorized as K-pop. Bibi is signed with Feel Ghood Music and 88rising which is why she often seen or collaborates with artists from that label, such as Tiger JK (her mentor) and Got7’s Jackson Wang. Bibi is known for her very extroverted personality, and despite her saying she is very conservative during the concert, she is known for her more free-spirited and very outgoing personality that gets captured in her music, her variety show appearances, and her films. People might be surprised to know that Bibi won the best new actress in film award at the Baksang Arts Award for her role in the K-Drama, Hopeless. What drew me into Bibi and made her my first K-pop crush was because of her unique voice, which is so distinct, and of course, her very expressive personality that reflects her duality of being cute and sexy as well as fun and dramatic. When you hear songs like Vengeance, Sugar Rush, and Hongdae R&B, you can hear that more mature side of her, but in songs like Scott & Zelda, Bam Yang Gang (below), and Binu, it’s more cute and fun. Fun fact: Bibi does have a younger sister, Kim Nakyoung, whom I did see earlier this year when her group, tripleS, came to Toronto (hence why I wore that t-shirt and used that lightsick).
Tickets and Venue
This is Bibi’s first-ever time in Canada and her first world tour! To be honest, I was surprised that this was her first ever North American tour, but I am happy that I was finally able to see her, so I knew I had to get tickets. I ended up using the Rogers promotion, similar to what I did to see her sister in tripleS, to get exclusive and cheaper tickets, but frankly, I should’ve just waited. I sat on the floor in section F5, 10 rows back (videos included below), but right at the edge, which came in clutch since I was able to high-five Bibi when she ran through the crowd. However, the reason why I said I should’ve waited was because I got my tickets back in March for $145 each, but there were so many seats left to the point they significantly marked down seats, including offering a bundle option and having seats a few rows further from me being only $60. I also noticed that after certain influencers were behind me, and were gifted their seats by LiveNation. Also, right when the concert started, a bunch of people started to run and rush the front seats since a lot of them were empty. I was also surprised when she mentioned that this was a big crowd, even bigger than some of her crowds in South Korea.
In terms of the venue, it is pretty out of the way since it’s at the west end of Toronto in Etibicoke, specifically at 1133 Queen’s Plate Drive. The venue was the Theatre at Great Canadian Toronto, which is known for its casino (formerly known as Woodbine Casino). Although it was further than usual concerts, it is accessible via public transit and has a lot of free parking (indoor fills up quickly, but plenty available outdoors). This is my second concert here, the first being Itzy last year when the venue was still new. Tips: bring a light jacket because it is a bit cold inside, and eat before because the food options here are pretty bad and significantly overpriced.
Merchandise
I will admit, I regret buying the merchandise. Although this is Bibi’s first world tour and I am a sucker of getting merch tees that feature my city and being the first, the overall merchandise was underwhelming. I initially wanted to get the photocards, but they sold out, and I think I should have just gotten the PC holder since I can just put my work ID in there, but at the time, I didn’t think it through. The designs and quality were pretty basic and could have been better. I ended up wearing my tripleS shirt and bringing that lightstick and just buying the batteries for $3. I was initially hoping she would have sold albums, especially vinyl, because I remember seeing at one of her concerts that she sold an exclusive vinyl. I got the white shirt with a screenprint of her in a box on the front with the tour dates on the back, which was $60. She did ask the crowd if we liked her tour crew’s t-shirts (which were in black) and jokingly said she wasn’t selling them, but frankly, it might have been better if she was.
Performance
The concert started around 8:20 p.m. and ended around 10:30 p.m. Overall, it was an interesting experience because I did enjoy finally seeing her perform live, and I didn’t realize until I saw her live how much of a relaxed tone her songs usually have. Of course, she did switch it up by offering a club remix to Sugar Rush as seen below, and of course, songs that she is most known for, such as Vengeance and Kazino (below), got the crowd excited and loud. Throughout the concert, she will take breaks to speak to the crowd, and there you would get to hear her speak freely, as she mentioned there was no script or prompter, but I think maybe she could benefit from it. However, it was really fun to see her quick outfit changes as the Hawaii 5-0 theme music was playing. I will say I have never been to a concert with such well-produced and deep VCRs like this one. However, trigger warning, her VCR does include a scene of self-harm, which can be harmful, and frankly, I don’t think she should have shown that, or at least had a warning before it was played. She also brought up a lucky fan onto the stage (who was from the States, apparently), to perform Best Lover as she has done in the past at other concerts. She also ran through the crowd and high-fived people like me, which was also really cool. I do appreciate that Bibi genuinely was thankful for her fans and wanted to interact with them as much as she could. I think her English was pretty good, too, but I do think having a script will help her during any awkward moments.
Overall
All in all, I am happy I finally got to see Bibi live after all these years, and if you’re a fan of hers or someone who would appreciate an artist who commits to storytelling like she does, then I think you would too. I do hope in the future Bibi can get a more appropriate venue for her audience, better merchandise, and include warning statements if she shows something that can be triggering or graphic. Let me know if you would go see her live or you did, and make sure you follow me on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook for more concert/music content!
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