The Japanese version of the large-scale music festival "WATERBOMB," originating from South Korea, graced Tokyo for the first time. WATERBOMB JAPAN 2023 was held at Belluna Dome on July 29th and July 30th. The two-day event, featuring performances by top-tier artists and popular DJs, created a whirlwind of excitement. Here’s a report on the artist performances.
July 29th (Saturday)
Rising to the pinnacle of South Korea's renowned hip hop survival show, "High School Rapper 2," rapper HAON took the stage as the opening act. After electrifying the crowd with the mega-hit song "Teléfono,” he showcased his latest collaboration with Sik-K, "Crash Mercedes.” For the finale, he delivered a rapid-fire rap with “Boong-Boong,” bringing the energy in the venue to a max.
Solo artist YUGYEOM then took the stage, rocking the venue with the collaboration "Take You Down" featuring Coogie, he followed up with "All Your Fault" alongside GRAY and then presented his new track "LOLO" in quick succession. YUGYEOM engaged the audience and asked, "Are you enjoying yourselves?" The crowd obliged with enthusiastic cheers. The atmosphere reached its climax with the rendition of GOT7's mega-hit "Hard Carry."
Next up was the popular rapper LOCO. After the uptempo performances of "Party Band" and "OPPA," he subdued the mood with tracks "You Don't Know" and "Just Like This," featuring george. Labelmate YUGYEOM joined him for the intro of "Who You?" Showcasing some nice harmonies. From there, he delivered the finale with "No Manners."
The stage by MAMAMOO+'s Solar and Moonbyul, a subunit from the legendary female group MAMAMOO, continued the proceedings. They showcased their ndebut song "GGBB.” Following this, they performed a medley of MAMAMOO's hit songs, including "Dingga" and "HIP," no doubt a treat for long time fans. Subsequently, their powerful performance of songs like “Chico malo.” with its captivating vocals and oriental atmosphere, expressed their strength and individuality.
Boasting quite an overwhelming stage presence, boy band ATEEZ was up next. They electrified the venue with "Bouncy (K-Hot Chilli Peppers),” and excited the crowd with a medley of hip-hop-infused tracks like "Good Lil boy," "The Leaders," and "TO THE BEAT." ATEEZ also showcased their diversity with "Say My Name" and the emotionally charged "ROCKY.” They concluded their set with "The Real.”
Next up was the unit Exo-SC , consisting of EXO members Sehun and Chanyeol. Taking the WATERBOMB stage for the first time, they performed their hit songs "What a life" and "1 Billion Views," following up with solo performances of "Nothin’" and "On Me."
Later in the evening, NICHKHUN from 2PM took the stage. He performed the tracks "Bridge" and “Miss Wonderful." Following him, JUN. K showcased his versatility on songs "Alive" and “Everest.” He followed this with a performance the mega-hit "My House." For the finale, the classic "Hands Up," brought the party vibes.
For the first day of WATERBOMB TOKYO 2023, the headliner was none other than D-Lite (Daesung) of Big Bang. He kicked things off with the song "D-Day," composed by Japanese singer-songwriter Hata Motohiro. He continued with songs like "VENUS," and a cover of Ikimono Gakari's "Joyful.” He then performed the legendary Big Bang song "Fantastic Baby.” The track is still a thrill for fans more than a decade after its original release. For the final song, "Wings" left a fitting conclusion for the first night of the event.
On July 30th (Sunday),
CHANMINA kicked off the second day with energetic performances of hits like "Picky," "Best Friend" (with Doja Cat, Jamie, Saweetie), and "Never Grow Up." Surprise guest, ASH ISLAND made an appearance, and together, they presented the stage for "Don't Go (feat. ASH ISLAND).
Next to grace the stage was KWON EUN BI, adorned in a vibrant aqua-colored swimsuit with a sheer top hit the stage with her song "Underwater." She further surprised the audience with a cover of the song, "Ai wo Tsutaetai dato ka” originally sung by popular Japanese singer and songwriter AIMYON. The former Iz*One leaders topped if off by gifting original fans to the crowd.
The next artist to take the stage was BE’O, a hip hop artist who first garnered attention on the hip hop survival show “Show Me The Money 10.” The performance kicked off with "Without You." He further engaged the crowd with his hit songs” Limousine” and “Counting Stars." As a surprise, he unveiled a new unreleased track, "Pamse (Throughout The Night)." The grand finale was none other than his mega-hit "LOVE me."
ASH ISLAND, an icon in the EMO hip-hop scene, captivated the audience with his performance of "MELODY." He followed this up with a performance of “Rainy day.” He doubled down with energetic performances of the tracks "I Remember," "Nightmare," and "Paranoid.” He ended things with "One More Night" and “Band.”
Emerging artist BIG Naughty then entered the stage. After performing songs like "Joker" and "Romance Symphony," he followed up with the hit track "VVS," which gained immense popularity in Korea. A collaboration with 10cm on "Beyond Love," was performed next as the audience joined in with the chorus. A surprise appearance by Japanese artist “imase” took the crowd by surprise and they performed the beloved track "NIGHT DANCER.”
Rapper, songwriter and GRAY next took the stage. He performed the tracks "Change" and "Dream Chaser” and the appropriately followed it up with summer-themed tracks like "Summer Night,” “I Don't Love You,” and "Stay the Night.” He was then joined by guest Coogie for the hit song "119.” "ON AIR" and "TTFU" were performed while the sun was setting and the performance was concluded with "Who You."
Next on the stage was WATERBOMB regular, SUNMI, who appeared wearing a denim miniskirt and a see-through top. Her stage kicked off with "24 hours," followed by "Siren" and "pporappippam.” She “then performed the megahits “TAIL" and "Gashina." SUNMI’s performance showcased why she is considered one the queens of K-Pop.
TAEMIN, made his first visit to Japan after being discharged from military service in April. Everything started with the 2017 bass-driven pop R&B mega-hit "MOVE.” In "Criminal," he showcased more of his dance moves before performing songs like “Advice,” "Shadow,” "Guess Who,” and "Sexuality.” It seemed that he didn’t lose a step after his compulsory military service.
JAY PARK closed out WATERBOMB JAPAN 2023 and his stage started with "ON AIR," followed by “All I Wanna Do.” ”Me Like Yuh" had the audience start off with the chorus and then he addressed the audience with English, Korean, and Japanese. He then performed one “of his recent tracks “Candy," released in May, and the “moved onto the IU collabaration “Ganadara.” "On it," "K TOWN," and an energetic performance with CHANMINA on ”MOMMAE” gave the crowd more of what the came for. For an encore, he concluded the event with "Who You.”
Event Overview: WATERBOMB TOKYO 2023
Performers:
July 29th, 2023:
HAON
YUGYEOM
LOCO
HYUNA
MAMAMOO+
ATEEZ
CHANYEOL & SEHUN (EXO)
NICHKHUN & JUN. K (2PM)
D-LITE (DAESUNG), and others
July 30th, 2023:
CHANMINA
KWON EUN BI
BE‘O
ASHI ISLAND
BIG NAUGHTY
pH-1
GRAY
SUNMI
TAEMIN (SHINee)
JAY PARK, and others
Venue:
Belluna Dome - Saitama, Japan
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