It’s been Singapore’s rainy season recently. But it definitely did not rain on Kang Daniel’s parade as it marked his return to the Singapore Indoor Stadium. He brought his first ever headline tour First Parade to the city last Saturday.
There was a sense of nostalgia and familiarity for the 26 year-old soloist. After all, he has been here on multiple occasions with the now-defunct Wanna One in 2017 and 2018.
In 2019, Kang held a fan meet at the same venue titled after his debut EP.
Talking about his journey thus far, “it feels surreal”, he says.
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“When I first met you guys here, I was just a rookie and now a few years have passed, [from] concerts to world tours. It’s all because of your constant support”, he continues.
Despite the slightly more than three year wait, fans are still quick to groove to some of his top hits like Who U Are (2020), Don’t Tell (2022) and Waves (2022).
Much has changed since Kang last performed here. Then, he did not venture into acting. He has not made his U.S television debut either. Not to mention, the global pandemic was not even a thing.
But one thing remained the same — his undying love to perform on stage for his fans.
“What I love about today is that I can meet you guys face to face and listen to you directly,” he addresses the crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
His show is an interesting one. Many stars pack their concert sets with live renditions of their tracks, and Kang did so.
He flaunted smooth dance moves and flashy performances in Nirvana (2022) while serenading fans with intimate covers of slower tracks like Loser (2022) and 1000x (2022).
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Something special for the fans — he threw in a quiz segment between live performances to answer this-or-that questions from his fans directly.
The two hour long parade was a true culmination of his hard work and determination through the years. It’s pretty much also a reminder of how, and why fans are behind Kang, affectionately known as the nation’s centre as he took centre spot when he was a trainee then.
It doesn’t end there though. He hopes his music will continue to be a source of inspiration for him and fans in the years to come.
“To me, there are so many songs that give me strength,” he says.
“When I was low, the music consoled me, when I was [in] high [spirits], I listened to music that amplified such feelings,” he adds.
This is merely Kang’s first parade in Singapore. Will a second one be held? Only time will tell.
This article originally appeared on SeoulHype, Asia’s fastest-growing media platform about Korean entertainment, culture and music.