SAAY's Brooklyn Concert Review, 20240908

This past Friday, we got to attend SAAY's concert held in Brooklyn, New York. Unfortunately, the weather here has been awful this week, and we all got soaked waiting in line, but I don't think anyone minded too much given what we were waiting for.

You may be too new to kpop to know EvoL, but a decade ago, they were only a hit or two away from getting the hype of a top-tier girl group. Their two big releases, 'Get Up' and 'We are a bit different’, were full of the sort of badass energy with music videos filled with tanks and pyrotechnics that surged in popularity a few years later.

SAAY (back then, she went by Say) was EvoL's leader, vocalist (they didn't have the lead/main distinction in this group for vocals, but I'd put her in the main vocalist position myself) and its main dancer.

So what happened? Nothing was ever confirmed. However, some believe it was something with their company, Stardom Entertainment, as former labelmates BLOCK B had a lawsuit pending against them around the same time. During the early days of third generation kpop, there were many groups that shared similar fates, and many companies formed with huge aspirations, with even the talent to back it up, but couldn't make the accounting work.

But ten years later and SAAY has kept going, steadily building her solo career with hits like ZGZG and her newest digital single, DOMINO. And tonight at 7PM, her first international concert was about to begin in Brooklyn on this rainy day.

The venue was nice, small, and packed. As I was walking in, I saw attendees who even had some SAAY posters with them. Woo let's go! The show starts and we get some nice sets from DJ nguyendowsXP, who had some fire NewJeans mixes. We see her manager setting up her stage, and the crowd notices by putting their phones away or getting them into video recording mode.

The moment SAAY comes out, the crowd erupts. Her main dancer energy is clear, and her songs were made to have a concert's worth of subwoofers pumping the bass behind them.

(@saayworld)

As she moves from one song to the next, she's taking time to engage with the crowd, answering questions and you know the general playfulness that you can only get at these types of intimate club-styled events. One guy from the crowd tells her how he's been a fan since the EvoL days and she almost starts crying.

The crowd seems the familiar composite of a very diverse but nerdy-yet-trendy type common at these types of events. A few people stuck out, I thought they must be regular club-goers here or with their friends, but no -- once SAAY was out, these guys were mouthing all the Korean words and having a blast vibing out, dancing to every song. To me, it really spoke to how SAAY has built her audience beyond the usual kpop nerds (although we were still a strong majority to be sure).

We're moving through all her hits and she's engaging with the crowd, teasing a future Europe tour and talking about how it was her dream to come back to Brooklyn as she grew up nearby.

(@kimberleyscribe)

SAAY’s energy is incredible. She makes sure to pop every move and go through the entire motion and then some. Then she starts singing and she's belting out notes that main dancers shouldn't be able to hit. My tiny kpop brain couldn't comprehend most of it.

As the concert is ending, we all huddle in for a picture and she gives us one last pep talk to hold onto. Hana dul set, SAAY fighting! Good luck in the future, SAAY!

(@saayworld)