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On November 15, Paris turned into a meeting point of emotion, discovery, and pure energy when NCHIVE stopped in the capital for a show that will stay in the minds of fans for a long time. Even before entering the venue, the atmosphere outside felt strikingly simple—an almost solemn kind of anticipation, filled with hopeful, curious conversations. Many people were seeing the group for the first time. “I just discovered them,” one fan said. “I came to get to know their music better,” added another, while a small group was already hyping things up with, “It’s gonna be fire!” For some, the night even carried a sense of personal victory: “Having fun despite my disability. We’re going to show them what French energy is. They’re a really cool group and their music is great.” ©️ hanrushyfilm Not everyone was new to them. Lou, a long-time fan, shared a more emotional story: she’s been following the group since their debut, and her bias is N, with whom she has had “a lot of calls.” “They brought me the light I needed and saved me,” she said. Others simply hoped the fandom would grow, like Maiwenn: “I’ve known them since their post on X. I hope the fandom grows after tonight’s concert.” A few international fans, visibly excited, proudly said they’d been following the group “since before debut.” Aïchatou, who won a contest, came with the intention of discovering something new: “I listened to their songs and it’s different from the groups I usually follow. I’m waiting to see how it feels live since the experience is different, but I think I’ll like it.” ©️ hanrushyfilm That night, NCHIVE wasn’t alone. Paris was treated to an exclusive opening act: Loudi, performing only for this date. Before he even stepped onstage, MMS introduced the winner of their contest, inviting her to dance in front of a crowd that cheered her on without hesitation. Then Loudi appeared, and the room instantly welcomed him with warmth and genuine enthusiasm. He opened with an energetic “Let’s go!”, setting the mood right away. His performance also marked his very first time singing in Europe. He started with A World Imagination, then moved on to Idol, from the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters. After Idol, the encouragements from the crowd filled the room so loudly that he laughed, slipping in a few words in French: “Bonsoir Paris,” “Bonjour,” “I can’t wait to perform,” “It’s my first in Paris.” Curious about his audience, he asked who had seen K-Pop Demon Hunters and what their favorite song was. The most unifying moment came when he performed an acoustic version of BLACKPINK’s Whistle. The entire venue sang with him, turning the moment into a true shared experience. “Amazing. Do the same for the next song,” he said, before announcing a surprise: “Preparing a special song… sing a song you guys will know… it’s an honor for me.” Then the first notes of Papaoutai played, and the room erupted with excitement. After the song, the crowd started chanting “Popopopopo,” and Loudi jumped in, dancing and laughing while admitting, “French pronunciation is so hard. Next time I will practice more.” He followed with Obsession, then performed a brand-new unreleased track, giving Paris the world premiere. He warmly thanked the audience afterwards. He later sat down for an interview with KSTV, saying he found the audience “amazing”: “You helped me recharge my batteries.” He talked about his artistic journey, how he wants to explore different styles—R&B, Disney songs, collaborations—and shared his hope to return to Europe next year. “Thank you so much for supporting me since 2019. Have fun too.” ©️ hanrushyfilm When NCHIVE finally took over the stage, the transition felt natural—the fans were already charged up, carried by the energy Loudi had helped build. KSTV had interviewed the members backstage right before. They themselves admitted receiving “a lot of encouragement and warmth” in Europe, and were expecting “fiery cheers from the audience.” One member even threw out the now-iconic “C’est parti mon kiki,” a phrase they repeated several times throughout the concert. They opened with Can't Catch Me , and from the very first seconds, hands shot up just as they had asked. The crowd responded with a loud “ohohohoh” at the end of the song, the first sign of an atmosphere that wouldn’t cool down once. NChristmAs brought a soft, warm note before LUV+ME and Flash followed. Between songs, the members chatted with the crowd, mentioning they had seen the Eiffel Tower, which they found “very beautiful,” to the point that Juyoung “cried twice.” They hoped fans would listen to their upcoming album a lot and tried out some French phrases: “Vous êtes tous jolis,” “olalala,” “c’est très joli.” A series of solo and unit stages came next, including a standout cover of G-Dragon’s Untitled 2014. Then came the announcement: the next morning at 10 a.m., their new song Love in Christmas would be released—this time bringing a contrast to the softer mood of their previous holiday track. “I want to walk in beautiful European streets while listening to this song,” one member said. The Paris crowd, always reactive, chanted “Ici c’est Paris” multiple times and responded loudly to the classic “Vous êtes fatigués?” with “On n’est pas fatigués!” At one point, a member summed it up perfectly: “Paris is all lit up, just like you.” For a TikTok challenge, the whole venue raised their phones with the flash on, creating a glowing landscape before Racer kicked off. The energy rose even higher when fans shouted their love for each member. “You want more?” one of them asked before breaking into a dance medley of Stray Kids songs. Then came a more intimate moment: the group wanted to memorialize the night with a photo featuring the crowd behind them. “Are you ready? Isn’t it too sad if we end like this? Should we keep going a bit?” And they did. They went down into the audience, walking among fans, taking phones to film, creating memories that felt both personal and unforgettable. They performed Fireworks, then K-pop classics like BIGBANG’s Bang Bang Bang and Fantastic Baby. Finally, they circled back to Can't Catch Me—a mirrored ending to their opening—singing it partly onstage, partly within the crowd itself. ©️ hanrushyfilm VIP ticket holders had the chance to take a group photo with all the members before the show, and afterward, every fan could pose with the member or members of their choice—plus the separate photo session with Loudi. This Parisian night unfolded like a series of suspended moments: the fans’ testimonies, Loudi’s first European steps, NCHIVE’s sunny energy, and that rare closeness between artists and audience. It was more than a concert—it was something shared, carried together, and transformed into a memory worth holding onto until their next visit. ©️ hanrushyfilm

“We were born to shine, even in a world that didn’t always see us,” says PJ. From their first note to their final gesture, Big Ocean invites fans—young and old alike—to feel the light inside themselves. With their first-ever Christmas single, RED-DY SET GO , the group isn’t just dropping a festive track—they’re lighting up the stage with resilience, identity, and joy. For PJ, Chanyeon, and Jiseok, every beat, gesture, and note is a statement: difference is not a limitation—it’s power. Through Korean, American, and International Sign Language, Big Ocean transforms pop music into a space where all voices, heard or unheard, can shine together. South Korea’s groundbreaking idol group Big Ocean (빅오션) is making 2025 a landmark year with their first-ever Christmas single, “RED-DY SET GO.” Released on November 23 under Parastar Entertainment , the track showcases PJ, Chanyeon, and Jiseok as innovators in the K-pop industry—not just as performers but as social pioneers. Big Ocean is the first-ever hard-of-hearing boy group, and they have consistently challenged the norms of the industry, creating a new genre they call S-Pop (sign language pop). Through a combination of music, choreography, and visual storytelling using Korean Sign Language (KSL), American Sign Language (ASL), and International Sign (IS), the group has redefined what it means to perform and communicate in K-pop. “RED-DY SET GO” is both a festive holiday track and a deeply symbolic statement of identity, self-acceptance, and resilience, reaching fans across generations. The song draws inspiration from the classic story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, using the metaphor of the “red nose” to symbolize difference, vulnerability, and marginalization. However, instead of framing uniqueness as a weakness, the track flips this narrative: difference becomes light, exclusion becomes empowerment. Lines such as “I was born to be the light,” “Hidin’ no more, this is my moment to blow,” and “Together we glow” articulate the central theme of embracing what makes you different, transforming perceived flaws into strengths, and building a sense of community through shared resilience. These lyrics resonate particularly strongly coming from a group whose members are all hard-of-hearing, making their existence in the K-pop industry an act of representation in itself. Musically, “RED-DY SET GO” blends the warmth and energy of a traditional holiday carol with modern pop production techniques. The track opens with bright, shimmering synths layered over upbeat percussion, immediately establishing a festive, cheerful mood. The chorus features catchy, sing-along melodies reinforced by layered harmonies, while rhythmic claps and subtle percussive textures give the track a forward momentum. Vocally, PJ, Chanyeon, and Jiseok navigate the song using a combination of natural vocal performance and studio assistance, including AI-based vocal enhancements for clarity, particularly on English lyrics. These technologies allow the group to maintain the authenticity of their voices while ensuring accessibility to international audiences. The song’s production cleverly incorporates visual and tactile elements to compensate for the members’ hearing differences. Vibrating smartwatches allow them to feel the rhythm, while visual metronomes and LED cues synchronize choreography and gestures. These innovations turn what might have been a limitation into a defining element of the performance, making rhythm, timing, and musicality visible as well as audible. In this way, the track exemplifies Big Ocean’s ethos: music can be inclusive, multisensory, and emotionally resonant without being limited to traditional auditory experience. The accompanying music video amplifies the song’s narrative, combining winter imagery with symbolic visual storytelling. Snow-dusted streets, glowing lights, and delicate contrasts of shadow and illumination underscore the song’s message of transformation and inner strength. Notably, Jiseok appears live on camera for the first time, adding a layer of intimacy and emotional depth to the visuals. The choreography integrates sign language into the performance, allowing gestures to communicate meaning and emotion alongside the lyrics. By transforming hand movements into a visual bridge for musical expression, Big Ocean turns the performance into a multi-dimensional narrative, engaging audiences beyond the conventional sound-based medium. Lyrically, the song is rich in metaphor and layered meaning. Lines like “Small deer, all alone in the candle light … It’s so shinin’ even in the night” frame the red-nosed deer as a vulnerable figure, alone yet radiant. The candlelight symbolizes fragile but persistent inner strength, echoing the group’s own experiences in an industry historically unprepared for performers with hearing disabilities. “What a rosy nose on fire … you look so different, you alright?” directly references the stigma and curiosity faced by those who are “different,” while reframing that difference as a source of power. The chorus—“I was born to be the light … Did you know I glow this bright” and “Hidin’ no more … this is my moment to blow … Together we glow”—emphasizes self-acceptance, communal empowerment, and turning perceived vulnerabilities into sources of inspiration. From a thematic perspective, the single continues Big Ocean’s 2025 trajectory of innovation and global outreach. Following their European “Underwater” tour earlier in the year, which spanned cities from Lausanne to London and later extended to Athens, Mainz, and Copenhague, the group has reinforced their international presence. Fans, known collectively as Pado, have embraced the song as both a celebration of holiday spirit and a symbolic anthem for inclusion. Testimonials from fans describe feelings of empowerment, representation, and motivation to engage with sign language or challenge personal barriers. These reactions highlight the song’s impact beyond entertainment, positioning Big Ocean as both cultural and social influencers in the global K-pop landscape. The single also anchors the group’s end-of-year concert, HEARTSIGN: When Hands Sing, Hearts Answer, set for December 7 at the Bataclan in Paris . The 90-minute performance will include the first live rendition of “RED-DY SET GO,” promising an immersive experience that combines music, visual storytelling, and sign language. This concert situates the single not just as a holiday release but as a central statement of the group’s identity, artistry, and mission. In terms of cultural significance, “RED-DY SET GO” exemplifies the intersection of music, social advocacy, and innovation. By centering the single within their 2025 activities—from production to European performances to fan engagement—Big Ocean illustrates that difference is not a barrier but a source of creative and personal strength. The track demonstrates the potential for K-pop to evolve beyond conventional auditory norms, offering a blueprint for inclusive, accessible, and socially meaningful performance. “We want people to feel the light inside themselves when they listen to our music,” shares Chanyeon. RED-DY SET GO is more than a holiday release—it’s a celebration of identity, inclusion, and self-empowerment. From snow-dusted streets to sign-language choreography, Big Ocean invites fans across generations into a multisensory world where music, movement, and meaning come together. As they take the stage for HEARTSIGN: When Hands Sing, Hearts Answer in Paris, this is more than a performance—it’s a reminder that embracing who you are can illuminate not just your life, but the world around you.

With ELSE, his second mini album, Cha Eun-woo enters a new phase of his artistic journey—one marked by instinct, duality, and a deliberate shedding of layers. Recorded entirely before his military enlistment but released while he’s serving, the project becomes a bridge between presence and absence, a way for the artist to remain connected to his audience while revealing a version of himself that feels bolder, sharper, and more vulnerable than ever. Under Fantagio , with Kakao Entertainment as distributor, ELSE stands apart from ENTITY, not as a continuation but as a quiet rupture, widening the scope of Eun-woo’s sonic palette and emotional language. From the earliest teasers, it was clear that this album would operate in the realm of contrast. The “Day” and “Night” concept photos present two fractured halves of the same figure: one burnished in soft light, immaculate and composed; the other bruised, shadow-soaked, and unguarded, as if revealing the scars that once remained hidden. This visual opposition becomes the organizing principle of the entire project. Across four tracks that traverse pop-funk, retro disco, trap-pop, and heartfelt balladry, Eun-woo leans into multiplicity—into the idea that one person can contain contradictions, edges, and warmth all at once. The album opens with “Sweet Papaya” , a breezy pop-funk track that immediately sets a brighter, more playful tone than listeners might expect from the darker promotional imagery. Crisp guitars, airy synth flourishes, and a rhythmic bounce infuse the song with a sense of spontaneity. Lyrically, Eun-woo—who co-wrote the track alongside 2AM’s Seulong—opts for directness and instinct over metaphor. His vocal delivery feels more relaxed, less sculpted than in previous releases. There’s a looseness to the way he rides the groove, a subtle confidence in the way he lets small imperfections color the performance. The track might seem light on its surface, but it situates itself neatly within the album’s central theme: stepping outside the frame, allowing a different side of himself to play. The title track, “Saturday Preacher” , arrives as ELSE’s beating heart. Fantagio described it as a retro disco cut, but the song pushes beyond pastiche, merging vintage textures with modern structure. A buoyant bassline anchors the song, while glittering synths and a sleek falsetto lift the chorus into something hypnotic and cinematic. The idea of becoming a “Saturday preacher”—someone who leads the night with conviction, who voices a truth usually kept inside—perfectly mirrors the darker, more liberated Eun-woo hinted at in the “Night” visuals. Seulong’s contribution to the lyrics adds a gentle emotional sharpness, shaping the track into both a confession and an anthem. Even without live promotions due to his service, the music video and upcoming performance film promise to deliver the theatricality and magnetism the song deserves. “Selfish” pushes the album into more introspective territory, weaving pop, trap elements, and soft rock textures into something atmospheric and cinematic. Here, Eun-woo explores the tension between vulnerability and desire—the fear of appearing self-centered versus the need to claim space in a relationship. The production leans into moody synth layers and restrained percussion, creating the sense of walking alone through a city at night, replaying conversations and regrets in your head. His vocal performance is deliberately subdued, almost intimate to the point of secrecy. This is perhaps the clearest embodiment of the “other self” the album promises: not dramatic or violent, but honest in its discomfort, willing to reveal what normally stays quiet. Closing the album is “Thinkin’ Bout U” , a tender pop ballad steeped in softness and nostalgia. It’s the gentlest track on ELSE, yet it carries the emotional weight of a quiet confession. Stripped-down instrumentation—delicate keys, light strings, subtle percussive accents—allows Eun-woo’s voice to sit at the center, warm and unforced. He traces the shape of lingering affection with a sincerity that feels almost fragile. In doing so, the album comes full circle: after exploring brightness, desire, tension, and shadow, it returns to introspection. To the muted glow of late-night thoughts. To the part of the self that exists when no one’s watching. What makes ELSE especially compelling is its release context. Every visual, every behind-the-scenes clip, every performance video was carefully prepared before Eun-woo’s enlistment, turning this comeback into a coordinated act of presence despite physical absence. The rollout—teasers, schedules, two music videos (with “Sweet Papaya” set for release on November 28), and an ARS fan event that received over 100,000 calls—underscores just how meticulously this project was engineered. It’s promotion without the performer, yet the emotional connection remains intact, even amplified. Symbolically, ELSE stands as one of Eun-woo’s most defining works to date. Not because it is his most musically virtuosic project—though it is polished and thoughtfully crafted—but because it reveals intention and introspection. The duality at the heart of the visual concept is not merely aesthetic; it’s a narrative about identity, about stepping into the parts of oneself that are contradictory, imperfect, unfiltered. Publications like Kcrush have already noted how the album feels like a deliberate unmasking, a willingness to present complexity rather than control. While its commercial numbers have yet to fully unfold, early reactions from fans highlight appreciation for the album’s range, coherence, and emotional depth. The involvement of Seulong further elevates the project’s songwriting credibility, and the decision to diversify genres across just four tracks reflects Eun-woo’s desire to break from expectations without abandoning accessibility. Ultimately, ELSE positions Cha Eun-woo not as an idol achieving a routine comeback but as an artist quietly rewriting himself. In the absence created by his military service, he offers an album that fills the space—not loudly, but meaningfully. An album that stretches beyond polish, toward something human. ELSE isn’t just a placeholder during his enlistment; it’s a statement of evolution, of courage, of becoming. And through it, Cha Eun-woo steps into a new light—one shaped not by perfection, but by truth.

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