Enhypen's VR CONCERT.

 Earlier this year, A K-Pop boy band from South Korea called Enhypen collaborated with AmazeVR to film a VR concert subtitled "Immersion"  which is currently being toured across the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. To be honest, I have never really listened to much K Pop let alone Enhypen's music. I've listened to a few of BTS and Blackpink songs and I enjoyed the K Pop Demon Hunters movie and soundtrack but that's about my extent of my experience with K Pop. Still, I recognize K Pop can be a lot of fun, especially from what i heard regarding k pop concerts and seeing fanbases chant phrases in support of their idols. Despite my lack of experience regarding K Pop, I do always look forward to VR concerts and thankfully, this one was near me in Mesa so I didn't have to travel far this time. I bought a ticket to a showing of Immersion at 7:55 PM on October 15th at Cinemark Mesa 16. Before the showing, I listened to some enhypen songs like Sweet Venom and XO and find them to be very catchy

When I got to the theater, I waited in a line with other Enhypen fans (referred to as Engenes) and one even gave out her own fan packages consiting of a photocard of one of Enhypen's members (from a past album release) and stickers. 2 staff members then filmed us wishing Heeseung (a member of Enhypen), a happy birthday. They then checked us in and gave us the contents of a "benefit package" that came with the showing.

Each Benefit Package comes with a one of 15 Photocards (featuring one of Enhypen's members, a Physical Ticket, a Photocard Holder, one of 2 posters, and an eye hygiene mask. There are 2 screening periods for each stop with the first 2 or 3 days making up screening period 1 and the last 2 making up screening period 2). Each Screening Period contains a different poster and a different set of 7 random postcards plus one special lucky pull Postcard that can show up in either screening period.

As we were taken to our seats, there was a preshow consiting of past Enhypen's music videos. After that, we put on our headsets (thankfully, my glasses fit inside comfortably) and got to cycle through digital cards of Enhypen Members by waving our hands on them while the experience was loading. During the concert, a digital enhypen wristband appeared in my digital left hand while a digital enhypen lightstick appeared on my right hand (accessed by clenching your hand). Making a heart shape with your hands forms an onscreen heart as well. After the loading screen, the concert began.

1. No Doubt: We end up in an office workspace. After traveling to the main area, each member would walk out one by one to instant cheers from the audience. They then perform No Doubt and throughout each song, each member would step up into the spotlight and get close in our faces.

2. Daydream: We then shift into an all dark and abandoned part of the office space where after they walk out one, they would perform Daydream. At this point, I was having just as much of a blast as the rest of the audience even if I don't scream as loud like them.

MENTION 1: Enhypen then spends time introducing themselves, explaining how excited they were to film a concert in VR, mess around with the camera a bit and in your face, and some even blew kisses to the audience. Throughout these mentions, they speak in Korean but do have English Subtitles to help those who don't understand Korean language understand what they are saying.

3. XO: We then soar through the sky and end up on the top of a rooftop with Enhypen where they perform XO. Throughout the song, a pink moon shines bright onto Enhypen to fit with the pink romance them from the album in which the song was taken from, Romance:Untold

4. Sweet Venom: The rooftop then changes and a dark blue moon shines upon us instead as they perform sweet venom. The performance ends with lightening whisking them away!

MENTION 2: They reappear after initally narrating offscreen and talk about their favourite moments about their vr performances of XO and Sweet Venom. They even demonstrate how they the lightening from far away through special effects.

5. Bite Me: The rooftop then changes again to one featuring more candles in a ritual setting as Enhypen performs Bite Me under a Red Moon.

Interactive Moment: We all then had one minutes to select one of the Enhypen's members to receive a special message and video from. I waved my hand over each of the 7 cards before picking Jay's Card. We then go to the meadows where I saw him sitting and moving around while a message displays with Jay thanking the Fans. I'll get to the remaining members once the concert comes out on the AmazeVR app. It was pretty cool to have a choose your own adventure moment.

6. Highway 1009: The members then sit around the meadows to then perform one of their more relaxing songs called Highway 1009. It was a nice change of pace.

7. Paranormal: The meadows then turn into night as Enhypen performs Paranormal. The audience at this point was going crazy and I had a fun time with each of the songs so far. Maybe not enough to become an Engene but worthy of checking out the occasional song frkm them.

MENTION 3: They thanked the audience for coming out to see their first VR concert and promised to have their next VR concert be more exiting (Considering that TXT got a second VR concert, they may get one too). They then said this would be it for tonight and even appeared to end this by showing the title. And then the encore performance began.

8. Go Big or Go Home. We go to an indoor skate park where Enhypen performs the final song of the evening titled Go Big or Go Home. The members of Enhypen then exits one by one. And with that, we were told to remove our headsets and then the credits came on.

Overall, I had a lot of fun and the setting of a kpop concert translated very well to vr including teenagers screaming at every move the Enhypen band makes. I do wish the digital lightsticks we waved around were a bit more dynamic in lighting and the heart effect do something more but I still enjoyed the entire concert. I'm also glad to see that the VR concerts went from less than 15 minutes overall to almost 40. As VR technology improves, I'm still hoping someday we can get a VR concert that's of similar length to a regular concert overall! Well done AmazeVR and Enhypen!

P.S. Ateez just announced their first vr concert with AmazeVR to begin touring in December!