GOT7's Mark Tuan shows his 'Other side' as he embarks on first solo tour
The American singer recently took over Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre for a sold-out show
Since making his debut in 2014 with the hit K-pop group GOT7, Mark Tuan is showing a different side of himself as he embarks on a solo career.
In 2021, he and his GOT7 members left JYP. It signalled a new start for the group, allowing Tuan and his fellow members Jackson Wang, BamBam, Jay B, Jinyoung, Youngjae and Yugyeom to take on new projects including successful albums and acting careers. Tuan also started his own label DNA Records with friends, and signed with the agency CAA.
This past August, Tuan released his very first solo project, The Other Side, after recording much of the album in his home city Los Angeles. Now he’s taking music on the road in his first North American tour, with sold-out stops in New York, San Francisco, LA and Toronto.
I recently had a chance to check out his sold-out show on a whim at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre, after finding a ticket on a resale app. Having never been to a GOT7 show myself, I decided to get a taste of the experience.
The venue was filled with hundreds of dedicated fans (known as I GOT7 or Ahgase), each holding the group’s iconic green and white lightstick known as an Ahgabong.
The concert was opened by a singer-songwriter who introduced himself as Wes on stage. I later discovered he was the same Wesley Feng who worked with Tuan on his debut album.
He had a few good hits, and Wes did a solid job at keeping the energy of fans. He even facetimed his friend on stage, telling the audience to cheer for his buddy who was going through a difficult time.
It was one of the most wholesome experiences I’ve ever had at a concert, and it was enough to invest more time in discovering who Wes was as an artist. Unfortunately, I have no way of finding his Spotify or YouTube account. Hopefully going on tour with Mark Tuan can give him a bit more attention. (UPDATE: thank you @josefinacarmon for sending weswes’s Spotify account)
When it was time for Tuan to enter the stage, he appeared in a white suit, with a very see-through shirt underneath. That was enough to make the girls behind me scream very loud. I think I overheard they travelled across the border to come see him as well.
Tuan opened up with "Save me”, followed by “Last Breath”, “Let U Go” and “IMYSM.”
He is known to be shy and a bit of an introvert. And his inner thoughts lent itself to a very lengthy debut album.
The Other Side features 20 songs. Most of them are what I would describe as “crying in the club anthems.” It sounds a bit like an audio diary, one where Tuan reveals his thoughts on loneliness in songs such as “After Hours (Interlude)”. Other times, like in the song “My Name”, he describes how the grind has paid off for him.
Admittedly when I first heard The Other Side, I felt Tuan relied a little too much on autotune, and didn’t let his real voice shine enough. But hearing everyone belt the lyrics loudly around me changed the atmosphere and made the show much more exciting and engaging.
When it was time to address the crowd, Tuan started by reading a fanmade sign, “It’s been 1209 days since you last visited Toronto.”
“It feels good to be back!” he proclaimed in response.
Tuan proceeded to greet the crowd by singing happy birthday, after hearing some fans were celebrating theirs. It also happened to be his mother’s birthday. “I wouldn’t be here if she weren’t here,” he said. “Make some noise for her one time!”
While much of Tuan’s solo discography features moodier hits, there are moments where he livens things up. Two backup dancers join him on stage greeted with cheers, and Tuan takes the audience back to his original idol roots by jumping into a dance break when performing songs like “Change up” and “Hard 2 Love.”
Tuan is at his most relatable when he pauses to speak with the audience, reacting hilariously to fan signs and cheers. At one point, a fan yelled “You’re so sexy!” To which Tuan shyly responded, “Stop it! You’re embarrassing me!”
There was a ton of fan service throughout the show, with Tuan offering to sign an album someone brought all the way to the venue. He also sat down to sing one of his older songs, called “OMW”. The lyrics refer to Tuan’s move to Korea to pursue his dreams of becoming a singer.
Tuan ended the show with a vow to return to Toronto, and made many promises to come back for a tour with the members of GOT7, despite their busy schedules.
“I promise one day, one day, the seven members are gonna go on a tour! You guys better be there,” he said.
As evidenced by his years of training as a K-pop idol, Tuan clearly has the charisma and charm to hold his own on the stage. Not to mention, his shyness is adorable.
It is admirable he took a different path and returned home to produce his album. Solo debuts are no easy feat! But after years of being in a K-pop group, he still has much room to grow as a solo artist. While his music may be raw, his album is rough around the edges and tends to drag with a 55-minute runtime.
While The Other Side reveals a more stripped down version of Tuan, I hope he can further gain more confidence in his vocals and experiment with his producing and songwriting in future projects.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Fact checkers and editors are important, but few and far in between. They also deserve to be paid fairly. At this moment, I am doing this on my own for free. Accountability is important to me, so please address corrections and concerns by sending me an email at bunnipopnewsletter@gmail.com
Videos for further watching:
Mark Tuan Reads Thirst Tweets
Song Association with Mark Tuan