On Aug. 25, the four-member K-pop girl group MAMAMOO took the stage at Crypto.com Arena for the Los Angeles stop of their “4WARD” world tour.
It has been three years since MAMAMOO was in Los Angeles, and four since they last released new music as a group, giving them a chance to both showcase new music and perform fan favourites. In those four years, the group had taken a hiatus to focus on their solo careers and projects. The crowd of jumping fans waving radish-shaped lightsticks reflected the excitement of seeing them perform together once again.
Fan Lucinda Lai flew from Utah to see the show.
“I get happy for [their solo journeys], but not going to lie, every time they come out as a group, I feel very excited about it.” Lai said. “It’s been a long time for sure. Before this [EP], I initially thought, they’re probably not going to have any, because I think this is the first [group release] after they went to different companies.”
MAMAMOO debuted in 2014, and each member had initially been signed exclusively with RBW (Rainbow Bridge World), a South-Korean entertainment company. In 2021, Wheein left RBW, signing exclusively with a different company, The L1ve, for solo projects. However, she has a contract extension with RBW solely for activities regarding the group. It is uncertain how much involvement Wheein will have with the group after their tour concludes.
“This could be the beginning of a new chapter [...], there’s much to look forward to.” Lai said.
The concert opened with “Mr Ambiguous,” the title track of their first mini album, “HELLO.” The audience erupted in cheers, lightsticks waving in sync with the beat.
The group showcased their flexibility, performing hits such as “Starry Night,” the remixed version of “Hip,” and a trot version of “Taller Than You.” Each song was remixed slightly from their studio versions - with different instrumentals and production, giving a unique live experience for fans at the concert.
Amidst the energetic performance, there were moments of respite. Short videos of interviews, members playing games and comedic animated shorts were shown on the jumbotrons.
In addition to their music released as a group, each member performed a song from their solo projects — Hwasa with “So Cute,” Wheein with “The Symphony of Fxxkboys”, Moonbyul with “Hertz” and Solar with “Blues” — demonstrating each members’ growth through the four years. The energy of the fans did not falter for any performance — there was an equal amount of cheering and support for each member’s song.
Kess and Han, known for their K-pop reaction channel “Kess and Han Reacts” on YouTube, expressed their equal support for each member during their solo careers. “I think we followed everyone,” Kess said.
Kess and Han said that they had been fans of MAMAMOO for four years, and that their community of 333,000 subscribers on YouTube was the reason they discovered MAMAMOO.
“I think our community asked us to react to them,” Han said, “But when ‘ILLELLA’ (a track released by MAMAMOO in 2022) came out, then we got really into them.”
The pair agreed that MAMAMOO’s vocals were what set them apart from other K-pop groups.
“No one does vocals [like them], [...] they always sing live.” Han said.
During performances, members would have ad-libs, or even make “mistakes” to show they were performing live.
“They know how to entertain, they know how to sing, they know how to put on a show.” Kess added.
MAMAMOO will continue their international 4WARD tour through October 2026.