Last week on April 18th, NCT DREAM recently finished one of their first US tour concerts in LA. The show was a part of their second world tour, “THE DREAM SHOW2: In A DREAM,” which kicked off in Seoul, South Korea, on September 8th of last year. Before stopping in other major American cities like Newark, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, and Seattle, the group has already performed in towns in Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, China, England, France, and Germany, with four more stops left to go—Manila, Singapore, Macau, and Kuala Lumpur. With packed stadiums worldwide, the band is working hard to make the dreams of international fans come true.

In case you’re not familiar with them, NCT DREAM is a subunit of the larger K-Pop boy group NCT (which stands for Neo Culture Technology) under the largest entertainment agency in South Korea and Asia, SM Entertainment. Composed of seven members—Mark, Haechan, Jaemin, Jeno, Jisung, Chenle, and Renjun—the fresh and innovative NCT DREAM has skyrocketed in popularity, following their older members in the also famous NCT 127 (which Mark and Haechan are both members of in addition to DREAM). With NCT’s overall concept of global appeal, NCT DREAM befittingly has one Canadian-Korean member, leader Mark Lee, and two Chinese members, Chenle Zhong and Renjun Huang. With their youngest member only fourteen years old and the oldest member seventeen years old at the time, the group impressively debuted on August 25th, 2016, with their debut single, “Chewing Gum.” Previously, SM Entertainment had produced many of the most internationally popular stars in the K-Pop industry, such as boy group EXO, Girls’ Generation, and Red Velvet. Although they boast quite a versatile discography, NCT DREAM’s musical genres typically consist of hip-hop, R&B, and teen pop.

After being a diehard fan for about eight years since their pre-debut days as trainees, I was lucky enough to attend NCT DREAM’s LA concert. Starting the night before the concert, multiple lines of NCTZENS (NCT fans) waiting to be seated stretched all around the Honda Center in Anaheim. Nearly all of them donned unique outfits of neon green—the group’s signature fan color—and black, with other fan accessories like display bags decorated with NCT merchandise. Josephine Kim (12) “love[s] going to K-pop concerts” in general because “the people are so amazing” and give “a lot of freebies too.” Inside, eager fans filled the venue to the brim while singing along to the group’s biggest hits blasted on speakers, waving Neobongs, the group’s signature fan lightstick. Beacons of lime green light dotted the crowd and excitement buzzed throughout the arena. Hilariously, four fans wore full-body stick-figure onesies that lit up, swaying on the big screen as the boys later serenaded the audience with ballads. As soon as the group began to make their big entrance one by one, the crowd went wild, cheering louder and louder for each member. Many fans frantically waved customized signs containing humorous messages.

Even with my feelings as a fan aside (if you can believe me), the members of NCT DREAM are outstanding performers. Their stage presence was full of charisma and energy, each member displaying his charm and specialties—Mark is renowned for his rapping, Jisung for his prodigious popping and overall dancing, Haechan, Chenle, and Renjun for their flawless, stable, powerful vocals, and Jaemin and Jeno for their visuals (a colloquial term for good looks or designated models in a group) and all-rounder talent. All of the boys are extremely professional and skilled in every area of performing, from vocals to rap to dance; members like Jeno particularly wowed and stirred the crowd up into a frenzy with stunts across the stage, accompanied by exhilarating special effects like sparklers, aesthetic graphics, and synchronized light sequences.

Two significant factors that set K-pop concerts apart from American shows are the sheer amount of passion and fan interaction put into the whole act. Despite performing highly intense choreography while singing for hours non-stop, NCT DREAM only took about two five-minute breaks, maintaining crisp moves and vibrant energy from start to finish without faltering; they verbally engaged the audience the whole time and humorously played rock-paper-scissors with a few lucky fans. As a surprise, the group even performed a double encore, much to fans’ delight. Ultimately, NCT DREAM gifted me with an experience that greatly exceeded my expectations and left me with a memory that will last forever.