Hyuna wrapped up her first North American tour with performances in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Missed it? Don’t worry—Wave-K (a division of The-O Network) has got you covered with photos, videos, and detailed coverage. Following the restructuring of CUBE Entertainment, Hyuna has become the face of the agency, and she did not disappoint on stage. If this tour is any indication of her typical live performances, she deserves more recognition in the industry. With so many K-pop idols and groups coming to North America, it’s easy for some to fly under the radar, but Hyuna made sure she didn’t.

At The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, Hyuna's fans (A-ings) who had attended other shows at the venue may have noticed a key difference: the barrier between the stage and the crowd was much closer than usual. Earlier performances on the tour also had adjustments. Hyuna, often praised as the queen of fan service, lived up to her reputation. During her opening song, “Roll Deep,” the music cut out due to technical difficulties, something she mentioned had never happened before in the middle of a performance. Despite being near the end of the song, she insisted on restarting it from the beginning, a rare move in live concerts. She even took to Twitter to assure fans that the entire show would go on as planned, despite the hiccups.

Each stop on the tour featured different outfits, stage setups, and unique interactions with the crowd, adding an element of surprise and keeping things exciting for the fans. In Los Angeles, at The NOVO, Hyuna took fan interaction to the next level with a stage setup that confused even the security guards. The steps from the stage led directly into the crowd, with no barrier in between, allowing Hyuna to come down and engage with fans up close, breaking the norms for K-pop performances, especially for a female idol. While idols typically maintain some distance from fans, Hyuna either trusts her fans greatly or has one of the most well-behaved fanbases in K-pop—or perhaps a bit of both. Aside from a few minor incidents before the show and during the meet-and-greet, there were no significant issues.

Regarding the performance itself, despite the early technical difficulties at The Regency, Hyuna appeared more energetic and relaxed as the show progressed, even though some reports suggested she was under the weather that night. One highlight was her performance of "French Kiss" from her A-Talk album, a track with choreography that had never been posted by CUBE. After seeing it live, it’s a wonder why it wasn’t a featured track on the album. The same goes for "A-talk" and "U&ME," which also have no official choreography or music videos online. Before performing these tracks, Hyuna teased the audience by saying they might not be interested, but the sharpness of the choreography suggested otherwise. "U&ME," in particular, stood out as the ultimate fan service song, with Hyuna frequently interacting with the crowd, even holding hands with fans.

And what’s fan interaction without some games? Fans were invited to submit questions before the show, with Hyuna answering a few on stage. We learned that she prefers shoes over heels, is an avid reader, and enjoys watching The Simpsons. There was also a dance contest and a "How Well Do You Know Hyuna" game, where contestants tried to match Hyuna’s answers. Winning a spot on stage was a prize in itself, with many contestants taking selfies with Hyuna. The question game winner received a signed Polaroid that Hyuna kissed before handing it over, while the dance contest winner took home signed merch, including a hoodie and a hat.

Unfortunately, San Francisco missed out on some elements due to the flat, open floor space at The Regency Ballroom, which didn’t allow Hyuna to interact with the crowd as she did in Los Angeles. The NOVO also had a more organized setup, with venue staff doing a great job with line control and managing the meet-and-greet photo op, which was more controlled compared to San Francisco. At The NOVO, fans were grouped into sets of 12 for the photo op—a puzzling choice given that Hyuna is a solo artist. Smaller groups of four to eight might have been more ideal. Security had to remind a few fans not to take photos or videos during the hi-touch, even threatening to stop the meet-and-greet if the rules weren’t followed.

The setlist for the show was relatively short, which left some A-ings puzzled, as Hyuna has a discography that could easily fill a 12-14 song concert; however, the fan interaction and games made the show enjoyable. While this may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for North American fans, we certainly hope Hyuna will make a second run at touring here. It’s still early in the year, but the "Queen is Back" tour could easily be a contender for the concert of the year, even with the influx of K-pop artists coming to this side of the world in the coming months.

^{This article was originally published on Wave-K: Hallyu!, a division of The-O Network focused on K-Pop and Korean entertainment.}