ARTMS Bring the Heat to Houston
The minute the lights dimmed inside Bayou Music Center, fans were screaming and waving their lightsticks around as they waited for ARTMS to hit the stage. The K-Pop girl group brought their Moonshot World Tour to Houston on Sunday, marking their first time in the city as ARTMS. The three members — JinSoul, Kim Lip, and Choerry — visited the city earlier in the year as the sub-unit ODD EYE CIRCLE and all of the members first came to Houston in 2022 as part of the girl group, LOONA.
Photo Cr: Andy Cantu
All three of the opening tracks gave the audience an idea of what to expect for the rest of the show. “Birth” and “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” featured fairy-like beats and vocals, accompanied by perfectly synchronized dance moves, teleporting the audience to a new world as they performed. Meanwhile, the third song, “Distress” was slower and showed off the powerful vocals that would continue to blow fans away throughout the night.
Photo Cr: Andy Cantu
HaSeul had the first solo of the night, performing two songs that showed off both her incredible voice and her versatility. “Plastic Candy” was a city pop ballad that had her perfectly hitting high notes while she playfully greeted audience members. “Let Me In,” the song she debuted with, was a haunting display of the power her voice is capable of, including two extended high notes that left audience members speechless.
In addition to these performances, HaSeul also gave two audience members the opportunity to request a song for her to sing. One eager fan screams out “Valentine Girl,” a song from LOONA 1/3 that HaSeul briefly forgot the intro to before quickly figuring it out and singing it perfectly. The second fan chose “Sonatine,” another LOONA 1/3 song that she sang while doing the choreography for it like it’s muscle memory.
Photo Cr: Andy Cantu
HeeJin had the second and final solo of the night, starting with a cover of Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend,” complete with an electric guitar. In a heart-to-heart with fans, HeeJin admitted to being nervous about her guitar-playing skills no matter how many times she’s performed the cover in front of fans and said that maybe she’s not a rockstar yet. Fans didn’t agree with that statement, loudly cheering her on as she continued showing off her punk vocalist vibes with the English version of her song, “Algorithm.” Just like every true rockstar, she ended the performance by throwing her guitar pick into the crowd.
Photo Cr: Andy Cantu
Instead of performing their own individual solos, Choerry, JinSoul, and Kim Lip chose to perform together as ODD EYE CIRCLE. The trio performed “Je Ne Sais Quoi” and “Air Force One,” two uptempo songs that kept fans dancing in their seats. The girls also reminisced about their last Houston show saying, “You guys regret not coming to the ODD EYE CIRCLE concert, right?” and asking fans what they recommend doing in the city as the last time they came, all they did was eat meat. However, what really touched the heart of every fan in the audience, was when the members said that because this was their third time in the city, coming to Houston felt like coming home.
Photo Cr: Andy Cantu
HeeJin and HaSeul joined the ODD EYE CIRCLE members onstage for a cover of Taylor Swift’s Cruel Summer. The performance encompassed so much of what makes ARTMS a great group. Each member was given a chance to shine throughout the song, but the moments where they sang together highlighted how well the girls compliment each other. This was especially apparent during a moment after the song where the girls talked about their favorite parts and even sang some of them acapella. Kim Lip asked fans which part she should sing and when a fan asked her to sing another member’s line, the other member sang the line and the other members easily continued the song for her.
With how good everyone’s vocals are, it’s easy to forget that the group initially gained popularity due to their impeccable dancing skills. After a series of ballads, “Satellite” and “Air” were a masterclass in synchronization. The instrumental for “Satellite” included pronounced beat marks, so any dance move that was too late or too early would be noticed instantly. A less experienced dancer would have visibly struggled throughout the entire song, but the ARTMS members executed every move perfectly.
Photo Cr: Andy Cantu
ARTMS spent the whole night proving themselves to be the queens of fanservice. They took every opportunity to interact with Houston fans, from posing for their photos in between breaks from singing to asking them how they felt about each performance to thanking them for how supportive they’ve been throughout the show. There were multiple instances of the members commenting on how hot they felt despite the venue A/C being on full blast and saying it was because fans were so passionate.
When the girls announced that there was only one song left, fans loudly yelled, “NO!” catching the members off guard. At any mention that they had to leave soon, fans just kept yelling “no” until the girls jokingly suggested that they would only be able to stay the whole show if fans decided to perform for them. Fans were immediately receptive to the idea and the girls asked their management if they could bring five fans on stage to create a group to perform a song. They sadly relayed that they couldn’t because there were no stairs leading up to the stage, so the girls had to perform the last song as planned.
The encore song changed from city to city. Earlier in the night, the members told fans that they knew fans would memorize the setlist after the first night of the tour and enjoyed every moment where they got to give the fans something unexpected and unique to their show. Houston fans got to hear LOONA’s “So What” as their encore. They got to spend the whole song dancing with the members and they took fan gifts from the audience. During their final goodbyes, JinSoul told fans she hoped they made happy memories that night and by the time they left the stage, it was clear that they did.