On April 7, 2024, Korean American K-pop and pop-punk singer, AleXa, made her last stop of the sick of you tour in Los Angeles at the Teragram Ballroom. From Tulsa, Oklahoma to South Korea the singer has made historic achievements. The singer came out strong o start the night with her winning song from NBC’s American Song Contest, “Wonderland.” Emulating the performance seen on the show with strings of cloth held by her dancers intertwining and trapping her within. Adorned with gems on her eyelid and below her right eye in the shape of a heart, she continued the momentum with performances of “Back In Vogue” and “Xtra.”
Going with the start of AleXa’s pop-punk era and a nod to her musical influences, one cover performance of the night was “Just A Girl,” by No Doubt, the well-known American rock band.
With the release of her newest single “sick,” AleXa created a series titled “Love Made Me Sick” on social media where she would give advice and relate to those love experiences fans sent in. During the talking ments of her concert, AleXa did a “Love Talk,” where she grabbed questions that fans had written earlier in the night about love life and concerns similar to her series on social media. She put on her angel wings and gave her candid advice on how to move on for a specific situation by telling the fan to “Block him,” AleXa said. “Delete him. Block, with a capital B-L-O-C-K. Ugh, no, because if you genuinely had feelings for him but he just wants the physical, uh uh. He doesn’t deserve it.” As she went on to high kick the air emphasizing to get him out of your life or drop kick him. She went on to pick up another fan’s love experience from the box and showed how she related to the experience of falling in love easily by saying, “You’re nice to me one time and I’m like [gestures as if saying you’re the one]. The bar is in hell for me.” Always bringing the humor, she made sure to let everyone know “That’s just my two cents, but take it with a grain of salt, or a whole Himalayan salt lamp if you decide to.”
Going onto the next performance, “Endorphine,” was an upbeat performance and a feel-good song where AleXa and her dancers gave the crowd hearts and AleXa even twerked for one part of the freestyle. AleXa then slowed things down with her single “Juliet,” her silhouette cast against the screen, inviting fans to immerse themselves in the richness of her vocals.
While offstage, AleXa entertained the audience with a news skit displayed on the screen, showcasing her acting skills and versatility. The skit also featured previously unseen footage of herself during the music video shoot of 'sick,' revealing her unfiltered, honest personality as words were bleeped out, eliciting laughter from the crowd. This blend of humor and authenticity allowed fans to appreciate both her acting skills and her genuine self-expression. AleXa's authenticity and vibrant personality shone through the entire evening, extending beyond the acting skit. Her ability to stay true to herself, blending humor and genuine authenticity, was a constant presence throughout.
AleXa shared that a special friend was in the crowd amongst many, and how that friend opened AleXa to the world of K-pop. In 7th grade, AleXa and her friend were in a Chinese class together. They became best friends after learning about their shared love of reading a Japanese Manga series titled, Vampire Night. They did a project on Chinese pop culture and her friend suggested doing it on Henry from SUPER JUNIOR. “And I was like, Who?” AleXa said. “From the what? Super what? And so I went over to her house and she showed me [with a mystical voice] K-pop. [pointing to her best friend] This is all your fault, Mariah.”
Despite grappling with a flare-up of her asthma, AleXa delivered a performance that showcased not only her exquisite vocals but also her fierce dancing, brimming with emotion, expression, and intensity, all while battling through moments of shortness of breath. Knowing when to take a break and not push herself too far, she took a deep breath simultaneously with the crowd and used her inhaler when needed. “So I am lowkey terrified for this next segment because of my asthma,” AleXa said. In the crowd, there were noises of worry. But AleXa made sure to reassure everyone, “Oh no, don’t feel sorry for me. Your girl, listen, momma didn’t raise a little bitch. I’m good.” But she wanted to be honest to her fans about not going full out for the next song and knowing her limits. As she got in formation for the song, “VILLAIN,” and the lights went down, in a high-pitched but soft voice, AleXa let out, “I’m so scared for my asthma” “VILLAIN,” had lots of intense and quick choreo. After the performance, a fan yelled out, “Want another hit?” (of her inhaler of course) creating laughter in the crowd.
Calling all introverts! AleXa performed her unreleased song titled, “Joy of Missing Out,” and dedicated it to all the introverts who are okay with not wanting to go to an event and find a sense joy in missing out on them. One of the lyrics that resonated was, “Don’t want to crash a party, I just want to crash.” The night was filled with a couple of unreleased songs including another one titled, “Distraction.”
Every other moment AleXa would find a way to interact with her fans. AleXa engaged with fans throughout the show, asking about tattoos and sharing her tally of 23. Finding a fan with over 40 tattoos, she segued into performing 'TATTOO,' and even sketched a tattoo outline for a fan. Amidst more interactions, she led the venue in singing, "Happy Birthday," to a fan and shared a shot with a newly turned 21-year-old. She went on to perform her newest anthem, “sick,” about self-discovery and the pursuit of healthy love.
Going in reverse order of her releases she ended the night with her debut single, “Bomb.” Making sure to recognize every individual's hard work on this tour she mentioned her label, Studio PAV, dancers, and many more who came out to support her. Always apologizing to the crowd for her amount of strength to give her performance but in the eyes of the fans, from their responses in the crowd, they never worried about that. The fans were worried more about her well-being and even yelled encouraging words that she was “killing it” on stage.
But a concert is never really over until an encore performance is done. Therefore, AleXa came back out very shortly after bowing with her dancers to perform an unreleased song titled, “I’m Okay.” AleXa said this song is a love letter to those suffering from mental health. ”When somebody asks, ‘Are you okay?’ ‘How are you feeling?’ and you’re honestly not feeling great. The conversation doesn’t have to stop at ‘I’m okay.’ So this is for y’all.” As she sang, “It started when I found out the voices weren’t my friends…I don’t know my mind anymore. I’m okay. I’m okay. Tell the doctor, stay away,” the audience was moved by the powerful and honest lyricism, foreshadowing the emotional depth of her future releases.
JOIN US IN FOLLOWING ALEXA'S STORY AS SHE SETS HER SIGHTS ON GREETING FANS IN THE U.S.
Be sure to check out our photo galleries from Chicago, Fort Worth, and LA!
Written and Photographed by Aliyah H.
K Fuse would like to thank AleXa and the team at Studio PAV for this incredible opportunity to provide coverage for AleXa's 2024 'sick of you' U.S. Tour!
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