Official Report of “2024 YOON SAN-HA FANCON (Dusk Till Dawn) in Japan”

ASTRO’s YOON SAN-HA held his first solo fan concert “2024 YOON SAN-HA FANCON (Dusk Till Dawn) in Japan” for a total of four shows at NHK Osaka Hall on September 14th and 15th, and at Omiya Sonic City Main Hall on the 17th and 18th. In addition to all the songs from his first solo mini-album “DUSK” released in Korea on August 6th, he sang a total of 10 songs, including new and old J-POP covers and ASTRO songs, accompanied by a live band. In the talk corner, he also answered questions from fans about “the past, present, and future.”

YOON SAN-HA is the youngest member of the popular K-POP group ASTRO. As each member of ASTRO is active not only in music but also in acting and solo activities, YOON SAN-HA in 2024 will be starring in the musical “Crash Landing on You” in Japan in February and July, and appearing in the drama “Family x Melo” (JTBC) which was broadcast in Korea until September 15th, making him a big star in the acting side as well. In terms of music, he successfully held a small theater concert “YOON SAN-HA SANiGHT Project #1 – Wish” in Japan and Korea in March, released his first solo mini album “DUSK” on August 6th, his first in his eighth year since debut, and attended this first fancon. This article reports on the Omiya performance on September 17th.

The fancon kicked off with “Fox Star,” in which YOON SAN-HA, seated on a stool, enveloped the audience in his soft singing voice, accompanied by the relaxed sounds of a live band. After introducing himself as “YOON SAN-HA, who has just made his solo debut,” he excited the audience and explained about the song, which is included in “DUSK,” saying, “I wrote and composed this song because I wanted people to feel the warmth of my voice and sound.”

In the first corner of the fan meeting part, , the group ranked the best J-POP songs from the retro generation before 2010 and the MZ generation after 2010, which were recommended by fans in advance. The third place in the “RETRO” section of this performance was “366 Days” by HY, which she said she “was able to listen to for the first time thanks to this project.” After singing the chorus of SMAP’s “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana” (Second place) with the band, she reminisced and said, “Oh? I know this song. I sang it at an ASTRO fan meeting!” and was in high spirits. She performed the full chorus of GRe4N BOYZ’s “Kiseki,” which won first place. YOASOBI’s “Idol,” which came in third in the “MZ” section, danced to the chorus of the challenge video they watched before the performance, and the audience shouted, “So cute!”. After singing the chorus of Mrs.GREEN APPLE’s “Ao to Natsu” (Blue and Summer), which came in second place, she seemed to like it so much that she said, “If I had known this song before the summer, I think I would have listened to it all summer.” After singing the number one song, Vaundy’s “Kaiju no Hanauta,” with great enthusiasm and using his whole body, he laughed and said, “My heart is pounding,” and continued, “Thanks to all of you, I was able to discover this wonderful song. Even if the language is different, the power that a song can have is amazing. I hope that one day my songs will be recommended to other singers. I’ll keep working hard until that happens!”

In the next segment, Dusk or Dawn, he answered questions from fans about the past, present and future. In response to a question about the past, “My son is in the fifth grade, but I don’t know what he’s thinking. What was SAN-HA like as a fifth grader?”, SAN-HA revealed the inside story, “I got the opportunity to become a singer when I was in the fifth grade. I went to learn guitar, but the director of the music academy recognized my singing, and he taught me singing for free. Then someone from my agency came to the academy, and I auditioned, and now I’m here. I’m truly grateful to the director.” He then advised, “Please be generous to your son and lead him down a wonderful path.” In response to the question, “I’m 16 now. How did you work hard to achieve your dream, SAN-HA, who debuted at 16?”, he exclaimed, “16 years old, you’re so young!” and continued, “My father’s dream was to be a singer. I grew up watching my father play the guitar, and my older brothers also played guitar, composed songs, and played drums, so music was always close to me, and I started to dream of becoming a singer. When I was a trainee and had a hard time, I was able to endure it by thinking of my family. Even now, I want to keep running more and more. At 16, you still have a lot of time, so if you don’t rush, and live your life with a happy heart, you should find something you like.” In response to the question, “What will you be like in 10 years?”, he said, “I can’t imagine being 35! But I’d be happy to see you at a big concert venue with AROHA (a collective term for ASTRO fans),” which drew loud applause, and he asked the fans, “What do you think I’ll be at 35?”, to which he showed a delighted expression in response to the big response, “I’m so cute!”.

After the talk, she sang “Losing My Mind” in her light, high-pitched voice, which she said was “the first song that I absolutely wanted to include in my first solo album.”

After appearing in a sequined rider’s jacket, YOON SAN-HA transformed into a rocker. After asking the audience, “Are you having fun?”, he performed “BLEEDING,” featuring dynamic vocals with distorted guitar sounds, and then the album’s title track, “Dive,” was an intense alternative rock performance.

“It’s been a while since I performed with my band since ‘SANiGHT’. ‘SANiGHT’ was a cover song, but this time I’m showing my own songs to AROHA, and I feel great! How about rock? If I’m able to release an album in Japan, I’d like to do it with a rock concept,” he said, apparently hooked on rock. Then, he charmed the audience with a groove-filled ensemble with his band for “BITTERSWEET MISTAKE,” and said with a smile, “I thought this song might not suit me, since I like acoustic songs, but it was well received by everyone, so it feels strange. This song might be better in a live performance than on a recording. I’m happy to be able to show it to AROHA,” and he ended the main part of the show with the adult ballad “Rain Down On Me.”

During the encore, which was greeted by a loud “YOON SAN-HA call,” he created a bright mood with his solo song “24 Hours” from ASTRO’s album “Drive to the Starry Road,” and surprised the fans by singing the last verse of the lyrics in Japanese. He then said, “I heard you all calling for an encore, so I quickly changed my clothes. I also couldn’t wait for CHA EUN-WOO and the other members to come out for the encore, so I understand how you feel.” He then expressed his gratitude, saying, “This is my first solo fancon, but it’s so strange to be standing on this stage in front of so many fans. When did I grow so much? It’s all thanks to AROHA. I’ll come back next time even more grown up, so please stay healthy.”

During the encore, “24 Hours,” fans held up the slogan “We will forever light up SAN-HA’s path!”. After seeing this, YOON SAN-HA said, “AROHA are amazing. Even though there are so many people on Earth, they love and support me. The reason I receive so much love is… because I’m cute?” and made the fans laugh with a cute pose. He declared, “I will continue to work with this grateful feeling.” He then sang ASTRO’s “Better with you” and said, “It’s been seven years since this song was released, but thank you for still being by my side,” and conveyed his love for the fans by saying, “SAN-HA is always by AROHA’s side!” and left the stage with a greeting of, “Until now, ASTRO’s youngest member, SAN-HA!”

The fan con, which conveyed YOON SAN-HA’s love for music, his personality, and his great love and gratitude for AROHA, will now reach its finale on October 5th and 6th at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Seoul, Korea.

Interview and text by Yukari Sakamoto