Following a string of dates across America and Europe, K-Pop girl group ARTMS (pronounced Artemis) touched down in Australia for their Moonshot 2024 World Tour, proudly presented by Box Live.
Performing first at The Tivoli in Brisbane, the group arrived in Melbourne on Thursday November 14th to perform at 170 Russell. A 5-member group composed of members Haseul, Jinsoul, Heejin, Kim Lip, and Choerry, ARTMS debuted in May of this year with the EP <DALL>.
Formally all members of the wildly popular 12-piece girl group Loona under Blockberry Creative, the girls signed together under MODHAUS, the label that manages girl group tripleS (whose 2023 concert review you can read here). Originally, the group was re-debuted as the trio Odd Eye Circle, which was previously a Loona sub-unit made up of members Choerry, Jinsoul, and Kim Lip, with the EP Version Up before being joined by Heejin and Haseul to debut as the quintet ARTMS.
With their history as a part of Loona, the members of ARTMS benefit from having a massive pre-established fanbase. Those who once identified as Orbits (Loona’s fandom name) are now called Ourii and they all showed up in force to see their idols perform. Carrying Loona and ARTMS lightsticks, wearing angel and fairy wings, halos and carrying support signs, 170 Russell was practically bursting at the seams, with many of the fans being top tier VIPs who took part in group photos and a soundcheck performance. Jittery with excitement, the venue absolutely came alive with a thunderous roar as the members took to the stage to perform.
Dressed in shimmery black outfits, the members looked absolutely ethereal as they opened the evening with the haunting and gothic track ‘Birth’ before following it up with ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, both songs from their debut EP. Taking a moment to introduce themselves and take in the view from the stage, the girls seemed surprised by their own popularity, marvelling at how every corner of the 170 Russell venue was full.
Running through all the tracks from <DALL>, the evening was intercut with VCRs, an Odd Eye Circle unit song and solos from Heejin and Haseul. The group even performed a cover of Ellie Goulding’s ‘Love Me Like You Do’ and Loona songs reworked for 5 members. Having worked together for so long, the members of ARTMS showed a natural comfort with each other on stage, from how they talked and teased each other to the way their voices blended together seamlessly.
Taking full advantage of their almost 10 years in the industry, the use of Loona songs in the setlist was a lovely touch – acknowledging their history and allowing Australian fans to hear the songs performed live for the first time. The impact of this on long-time Orbits cannot be overstated; it’s extremely uncommon for a K-Pop group to retain rights to their old music when leaving a company, and so it was really touching to see the ARTMS members perform these songs for the fans who stuck by them through it all.
I really enjoyed seeing ARTMS perform the song ‘Stylish’ from the Loona debut EP [+ +]. Cutting the backing track right after the pre-chorus, the voices of fans rose up as they sang Heejin’s lines for the chorus. ‘Stylish’ was one of my favourite releases of 2018 and the reworked version sounded just as good as the original 12-member version.
The member who stood out the most for me was definitely Heejin, performing the rock version of her solo debut ‘Algorithm‘ while playing the guitar and showing off her frankly excellent Australian accent. Heejin talked excitedly about experiencing Melbourne for the first time, her bright and bubbly personality absolutely shining through as she led the crowd into an “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” cheer.
Another standout moment was during the Odd Eye Circle performance of their track ‘Air Force One’. Kim Lip, having made a false start with the choreography, was made to perform her Loona solo ‘Eclipse’ as a penalty, causing the crowd to laugh and cheer happily. Despite the gaff, no one minded, and it was refreshing to see the fans and members tease and comfort her on stage.
To close out the show, ARTMS chanted ad-libs and encouraged the crowd to sing along as they performed their tracks ‘Air’ and ‘Sparkle’, two upbeat bubblegum B-sides from their debut EP, before ending with their debut title track ‘Virtual Angel’ and an encore stage of the Loona track ‘So What’, notable for being the song that secured the group their first ever Korean music show trophy.
Making the effort to speak English for their ending ments, each member expressed her gratitude and happiness at being able to perform for Australian fans in Melbourne for the first time before announcing a new album on the way (something that I will personally look forward to as a newly converted Ourii) and hopping off stage like kangaroos.
ARTMS are one of the more formidable girl groups in the K-Pop circuit. With bouncy club beats grounding their light and floaty vocals, there is not a single ARTMS song that disappoints. Although, it was almost impossible to see their choreography from anywhere but the front of the room at 170 Russell, and the venue’s design also made it difficult to see the VCRs as they played on the back screen. When ARTMS return to Australia, I hope that the next venue will be big enough to accommodate their very large fanbase.
ARTMS performed in Melbourne on Thursday the 14th of November at 170 Russell as part of the Australian leg of their Moonshot World Tour, proudly presented by Box Live.
For more information, visit:
https://the-boxlive.com.au/f/artms-moonshot-2024-world-tour—australia
https://www.instagram.com/official_artms
https://artms.mod-haus.shop
Photography by Grant Alexander.
