Charlie Puth enters Goyang Stadium for the first time in 10 years since visiting Korea

Pop star Charlie Puth took to a stadium stage to meet approximately 38,000 spectators, 10 years after holding his first solo concert in Korea. The ‘Whatever’s Clever! World Tour in Seoul’, held on the afternoon of the 11th at the Goyang Stadium Main Stadium in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, was his fifth visit to Korea and his first stadium performance in the country. Since his first visit in 2016, Puth has expanded the scale of his venues every time he visited Korea, filling the performance with keyboard and synthesizer playing, hit song stages, and communication with the audience. After singing a song featuring BTS's Jung Kook, he expressed his gratitude to Jung Kook, and TWICE's NAYEON appeared on stage as a surprise guest to sing together. At the end of the performance, Puth greeted the crowd in Korean, saying “Gamsahamnida” (Thank you).

10 years of expanding venue scale, the first stadium stage

Starting with his first visit to Korea in 2016, Puth held solo concerts in Korea in 2018, 2023, and 2024. This performance marks his fifth visit to Korea. The changes in venues from his first stage to Goyang Stadium are as follows.

After his first performance in Korea at YES24 Live Hall, he stood at the Goyang Stadium Main Stadium through Jamsil Arena, KSPO DOME, and Gocheok Sky Dome. This is also his first solo concert in Korea in two years following the 2024 Gocheok Sky Dome performance. Approximately 38,000 people gathered for this stage. The performance was held at a time marking 10 years since the year Puth first visited Korea.

Before the start of the concert, Puth greeted the audience with the message, “Are you ready to enjoy? You’ve waited a long time, right? Now that waiting is over.” The stage began with ‘Beat Yourself Up’, a track from his fourth studio album ‘Whatever’s Clever!’ released this March. He continued the early flow by performing ‘How Long’, ‘LA Girls’, ‘Home’, and ‘Cry’. Even in the large venue, he presented the songs while personally handling the keyboard and synthesizer, varying the performance and arrangement for each song.

A stage continued with keyboard playing and hit songs

Puth presented both sweet vocals and instrumental playing. In ‘Cry’, he showed powerful singing, and in ‘Dangerously’, he drew reactions from the audience with his facial expressions and stage manners. ‘One Call Away’, ‘Done for Me’, and ‘Marvin Gaye’ were also included in the setlist. According to reports from the scene, before ‘Cry’, Puth explained, “This recently released song was a song that told me it's okay to cry.” He continued, “It's not that we always have to be strong,” introducing the song with the sentiment that emotions are needed to express music, movies, and inner feelings.

A stage to meet the audience closely was also prepared. Puth moved from the main stage to a protruding stage that extended long into the center of the audience. He made eye contact and greeted not only the audience in the standing area but also those in the seats. During ‘One Call Away’ sung on the protruding stage, the audience sang along and lit up the venue with mobile phone flashes. Applause and cheers continued during the subsequent ‘Done for Me’ and ‘Marvin Gaye’ stages.

He showed relaxed stage manners during ‘Dangerously’ and revealed his singing ability during ‘Cry’. Between songs, he continued the stage by changing the performance and arrangement. The audience sang along to the familiar melodies. Even in the latter half of the performance, the stage continued with ‘BOY’, ‘Cheating on You’, and ‘Attention’. Puth continued singing and playing until the very end.

Expressing gratitude to Jung Kook and a duet with NAYEON

Songs connected to Korean artists were also performed. After singing ‘Left and Right’, which featured BTS's Jung Kook, Puth expressed his gratitude to Jung Kook. According to related reports from the scene, he introduced it as a song performed with Jung Kook and said he was especially thankful. The audience responded by singing along and with cheers and applause. After Puth mentioned Jung Kook, the performance continued to the next stage.

During ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’, TWICE's NAYEON appeared as a surprise guest. NAYEON took over the part originally performed by Selena Gomez and sang it together with Puth. NAYEON took to the stage with a bright smile, making eye contact with Puth as they continued the duet. After finishing the song, the two shared a hug. NAYEON greeted on stage in Korean, saying “Gamsahamnida.” The song is one that Selena Gomez participated in, and on this day, NAYEON joined as Puth's partner.

‘One Call Away’, performed on the protruding stage, also led to a moment of breathing with the audience. As Puth approached close to the seats, the audience sang along and turned on mobile phone lights. During ‘Done for Me’ and ‘Marvin Gaye’, applause was added. The audience sang along throughout the performance and cheered for the song featuring Jung Kook and the surprise appearance of NAYEON. Puth sequentially presented songs related to Korean artists and collaborative stages.

Ending the performance with ‘See You Again’, Korean greeting

In the latter half of the performance, ‘BOY’, ‘Cheating on You’, and ‘Attention’ followed. The final stages were decorated by ‘See You Again’ and ‘Changes’. The audience sang along to the familiar melodies and sent out cheers. ‘See You Again’ is a soundtrack from the movie ‘Furious 7’ that Puth sang with Wiz Khalifa. Puth gained worldwide popularity with this song, and it recorded number one on the Billboard main single chart ‘Hot 100’ for 12 weeks.

After finishing the performance, Puth expressed his gratitude to Korean fans. He said, “It has been a long journey to get to this place, but every moment was truly worth it.” He then greeted in Korean, saying “Gamsahamnida.” Having held four solo concerts since his first visit in 2016, he met approximately 38,000 spectators at this stage. The performance drew to a close with ‘See You Again’ and ‘Changes’.

Puth began his full-fledged solo activities by releasing his debut single ‘Marvin Gaye’ in 2015. He drew attention as a singer-songwriter who also handles composition, arrangement, and producing, and released ‘Attention’, ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’, ‘One Call Away’, and others. ‘See You Again’ was nominated for ‘Song of the Year’, ‘Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’, and ‘Best Song Written for Visual Media’ at the Grammy Awards, as well as the Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Song. This Goyang performance is recorded as his fifth visit to Korea and his first stadium performance presented in Korea.

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