After a successful fan concert last year, D.O. (디오/Doh Kyung Soo/도경수) kept his promise to return to Malaysia! This time around, the EXO (엑소) vocalist brought his first solo Asia tour, “DO it!” to Axiata Arena, charming fans with his clear and powerful vocals and adorable antics. Here’s a recap of what happened during the show:
The concert began with an introductory video before D.O. took the stage and performed “Do You Remember?” from his latest album, “BLISS”. He then continued with the groovy “Nobody Knows It” and the vibrant “Wonder”. Taking a quick break from singing, the idol did his first greeting of the night. During his speech, D.O. showed love for the fans and praised them for following the white dress code.
The show continues with a performance of the upbeat “Mars” from his “Blossom” EP, before transitioning to the more mellow “Where You Were” and “Simple Joys”. However, D.O. then changed up the vibes to something more sultry, or “sticky”, as he puts it, with the R&B-laced “Fit”. He then continues building on the alluring mood with “I’m Gonna Love You”, from his debut EP, “Empathy”.
While R&B is very much D.O.’s forte, the concert transitioned to brighter tracks, starting with “Popcorn”. Without missing a beat, the singer then moved on to the bouncy “5 Minutes” and “Sing Along!”. And speaking of sing-alongs, the concert hall turned into a karaoke for fans during the intermission. As the band played EXO’s “First Snow”, “Don’t Go”, “Growl” and “Love Me Right”, the lyrics appeared on screen, allowing fans to sing together.
D.O. stepped back on stage as the band played “Love Me Right”, showing off his clear vocals. He then sang another EXO track, “Peter Pan”, before taking time to introduce the band members. As he spoke to fans, a stage prop came into sight, signalling the next performance. As he was getting settled on the prop, D.O. amused fans with his Malay, saying, “Korang, korang, sabar (Everyone, please be patient)” and “Jom! (Let’s go!)”.
The stage prop then lifts the singer above the stage to perform the romantic “It’s Love” and the emotional “My Dear”. Still sticking to the romance theme, D.O. then performed “I Do”. He then took a break from singing to share what he had eaten since arriving in Malaysia: satay and fried rice. Unfortunately, D.O. hasn’t had laksa yet at this time, but invites the crowd to grab a bowl after the show – before starting an amusing food-themed call-and-response.
After entertaining fans with the food chant, D.O. then begins performing a medley of comforting tracks: “That’s Okay”, “I’ll Be There” and “Draw My Path”. As it turns out, the song choice was deliberate, with the idol saying the tracks represent the messages he wanted to convey to his fans. He also included “In Another Life” in the line-up, highlighting the singer’s affection and appreciation for his fans.
D.O. then introduced the “last” song for the evening, the soulful “Somebody” – but of course, the night isn’t ending just yet. As the star went backstage to get ready for the encore stage, the fans started the first of two fan projects, singing along to “I’m Gonna Love You”. After D.O. returned to the stage with “Rose”, he made a short speech to praise the fans’ Korean pronunciation and test their singing skills.
As he ushered fans to prepare for the photo session, he was surprised by the second fan project: a video featuring local EXO-Ls. D.O. was animated while watching the video, showcasing a variety of expressions. He also quipped that the video, more specifically the food shown, encouraged him to return to Malaysia. After the actual photo session, the idol closed the night with another performance of “Sing Along!”, ending his concert on a fun note.
