NCT 127's Taeyong Begged Members for 2 Days to Get That Cherry Bomb Bridge

NCT 127 wrapped the Seoul leg of their fifth solo tour on the 20th, and the moment everyone is talking about came about five songs in: a completely reworked bridge section for Cherry Bomb that nearly didn't happen at all.

Taeyong told the KSPO DOME crowd that he had designed new choreography for the track's bridge, only to hit a wall the moment he brought it to the group. "The members absolutely refused to do it," he said, laughing. "So I begged them for two days." The persuasion campaign worked, and the resulting stage drew some of the loudest cheers of the night. Taeyong credited his members entirely: "Because they came through for me, we ended up with a bridge that's so much cooler than I imagined."

Yuta, who described the closing leg-split move in the original choreography as something that gives him chills even though it's their own routine, was equally effusive about the revamped version. "Even watching ourselves, this Cherry Bomb performance came out so well," he said. That kind of candid self-appreciation from a group that has performed the 2017 track hundreds of times says something about how much the new arrangement raised the stakes.

On stage and on the road

The three-night Seoul run, held from the 18th through the 20th at Olympic Park's KSPO DOME, was the opener for NCT 127 5TH TOUR NEO CITY: SEOUL - THE REDLINE. Members Doyoung and Jungwoo are currently fulfilling their mandatory military service and were not part of the Seoul shows; the performing lineup consisted of Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, Haechan, and Mark (the Korean source uses 해찬 and 쟈니; the latter greeted global viewers in English mid-show).

The farewell ments before the finale had a noticeably warm tone. Haechan told the audience, "The last day is already here. Time has never felt this fast." Yuta kept it punchy: "Three days passed in a single breath. Let's show them our fire." Taeyong thanked fans for giving up part of their weekend, and added a shout-out to online viewers, promising the group would come to their countries soon. Jaehyun got the most reflective: "This moment won't come back. Feel it completely. I hope you leave tonight with no regrets."

Johnny also floated the idea of bringing Cherry Bomb back, after Taeyong half-wondered aloud when they'd get to perform it again. "If NCTzens want to see it, we can do it," Johnny said. "If they want it, it'll happen." The crowd, predictably, made their preference very clear.

With Seoul done, the tour moves through Asia over the next several months: Jakarta on October 3, Hong Kong on October 10 and 11, Singapore on October 18, Saitama on October 24 and 25, Bangkok from October 31 through November 1, Manila on December 12, Taipei on January 2, Kuala Lumpur on January 9, and Macau on January 16.