[Concert Recap] SF9 in Helsinki

SF9 kicked off their “Love Dawn 2025 live fantasy #5 in Europe & USA” -tour in Helsinki, Finland, on October 8th. It’s the first time the group has performed in Finland and it is clear how much FANTASY has been waiting for the day! The gloomy rainy weather feels like nothing inside Kulttruuritalo (House of Culture), the air buzzing with excitement and the fans eagerly waiting for the lights to dim and the show to start.

At 19:00 the time has come and the screams fill the air when the dark stage is lit up with a big screen, throwing the audience into the visuals of the tour’s VCR.

The members are revealed one by one, everyone earning loud screams. Once the VCR is over, Youngbin, Inseong, Jaeyoon, Hwiyoung and Chani come on stage in their maroon shirts and sleek black pants, waving and ready to welcome FANTASY into their world.

Photography by Tiia

The show kicks off with 'LOVE RACE' and 'RMP', the first part ending with 'Now or Never' before the guys take a little break to address the audience and introduce themselves.

The strong live vocals fill the air and we dive into songs like 'TRAUMA' and 'WARURU', the crowd happily dancing and singing along. After the last notes of 'BIBORA', the guys disappear backstage, and it’s time to enjoy the story and visuals of the second part of the VCR.

FANTASY gets to enjoy almost all the songs with impressive choreo, the only break (before the encore) being when we get four member's cover solos with an outfit change starting with Youngbin. He performs Milo Manheim & Meg Donnelly's 'Someday', his smile contagious all throughout the performance. Next is Inseong with a bit of a rockier version of ROSÉ's 'On the Ground' hyping up the crowd, while Jaeyoon's Billie Eilish's 'Birds of a Feather' and Hwiyoung's sombr's 'Back to Friends' especially highlight their gorgeous vocals.

After the solo stages and some outfit changes, the guys take time to tell us about their time in Finland so far. They also stop to make sure everyone is doing okay and not feeling ill, wanting everyone feeling good.

Photography by Tiia

We learn that they made new friends yesterday while in the sauna: two older Finnish men that kept talking to them in English, and that they went sightseeing in the city, to Tuomiokirkko (Helsinki cathedral). Santa Claus also came up and they asked what everyone would like as a present this year, the crowd eagerly shouting that they’d be the perfect present.

They also praised and talked about each other’s solo stages (and that Youngbin might have a present for FANTASY on his birthday, but that’s a secret).

Then it’s time to jump into the next part and screams get louder when 'Just on My Way' starts to play. Everyone in the crowd is having a blast enjoying 'Round and Round' and loudly singing along to 'Good Guy'.

Photography by Tiia

When it’s time for the last act, the guys say what a precious time it’s been meeting together, and to have fun, before 'Love No.5' starts playing and the crowd goes extra wild.

Luckily last act isn’t truly the last and 'Mamma Mia' invites everyone to jump and sing along, the guys going all around the stage interacting with the crowd, jumping around in the tour t-shirts. 'My Fantasia' brings the energy even higher and many of the guys make sure to also pause and pose for photos and videos.

Photography by Tiia

When it’s truly time to say goodbye (hopefully for now), all the members share their thoughts of the night, saying they’ll be leaving with precious memories. “Please be our FANTASIES forever” earns extra loud cheers and the members take their time leaving the stage, like they’re trying to say bye to each and everyone in the crowd. What a truly special night.

Thank you SF9 and Studio PAV for having us and for such an amazing show!

Review by Tiia

Photography by Tiia

Gallery

Setlist