8 Things To Expect At His U.S. Shows

G-Dragon performs in Tokyo on May 10, 2025 as part of his Übermensch World Tour.

Courtesy of GALAXY CORPORATION

Last week K-pop icon G-Dragon, the leader of the legendary K-pop boy band BIGBANG, kicked off the U.S. leg of his 2025 Übermensch World Tour with a two-night concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Earlier this year, the award-winning rapper and singer-songwriter had played to sold-out crowds in Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Macau and made additional stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Bulacan, Philippines.

With both shows in Newark now under his belt, G-Dragon will continue touring stateside with performances in Las Vegas on August 31 and Los Angeles on September 5 and 6. He’ll then head to Paris on September 20 for the last stop—and the only European city—on his tour.

For longtime G-Dragon fans, watching him perform live onstage in this moment can feel particularly special, as it’s the pop superstar’s first time embarking on a solo tour in eight years. For newer K-pop fans who may not be very familiar with his career and impact, it’s a unique opportunity to experience firsthand the charisma and showmanship of one of South Korea’s most influential and renowned K-pop artists.

If you’re thinking about or planning to attend one of G-Dragon’s upcoming shows in the U.S., here are eight things to expect, based on my own experience at his packed Newark concert on Friday, August 22^nd.

ForbesWhat To Do In NYC: Visit The Squid Game Experience Before Sept 1By Regina Kim

1. The entire G-Dragon concert was about 2.5 – 3 hours long, including several intermissions throughout.

My friend and I arrived at the venue about an hour before the show was scheduled to start, which gave us enough time to go through security, buy some food and make our way to our seats.

Each intermission featured a sequence of striking visuals and thought-provoking messages displayed onscreen above the stage. While the intermissions could be great for taking a quick bathroom break, the onscreen visuals were definitely worth staying in your seat for.

Some people left during the final intermission, presumably because they thought the show had ended (it didn’t help that G-Dragon joked that the preceding song would be the last one for the night), but as they say, the show ain’t over till it’s over!

2. G-Dragon’s audience had diverse representation but as a whole seemed mostly Asian, with a huge number of Koreans in the crowd.

Some of them could be seen singing along or mouthing the lyrics to the songs. Roughly a third of the audience was male, many of whom seemed to be Korean men in their 20s, 30s and even 40s.

G-Dragon (or GD for short) is hands-down one of the biggest K-pop stars in his native Korea. Tickets to both of his Korea shows in March sold out within seconds (a total of 64,000 seats). There, his group BIGBANG are considered your idols’ idols and have been cited as role models and inspirations for some of today’s most popular K-pop acts, including BTS.

GD’s status as a cultural icon in the eyes of many Koreans was reflected in the demographic of the New Jersey audience, which included more Koreans than I’ve seen at any other K-pop concert in the U.S. And at a time when many longtime K-pop fans (both Korean and non-Korean alike) are lamenting K-pop’s evolution, it felt strangely reassuring and even validating to join so many fans united by their appreciation for a 2^nd-generation artist who helped lead the so-called “golden age of K-pop.”

3. For anyone curious to know why G-Dragon decided to name his latest album and world tour Übermensch, he clearly spelled it out in a pre-recorded video that was played during the final intermission.

In the approximately nine-minute video, G-Dragon launched into a profound, intimate monologue in which he reflected on his life and career and explained what Übermensch meant to him and why he chose the German word.

Übermensch, a philosophical term coined by Nietzsche and unfortunately later misused by the Nazis, literally means “overman” or “superman” and refers to an ideal version of oneself—someone who isn’t affected by what others think and is able to live life fully, authentically and on their own terms. In that sense, it’s perhaps the perfect word to describe G-Dragon at his current stage in his career.

In the video, he candidly shared how entering the K-pop industry at such a young age and constantly being in the limelight had left him feeling exhausted, and that the eight years he spent away from his solo career gave him a new perspective and “the motivation to begin again.”

“Throughout it all, the word Übermensch kept coming back to me, as a kind of mantra,” he said, before a definition flashed onscreen: “Übermensch—the being who lives by his own will.”

“Before, I tried to present a perfect image,” he went on. “Now, I feel free, no matter which side of me shows. These days, I’m less affected by others’ opinions, on how I’m perceived.”

He revealed that for him, the word Übermensch means a new mindset for facing life, “with an openness to enjoy it—no matter how difficult or easy it is—and to grown and learn” from those experiences.

Throughout his monologue, GD didn’t shy away from showing his more human, vulnerable side, clearly demonstrating that the “King of K-Pop” has returned after eight years with greater self-awareness and maturity and is now defining success on his own terms.

He also encouraged his fans to search for their own Übermensch, in keeping with his tour’s theme of self-discovery and self-overcoming: “Übermensch isn’t something grand or difficult. It lives in all of us. Whether it’s your heart, love or emotions—there’s this core, this precious starting point. And that, I believe, is what Übermensch is. So don’t lose that. Whether you find it or not doesn’t really matter, but simply trying to find it—that effort itself is meaningful. I believe it’s worth it. I’m still on that path. And I hope you are, too.”

4. G-Dragon’s setlist for his Übermensch shows in the U.S. includes most of the songs from his latest album of the same name, along with his previous hits like “Crayon,” “Butterfly” and “Untitled,” among others.

Personally, I was hoping he’d perform my favorite song of his, “A Boy,” live, but alas, it played during one of the intermissions with only a live band onstage. (Oh well, at least they also showed video clips of GD as a cute kid during his early years in the K-pop industry.)

That same intermission lit up with a holographic set from the Korean beatboxing champ WING, who performed his viral hit “Dopamine” that took social media by storm earlier this year.

Although sadly there was no surprise appearance at the Newark concert by other members of BIGBANG (or by Anderson .Paak, for that matter), GD hinted at a BIGBANG comeback next year in celebration of the group’s 20^th anniversary.

5. Expect plenty of costume changes and instances where G-Dragon addresses the audience in English.

There aren’t many male pop stars who could pull off wearing a jacket of red roses or a turquoise bathrobe, but G-Dragon certainly can. After all, it’s no mistake that his bold wardrobe choices have established him as a global fashion icon.

He frequently spoke to the audience in English throughout the show. At times his words were a bit difficult to catch, but the audience’s reactions suggested that many were able to follow along with what he said.

One of the things he spoke about was his rationale behind the Übermensch logo, explaining that it symbolizes his past and present, “standing together, looking at each other.”

6. Expect a really cool light show with lasers, pyrotechnics and stunning visual backdrops.

Granted, this is probably something you’d expect at most major K-pop concerts these days, but the overall artistry and creativity behind the visual effects at G-Dragon’s show—including those displayed during intermissions—were particularly impressive.

7. G-Dragon doesn’t do full-on choreo for many of his songs (he has backup dancers for that), but his trademark swagger and charisma are on full display throughout.

And that seemed to be more than enough for the audience. He also got up close with some of the fans in the first few rows and off to either side of the stage, eliciting stunned and excited reactions from them.

8. Many attendees were seen holding either G-Dragon’s daisy lightstick or BIGBANG’s iconic yellow lightstick. If you want to buy one onsite, you’ll definitely want to arrive extra early.

G-Dragon, known for designing BIGBANG’s crown-shaped lightstick—the first K-pop lightstick—finally released his own solo lightstick earlier this year. Dubbed the “Day-G Bong” (bong means “stick” or “baton” in Korean), the daisy-shaped lightstick features multiple lighting modes (including the ability to display rainbow colors!).

Unfortunately the line to buy merch was already super long by the time we arrived, so we decided to bypass it, but I have to admit I felt a bit left out whenever the audience was waving their lightsticks during the show. The concert lighting staff did a phenomenal job of changing the colors of the daisy lightsticks in sync with the music and stage visuals, greatly enhancing the overall viewing experience.

For show dates and additional information on G-Dragon’s Übermensch World Tour, visit the tour’s official website.

Forbes‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Directors On How They Made The Netflix Animated HitBy Regina Kim