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BAEKHYUN’s chief concern on tour is putting on a good show.
Backstage at his 2025 Reverie World Tour — his first series of solo concerts in the West — the K-pop idol, 33, tells PEOPLE how he takes care of himself through the taxing aspects of being on the road. It’s “nothing too special,” he says: drinking warm beverages, sleeping well, taking his vitamins and keeping a jacket nearby.
“I’m really concerned about getting a cold, because that impacts my condition onstage,” he says. “It’s better to be warmer than colder.”
The quality of his performances remains at the forefront of his mind, even during the two-hour concert. After asking the audience for their favorite songs and receiving answers like “Cry for Me” and “Love Again” — which aren’t on the setlist — he apologized for not having crowd favorites “ready” this time around.
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He hears his fans’ requests for the older deep cuts and says he was “surprised” by the popularity of “Cry for Love.”
“Coming to areas I haven’t been able to have shows at, I’m realizing fans seeing me live for the first time would actually miss my old discography,” he says. “If the fans want ‘Cry for Love,’ I can always sing it impromptu,” he says.
BAEKHYUN makes good on his promise at the pre-show soundcheck, singing a shortened version of the 2021 song to a small crowd. For his next tour, he says he’ll “definitely” include it in the main show.
Behind the star, who debuted in the SM Entertainment boy group EXO at age 20, is more than a decade of industry experience and a fan base of EXO-Ls, affectionately referred to as “Eris.” As he tours his sixth solo EP Essence of Reverie, he shares the biggest lesson he’s learned when it comes to idol life.
“If you try your best, people will always realize that,” says BAEKHYUN. “I want to not try to make up a fake version of myself to present to my fans. I’m someone who wants to be loved just the way I am.”
He continues, “At the end of the day, it’s important to stay true to who you are, and then the people that love that will stay with you along the way.”
INB100
On top of his music career, BAEKHYUN recently founded his own record label, INB100, to manage his solo activities. Alongside his commitments, he maintains a strong support system that includes his vocal trainer, company staff and fellow EXO members Xiumin and Chen, who are also under his label.
Upon the release of his projects, Xiumin, 35, and Chen, 32, express their admiration and appreciation for BAEKHYUN and his talents, gestures which he makes an effort to return.
“As time goes by, it’s hard to monitor everyone’s different music and what they’re doing, but I try to not lose contact with that because my members do that for me, so I want to be there for them as well,” he says.
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The “Bambi” singer says that before he left for tour, the pair gave him a short but sweet parting message: “Stay healthy.”
“All three of us are not really the type to have warm words for each other,” he admits. “Still, just that in itself meant a lot.”
In a new phase of his thriving career, BAEKHYUN continues to push himself as an artist. He has taken up songwriting, contributing lyrics to five of six songs on Essence of Reverie, and he toys with the idea of learning production. Music will remain a permanent fixture in his life, and he can’t imagine it any other way.
He says, “When I think, ‘What else would I do if it was not for this?’ There’s nothing that comes to mind.”
