# SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express

SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express is a concert tour by SM Town. The tour commenced with one show in Suwon, South Korea, and then continued with three shows in Tokyo, Japan. The concert is SM Town's first in-person concert in almost three years since SM Town Live 2019 in Tokyo (2019), and the first South Korea concert in five years since SM Town Live World Tour VI (2017–2018).

## Background

SM Town is the name for the artists under Korean record label SM Entertainment. Normally, each year the company organizes their artists to come together and perform a four to six hours long concert that tours around the Asian continent. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that started from the beginning of 2020, the usual in-person concert had to halt for a while, including the annual SM Town concert. Instead, during the New Year season of 2021 and 2022, SM Entertainment held two online free concerts, SM Town Live Culture Humanity (2021) and SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express at Kwangya (2022).
On April 25, 2022, SM Entertainment announced that SM Town would hold a two-day concert at Tokyo Dome on August 27 and 28. It was the first SM Town concert held in Japan in three years. Alongside the announcement, an lineup consisting of Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Taeyeon, Hyoyeon, Shinee, Suho, Chen, Kai, Red Velvet, NCT, Aespa, Raiden, and Kinjo was released. On June 23, an additional date was released since the previous two sold out. The concert was held for three days from the 27th to the 29th.
On June 30, 2022, SM Entertainment announced that SM Town would hold a concert at the Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, South Korea, on August 20. It was their first in-person concert held in South Korea since 2017. The initial lineup included Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Taeyeon, Hyoyeon, Red Velvet, Kai, Suho, Chen, Key, Minho, Onew, NCT, Aespa, Raiden and Kinjo. Girls' Generation, Xiumin, D.O., Got the Beat, Imlay and J.E.B. were also included in a final lineup released on July 12. Tickets were put on sale on Yes24 on July 26 for fan club members, while regular ticket reservations were set to start on July 28. The concert was streamed through KNTV and Beyond Live. Tickets were put on sale on the SM Town & Store website on August 2.

## Critical reception

Hong Dam-young of The Korea Herald wrote positively about the concert in Tokyo, saying it "successfully recaptured the spirit of [SM's] early heyday". Hong appreciated the combining of various genres throughout the performances and highlighted Super Junior among all the artists, praising their ability to "break down the language barrier". Hong concluded saying: "It was undeniable: SM is still a key player, and a home to some of the biggest and most cutting-edge musicians in the scene".

## Performers

Performers
* Kangta
* BoA
* TVXQ
* Super Junior
* Girls' Generation
* Key (Shinee)
* Minho (Shinee)
* Xiumin (Exo)
* Suho (Exo)
* Chen (Exo)
* D.O. (Exo)
* Kai (Exo)
* Red Velvet
* NCT
* Aespa
* Got the Beat
* SM Rookies (Shohei, Eunseok, Seunghan)
* ScreaM Records (DJ Hyo, Raiden, Ginjo, Imlay, J.E.B)
Performers
* Kangta
* BoA
* Max Changmin (TVXQ)
* Super Junior
* Taeyeon (Girls' Generation)
* Hyoyeon (Girls' Generation)
* Onew (Shinee)
* Key (Shinee)
* Minho (Shinee)
* Xiumin (Exo)
* Suho (Exo)
* Chen (Exo)
* Kai (Exo)
* Red Velvet
* NCT
* Aespa
* Got the Beat
* SM Rookies (Shohei, Eunseok, Seunghan)
* ScreaM Records (DJ Hyo, Raiden, Ginjo)

## Set lists

DJ Opening Show
* J.E.B (VEEF Entertainment)
* Imlay (ScreaM Records) (feat. Yangyang)
* Ginjo (ScreaM Records)
* Raiden (ScreaM Records)
* Hyoyeon (DJ Hyo) (ScreaM Records)
Concert
* "Next Level" – Aespa
* "Like Water" – Wendy
* "Hello" – Joy
* "Hurdle" – Suho
* "Kick Back" (Korean ver.) – WayV
* "Beatbox" – NCT Dream
* "Queendom" – Red Velvet
* "Beautiful Goodbye" – Chen
* "That's Okay" – D.O.
* "Miracle" – WayV
* "Favorite (Vampire)" – NCT 127
* "Peaches" - Kai
* "Serenity" – Xiumin
* "INVU" – Taeyeon
* "Deep" – Hyoyeon
* "Black Suit" – Super Junior
* "Sorry, Sorry" – Super Junior
* "Bonamana" – Super Junior
* "Don't Wait" – Super Junior
* "Dream Routine" – Shotaro, Sungchan (NCT), Shohei, Eunseok, Seunghan (SM Rookies)
* "Zoo" – Taeyong, Hendery, Jeno, Yangyang (NCT), Giselle (Aespa)
* "Step Back" – Got the Beat
* "Golden" – Raiden feat. Xiaojun, Sungchan (NCT)
* "Thank U" – U-Know
* "Heartbreak" – Minho
* "Bad Love" – Key
* "Illusion" – Aespa
* "Only One" – BoA
* "Eyes on You" – Kangta
* "Devil" – Max Changmin
* "Universe (Let's Play Ball)" – NCT U
* "Resonance" – NCT
* "Mirotic" – TVXQ!
* "Hi Ya Ya Summer Day" – TVXQ!
* "Balloons" – TVXQ!
* "Forever 1" – Girls' Generation
* "Party" – Girls' Generation
* "Glitch Mode" – NCT Dream
* "Girls" – Aespa
* "Feel My Rhythm" – Red Velvet
* "Sticker" – NCT 127
* "Gasoline" – Key
* "Mango" – Super Junior
* "Better" – BoA
* "Rising Sun" – TVXQ!
* "Hope from Kwangya" – SM Town
DJ Opening Show
* Ginjo (ScreaM Records)
* Raiden (ScreaM Records)
* Hyoyeon (DJ Hyo) (ScreaM Records)
Concert
* "Next Level" (day 1) / "Black Mamba" & "Next Level" (day 2 & 3) – Aespa
* "Kick Back" (Korean ver.) – WayV
* "Beatbox" (day 1) / "Beatbox" & "Hot Sauce" (day 2 & 3) – NCT Dream
* "Beautiful Goodbye" – Chen
* "Way" - Onew feat. Ningning
* "Hurdle" – Suho
* "Wildside" – Red Velvet
* "C.h.a.o.s.m.y.t.h" (cover) - Yesung
* "Gimme Gimme" (day 1) / "Gimme Gimme" & "Sticker" (day 2 & 3) - NCT 127
* "Dice" - Onew
* "Ashura-chan" (cover) - Max Changmin, Kyuhyun & Minho
* "Dream Routine" – Shotaro, Sungchan (NCT), Shohei, Eunseok, Seunghan (SM Rookies)
* "Zoo" – Taeyong, Hendery, Jeno, Yangyang (NCT), Giselle (Aespa)
* "Eyes on You" – Kangta
* "Golden" – Raiden feat. Xiaojun, Sungchan (NCT)
* "INVU" – Taeyeon
* "Deep" – Hyoyeon
* "Heartbreak" – Minho
* "Bad Love" – Key
* "Peaches" - Kai
* "Shake" – Xiumin
* "The Greatest" - BoA
* "Sorry, Sorry" – Super Junior
* "Bonamana" – Super Junior
* "Bambina" – Super Junior
* "Universe (Let's Play Ball)" – NCT U
* "Resonance" – NCT
* "Step Back" – Got the Beat
* "Devil" – Max Changmin
* "Fever" - Max Changmin
* "Gasoline" – Key
* "Glitch Mode" – NCT Dream (day 1 & 2) / "Baby Don't Stop" - NCT U & "Glitch Mode" - NCT Dream (day 3)
* "Girls" – Aespa
* "Nectar" - WayV
* "Feel My Rhythm" – Red Velvet
* "Kick It" – NCT 127
* "Better" – BoA
* "Black Suit" - Super Junior
* "Hope from Kwangya" – SM Town

## Tour dates

| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance |
| August 20, 2022 | Suwon | South Korea | Suwon World Cup Stadium Beyond Live | 30,000 |
| August 27, 2022 | Tokyo | Japan | Tokyo Dome Beyond Live | 150,000 |
| August 28, 2022 | Tokyo | Japan | Tokyo Dome Beyond Live | 150,000 |
| August 29, 2022 | Tokyo | Japan | Tokyo Dome Beyond Live | 150,000 |