Eric of THE BOYZ Preps First Solo Album After Sold-Out Shows

Eric, a member of boy group THE BOYZ, has held his first solo fan meeting in South Korea since his debut. On the 14th, Eric (real name Son Young-jae) hosted "Son Young-jae Over Flowers" (Kkotboda Son Young-jae) at the main theater of Kwangwoon University's Donghae Arts Center in Seoul's Nowon district.

The event ran twice, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. KST. Both shows sold out as soon as tickets went on sale.

The fan meeting was built around "Boys Over Flowers," a drama Eric often enjoyed watching. He opened by reciting a famous line from the series, then walked onstage singing "Paradise" from its soundtrack.

From there, he ran talk segments that played on the drama's characters and setting. He also answered questions fans had sent in ahead of time and caught them up on what he has been doing lately.

Midway through, the soundtrack songs "Because I'm Stupid" and "Stand By Me" played as Eric walked through the aisles to greet fans up close. In a segment called "Son Young-jae Challenge Year-End Review" (Son Young-jae Challenge Yeonmal Gyeolsan), he performed challenges fans had requested. The audience also joined in on games, including one played with a giant Jenga set.

Eric prepared performances of other artists' songs, too. He danced to pop star Justin Bieber's "Confident." He also sang a different song at each show. At the afternoon show, he sang Colde's "Your Dog Loves You." At the evening show, he sang Baemki's "Yeogijeogigeogi."

For the encore, he turned to girl group songs. He covered the choreography for "RUDE!" by girl group Hearts2Hearts and "Chepohagesseo" by ILLIT.

Eric did not stay solo the whole time. Hyunjae and Q of THE BOYZ showed up at the first show. Jacob and Juyeon came to the second.

Together, they performed a medley of the group's best-known songs. The lineup included the debut song "Boy," along with "White," "Right Here," "Salty," "Nectar," "Breaking Dawn" and "Checkmate." Each show had its own set of songs, so no two medleys were the same.

The fan meeting was also the final event of "The Baby Pink Code: THE B Festa by ERIC," a project Eric ran throughout November. Before the fan meeting, he held his first solo photo exhibition, "Baby Pink Letter Exhibition," from the 7th to the 13th. It took place on the second floor of CCCS Hannam in Seoul's Hannam area, in Yongsan district.

Next up for the group, THE BOYZ will hold its solo concert "ZENERATION Ⅲ" at KSPO DOME in Seoul's Olympic Park from Dec. 24 to 27. The run will last four days.

Eric is also working on his first solo album, which he is preparing to release next January.