Korean-American singer AleXa recently held a concert in Los Angeles, where she took a moment to mourn the victims of last weekend’s crowd crush in Itaewon.
On October 30, the 25-year-old singer held the final concert of her US tour at Los Angeles’ Avalon Hollywood, which marked her first solo gig in the city. At the show, the idol took a moment to address the tragedy. The death toll has risen to 156, according to a Korea Times report today (November 1).
“As you guys probably know, like millions of others around the world, I’m saddened and quite devastated to hear what happened in Itaewon recently in Korea,” she told the audience, per Billboard.
“Many bright, young stars, many young lives were lost in this tragedy that will forever go down in history as one of the worst things to happen in modern times in Korea. It’s forever going to change the lives of people they knew, friends, family, and loved ones,” she continued.
The singer then added: “I kindly ask that we altogether observe a minute of silence here together out of respect for all the victims and all the lives lost in the tragedy.” During this time, the venue turned off its stage lights to display a video screen with the phrase “pray for Itaewon” as AleXa and her fans observed one minute of silence.
The South Korean music industry has joined the rest of the nation in a period of mourning, accordingly cancelling or postponing most non-essential events and releases out of respect for the deceased.
In concerts staged on October 30, K-pop acts ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher also paid their respects to the Itaewon victims by observing moments of silence. Members of the former group were also seen donning black armbands, while the latter group removed the word “Halloween” from the name of their concert.
Following the conclusion of her US tour, AleXa is set to release her third mini-album ‘Girls Gone Vogue’ on November 11. While her agency ZB Label has temporarily postponed the record’s promotional rollout in light of the recent tragedy, it is not yet clear if the project’s release date – which comes after South Korea’s period of national mourning – will be changed.
