SF9’s world tour, LOVE DAWN 2025 SF9 LIVE FANTASY #5, arrives at a pivotal point in their career. Almost ten years into their career, they’ve spent the last few months travelling through the US, Europe and Asia, carrying a show that feels like a group making active choices about who they are now – and performing with the kind of intention that comes only when you’ve lived through multiple eras and realised that evolution is the only thing that actually keeps a group alive.

When the members talk about the tour, there’s a sense of genuine discovery. It’s been years since they last stood in front of international crowds, and you can hear that absence in the way they describe each stop. YOUNGBIN talks about the contrast in energy between continents – the full-voice singing in Europe, the heavy chants across the US – and how those reactions shaped their own performance choices. JAEYOON picks up the thread with something even simpler: the passion is louder this time. Louder, and somehow more pointed. For a group approaching their tenth year, that kind of reception isn’t guaranteed.

What’s striking is how often they return to the atmosphere of specific cities. Jacksonville comes up almost immediately, a place they barely knew on paper but walked away from genuinely moved by the crowd. Paris appears for the opposite reason: the stage was so close to the audience that the entire show shifted, the performance merging with the energy in the room. These anecdotes aren’t just tour memories; they reflect a group that’s paying attention to how the environment shapes the performance. More than just a setlist, they’re responding and adjusting in real-time.

You can see that same instinct in the music. This tour introduced revamped arrangements of songs like “Now or Never” and “O Sole Mio,” as a way to bridge the gap between who they were and who they’ve become. YOUNGBIN explains that honouring the original feeling is still important, but they also want space for the strengths they’ve gained along the way. It makes sense. SF9 in 2017 is not SF9 in 2025, and the members speak about the process almost like a puzzle: how do you respect the past without freezing yourselves in it?

And with 2026 marking their tenth anniversary, the conversation naturally widens. They’re honest about how the dynamic has shifted over the years – from following company-directed paths to taking a more proactive, self-defined role in shaping their music and performances. They talk about wanting heavier band sounds, stronger bass, songs built for pure energy exchange. Not reinvention for reinvention’s sake, but something that reflects the hunger they still feel for the stage.

By the time CHANI talks about wanting fans to look back in another decade with memories that feel warm and lasting, it becomes clear that SF9’s vision is about building something that holds. Something that evolves without losing its centre. Something that stays alive.

Midway through their US leg, SF9 dialled in to speak with us about the tour, future goals, and how they see themselves as they approach their milestone tenth year.