2013 CNBLUE Blue Moon World Tour was the 2013 live concert tour of South Korean rock band CNBLUE in support of their fifth EP, Re:Blue, which was released on 14 January 2013. The world tour commenced, at the conclusion of promotional activities in South Korea, with one show in Taiwan in April 2013 and scheduled concerts for Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, Philippines and Malaysia, thru August 2013. Subsequent concert dates added China and Indonesia; and extended the tour into January 2014, for concerts in the United States, Mexico, Peru, and the final concert in Chile, for a total of 20 concerts in 14 countries and 18 cities.
Background
The tour was announced on 23 January 2013, by FNC Entertainment, with the official poster released on 28 February. This marked the band's first world live tour following their joint concert with labelmates FT Island in Los Angeles, USA in May 2012 and exclusive concert at IndigO2 in London in September 2012.
In March 2013 FNC Entertainment announced they were in negotiations for concerts in China, namely Beijing and Shanghai, Europe, North America and South America, which would make the band the first South Korean rock band to hold a world tour of this kind.
Concerts
The Australian concerts marked the first time the band performed solo in Sydney and Melbourne, also the first Korean band to do so. The tickets for the 11 May Hong Kong concert went on sale 11 March and the 7,000 tickets were sold out within five minutes. An additional show on 10 May was added and tickets went on sale on 20 March. An extra show in Malaysia was added after tickets for the Singapore concert were sold out.
The first concert of the world tour in Taipei was played to an audience of 11,000 people, where the band played 24 tracks. During a press conference held on 5 April, leader Jung Yong-hwa performed an acoustic version of his self-composed lead track "I′m Sorry" from EP Re:Blue. The two concerts in Hong Kong were played to an audience of 15,000 people, where the band celebrated Lee Jong-hyun′s birthday on the second and last day of the concerts.
The tour continued into 2014, and the year's first concert was in New York City in Times Square. It was the band's first United States solo concert and their first concert on the East Coast. The 21 January date coincided with a major snowstorm, and the band worried about fans waiting outside in lines. The city's DramaFever's coverage included photos, and a review that referred to the band member's participation as actors in Korean drama or k-drama for Television in South Korea, and noted Jung Yong-hwa's "flawless English." In their only pre-concert interview, with Billboard K-Town, Lee Jung-shin said that the strong chart showing and sales of EP Re:Blue gave them the opportunity for the world tour and the trip to the U.S. Jung Yong-hwa, who wore a guitar strap with an American flag design, said the band had dreamed of playing New York City for a long time and was glad it was happening. The band discussed their comparisons to America's Maroon 5 and Jason Mraz; and influences of Bruno Mars and Kings of Leon, as they are recording new music. The band had a photo shoot and interview session with the city's MTV K and did additional photo shoots in Times Square and on the Brooklyn Bridge, which were used for a teaser campaign for their fifth mini album Can't Stop. The first and second teaser photos were entitled "Before Sunset in NY" and "Before Midnight in NY."
For the second leg of their U.S. tour, the band made a return visit to Los Angeles, having done a previous concert there with F.T. Island in 2012. Their interview with Dumbfoundead aired as a special on Mnet America's show, "Danny From LA", hosted by Danny Im and Dumbfoundead. During questions and answers, Lee Jong-hyun said that the hardest part of being in a rock band was headbanging, stating "after the New York concert, my body is still aching." Kang Min-hyuk explained the meaning behind the name of the tour, that like a Blue moon which is rare to see, "we wanted this concert to be, a more special and meaningful tour." Mnet America aired an additional special of the band, "Mnet America Headliner Special #5 – CNBLUE", which referenced both U.S. concerts; with footage of the New York City snowstorm on concert day, and panel members noting the attraction of a variety of fans to the band, "ages from 12 through 79", both male and female. The panelists note the band's love of American music, their similarity to Maroon 5, and their greatest inspirations, Jon Bon Jovi and Great Britain's Eric Clapton.