Group MONSTA X (MONSTA X) IM held a head-shaving ceremony in front of fans ahead of his enlistment.
MONSTA X (Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Jooheon, IM) opened the 2026 MONSTA X world tour 'The X : Nexus' (2026 MONSTA X WORLD TOUR 'THE X : NEXUS') on the 1st at KSPO DOME in Bangi-dong, Songpa District, Seoul.
MONSTA X returned to KSPO DOME about six months after '2025 MONSTA X Connect X' (2025 MONSTA X CONNECT X), held in July last year. It was their first world tour since the '2022 MONSTA X 'NO LIMIT' tour in Seoul' (2022 MONSTA X 'NO LIMIT' TOUR IN SEOUL) held in 2022, and with tour dates confirmed in regions including Asia and Latin America, they will begin their full-scale activities starting with the Seoul performance.
What made this performance even more special was that member IM was taking his final stage before enlisting to fulfill his defense duties. IM is scheduled to enlist on Feb. 9, and the Seoul performance was both the peak of energy that the six-member MONSTA X could show and the prologue to the tour, as well as a moment to promise that the team called MONSTA X will continue unchanged.
After the ending stage, during an encore performed to the fans' support, IM said, "My back is actually not very good. I was told I could sit and perform, but since this is the last performance before going to the military, I absolutely couldn't perform sitting down. After the first-day performance I wondered what to do, and after the second day and today, it worked out. The power of love is amazing."
He continued, "I stopped activities about twice in 2025, but I didn't really rest. The reason I could constantly do something was because I thought, 'Would Monbebe like it?' I will briefly step away from over 10 years of MONSTA X activities and then come back," and he added, "With the hyungs and Monbebe here, I'll shave my head here."
IM sat in the prepared chair and consoled Monbebe by saying, "My head shape is really pretty," and shaved his own hair. MONSTA X members showed close friendship by each shaving IM's head while saying, "You look great." During this, Minhyuk, who was shaving his head, accidentally cut an in-ear monitor, creating an unforgettable mishap.
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