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| yna@yna.co.kr 2024-05-13 09:24:10
SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- K-pop artists are receiving consecutive love calls from overseas major music festivals, often referred to as the "dream stages."
As the international stature of K-pop artists continues to rise, festival organizers' efforts to increase their popularity are ongoing, leading to an increase in cases where K-pop artists take on the main stages of major festivals.
According to the music industry on the 13th, K-pop groups like Seventeen, Stray Kids, and IVE are gearing up to perform as main acts at overseas major music festivals this summer.
Among them, Seventeen has the busiest schedule.
Seventeen is set to perform on the main stage, known as the 'Pyramid Stage,' at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, which will take place from the 26th to the 30th. This marks the first time a K-pop group will perform on this stage in the festival's 50-year history.
The 'Pyramid Stage' is globally renowned as a stage where leading artists perform every year. This year, Seventeen, along with artists like Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and SZA, will grace the stage.
Following this, Seventeen will also headline the 'Lollapalooza Berlin' in Germany in September.
Lollapalooza, which is held in Chicago, USA, from August 1st to 4th, is a festival held a month earlier than this one, and many K-pop groups have also been featured here.
Stray Kids, performing for the second consecutive year, has been appointed as a main act this year. IVE and rookie girl group VCHA will participate in the festival for the first time.
In addition, at the 'Summer Sonic,' Japan's representative festival held on August 17th and 18th, NCT Dream, IVE, ATEEZ, Babymonster, BoyNextDoor, ZeroBaseOne, and Akdong Musician will also participate.
There is also a trend of knocking on the doors of large concert venues in Japan. Seventeen and TWICE will perform at the Kanagawa Nissan Stadium, which can accommodate 70,000 people, for the first time since TVXQ's performance.
The main stages of large music festivals, which attract tens of thousands of audiences, are typically reserved for artists with popular recognition and audience appeal. The fact that K-pop stars are being invited as main performers demonstrates their influence in attracting numerous global fans.
Indeed, Seventeen, who is set to perform at the Glastonbury stage, gained popularity with their mini-album 'FML,' which was recorded as the best-selling album in the world last year. Stray Kids also proved their solid fan base by selling out tickets for their Lollapalooza performance.
A music industry official explained, "As the age group consuming music becomes younger and national borders blur, K-pop artists are releasing albums targeting the global market. Therefore, they can serve as headliners without causing any discomfort to the audience."
Another favorable aspect is that overseas festivals are gradually shifting from focusing on specific music genres to attracting popular stars from various genres. For example, the famous American music festival Coachella started as a rock festival but now features artists from a wide range of genres including pop, hip-hop, Latin music, and K-pop.
Music critic Kim Young-dae evaluated, "It aligns well with the festival's goal to attract crowds by inviting K-pop artists and singers with a fandom, aiming for commercial success. As the global stature of K-pop stars rises, we are witnessing the phenomenon of them becoming headliners."
From the perspective of festivals, K-pop artists have become an attractive card that can capture both topicality and commercial success. Groups like ATEEZ, for instance, have been exploring innovative attempts such as incorporating traditional Korean culture like bongsan talchum (mask dance) and ganggangsullae (traditional circle dance) into their performances.
Given the current situation, industry insiders predict that the trend of K-pop artists receiving attention at major music festivals will continue for the foreseeable future.
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