SEVENTEEN become first K-pop act to headline Lollapalooza Berlin as Jeonghan gives last performance before enlistment

NME

SEVENTEEN became the first K-pop act to headline Lollapalooza Berlin tonight (September 8), with their history-making performance also serving as singer Jeonghan’s last before his mandatory military service.

• READ MORE: SEVENTEEN on making history at Glastonbury: “We’ll try to blow their minds with this weapon that we have”

The 13-member boyband topped the Main Stage South stage today, joining other acts, including Sam Smith, Martin Garrix, Burna Boy, OneRepublic and The Chainsmokers, as the festival’s 2024 headliners.

The group performed with 12 members during the set, with singer Jun previously confirmed not to be participating due to scheduling conflicts with an acting project he is working on in China. They were joined by a live backing band for the occasion.

“It’s an honour I never expected,” singer Joshua told NME of headlining Lollapalooza Berlin ahead of the performance. “I never imagined we’d get to perform at Lolla Berlin, a festival we’ve only seen in the media.”

He continued by nodding to the group’s first UK performance in June, which saw them become the first K-pop act ever to play at Glastonbury Festival. “Given how performing or meeting fans in Europe seemed almost impossible since the pandemic, playing Glastonbury was already surreal,” Joshua said.

“Now, adding a headlining set at Lolla feels amazing and makes me so proud of SEVENTEEN, the team we are,” he added. “We hope this will be another chance for audiences to see what we’re all about and want to keep performing for more people on a variety of stages moving forward.”

“Recently, most of our performances have taken place in indoor venues, so playing the wide-open outdoor stage at Glastonbury was a rare and exciting experience,” rapper Wonwoo shared of how that headline-grabbing performance was fuelling their set in Germany.

He continued: “It was a great opportunity to showcase our music and energy in a new setting for a fresh crowd. With that still fresh in my mind, I’ll do my best to bring the same great energy and performance to Lolla Berlin.”

SEVENTEEN’s Lollapalooza Berlin headline set kicked off with their 2023 single ‘Super’ before diving into their back catalogue for the likes of the English-language ‘Darl+ing’ and the 2021 singles ‘Ready To Love’ and ‘Rock With You’. After the latter, singer Seungkwan told the crowd: “We couldn’t believe you guys could follow along to our songs so well, you’re doing amazing. I’m so touched.”

The middle portion of the performance was dedicated to unit performances, beginning with BSS – members Seungkwan, Hoshi and DK – delivering a version of their track ‘Fighting’. The vocal unit of Seungkwan, DK, Jeonghan, Joshua and Woozi and the performance unit of Hoshi, The8 and Dino both revisited their songs from April’s greatest hits album ‘SEVENTEEN Best Album ’17 Is Right Here’’ with ‘Cheers To Youth’ and ‘Spell’, respectively.

The hip-hop unit – comprised of Mingyu, S.Coups, Wonwoo and Vernon – performed ‘Fire’ before SVT Leaders (S.Coups, Hoshi and Woozi) aired their 2022 collaboration ‘Cheers’. As the unit section came to an end, the crowd began to chant SEVENTEEN’s name, with the group responding from the stage with their own chant of “Berlin”.

“I want to thank Carats [SEVENTEEN’s fanbase name] from all over the world for supporting us,” rapper Mingyu said after rousing renditions of ‘SOS’ and ‘Hot’, referring both to the international make-up of the crowd in front of him and the fans watching online around the globe. “I love you Carats, thank you so much.”

“Thank you for coming. Let’s have fun until the end, thank you,” Jeonghan added, with the audience responding by breaking out in a chant of his name. The performance was his last prior to his enlistment for his mandatory military service, with the group’s label, PLEDIS Entertainment, confirming in August that the singer is set to miss SEVENTEEN’s upcoming world tour. The exact date of his enlistment is yet to be announced.

“Rather than doing something out of the ordinary, I just want to show myself as Jeonghan,” the star shared with NME prior to the headline set. “I’m excited to deliver a captivating performance with the members that will create another great memory for Carats to look back on.”

SEVENTEEN closed out their performance with the aptly titled ‘Headliner’, the English version of their ‘Heng:garæ’ track ‘Together’, ‘God Of Music’ and fan favourite ‘Very Nice’. During the latter, which saw the boyband repeat the refrain multiple times – a tradition known as “never-ending ‘Aju Nice’” – Seungkwan recruited fans on the barrier to help sing one of the song’s most climactic lines. “We’re making such good memories here, all thanks to you, Berlin,” Vernon told the crowd.

The group will next turn their focus to their 2024 ‘Right Here’ world tour, which kicks off in Goyang, South Korea, on October 12 with two dates at Goyang Stadium. The tour will then visit the US in October and November before heading to Japan.

It is currently unclear if the group will visit Europe for their own headline concerts on this run. “We know how much our fans are waiting for us there,” Seungkwan told NME in June. “I can’t say for sure at this point in time, but we’re definitely talking to the company, and we want to make it happen.”

SEVENTEEN are also expected to make a comeback with their upcoming 12th mini-album later this year. Jun will miss both the ‘Right Here’ world tour and promotional activities around the record as he pursues “acting and other opportunities in China”.

Lollapalooza Berlin, meanwhile, has confirmed its dates for 2025 – the 10th anniversary of the festival’s German edition. It will return on July 12 and 13, 2025, with the line-up to be confirmed in due course.

SEVENTEEN played:

‘Super’
‘Don Quixote’
‘Darl+ing’
‘Ready To Love’
‘Rock With You’
‘Left & Right’
‘Fighting’
‘Cheers To Youth’
‘Spell’
‘Fire’
‘Cheers’
‘Clap’
‘Maestro’
‘SOS’
‘Hot’
‘Headliner’
‘Together (English ver.)’
‘God Of Music’
‘Very Nice’

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