Welcome again to Fan Chant, a weekly column for Okay-pop followers, stans, and newbies alike. In the present day, let’s dig into the Okay-pop acts on the Lollapalooza lineup, anchored by headliners TWICE. If you get pleasure from what you’re studying, be happy to subscribe to my companion e-newsletter to get Fan Chant delivered proper to your inbox every week!
For the previous 4 years, Okay-pop’s presence at Chicago’s Lollapalooza has considerably elevated. In 2022, j-hope turned the primary artist out of South Korea to headline the pageant; TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Stray Children have adopted as headliners within the years since, with different acts like IVE making appearances of their very own.
The 2025 lineup arrived this week — my colleague Paolo did a wonderful job of unpacking the pageant’s course — and the massive Okay-pop information for this yr’s festivities at Grant Park is that TWICE are representing the style this summer time, making them the primary Okay-pop woman group to take action. It’s an extremely enjoyable and refreshing selection so far as Okay-pop headliners go: the place Stray Children provide experimental, rock-inspired audacity and TOMORROW X TOGETHER allure crowds with synchronization and optimism, TWICE deliver one thing fully completely different to the desk.
The 9 members of TWICE have been energetic collectively for over a decade, a rarity of its personal in Okay-pop, and this sisterhood has been intentional about rising their girl-next-door origins into an arena-ready pop sound. TWICE is the primary Okay-pop woman group to host sold-out reveals at SoFi and Met Life, but it surely’s not simply the clear demand to catch them dwell that made them such an excellent selection for this slot.
Their aggressive edge is one thing that merely can’t be faked — these women love to be on stage, and so they like to carry out collectively. (I’m so thrilled for the oldsters in that crowd who will get to witness Jihyo shining for the primary time.) Okay-pop, in some ways, can really feel like its personal world, however TWICE are among the finest entry factors for the curious festival-goer. They’re extremely cool, however retain a heat many different woman teams don’t lead with, by no means making the viewers really feel excluded. As an alternative, TWICE pitch themselves as one in all us; at their present, everybody’s invited to the get together, from the contagious pleasure of “The Feels” to the bubblegum basic that’s “Fancy.” The dazzling choreography of “I CAN’T STOP ME” that spawned hundreds of at-home dance covers is one thing solely these 9 can actually pull off.
Elsewhere on the lineup, BOYNEXTDOOR are set to make their Lollapalooza debut, alongside JYP rockers Xdinary Heroes, who I believe will allure loads of passerby with their band format. Whereas not fairly Okay-pop, HYBE international group KATSEYE are set to look, whereas rookie act KickFlip (who simply debuted a number of months again) are additionally stepping onto the stage. It looks as if with every year, Lollapalooza bookers are welcoming an increasing number of keen Okay-pop acts to the stage, however with a lineup additionally that includes the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams, TWICE will match proper in.
ICYMI: “Hope on the Stage” Evaluation
j-hope of BTS, photograph courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
I swung as much as New York for the opening night time of the North American leg of j-hope’s solo tour. Unsurprisingly, the members of BTS proceed to set the bar for efficiency; the solo present was an unreal reminder of how particular it’s to witness BTS of their ingredient. Learn the recap of the present right here.
Track Rec of the Week:
I can’t cease listening to this track, nor can I scroll by any video of the unimaginable choreography. I caught up with the members of LE SSERAFIM to debate the title observe of their new mini-album, HOT, however “Come Over” has shot to the highest of my private rating.