For many years now, KCON has been the No. 1 entity in spreading and increasing the interest of Korean culture through Hallyu internationally. Just recently, they teamed up with Fantagio to record the entertainment label and agency’s I.O.I. members, Choi Yoo Jung and Kim Do Yeon, as they prepare for their K-pop debut by partaking in a crash course in music, fun, and choreography in Los Angeles. They are calling the original series Dodaeng’s Diary .
However, KCON is probably best known for their live concerts in which numerous K-pop acts perform for international K-pop, K-drama, and Hallyu fans overall. For example, they were able to get popular Korean actor Lee Min Ho to attend KCON 2016 LA . BTS, the most popular K-pop act in the industry today, got everyone’s attention when they announced they would headline KCON 2016 NY . And if BTS being at KCON 2016 NY wasn’t big enough news for that venue, the most popular K-pop girl group in Hallyu history, Girls’ Generation , was the one to headline the year before.
Summarized, it is all thanks to KCON international that K-pop fans, especially those who live in the United States, are able to see their favorite K-pop acts perform. And now it looks like KCON is starting to fill up the attendance roster for this year’s KCON events starting with CNBlue and Twice for KCON 2017 NY.
The news was first made known on Thursday, April 6 in Los Angeles, California, via insider source at KCON . The world’s largest culture convention and music festival announced that the first two artists to join the roster for the New York edition of the festival will be CNBlue and Twice. Along with the announcement of the K-pop acts, they also revealed the brand new logo too.
To be frank, KCON is starting out their KCON 2017 NY roster very well. CNBlue is a very popular pop rock band that debuted back in 2010 with “I’m a Loner.” Now consisting of four members — Jung Yong Hwa, Lee Jong Hyun, Kang Min Hyuk, and Lee Jung Shin — CNBlue recently made their 2017 K-pop comeback with 7ºCN featuring the song “Between Us.” Altogether, CNBlue has released nine studio albums, 10 extended plays (EPs) or mini-albums, and 13 singles in both Korea and Japan. They also hold the record for winning first place on a South Korean music competition with the shortest time of their debut at 15 days.
As for Twice, everyone should know who the nine-member girl group created under the JYP Nation banner is by now. Consisting of nine members — Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu — the K-pop girl group made an impact with their debut song “Like OOH-AHH.” They followed up with three more comebacks more popular than the previous.
As a matter of fact, Twice is recognized for breaking the most YouTube viewership records pertaining to K-pop. Their music video for “TT” dominated on YouTube and holds records for reaching certain viewership milestones in K-pop. And even when BTS tried to counter with their second title track song “Not Today” when Twice’s fourth song “Knock Knock” was released, the latter came out on top.
It should be noted we still have about two more months until KCON 2017 NY as it will take place on June 23 and 24. This means we still have more time for the roster to fill up with even more K-pop acts. On a side note, KCON 2017 NY technically takes place in New Jersey despite its name and will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
[Featured Images by FNC Entertainment/CNBlue’s Official Daum Cafe and JYP Entertainment/Twice’s Official Daum Cafe ]