K-pop girl group NewJeans attract record crowd at Lollapalooza music festival
UNITED STATES – K-pop fever continues to grip the United States and, this time, it was NewJeans who took centre stage.
The rookie group, which debuted in July 2022, attracted tens of thousands to Grand Park in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday, the first day of the American music festival Lollapalooza.
NewJeans were the first South Korean girl group to play at the festival. It was also their debut performance in the United States.
The quintet performed a set of 12 songs, treating the more than 70,000 spectators to an electrifying 45-minute live show, reported The Korea Times.
The teenage sensations opened the set with Hype Boy, followed by a number of hit songs, such as Cookie, Hurt, OMG and Ditto. They also performed the six songs from their latest EP Get Up.
According to Chicago Sun-Times, NewJeans pulled in the biggest audience ever for the festival’s 5pm slot. Videos of the crowd dispersing immediately after NewJeans’ performance have gone viral, which netizens view as testament to the group’s immense popularity in the US.
Adding to the group’s delight was being able to take a photo with their idol Billie Eilish backstage. The award-winning American singer was the marquee event for the first day of Lollapalooza.
NewJeans – comprising Minji, Danielle, Hyein, Hyerin and Hanni, who are aged between 15 and 19 – expressed their gratitude on Instagram.
“Thank you so much for welcoming us so warmly and giving up your time to spend with us yesterday,” they wrote. “We received so much love and energy from you all and we really do hope you enjoyed our performance as much as we did performing for you guys. Thank you for giving us such a long-lasting memory we will hold forever as our first stage in the US.”
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