Shhh! Quiet! Do you hear it? Listen very carefully. It may be difficult for you to hear at first but if you close your eyes and concentrate, you’ll hear it. Can you hear it now? That high-pitched squeal of utter fangirl delight??? Yeah… That’s me… Squealing myself silly as my wildly dancing fangirl heart tries to twirl itself right out of my chest. Yup! It’s official. I’m so insanely excited for KCON 2017 LA that I might actually have a heart-attack and die before I get there!
AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!
I know I’m about a week behind with this announcement, seeing as how it was made last Thursday. But I was on vacation and being at my parents’ house, I just couldn’t give the whole-hearted dance of delight that such a momentous announcement deserves. So I held it in. For a freaking week! And now that I’m back home, I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to find the words to express how happy I am about the fact that both NCT 127 and my little group of sunshine, ASTRO, are going to be in LA this August! *EEEEK!*
So like I said, KCON USA presented by Toyota, the world’s largest Korean culture convention and music festival, announced last week that ASTRO and NCT 127 would be joining SF9 and GIRL’S DAY, as part of KCON 2017 LA’s concert line-up. (Woohoo!) Since both ASTRO and NCT 127 are groups I’ve squealed over (a lot) since their debut, I feel like saying much about them is kind of redundant. Still, there may be the off-chance that someone new to K-Pop has stumbled across this post so here’s a little introduction to both groups…
NCT 127 is part of the K-pop boy group NCT, which stands for Neo Culture Technology. The group consists of nine members: Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Doyoung, Yuta, Jaehyun, Win Win, Mark, and Haechan. The number 127 represents the longitude coordinates of Seoul, South Korea. NCT 127 made their debut in July last year with a mini album titled NCT #127. Their second mini album, Limitless, was released digitally on January 6, 2017, and physically on January 9, 2017. The new album scored No.1 spot on Billboard’s World Albums Chart upon its release. Even more exciting is the fact that NCT 127 has just dropped their third mini-album, titled NCT #127 CHERRY BOMB, and yes, I am dead.
OMGICANT’WAITTOSEETHESEBOYSPERFORMLIVEI’MGONNADIE!!!
And then ASTRO’s gonna show up and my soul will completely leave this world forever… *starts to hyperventilate just thinking about it*
For those of you who don’t know, ASTRO is a six-member boy group that debuted on February 23, 2016, with their mini-album Spring Up. Prior to releasing their debut album, HIDE & SEEK, the group starred in their own web drama series, To Be Continued, in August 2015, as well as their own reality television show Astro OK! Ready in January 2016. Since then, their music video for “HIDE & SEEK” has gained over 5.2 million views and their official fanclub name has been revealed as AROHA, which stands for ASTRO Hearts All Fans. ASTRO dropped their fourth mini album, titled Dream Part.01, with the title track “Baby” on May 29, 2017. (And yes, I’m still dying over the choreo. It’s just so… AUGH!) Their first concert, ASTROAD, has been announced to take place at the Olympic Park in Seoul on July 15 and 16, 2017 and I’m weeping because I have to wait until August to see them. *sobs* On the upside, I was hoping beyond hope that these boys would be at KCON again this year and I’m so flipping excited that they’re actually making an appearance. I feel like I’ve won the fangirl lottery or something! Now to find a way to get one of those elusive high-touch passes… Hey, a fangirl can dream, can’t she?
OHMYGOSHWHOCARESI’MGONNASEEASTROAGAINANDMOONBINISGONNASMILEANDROCKYISGONNADANCE
ANDI’MGONNADIEWITHTHEBIGGESTSMILEONMYFACEEVERBECAUSEIGETTOSEEMYBOYSAGAIN!
AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As I’m sure may of you already know, this year’s string of international KCON festivals is operating under the banner theme of “Let’s KCON,” which underlines the festival’s essence – present since its inception – to promote engagement between the fans themselves (shout-out to all the amazing people I’ve had the honor of meeting and befriending over the last 4 years. Can’t wait to see you all again this summer!), between fans and the stars (I swear, someday I will get one of those high-touch passes! Someday…), and between fans and the multi-faceted cultural phenomenon of Hallyu. “Let’s KCON” is a rallying cry for fans to enjoy the festivities in New York, Los Angeles, and other cities as they become the temporary headquarters of the Korean wave.
Since its launch in 2012, KCON has grown exponentially to become the undisputed epicenter for all things Hallyu (a.k.a The Korean Wave). The expansive event, which spans three days, takes place within the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Convention Center, and the surrounding entertainment district on August 18-20. In addition to star-studded concerts, fans in attendance will experience more panels (be sure to check out The Next K-Drama Star panel, I hear it’s going to be awesome! *wink wink*) and workshops than ever before, with offerings on everything from K-beauty and K-food to e-sports and K-drama.
KCON 2017 LA combo tickets will go on sale at 10am (PST) on July 7. The New York metro area edition of KCON 2017 USA will be returning to the Prudential Center next week (is it really only a week away!?!) on June 23 and 24. If you’re planning on being in New Jersey this next weekend, be sure to keep an eye out for the pink-haired zombie. There’s nothing I’d love more than to have a chance to meet you all and do a little squealing over biases in person!
For the latest KCON news and tickets, you’re invited to visit www.kconusa.com and follow @KCONUSA on Twitter, where additional artist line-up and other information are being announced and where you can also join the conversation with #KCON17LA. Of course you can always squeal over all things KCON here or on my social media because we all know, I’m always up for a good bit of squealing. 😉