With KCON Mexico successfully wrapped up, it’s time for Hallyu fans here in North America to turn our attention towards KCON USA’s New York and Los Angeles conventions. As the world’s largest Korean culture convention and music festival, gears up for the New York edition of the festivities, the first two artist lineup announcements have recently been announced and yes, I am excited!
Making their first artist announcement for New York’s June 23-24 convention, KCON USA revealed that both CNBLUE and Twice will be joining this weekend of non-stop Hallyu fun. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with these groups, allow me to make a small introduction…
CNBLUE debuted as a 4-member pop rock band under FNC Entertainment with the single “I’m a Loner” on January 14, 2010. The band consists of four members: Jung Yong Hwa, Lee Jong Hyun, Kang Min Hyuk, and Lee Jung Shin and are solely responsible for my trip down the rabbit hole that led me to this amazing world of Hallyu. Well, Yonghwa is the bunny I followed, CNBLUE as a whole just kinda sealed the deal… (See what happens when you suffer from a severe case of second lead syndrome!?! You fall so hard for a character you have to go look up what he’s doing in real life!) With active promotions in Japan, prior to releasing their first Korean mini album, Bluetory, CNBLUE was no stranger to the music scene when they made their Korean debut. Claiming first place on Music Bank on January 29, 2010, just 15 days after their debut, CNBLUE snagged the record for winning first place on South Korea’s music shows within the shortest time since debut. Since then, the band has released nine studio albums, ten EPs, and 13 singles in both Korea and Japan.
Twice is JYP Entertainment’s energetic and wildly loved rookie girl group. The group was formed through the 2015 suvivial reality show, Sixteen, and consists of 9 global members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. The music video for the debut title, “Like OOH-AHH,” hit 50 million views in five months, becoming the most viewed K-POP debut music video. In 2016, Twice became the first girl group to have sold 100,000 albums in 2016 with “CHEER UP.” In February 2017, their three-day sold out concert, Twice 1st Tour: TWICELAND – The Opening, was successfully held in Seoul and was the first stop on their world tour. Along with the album sales and digital charts, the music video views of the four title songs continue to climb well into the hundred millions. The group has won numerous awards, including a total of 33 crowns on TV music programs, 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards “Song of the Year,” and 31st Golden Disc Awards “Digital Song of the Year.”
Now that you know a little about these first two artist, you can see why I’m already excited for this year’s New York convention. It’s been years since I last saw CNBLUE in person and TWICE was so much fun when I saw them in LA last year, I have no doubt this year’s New York appearance will be even more amazing.
Returning to the New York metro area for the third year, KCON USA continues to reign as the leader in spreading Hallyu with star-studded concerts, specialized programming, and expanded K-beauty, K-food, and e-sports offerings.
For those of you unable to attend the New York edition this year, KCON 2017 USA will be returning to the Los Angeles Convention Center and the Staples Center August 18-20. More artists for both events will be announced in the coming weeks and months.
For the latest KCON news be sure to visit www.kconusa.com and follow @KCONUSA on Twitter where you can also join the conversation with #KCON17NY. Of course you can always come back here for all the latest KCON news!