{"id":1004104,"date":"2026-08-16T08:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T08:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1004104\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T08:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T08:51:19","slug":"kcon-la-2026-recap-best-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1004104\/","title":{"rendered":"KCON LA 2026 Recap &#038; Best Moments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tLos Angeles officially belongs to K-pop this weekend with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kconusa.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">KCON<\/a> LA 2026, but the city has been deep in K-pop all week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThis year\u2019s KCON festival officially opened Friday (Aug. 14) at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena. Under the theme \u201cWalk in SOUL CITY,\u201d a play on the South Korean capital, festival producer CJ ENM is stretching 2026\u2019s convention across K-pop, K-beauty, K-food and K-story programming, including the first-ever Olive Young Festa K-Beauty Playground, which boasts 55 different Korean brands. But by the time doors opened on day one, the city had already been running on K-pop culture for days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHYBE America started things Wednesday with an industry party under the theme of \u201cK-Pop\u2019s Biggest Weekend.\u201d The U.S. branch of the Korean-entertainment giant had a red carpet, photo booths, cotton candy machines and members of its global roster \u2014 boy bands <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&amp;TEAM<\/a> and Santos Bravos, as well as their pre-debut girl group SAINT SATINE \u2014 alongside Eric Nam, Ji-young Yoo and other cast members from K-Pop: The Debut, the Paramount and HYBE America film due in theaters in February 2027. The same night, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/yeonjun\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">YEONJUN<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/tomorrow-x-together\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TOMORROW X TOGETHER<\/a> played a special showcase for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/photos\/yeonjun-concert-photos-billboard-live-troubadour-1236315970\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Billboard Live<\/a> while &amp;TEAM held a session at the GRAMMY Museum, where EVAN also appeared this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tRunning underneath it all has been the retail circuit, which has quietly become a parallel festival of its own. Retailers like hello82, KPop Nara, Makestar and Araise have staged near-daily signings and fan events with artists like Wonho, ZEROBASEONE, izna, MEOVV, KickFlip, KiiiKiii and more, allowing them to meet local fans directly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe KCON festival grounds opened at 10 a.m. P.T., with the Artist Stage, Dance Stage and Toyota Music Den Stage all featuring multiple artists throughout the day before the night\u2019s M Countdown concert next door at the Crypto.com Arena. And KCON\u2019s centerpiece concert arrives with a structural change this year. For the first time in its history, the daily headliners are performing full hour-long sets rather than the abbreviated, TV-ready festival runs the event has always utilized.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tSince launching as a one-day event in Irvine, Calif., in 2012, KCON has served as an important American proving ground for acts including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/bts\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BTS<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/twice\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TWICE<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/seventeen\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SEVENTEEN<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/ateez\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ATEEZ<\/a> well before they were selling out stadiums and arenas on their own. Last year, the city officially designated Aug. 1, 2025 as \u201cKCON Day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBillboard is on the ground for KCON LA 2026. Here are the best moments from day one \u2014 and check back for more highlights throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ubpass.co\/billboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2HpFicp.png\" alt=\"Billboard VIP Pass\" style=\"max-width: 100%;height: auto\"\/><br \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul class=\"pmc-fallback-list-items lrv-a-unstyle-list lrv-u-margin-t-2\">\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tSantos Bravos\u2019 Mics More Than Proved the Mics Were On at the Artist Stage<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tOf all the songs HYBE Latin America\u2019s first global group could have brought out in their KCON LA debut, they picked one of their most vocally challenging \u2014 and nailed it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cFE\u201d closes out DUAL, their debut EP released in March, and it\u2019s a slow-burning, Spanish-language ballad with a vocal performance that grows more ambitious with each chorus. Drew, Alejandro, Gabi, Kau\u00ea and Kenneth nailed it at their mid-afternoon Artist Stage set, with Kau\u00ea and Kenneth delivering impassioned harmonies that set the standard for the weekend.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tfrom20 Delivered Diversity to the Stage<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe independent artist directed and cast the music video for his latest single, \u201cBIG BOY\u201d (below), himself, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jeffbenjamin\/2026\/07\/27\/k-pops-big-boy-from20-made-rated-r-for-a-borderless-audience\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">telling Forbes<\/a> he set out to fill it with \u201cdifferent body types, different genders, different skin tones.\u201d At his M Countdown pre-show set, he proved he refused to limit that vision to a single visual.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tfrom20 opened his performance by giving a peck to YouTuber Loey Lane, his same curvy co-star from the video, before bringing out a larger Black dancer mid-song, and closing the song surrounded by a spectrum of different people \u2014 a goth, a prep girl, and faces Black, brown, white and every shade between. Unfortunately, it\u2019s still the type of diversity K-pop audiences simply do not usually see represented on these kinds of stages, but from20\u2019s final pose with his cast of diverse collaborators was a powerful statement to bring to one of K-pop\u2019s biggest stages.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tWING Mixed Modern With KAYPA\u2019s Traditional<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWorld-champion beatboxer WING made his first appearance at KCON, closing out his set in a collaboration with the Korean American Youth Performing Artists (KAYPA), who joined him in traditional Korean dress with instruments in hand. Like the concept behind BTS\u2019 ARIRANG album, a collision of historic Korean sounds mixed with modern percussion and beats made entirely from one man\u2019s mouth delivered something all the more strange and fascinating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIn a festival built around the idea that Korean culture is traveling globally, there\u2019s also a clear argument that the travel goes back in time as well.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tKO1KEYZ\u2019s Cute &amp; Impressive Introduction<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tKO1KEYZ, a 12-member act formed during the live finale of the boy-band competition series Produce 101 Japan Shinsekai in June, doesn\u2019t officially debut until October, when their self-titled single arrives simultaneously in Japan and Korea. But you would not have guessed it. Their performance of the Produce program\u2019s theme song \u201cSHINSEKAI\u201d was super polished with the boys\u2019 clear giddiness at being on stage and already meeting overseas fans clear from their earnest stage banter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cFor a long time, watching other sunbaenims, we trained to be an idol and now we achieved the dream,\u201d member Towa said, getting a bit choked up while speaking but smiling through the emotions, eliciting an audible \u201caww\u201d from the crowd. \u201cNow, we\u2019re standing on the KCON LA [stage] and it feels unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe guys also delivered the first-ever live performance of their forthcoming single, the Korean version of \u201cKO1KEYZ,\u201d setting international expectations high months before debut.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tH\/\/PE Princess Gave a \u2018Very Good\u2019 Spin on Block B<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe rookie hip-hop group took on the 2013 K-pop classic \u201cVery Good\u201d by Block B and gave it their own makeover. Consisting of seven members formed on Mnet\u2019s Unpretty Rapstar: HIP POP Princess competition series, H\/\/PE Princess operates in partnership with Korea\u2019s CJ ENM, Japan\u2019s Hakuhodo, as well as Amoeba Culture, the hip-hop label built by Korean rap legends Dynamicduo, with this cover introducing KCON fans to the kind of artists the septet aims to emulate.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\t&amp;TEAM Proved Why They\u2019re Performance Monsters<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWhile &amp;TEAM had just slayed a performance of \u201cDeer Hunter\u201d days earlier in a room a tiny fraction of the Crypto.com Arena at the GRAMMY Museum, the global boy band clearly wanted to up the hype for the full festival experience. A turning point came when K flung off the glasses he\u2019d been wearing and led the group into a run of choreography so tight it read as if they were moving as one single stage beast. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tTREASURE Brought Unstructured Hype<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWith clean, precise and tight choreography the cornerstone of most K-pop performances, TREASURE delivered a three-song run of \u201cIF I,\u201d \u201cZOOM ZOOM\u201d and \u201cRUN\u201d that resembled something closer to a rock show with the arena immediately reacting with resounding enthusiasm. During \u201cRUN,\u201d several members left the stage entirely for the audience floor, with Hyunsuk and Haruto delivering their verses alongside fans in the audience while taking selfies, giving high-fives, offering handshakes and more for the loosest and friendliest set of the night.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tSantos Bravos and &amp;TEAM\u2019s BTS Covers Represented KCON\u2019s Thesis Statement<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBilling the performance as \u201ctwo worlds connected by K-Soul,\u201d Santos Bravos returned to the KCON stage a second time to perform BTS\u2019 \u201cHooligan\u201d with &amp;TEAM following them to cover \u201c2.0\u201d \u2014 both off BTS\u2019 three-week <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/charts\/billboard-200\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Billboard 200<\/a> No. 1 album ARIRANG \u2014 before all 14 converged for a joint take on \u201cPermission to Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tTwo acts under HYBE\u2019s larger \u201cmulti-home, multi-genre\u201d umbrella, Santos Bravos (coming out of Mexico City\u2013based HYBE Latin America) and &amp;TEAM *under Japan\u2019s YX Labels) came together to perform cuts from the Korean group whose success made building either of them possible in front of an American crowd. Centered around \u201cK-Soul,\u201d the collaboration speaks not only to how HYBE operates as a modern-day entertainment company, but also to what KCON represents for the K-pop industry today.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tWanna One\u2019s Reunion Wasn\u2019t Only Nostalgia<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAlmost a decade after making their KCON LA debut, Wanna One returned as nine of its 11 member members (Kang Daniel is serving his mandatory South Korean military service, and Lai Kuanlin has shifted careers and is focused on activities abroad) with a performance of debut single \u201cEnergetic,\u201d which was Billboard\u2018s pick for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/music-news\/best-k-pop-songs-of-2017-top-20-8070355\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">best K-pop song of 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWith the guys still hitting every move and filling in gaps when needed (rapper Park Woojin even seemed to be recreating Kang Daniel\u2019s tone on his parts), the reunion delivered the wave of feeling a reunion is engineered to produce. But the high-soaring, genuinely moving vocal performance for their closing song \u201cSpring Breeze, Again,\u201d the newly released single that reworks a 2018 farewell song built on a promise to meet again, reminded the audience that raw talent shown on television and on stage was a key factor in what made Wanna One such a sensation a decade prior.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tNCT 127 Debuts as the First Hourlong Headliner<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tKCON\u2019s headliners offered hour-long sets for the first time this year, with the trial beginning on night one with NCT 127, who made sure to pack their time to the limit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHighlights like fan-favorite B-sides, including 2021\u2019s \u201cLemonade\u201d and \u201cSummer 127\u201d released in 2017, likely would never have made it to the set if they\u2019d been given the usual 20 minutes. Meanwhile, KCON\u2019s signature Dream Stage, where fans audition and learn the choreography at the fest to perform it with the artist later, saw the guys team with dozens of local dancers to perform \u201cKick It.\u201d Plus, the guys delivered their first-ever live performance of \u201cPinata,\u201d a new track off their upcoming album BLINGY, out later this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBut the hour also allowed for each member to ensure he got to step into his own spotlight: Taeyong\u2019s solo dance section during \u201cKick It\u201d reminded us why he\u2019s the group\u2019s center, Johnny was the group\u2019s hype man and led everyone to throw hands in the air, Yuta had multiple moments performing straight to the camera with his intensity spotlighted on the jumbotron, Jaehyun offered some of the best hip thrusts of his career, and Haechan ensured his power vocals did not go unnoticed with impressive control belting into his headset mic.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tNobody Wanted to Leave the Stage on Day 1<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tKCON\u2019s closing ritual to bring the full lineup back out to wave goodbye at the end of the concert is a formality but fun highlight, and day one\u2019s closing seemingly ran long because nobody wanted to leave the stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tKO1KEYZ watched Wanna One in open awe, delivering 90-degree bows to a group that debuted when several of them were children. ZEROBASEONE\u2019s Sung Hanbin, the night\u2019s main MC, worked the stage with his friends in KickFlip, while Santos Bravos and H\/\/PE Princess appeared to be competing alongside one another over who could hype the room harder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe final artist to leave the stage on opening night was &amp;TEAM\u2019s K, still adorably waving and finding individual faces, as staff physically directed and moved him and the artists toward the wings.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"pmc-fallback-list-item-wrap lrv-u-margin-b-2\">\n<p>\tMODYSSEY Tell KCON \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tMODYSSEY might be a new name to most K-pop fans, but the four-month-old global boy band had everyone in the arena singing along to their cover of One Direction\u2019s \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d at the Day 2 M Countdown concert. With an adorable array of poses, as well as a moment for voguing on one of the verses, the seven members put their own memorable spin on the British boy band\u2019s bubblegum-pop classic.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Angeles officially belongs to K-pop this weekend with KCON LA 2026, but the city has been deep&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1004105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[29],"tags":[171,2104,5498,24481,33421,170,975,5499,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1004104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-festivals","tag-genre-k-pop","tag-genre-latin","tag-genre-pop","tag-japan","tag-music","tag-music-news","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117104339126408832","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}