Welcome back to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Today, let’s dig into the K-pop acts on the Lollapalooza lineup, anchored by headliners TWICE. If you enjoy what you’re reading, feel free to subscribe to my companion newsletter to get Fan Chant delivered right to your inbox each week!
For the past four years, K-pop’s presence at Chicago’s Lollapalooza has significantly increased. In 2022, j-hope became the first artist out of South Korea to headline the festival; TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Stray Kids have followed as headliners in the years since, with other acts like IVE making appearances of their own.
The 2025 lineup arrived this week — my colleague Paolo did an excellent job of unpacking the festival’s direction — and the big K-pop news for this year’s festivities at Grant Park is that TWICE are representing the genre this summer, making them the first K-pop girl group to do so. It’s an incredibly fun and refreshing choice as far as K-pop headliners go: where Stray Kids offer experimental, rock-inspired audacity and TOMORROW X TOGETHER charm crowds with synchronization and optimism, TWICE bring something completely different to the table.
The nine members of TWICE have been active together for over a decade, a rarity of its own in K-pop, and this sisterhood has been intentional about growing their girl-next-door origins into an arena-ready pop sound. TWICE is the first K-pop girl group to host sold-out shows at SoFi and Met Life, but it’s not just the clear demand to catch them live that made them such a great choice for this slot.
Their competitive edge is something that simply can’t be faked — these girls love to be on stage, and they love to perform together. (I am so thrilled for the folks in that crowd who will get to witness Jihyo shining for the first time.) K-pop, in many ways, can feel like its own world, but TWICE are one of the best entry points for the curious festival-goer. They’re incredibly cool, but retain a warmth many other girl groups don’t lead with, never making the audience feel excluded. Instead, TWICE pitch themselves as one of us; at their show, everyone’s invited to the party, from the contagious joy of “The Feels” to the bubblegum classic that is “Fancy.” The dazzling choreography of “I CAN’T STOP ME” that spawned thousands of at-home dance covers is something only these nine can really pull off.
Elsewhere on the lineup, BOYNEXTDOOR are set to make their Lollapalooza debut, alongside JYP rockers Xdinary Heroes, who I think will charm plenty of passerby with their band format. While not quite K-pop, HYBE global group KATSEYE are set to appear, while rookie act KickFlip (who just debuted a few months back) are also stepping onto the stage. It seems like with each year, Lollapalooza bookers are welcoming more and more eager K-pop acts to the stage, but with a lineup also featuring the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams, TWICE will fit right in.
ICYMI: “Hope on the Stage” Review
j-hope of BTS, photo courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
I swung up to New York for the opening night of the North American leg of j-hope’s solo tour. Unsurprisingly, the members of BTS continue to set the bar for performance; the solo show was an unreal reminder of how special it is to witness BTS in their element. Read the recap of the show here.
Song Rec of the Week:
I cannot stop listening to this song, nor can I scroll by any video of the incredible choreography. I caught up with the members of LE SSERAFIM to discuss the title track of their new mini-album, HOT, but “Come Over” has shot to the top of my personal ranking.
Content shared from consequence.net.