Welcome back to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. This week, the members of IVE reflect on their first appearance at Chicago’s Lollapalooza. 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!
One thing about me? I love watching non-fans experience K-pop for the first time. There’s something so ridiculously fun about seeing people experience how overwhelming it all is, from the outfits to the stage construction, camerawork, choreography, and fan chants. I happened to be walking alongside the concessions line1 when IVE took the T-Mobile Stage at Lollapalooza this past Saturday, and witnessed people working the booths leaning over the counters to get a glimpse of what was happening.
To their credit, IVE’s set kicked off with a bang as live instrumentalists welcomed the six members to the stage for an impressive 11-song run. Lollapalooza weekend was warm — feel free to dig into the full festival recap for more on that — but IVE’s energy was easy and breezy onstage, the members sporting impeccable makeup and coordinated blue outfits. As they ran through tracks like “ROYAL,” “Baddie,” and “ELEVEN,” they became more and more comfortable in front of the engaged audience, which was a mix of newbies and fans, known as DIVEs.
“It was truly extraordinary,” GAEUL shared in the days following the set. “We had such a great time performing in front of everyone.”
“It was a dream come true to perform at such an iconic and big festival,” added JANGWONYOUNG. “We are so honored to have performed there.”
Many of IVE’s biggest hits, like “After Like” or their recent release “All Night,” leverage sampling — the former pulls from Gloria Gaynor’s iconic “I Will Survive,” while the latter references Icona Pop’s track of the same name. This allowed the newest listeners in the crowd to familiarize themselves with IVE’s music and offered a connection point for anyone not yet familiar with the group.
“I hope that the crowd enjoyed the live band!” ANYUJIN emphasized. “It was a new experience for us, and we loved the energy it brought to the performance. We hope everyone in the audience loved our set, from our DIVEs to anyone who was watching us for the first time.”