Is the US K-pop Concert bubble bursting yet again?
“How often do you see a concert?” a friend asked me on Saturday (Nov 1) after I mentioned I was going to RIIZE's show that night. I had seen him earlier in the week, and had mentioned I was going to DC to Seventeen. The week prior, I had mentioned seeing StayC.
I do certainly see more shows than the average person, partially because I get press tickets for some, sometimes writing reviews of said-shows but often not because I actually really detest most reviews. Once you take away the cost of seeing shows, plus living in New York City, it's less of a burden to see a concert a week.
But it's also been a particularly busy concert season over the last month or so, both for K-pop and general pop artists. When Kai performed at MSG's Theater a few weeks ago, Lady Gaga was performing in the arena; when RIIZE performed at the same theater, Sabrina Carpenter performed at the arena. If summer is for music festivals, autumn is for pop stars.
For K-pop, touring the US in autumn also is a frequent thing because it's a) ahead of award season when many artists will be focused on being close to home for various award shows b) follows usually a mid or late-year release, ostensibly to put forward in award season. International tours are usually bookended by encore shows in Seoul, which can be planned for December concert season, when many of Korea's biggest artists hold year-end shows in Seoul. (Those of us in the US generally get shows all throughout the year, but there's often another seasonal influx of K-pop shows around February-March as well, for the record.)
This autumn's concert season in the US felt particularly fraught for K-pop and its fans for a variety of reasons, but two that were particularly top-of-mind: lackluster ticket sales, partially due to the recession and terrible job market we're all living through, and visa concerns due to the political climate in the US. KARD allegedly cancelled theirs because of visa issues, way back in February.
Many tours were feared to, or didn't, sell well; some of this was due to clear lack of promotion, but some of it was simply people picking and choosing which, if any, concerts they could go to. Most Americans have to travel quite significantly for K-pop concerts to get to the closest show, not only having to take into account ticket costs but also travel and lodging costs (if staying overnight). Artists have to not only bring themselves, who are able to apply on specific entertainer visas with costs that have gone up exorbitantly under this administration, but they also have to bring their teams. Some touring artists make due with local teams, such as hiring staff and dancers who don't need visas, but other acts have cancelled shows.
Fans are all at once in this moment overwhelmed by rising costs of touring, and unaware of shows going on. This has led to tons of undersold shows, and shows offering ticketing deals, or removing certain sections.
Just locally, I heard of a lot of struggles: Wonho cancelled his tour. RIIZE, for example, sold their tickets at 2+2 and 1+1 prices, and ultimately cancelled one stop in Georgia. SF9 sold GA tickets for less than $20. I bought my STAYC ticket for under $40 the day of the show at the box office.
Wendy is performing in New York City this weekend, and has so many tickets left I kind of want them to downgrade because nobody deserves to perform to an empty venue. They already seem to have not opened up mezzanine seats, but only the first few rows of orchestra are selling. Wendy deserves a crowd, and intimate shows full of overwhelming love and support are better than staring at tons of empty chairs. She's also cancelled her Atlanta stop, which is now the second Georgia instance, which makes me wonder what is going on with promoters there.
You gotta wonder if this is because some orchestra is selling for nearly $75-500, which is... Wild for anyone, promoters or artists, to go along with in this financial environment, to be clear! For reference, Seventeen's arena shows ranged from around the same range ($60-550), so doing a solo theater show for that same ticket range... Absolutely insanity, and I'd argue has to be to offset visa costs or is simply sheer ineptitude or greed.
While smaller promoters are often to blame for shows that are poorly planned and under promoted, the state of the industry's general greed is literally top down: The Live Nation CEO has literally said tickets are currently "underpriced", presumably because there is the potential for more money in concert sales, burdening fans even more.
If it feels like you're reading the same newsletter I published a few years ago, it's because you are: I published What in the world is happening with the K-pop concert market in the US in September 2023, which makes me convinced we are in this terribly redundant two-year cycle where concert promoters go through the realization that this market is overwhelmed, take a break for a bit, then some big acts tour, and everyone decides that it's time to tour again, and rack up ticket prices. This cycle feels like it's hit a tipping point, but I've said that before, and I'm sure people will be saving up to see their favorite artists, and we'll restart again. Whether the financial and political climate will enable this cycle to continue for K-pop in the US next year... I'm doubtful.
That said, a lot of people were asking me when I was posting some videos on Instagram about whether or not RIIZE's show felt empty or not, given all the consternation about the 1+1 and 2+2 deals. The thing is... it was full. The deals worked, and people showed up. It got people talking and buying tickets. Maybe, and I know this seems radical, promo and reduced ticket prices for appropriately sized tours really are what will get people into seats.
In case you were not in the know, here are upcoming and currently touring K-pop shows hitting up the US before the end of 2025:
Wendy's 1st World Tour [W:Ealive]
Key's KEYLAND: Uncanny Valley
Katseye's The Beautiful Chaos Tour
ARTMS's GRAND Club Icarus
TWICE's THIS IS FOR
ALL(H)OURS's "All The Hours" Fancon
JustB's Just Odd (SOTY CHEST!)
Rain's Still Raining
And early next year, Baekhyun and Taemin recently announced back-to-back Las Vegas dates. We also know BTS is expected to tour with over 30 shows in North America.
If I missed anyone, please let me know and I'll update!
With China seemingly reopening to Korean entertainment after years of cooled tensions following the THAAD dispute, that market is much easier to handle for K-pop than risking the risky US market at the moment. I don't think we'll see a total disinvestment of K-pop shows in the US next year, but if I were a betting girl I expect we'll be starting to see a lot more Chinese shows, or releases targeting Chinese tastes. I also expect we'll see more Latin tours, and potentially more shows in Canada and Europe, but that will all be TBD depending on how much people decide they do or do not value facing what is going on in the US right now, and the potentially devastating financial losses – to fans, touring companies, promoters, artists, etc. – associated with it.
I hope I'm pleasantly proven wrong, but I don't know if anyone, artists or fans, can afford another US K-pop concert season like this one. Something particularly telling to me is that the Prudential Center, which has regularly hosted K-pop shows in the New York City area, doesn't have a single upcoming show announced.
What I'm sad about
I want to take a moment to commemorate Teen Vogue, which was decimated this week and moved under Vogue's umbrella, laying off many people, including their most vocal POC and political voices (who often overlapped). I only ever placed a four stories at Teen Vogue, but they were one of the outlets I read the most, and one of the few that really respected K-pop, and gave a space for many new writers to spread their wings. I hope their legacy will continue, but fear it will take a minute.
Before they disappear forever (and I will be PDF-ing them after publishing this newsletter) I want to share one of my favorite stories ever: a look at how K-pop fans dressed as their favorite albums during the early days of pandemic isolation.
Tamar Herman
I also really enjoyed this interview with ARTMS, in the early post-LOONA days.
Tamar Herman
What I'm watching
I saw K-Pop Demon Hunters, the singalong version, in theaters. My seven-year-old niece called me up and asked me to take her, so how could I refuse? It was heartening to hear this little Jewish white girl from suburbia sing the English and Korean lyrics without pause (and some food for thought, See Hayley's piece Below), and also a bit of a disorienting experience for me, since she didn't seem to understand that K-pop exists in reality.
It's a bit less magical, but when I laughed at the idol awards in the movie having a logo like MAMA, she couldn't fathom that it was something in the movie drawing from reality (I've seen this movie more than once and always notice something new!) I think there's a lot to be explored about the disconnect between the reality and fantasy of KPDH, and how it is so obviously "Korea" and "K-pop"-focused, but that's somehow being missed by a lot of the audiences.
What I'm reading
I started collecting links for this edition two newsletters ago so... please enjoy!
"The Dissonance of Being Mainstreamed" by Hayley at Have I ever told you... about the impact of K-pop on the Korean-American psyche.
Em at Active Faults' theorizes about the power of food to humanize stars, especially idol entertainers
Aamina Inayat Khan's reflection on fandom and friendship in relationship to the anniversary of Liam Payne's passing
Cy White's piece about the importance of D’Angelo’s Voodoo in commemoration of his passing
Patrick St. Michel saw Perfume for the last time, for now
Jae-Ha Kim's thoughtful warning about the state of the US
Steven Melendez for Study Hall reporting about how musicians are creating physical listings again
Samantha Lui from bunni pop interviewed Dayoung. I was not aware that she worked with Eric Nam on this now-iconic release.
Hearing Things investigated why there is so much AI music on your algorithm.
Monia Ali at Fandom Exile explored how young male pop stars are often cougar bait.
Miranda Reinert at Step One of a Plan wrote about how people engage with things on the internet nowadays, where being normal is rare.
Music journalism is dying or dead, and so is games journalism.
And finally... I'm still reading about the now-infamous W breast cancer awareness charity event.
