For its first-ever festival, hello82 went big without losing the personal touch that built the brand.
The growing indie K-pop label’s inaugural 82WORLD: LA took over Los Angeles State Historic Park Oct. 17-18, drawing a reported 11,000 fans over two days. ATEEZ and P1Harmony headlined a lineup that also featured K-pop boy bands 8TURN, AMPERS&ONE and xikers, girl groups GIRLSET and cosmosy, J-pop sensations BE:FIRST, and a surprise addition of FiveALIVE.
Sunday belonged entirely to ATEEZ and their fandom, ATINY, with the “ATEEZ x TINY Island” turning the park into a full day of ATZ programming that ended with a concert from the three-time Billboard 200 chart-toppers.
But the performances were only part of the appeal. Between sets, fans played games like “This or That?” with their favorite acts, traded photocards with idols, and jumped into dance lessons, all while weaving between merch booths, photo ops and food trucks. It made for a weekend where artists and fans shared space far more often than at a typical festival or concert experience.
That fan-first approach has been hello82’s specific calling card since Jae Yoon Choi founded the company in 2018. The company has grown by connecting K-pop acts with international audiences specifically as a K-pop album distributor (earning three Top 5 entries on the Billboard 200 this year so far with ATEEZ and P1Harmony, including the former’s summertime No. 1 album GOLDEN HOUR : Part.5), exclusive merchandise and event pop-ups (for all artists with or without label deals) and dedicated Fan Spaces (including locations in Berlin and New York City that opened this year).
“82WORLD: LA is the sum of everything we’ve done since I started the company in 2018,” Choi said in a press release statement. “While this may be the largest iteration we’ve held, at its core it still has the same goal as all of our events: creating memorable moments between artists and fans alike no matter where they are. Be it through our fan spaces, live performances, or even through our label and distribution achievements, we will continue to keep challenging ourselves to evolve the connection between fandom and the idols they love.”
Billboard was on the ground all weekend for the inaugural festival. Here are the best moments from 82WORLD: LA.
