How BTS, Exo, (G)I-dle and NCT 127 changed the future of live music: Covid-19 forced K-pop concerts online – are in-person gigs a thing of the past?

Is this the future of live music? With the coronavirus leading to the cancellation of almost everything, concerts were among the first beloved pastimes to go. But it did force K-pop stars, especially, to come up with new ways to communicate with their fans. Indeed, online concerts by popular South Korean groups may be the most enduring entertainment legacy of Covid-19. Cheaper than the offline concert and able to be enjoyed anywhere, online concerts can present outstanding performances, pristine presented in cohorts with modern visual technology and effects to frankly stunning affect. 75,000 K-pop fans paid US$27 to stream SuperM’s live concert stream Don’t believe us? Here are a few of the unprecedented K-pop online concerts that broke records – and those coming up that you wouldn’t want to miss. BTS online concert made the Guinness World Records The BTS “Bang Bang Con: The Live” online concert was held on June 14 after world-beating boy band’s “Map of the Soul” tour plans got cancelled due to Covid-19. With a virtual attendance of 756,000 it made it into the Guinness World Records as the biggest audience for a paid virtual concert. From the ticket sales alone, the group made around US$18.8 million, with each ticket costing US$22.30 for fan club members and US$32.60 for non-members. ‘BANG BANG CON The Live' is starting soon! Before the concert starts, set your nickname and experience the multi-view feature on the live streaming page! https://t.co/iZUkIHcrjI Didn't get the ticket yet? Make sure to get it before 4 PM(KST) today! https://t.co/bHA152ve57 pic.twitter.com/XTmac4SsHh — Weverse Shop (@weverseshop) June 14, 2020 What changed? No more squinting your eyes to catch a sight of the performance or blaming the cameraman for not catching your star in frame. Big Hit Entertainment came together with Kiswe Mobile, a streaming tech company, to show six simultaneous streams, each with different angles, so that fans could choose from close-ups to full=band shots. BTS’ first English single Dynamite – what we know so far With the concept of inviting the fans over to their house, the boys switched into five different bangs (rooms in Korean) with various concepts. Hopping into different rooms, they performed popular songs like Boy with Luv and Anpanman and the concert was credited with boosting the group’s already substantial fan club by an extra 10,000 members. The perfect collaboration between SM Boy groups and technology SM Entertainment – home of many popular groups such as NCT 127 and Exo – hosted the multi-group Beyond Live series, remembered as the first full paid online concert in showbiz history. Themed with “beyond technology, beyond imagination, beyond future”, the agency paired with Naver, Korea’s answer to Google. Super M, dubbed as the “Avengers of K-pop” with members from popular bands forming as a new group, started off the weekly concert series on April 26, followed by NCT 127, TVXQ and Super Junior. More acts will be announced soon. View this post on Instagram “전 세계 팬을 한눈에” 동방신기, ‘Beyond LIVE’로 ‘안방 1열’ 팬들과 만났다! - 모니터 뚫고 나올 듯한 헬리콥터, 고래, 궁궐 등 역대급 AR 효과! - 태국, 필리핀, 인도네시아, 칠레, 페루, 싱가포르 등 각 지역 트위터 실시간 트렌드 1위! - TVXQ! meets worldwide fans at home via 'Beyond LIVE'! - Put on stages with helicopter, whale and palace AR effects! - Records no.1 on Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Chile, Peru and Singapore's Twitter trends! - #TVXQ_BeyondLIVE #동방신기 #TVXQ! #東方神起 @tvxq.official #Beyond_LIVE #Beyond_the_T #BeyondLIVE #NAVER #VLIVE A post shared by Beyond LIVE (@beyond_live_) on May 24, 2020 at 6:38pm PDT SM levelled up the game by using AR technology and 3D computer graphics (CG) imaging which added even more special effects beyond imagination. For example, when NCT 127 performed their song Kick It, a CG dragon graphic shot up into the sky and when Super M danced CG tigers showed up, lifting the tension and energy of the song. The technology even allowed the groups to interact with their fans more as the widescreen would display the fans and also have live chat sessions. Why K-pop girl groups Loona, (G)I-dle and Itzy are making waves (G)I-dle were the first Korean girl group to hold online concert (G)I-dle also made history with their online concert in July “I-Land: Who am I”, said to be the first Korean group to do so. What was 140 minutes long would have felt short to the fans, as they performed 23 songs including their hit songs Lion and Hann (Alone), and they introduced their new song I’m the Trend composed by the members Minnie and Woogi. The girls concluded saying that “even though we couldn't actually see the fan’s expressions and hear their applause, we were able to feel their energy through online chats,” calling it an unforgettable experience. 5 things to love about Twice’s Dahyun, K-pop star and quirky darling Twice online concert is coming up soon View this post on Instagram [Beyond LIVE - TWICE : World in A Day] Moving Poster Full Ver. - 8/9 SUN 3PM (KST/JST) 8/8 SAT 11PM (PDT) 8/9 SUN 2AM (EST) - Tickets purchase link in bio - #TWICE #트와이스 #TWICE_Beyond_LIVE #WorldinADay #Online_Concert A post shared by Beyond LIVE (@beyond_live_) on Jul 26, 2020 at 9:46pm PDT If you’re a Twice fan, make sure to mark down August 9 because that’s when they will be holding their concert “Beyond Live – Twice: World in A Day”, with a pilot concept. Twice is also collaborating with Naver, so fans are excited to see how they will use the AR technology and special effects in the show. The ticket sales started on July 22. As part of the event, the girls will have a video call with 200 fans – and three lucky ones will their own mini one-on-one call session. Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .