When SEVENTEEN launched their eleventh mini-album ‘Seventeenth Heaven’ final October, they crammed it with the enjoyment, euphoria and escapism of a competition. Lead single ‘God Of Music’ exploded with sunny melodies and invites to seek out connection via the upper energy of music. Now, eight months later, the Ok-pop boyband are about to take that spirit and produce it gloriously to life on one of many greatest competition levels on the planet – and make historical past within the course of.
This Friday (June 28), the 13-member group will turn out to be the first-ever Ok-pop act to carry out on Glastonbury‘s principal stage as British festivals slowly start to meet up with the scene’s international increase. “It’s such an honour, we’re tremendous grateful,” Seungkwan tells NME over a video name from a nondescript room in HYBE’s Seoul workplace simply weeks earlier than the massive second. “Among the viewers members won’t know us that effectively, however we simply hope that everybody would depart with the impression that these guys can actually smash it on stage.”
His feedback nod to a marked distinction between this and SEVENTEEN’s earlier competition performances. The place different occasions are inclined to announce their line-ups whereas tickets are nonetheless accessible – or earlier than they go on sale – Glastonbury sells out months prematurely of a lot, if any, of the invoice being revealed. As an alternative of performing in a discipline stuffed with their followers, referred to as CARATs, they’ll doubtless face a crowd largely unfamiliar with them and Ok-pop as an entire.
“We truly are inclined to take pleasure in that problem,” Seungkwan says, unfazed by the prospect. By his facet, Dino agrees. “Clearly, it’s tremendous gratifying to share the expertise with our followers,” the group’s maknae (or youngest) picks up from his bandmate. “However it’s additionally very thrilling [to be able] to showcase us to individuals who may be much less acquainted. It makes us wish to convey out an much more intense efficiency.”
SEVENTEEN are an ideal selection for introducing Ok-pop to Glastonbury for a number of causes. Consistent with the competition’s ethos, their music typically options unifying, encouraging messages – 2023’s ‘F*ck My Life’ battles via numbness to “struggle for my life”, whereas 2020’s ‘Kidult’ captured the rising pains of adjusting to maturity. Their songs – largely masterminded by member Woozi – are chameleonic in sound, the whole lot from metropolis pop (‘I Want’), retro swing (‘Dwelling Run’), R&B-tinged electronica (‘Worry’) and past feeling like a pure match for the group. However it’s the final level that Dino makes that basically makes their reserving a no brainer.
The boyband’s efficiency expertise are a few of the sharpest and finest in Ok-pop, from Seungkwan and DK’s jaw-dropping vocals to the fiery swagger of Mingyu and the goosebump-inducing power and fervour Hoshi brings to each stage. Every member (the group is accomplished by Jeonghan, Joshua, Wonwoo, The8, S.Coups and Vernon) provides their very own irreplaceable aptitude to their live shows – irrespective of the place your gaze falls among the many 13 members, you’ll discover one thing to be impressed by. If any group can win over a crowd and persuade them Ok-pop belongs at Glastonbury, it’s SEVENTEEN.
“it’s very thrilling to showcase us to individuals who may be much less acquainted. It makes us wish to convey out an much more intense efficiency.” – Dino
For Jun, their secret energy on this mission to beat the competition lies in not simply their expertise however their sheer energy in numbers, too. “For individuals who may be seeing us for the primary time, the very first thing that might most certainly come to their thoughts is the truth that we’ve got a number of members,” he causes. “I believe we will leverage that to indicate a really particular attraction that solely we’ve got as a group, as three models [the performance unit, hip-hop unit and vocal unit], and as particular person members, so we’ll attempt to blow their minds with this weapon that we’ve got.”
SEVENTEEN at Glastonbury isn’t only a historic second when it comes to the competition however for the group’s personal touring chronicles as effectively. The efficiency will mark their first time ever performing in Europe – one thing that has been a very long time coming. Initially, they have been meant to go to the continent again in 2020 on their ‘Ode To You’ tour, however they have been compelled to cancel because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We had been counting down and really a lot wanting ahead to that tour, so we have been tremendous bummed out when it obtained cancelled,” Dino displays.
Apart from a headlining set at Lollapalooza Berlin in September, SEVENTEEN’s touring slate post-Glastonbury is presently unclear, though they’ve been teasing a brand new run of dates kicking off later this yr. These reveals, they’ve hinted, will embody one other go to to the US, however as but, nothing has been confirmed for Europe. “We all know how a lot our followers are ready for us there,” Seungkwan assures. “I can’t say for certain at this time limit, however we’re positively speaking to the corporate, and we wish to make it occur.”
Glastonbury, then, is an enormous deal on quite a few ranges. Massive deal actions appear a part of SEVENTEEN’s on a regular basis life proper now, although. Final yr, they scored the biggest-selling international album of the yr with ‘FML’, primarily based on the IFPI’s calculations encompassing bodily gross sales, downloads and streaming. Just lately, they have been introduced as UNESCO’s first Goodwill Ambassador for Youth, due to their inspirational messages. And in latest months, the group have spent weekends headlining stadiums in South Korea and Japan that really feel completely matched to the immense scale of their performances.
The opening live shows of that run happened in Incheon, a metropolis simply outdoors Seoul. The highly effective and emotionally reveals proved stadiums are the place SEVENTEEN belong now. Kicking off the dates right here was notably significant for Jun, who factors to Incheon because the place he landed when he first arrived in Korea from his native China. “I used to be tremendous excited and felt butterflies in my abdomen [but] that [association] bumped up the thrill much more,” he smiles.
Each nights featured a reasonably drone present, the units creating shapes within the sky that mirrored parts of the boyband’s story, lit up of their official colors, rose quartz and serenity. “The drone present was distinctive – it captured the journey that we will CARATs shared collectively,” Jun remembers earlier than specializing in the present as an entire. “I believe it grew to become a vital, treasured chapter in our historical past.”
These Incheon live shows have been additionally the primary in over 10 months that every one 13 members had carried out on stage collectively, after Seungkwan, S.Coups and Jeonghan took hiatuses for well being points. “We really feel extra weight on our shoulders as a result of there’s an enormous distinction – even when we’re lacking one single individual,” Dino explains. “We really feel like we’ve got to exude extra power to make up for his or her absence.” Although, now that they’re again as a full group, the singer provides that it “creates extra synergy and makes the stage much more full, so we may really feel extra comfy and be extra assured in our efficiency”.
The final of these stadium reveals (for now) landed on the boyband’s ninth anniversary and took them to the dizzy heights of a second sold-out night time at Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium, the largest efficiency venue in Japan. “Venues positively have significance when it’s so large-scale, and it was positively a surreal expertise,” Seungkwan nods. “We felt so honoured and grateful and blessed to obtain a lot love and assist.”
Over their 9 years collectively, SEVENTEEN have gathered many moments to be happy with, however for Dino, the factor that stands proud essentially the most isn’t the data they’ve damaged or the grand levels they’ve carried out on. “There are such a lot of issues that we’re happy with, I can go on and on,” he says, repeating snatches of the English translations with playful gestures as an interpreter conveys them to NME. “However I must say essentially the most memorable or significant factor to us is that every one 13 members have stayed collectively. And we didn’t turn out to be superstars in a single day – we labored our means up, one after the other.”
Regardless of all of the group have achieved thus far, going into their tenth yr, it nonetheless doesn’t really feel like they’ve hit their peak. As an alternative, they proceed to develop and progress, stage up and add new sides to their artistry – a uncommon feat this deep right into a profession. Apart from the motivation they’ve acquired from their followers, Seungkwan says the rationale behind that is fairly humble: “We simply attempt to do our greatest each single day, encouraging and prodding one another alongside as we go.” He provides a cheeky however truthful caveat to his level: “I don’t actually know what the key behind our success is – if we knew that, we might have turn out to be profitable a lot earlier.”
No matter how they assess their triumphs thus far, what is definite is, shifting ahead, SEVENTEEN will proceed to push themselves even additional. They’ll launch one other album later this yr however are tight-lipped on the place they’ll take issues from right here. “We’re additionally excited to see what new challenges we might be taking over later this yr, however one factor I’m certain of is that CARATs and the entire viewers on the market are going to be blown away as soon as once more by the breathtaking piece of music that we are going to be placing out,” Seungkwan teases confidently. “We are going to put our coronary heart and soul into the brand new album, as we’ve got been doing up till now.”
Up to now, that tactic hasn’t steered them incorrect, guiding them to the sort of international success a number of artists solely dream of. It’s taken them to the tops of charts and into sold-out stadiums and, now, to creating historical past on one of the vital legendary competition levels on the planet. As rapper Mingyu says in ‘LALALI’, the newest observe from SEVENTEEN’s hip-hop unit, “SVT, can’t cease it”. With that coronary heart and soul by their facet, that line appears undisputedly true.
SEVENTEEN will carry out at Glastonbury 2024 on June 28 on the Pyramid Stage from 2:45pm to three:45pm BST
