In 2022, shortly before the turn of the year, we looked back and remembered which K-Pop concerts took place over those 12 months. This year, too, we want to reminisce with you. We will also answer a few questions you might be interested in: Which K-Pop stars visited Europe this year, who might have been here for the first time, and did more concerts take place here this year than before?
- Which K-Pop stars gave concerts in Europe this year?
- Which artists were in Europe for the first time in 2023?
- As many K-Pop concerts in Europe as never before?
Let's start right away with the first question:
Which K-Pop stars gave concerts in Europe this year?
A few artists had already announced concerts in Germany, France and more at the end of 2022:
- ATEEZ
- Kang Daniel
- The Rose
- Jackson Wang
For Kang Daniel and Jackson Wang it was their first world tour as solo artists, but ATEEZ and The Rose had already held world tours before. ATEEZ were in Europe for the first time in 2019 as part of their “The Expedition Tour”. The Rose even gave a concert in Brussels, Belgium as early as 2018. Both bands have been coming back regularly ever since and are welcome guests.
This year, The Rose gave no fewer than 13 concerts in Europe. In Germany, three different cities were able to celebrate a visit: Munich, Berlin and Cologne. ATEEZ also gave nine concerts in Europe. Fans from Germany and France were undoubtedly especially happy, because the boy group performed there not just once, but twice. Were you there?
That was of course only the beginning. Over the course of the year, many other stars came to see us:
- Blackpink (at the BST Hyde Park festival)
- B.I
- CIX
- Epik High
- (G)I-DLE
- iKON
- KARD
- KISU
- Lee Seong Jong (Infinite)
- NCT Dream
- ODD EYE CIRCLE (LOONA Unit)
- Oneus
- pH-1
- Red Velvet
- Twice
- VAV
- WOODZ
- xdinary Heroes
- Xodiac
- Yugyeom (GOT7)
As you can see, this year again quite a few very popular artists were part of it, some, like NCT Dream and Red Velvet, even for the first time!
But the list is far from over. Besides the world-famous idols, many smaller artists have also given concerts in Europe.
These bands and solo singers are less familiar to the general public, even though they have been in the business for years.
Tip: Concerts by lesser-known artists are rather small and cozy. Fans can interact with the singers and have much more opportunity to talk to them personally. So it is worth checking out these talents:
- Gaho
Singer-songwriter under Planetarium Record. Former member of the project group PLT. He debuted in 2018 with the digital single “Stay Here”. - JUNNY
Singer-songwriter under Mauve Company. He debuted in 2017 with the mini album “Monochrome”. - Luminous
Four-member boy group under SE Group Entertainment. Debuted in 2021 with the mini album “Youth”. - BLOO
Rapper under MKIT Rain. He debuted in 2016 with the single album “Drive Thru”. - oceanfromtheblue
Singer-songwriter under Nostalgia Music. He debuted in 2018 with the mini album “Luv-fi (2018)”. - ADOY
Band under Angel House. They debuted in 2017 with the mini album “Catnip”. - Se So Neon
Rock band under Magic Strawberry Sound. They debuted in 2017 with the digital single “A Long Dream”. - Gemini
Singer under Area. He debuted in 2017 with the single “Know Me”.
Will you be on the lookout for these artists next year? Or have you already seen one of them live? Tell us about it!
Besides all these world tours and solo concerts, a number of festivals also took place in Europe in 2023.
Among others the MIK Festival in Paris, M Countdown in Paris, Kpop LUX in Madrid or Music Bank in Paris. These festivals brought a few more stars here:
- At Music Bank in Paris, for example, NMIXX, P1Harmony, Enhypen, Mamamoo, Gravity, The Boyz, IVE, AB6IX and Stray Kids performed.
- The line-up of Kpop Lux in Madrid consisted of Enhypen, IVE, ATEEZ, SHINee, StayC, xikers and Cravity.
Festivals are a great way to see several artists live at once. Above all, they often bring groups and solo singers here that we would hardly see otherwise. SHINee, IVE, Enhypen and most of the other acts would not have been in Europe at all this year without these festivals! That is why we are very happy that K-Pop festivals are now taking place regularly in Europe as well.
And these were certainly not all of them. It is actually becoming hard to keep track and list every single concert. Did we forget someone? Let us know in the comments!
Which artists were in Europe for the first time in 2023?
This year we welcomed back a few stars like ATEEZ, (G)I-DLE or Kard, but we were also able to welcome a few groups that had never been here before. It is not only about new faces, but above all about fan favorites who have been topping the charts for years!
Twice
On April 15, the girl group kicked off their fifth world tour “Ready To Be”. This time the tour took them not only through Asia and North America, but finally to Europe as well! In September, Twice performed twice in London, once in Paris, France and twice in Berlin, Germany. Originally only one concert was planned in London and Berlin, but due to the high demand, more dates were added. Hopefully the girl group will honor us even more often in the future!
xdinary heroes
Twice's younger agency colleagues announced their first world tour “Break the Brake” in October and visited no fewer than six European cities in November: Paris, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw.
The rock band only debuted in December 2021, but with their unusual mix of K-Pop and punk rock they quickly sang their way into the hearts of fans.
Red Velvet
Almost nine years after Red Velvet's debut, European fans were able to see the talented girl group live for the first time. As part of the fourth world tour “Red Velvet 4th Concert: R to V”, Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Yeri visited Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam, among other places. Joy unfortunately could not be there for health reasons. We are keeping our fingers firmly crossed that Red Velvet will return once more as a five-member group!
Besides Red Velvet, another group from SM Entertainment has announced a world tour with dates in Europe for the first time: NCT Dream. “The Dream Show 2: In A Dream” took the boy group to London, Paris and Berlin, for example. But even though these were NCT Dream's first own concerts in Europe, Jeno, Haechan and co. already performed in Germany in 2022. In May they were guests at the KPOP FLEX Festival in Frankfurt.
iKON
iKON's fans were also able to look forward to a visit from their favorite stars for the first time this year! The 2023 world tour “TAKE OFF” started in Seoul in May and finally made a stop in Europe in June.
A few solo artists also dared to take a new step: Kang Daniel, Jackson Wang, Lee Seong Jong and B.I all came to Europe alone for the first time in 2023.
In fact, most of them had visited much earlier, but back then they did not perform alone, but as part of a group.
Kang Daniel
The singer became famous in 2017 through the survival show “Produce 101 Season 2”. He took first place and made his debut in the project group Wanna One, which enjoyed great popularity in the following years. In 2019 Daniel made his solo debut and this year he held his first world tour “FIRST PARADE”. It took him to London, Paris, Cologne and Berlin, among other places.
The concert in Cologne was not his first appearance in Germany, though. In 2018, Daniel stormed the stage at the Musical Bank Festival in Berlin as a member of Wanna One. German fans were undoubtedly happy to see him again, this time as a solo artist.
Jackson Wang
Jackson Wang gave two concerts in London in January. The rapper made his official solo debut in 2019, but is still a member of GOT7. Jackson has been to Europe several times with his bandmates. First in 2018 as part of the "EYES ON YOU" world tour and the following year again on the occasion of the "KEEP SPINNING" world tour.
Lee Seong Jong
Seong Jong has only been going solo since March of this year. Fans know him above all as a member of the boy group Infinite. It has now been 10 years since Infinite first performed in Europe! The first world tour “ONE GREAT STEP” took the boy group to London and Paris in 2013. The second world tour “INFINITE EFFECT” also brought the guys to Germany in 2015. This year Seong Jong returned solo. His first Europe showcase tour comprised six concerts.
B.I
B.I is the only solo artist on this list who actually performed in Europe for the first time this year. Like the others, he became known as a member of a boy group, but iKON had never been to Europe until B.I's departure in 2019. His fans were all the happier when the first Europe tour “Love Or Die” was announced. In just one month, B.I gave 16 concerts in 14 different European countries!
As many K-Pop concerts in Europe as never before?
K-Pop fans want nothing more than to see their favorite idols live one day. For Asian fans this dream comes true very quickly, but fans from other countries and continents like Europe often have to wait longer. Big stars like BTS or Twice in particular only visit the continent when they hold a world tour.
But over the years something has actually changed! A few years ago, K-Pop concerts were still rare here, but today so many take place that we can't even manage to attend all of them anymore!
Do you also have the feeling that in 2023 as many K-Pop concerts took place in Europe as never before?
Last year in our review we listed 17 artists who performed in Europe in 2022. This year there were about 32, almost twice as many! So the number of concerts in Germany and elsewhere has actually increased!
We hope that the number will keep rising in the coming years, because the more often the artists come here, the more fans have the chance to see them live. Besides, there are still a lot of K-Pop stars who have never been to Europe.
Which K-Pop stars did you see live this year? Tell us about your concert highlights!
