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When they bought their Glastonbury tickets last year, Leah Townsend and Taz Delarosa never expected their favourite. K-pop the group to end up in the lineup. “I cried so much when we found out,” said Delarosa, 26. “I think it’s going to be huge for them.”
“I was over the moon,” added Townsend, 26. “It was completely unexpected – we didn’t think it was going to happen.”
Taking to the stage on Friday afternoon, Seventeen made history as the first K-pop group to ever play Glastonbury. Their appearance – dubbed by fans as ‘GlasTeen’ – on the Pyramid stage marked a huge moment for a fanbase often overlooked by Western festivals.
A group of dedicated front row supporters had traveled all the way from South Korea specifically to see the band play in Somerset.
Byeongiu Lee, 36, said: “A lot of British people don’t like Seventeen, but it’s a very meaningful moment to play Glastonbury for the fans. We came here to witness this historic moment. I flew over 14 hours for this. I’m really proud of them. It’s like a dream.”
The 13-member South Korean boy band produces their own music, with various members involved in songwriting, music production and choreography.
They perform as a full ensemble and as three sub-groups, each specializing in hip-hop, vocals and performance – their name comes from 13 members + 3 teams + 1 band.
The group had the best-selling album in the world last year and were the second best-selling artist of 2023, behind only Taylor Swift, according to the IFPI.
The prestige of playing Glastonbury, one of the biggest festivals in the world with an audience of 200,000, was not lost on the band. “We are extremely honored to be here,” they said on stage. “We’ll show you what kind of team Seventeen is.”
Townsend said, “I think K-pop is becoming more accepted in general. It is now much more global, more common. It’s huge that they’re the first K-pop group to play Glastonbury, and it just helps break the barrier, bring K-pop to the rest of the world. I’m so happy for them – and for me.
“A lot of people would buy Glastonbury tickets just to see them.”
Ewan Zhang, 32, from London, said: “K-pop is becoming much more international and I’m so happy to see it now on a bigger stage. It’s a genre that encapsulates everything. It’s my first time seeing them live and I’m very excited.”
When the band burst onto the stage Friday, with their slick synchronized dance moves and captivating energy, the front rows were filled with fans wearing custom T-shirts or clutching homemade signs.
Zooey Li, 32, had a flag with Seventeen’s logo and a sign that read ‘Aju Nice’, the title of her favorite Seventeen song.
“I love their dancing, all their choreography,” she said. “It’s massive for them and I really hope they get a good crowd. The songs are catchy regardless of the language. I really hope they get more fans out of it.”
Seventeen’s Glastonbury set follows a girl group Blackpink make history as the first K-pop group to headline a UK festival when they play BST Hyde Park last year.
Hundreds of Seventeen fans around the world have spent the past week calling on the BBC to broadcast the band’s live set globally after the broadcaster announced it would do so for headliners Dua Lipa and Coldplay.
Along with their devoted fanbase, there were likely many people in the crowd who were experiencing K-pop for the first time. Seventeen member Seungkwan previously told NME, “Some of the audience members might not know us that well, but we just hope that everyone gets the impression that these guys can really tear it up on stage.”
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