Multi-faceted entertainment company hello82 held their first music festival, 82WORLD, in Los Angeles on October 17-18. The festival featured eight artists, with a focus on K-Pop, including headlining sets from P1Harmony and ATEEZ.
Hello82 made the announcement late last year that they were holding their own festival. As word spread, fans and onlookers across the internet expressed doubt that the brand would be able to pull off such an enormous feat in this current economic and sociopolitical climate. With shows from even the most revered and high-selling K-Pop artists being cancelled or “indefinitely” postponed across the US, these concerns didn’t come from nothing. Pair that with the online criticism Hello82 has faced during its small events, and anyone would be reasonably skeptical.
The company announced that the festival would be held in the Fall of 2026. When it was halfway through 2026 and there was still no lineup, concerns stayed consistent. Thankfully, in August, Hello82 announced their lineup. Beloved K-Pop icons P1Harmony and ATEEZ were set to headline, with the latter getting the second day of the festival all to themselves. This was to be expected- both ATEEZ and P1Harmony have long-standing relationships with Hello82, with their subsidiary Hello82PRESENTS even acting as the promoter for P1Harmony’s latest US tour in October 2025 as well as handling distribution for ATEEZ’s albums in the US for the last few years.
The supporting artists on the lineup included girl groups cosmosy, fiveALIVE, and GIRLSET, and boy groups AMPERS&ONE, 8TURN, BE:FIRST, and xikers. While P1Harmony, ATEEZ, AMPERS&ONE, 8TURN, and xikers all are headquartered in South Korea, the girl groups on the lineup, as well as BE:FIRST, are all from either Japan or the United States. This notably bypassed the expectation for the fest to have mainly K-Pop artists on the lineup due to their posturing in the space.
Fans entering 82WORLD, Courtesy of hello82
A point of contention from prospective ticket buyers was the lack of women-led acts on the lineup. When the girl groups that did get a spot on the bill were given less than 30 minute set times each, 82WORLD’s reputation among girl group fans continued to wane. Despite the lack of time onstage, the female acts were able to hold their own. Cosmosy had a standout set of the weekend, turning casual fans into dedicated listeners and impressing the audience with their delightful nature. GIRLSET showed up and showed out as the most well-known girl group on the lineup, even previewing unreleased music. fiveALIVE, hailing from California’s own Orange County, was able to rally together and create a fun stage even with only two members of the quintet being able to perform.
While each of the groups performing had great moments, an especially outstanding set was 8TURN’s. They’re not a rookie group by K-Pop standards, but still considerably unknown in South Korea as well as internationally, making them somewhat of an underdog in the scene. They filled their set with their most well-known title tracks and a few b-sides, as well as an impressive cover of headliner ATEEZ’s beloved “Bouncy”. Overheard in the crowd were questions of “Which member is that?” and “What is this song called?” from newly introduced concertgoers, making it seem that their appearance might be a well-deserved turning point for the group.
Among the lineup, two of the smaller acts had company ties to the headliners, with AMPERS&ONE being the younger group from P1Harmony’s FNC Entertainment and xikers from ATEEZ’s KQ Entertainment. The pressure they faced was palpable throughout their performances, although both groups were working hard to make their own names known. Typically great performers were hit with technical difficulties in AMPERS&ONE’s case, with mic packs malfunctioning and camerawork not showing members at the proper times. They pulled through the performance despite these difficulties and the crowd seemed to take in their music as a full experience.
Xikers’ performance was unfortunately a bit underwhelming to those that had no pre-existing affinity for the group. For their set, there was hesitation felt in the environment during their non-title tracks. Observing the group gave the impression that they were desiring to create the energy of typically hardcore K-Pop groups from generations before, with the essences of ATEEZ and Stray Kids seeming as references for the style of their performance. The potential for the group is definitely there– it’d be interesting to see them in an environment only for their fans, such as an individual concert, to see if there is a change in momentum.
P1Harmony performing at 82WORLD, Courtesy of hello82
BE:FIRST was an act whose name would ring a bell if you’re an ATEEZ fan, but for different reasons than xikers. The Japanese group opened up for ATEEZ at some of their stadium shows last year and they have collaborated on two songs together. Their R&B-heavy set was a bit different than the acts before, and they even included some throwback covers like “I Want It That Way” by The Backstreet Boys and a fully rewritten version of “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5.
Day one ended with the first headliners of the festival, P1Harmony. No strangers to an LA crowd, the sextet filled their stage time with a ton of fan favorite b-sides and a few beloved title tracks. Their energy was infectious, with the majority of the crowd jumping with all their might especially during the latter half of the set. Put simply, the group bewitched the crowd with their charm. Resident “comedian” of the group (read: extrovert) Keeho kept the crowd giggling at his witty quips and banter with the rest of the members. Although they aren’t scheduled to tour the US again anytime soon, fans were clearly thirsting for more by the end of their set. In a unique twist for a festival, the band came out for an encore with “ICE (VVS)”, one of their most viral b-sides.
Overall, the first day of the festival went out with a bang. For a festival in its inaugural year, hiccups were to be expected, and the festivalgoers seemed to enjoy a generally pleasant experience across the board. There seemed to be some difficulties for accommodation-seeking attendees put online after the fact, and Hello82 has since made a statement regarding the issue.
Day two was exclusive to headliners ATEEZ. Before taking the stage as a full group in the evening, the members split into small groups to play games, answer questions, and facilitate prize raffles for fans. Member Mingi even performed some of his solo music during his time on stage. During the group’s set, they brought their signature stage presence and hard-hitting choreography to the stage as expected. For anyone familiar with ATEEZ, the setlist and their time on stage was what everyone is used to from the group- consistency is key, after all. They’re known for their ability to make a crowd go crazy, and they did exactly that.
82WORLD at night, Courtesy of hello82
Hello82’s first foray into the festival sphere didn’t go off without a hitch, but in the grand scheme of things, fans seemed to have no complaints with the most important part of a festival: the music.
