“First, Most, Fastest”, YG’s 30 Years of Unwavering Commitment Opens a New Chapter in K-pop Touring
[OSEN=지민경 기자] YG ENTERTAINMENT’s concerts are regarded as innovative experiences that go beyond simply watching hit songs performed, allowing audiences to immerse themselves in an artist’s musical universe through all five senses. YG’s unwavering commitment to “concert quality,” upheld without compromise over the past 30 years, has become a powerful driving force behind the globalization of K-pop.
YG’s history of pioneering global concerts has unfolded alongside the worldwide expansion of K-pop. In the 2000s, SE7EN laid the foundation by successfully holding solo concerts at major venues across Japan. BIGBANG and 2NE1 later expanded the touring radius around the globe. Through their first tour, ALIVE GALAXY, BIGBANG staged 48 concerts across Asia, North America, and Europe, while 2NE1 set a milestone with NEW EVOLUTION, the first world tour by a Korean girl group.
Since then, YG artists including WINNER, iKON, EPIK HIGH, and BLACKPINK have continued to carry out successful global tours, building solid trust in the next-generation groups TREASURE and BABYMONSTER, who are currently making an impact worldwide. Their presence at major music festivals in the United States and the United Kingdom has also been notable. Beginning with EPIK HIGH’s appearance at Coachella in the United States in 2016, BLACKPINK went on to become the first K-pop act to headline both Coachella and the United Kingdom’s Hyde Park in 2023, elevating the stature of Korean popular music.
As its tours grew in scale, YG established a number of major records in K-pop history. BIGBANG attracted a record 1.5 million attendees on a single tour and became the first overseas artist to hold a six-dome tour in Japan. iKON also set new records by making remarkably fast debuts at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena and Nippon Budokan shortly after their debut.
BLACKPINK broke their own girl group record by attracting approximately 1.8 million attendees on their second world tour. They also dominated stadiums across North America and Europe, becoming the first girl group in the world to sell out SoFi Stadium for two consecutive nights and the first Korean girl group to perform at Wembley Stadium. TREASURE is likewise approaching a cumulative audience of 1.5 million for their solo concerts in Japan, while BABYMONSTER drew approximately 440,000 attendees through solo tours in their first year after debut, achieving remarkable results on the foundation of YG’s infrastructure built over three decades.
Behind these achievements are active collaborations with global partners and continued technological advancement. Through BIGBANG’s tour, YG became the first to jointly plan a concert by an Asian artist with Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, and combined global pop concert systems with K-pop by working alongside top-tier international staff. In 2021, YG also entered into the world’s first livestream concert partnership with YouTube Music.
Above all, the key to YG concerts lies in “raising the overall standard of quality.” To achieve this, the company devotes more than six months to pre-production and makes extensive investments to maximize the quality of on-site sound. For example, BLACKPINK’s [DEADLINE] concert in Goyang introduced the high-end COHESION CO-12 line array system for the first time in Korea, delivering clear sound to every seat even across the expansive outdoor venue and earning widespread acclaim. YG’s live band system, which it adopted early on, also perfectly synchronizes finely calibrated digital sources with live band performances to provide the highest level of concert realism.
YG stated, “BIGBANG’s 20th anniversary world tour, which will begin this August, has also been under meticulous pre-production planning since early this year.” The company continued, “The live connection shared between artists and fans is just as important as stage production. Our artists continuously strengthen their abilities to deliver flawless live performances and pour all their energy into every moment to connect more deeply with audiences. Live-centered planning and the vivid atmosphere of the venue are the essence that YG concerts seek to preserve.” It added, “We will continue to take on new challenges to offer fans experiences that go beyond simply watching a concert.”
2026. 8. 2.
