FUSE TV - KCON 2017 New York Hits Prudential Center With Biggest Event Yet

Another year, another KCON record set. The largest K-pop and Korean-culture festival in the world took over Newark's Prudential Center this past weekend for its largest East Coast iteration to date. Not only did the fest bring its most artists yet (a combination of nine boy bands, girl groups and solo star Zion.t, up from last year's eight), but KCON reported 43,000 attendees this year (up from last year's 40,000). With two full days of panels, workshops, e-sport competitions, food tasting, and merch buying, KCON ended each night with concerts led by the bright K-pop stars.

Day 1's concert opened with KNK. The emotionally-driven boy band kicked things off with their latest single "Sun, Moon, Star." Dressed in dapper white suits, the guys got the crowd warmed up with songs like "Knock" setting the stage, and the energy continued to rise when SF9 hit the stage for a pyro-heavy performance. The guys brought one of the most hyped-up stages of the fest that included an adorable break where members "proposed" to a lucky fan and sang her Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are." The audience's screams indicated that the boy band—the youngest group to perform at KCON—is certainly one to watch on the scene, not even considering their technically impressive performance.

The show quickly continued as GFriend opened their set with a funky, slightly sexy dance routine before moving into hits like "Fingertip," "Navillera," "Rough" and "Me Gustas Tu." Next, Zion.t quietly yet powerfully rocked the stage and wooed the crowd with songs like "It's You" and "Yanghwa BRDG," along with a snippet of his beloved G-Dragon collaboration "Complex." Before the night's final act came out, KCON brought surprises like a Disney duet between GFriend's Yuju and Highlight's Dongwoon of "Beauty and the Beast," SF9 covering songs by EXO and BTS, and stars popping into the audience. Day 1's headliners Highlight eventually hit the stage for a set that incorporated their latest hits ("Plz Don't Be Sad" and "Calling You") while also being nostalgic for longtime fans (the group performed K-pop chart-toppers like "Good Luck" and "Midnight Sun," released when the group was known as Beast and under a different record label).