'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
BTS’ j-hope made history as the first Korean artist to headline a major music festival in the United States, Lollapalooza. Lollapalooza is an all-genre music festival that takes place every year over a span of a few days at various locations, but has its roots in Chicago.
The BTS member headlined the last day of this three-day festival held in Chicago between July 28-31. Ever since BTS’ second chapter was announced, the success of their solo releases and activities has been speculated upon. j-hope was the first member to release his first solo album, instead of the usual mixtape, titled Jack in the Box, which soon became the most streamed K-pop album of 2022.
For his debut stage, he took on a challenge that even established artists fail to rise upto. However, j-hope in his Vogue magazine interview mentioned that he took on this thrilling challenge to have a sober assessment of his skills and the audience.
Despite his set being the last one on Sunday that usually sees a drop in the number of attendees, j-hope was the highest ticket seller in the history of Lollapalooza and managed to draw in the largest crowd ever.
His powerful performance and stage presence along with his flawless setlist caused the crowd of other artists to gravitate to his set who left the festival being reborn as ARMYs.
j-hope’s Lollapalooza set list that weaved a beautiful story
j-hope set the benchmark for what a headlining act should look like even if they’re first time performers, showcasing that he was born to be on stage. His setlist almost felt like a story mirroring that of Pandora's Box. In the story of Pandora’s Box, once all the evil leaves, only hope remains.
He started off his set with songs from his latest album Jack in the Box which explored darker themes and moved on to more upbeat songs from his Hope World mixtape and his solo songs from BTS’ discography, taking the audience through a journey. He came out wearing darker clothes, but changed to pristine white to symbolize hope. Throughout the setlist, we took a journey from his present to his past that ended with his "future".
Here are all the songs j-hope played for the Lollapalooza crowd:
- Intro
- MORE
- Pandora's Box
- Baseline
- Cypher Pt. 1
- Hangsang
- P.O.P (Piece of Peace), Pt. 1
- Equal Sign
- STOP
- Blue Side
- Safety Zone
- What If…
- Arson
- Music Box: Reflection
- Dynamite (Tropical Remix)
- Daydream
- Ego
- Hope World
- Just Dance
- Chicken Noodle Soup ft. Becky G
- Future
Hobipalooza: the Lollapalooza festival turned into j-hope's solo concert
Lollapalooza being renamed Hobipalooza by fans and organizers alike was almost a prophecy. The majority of the crowd on the third day clearly showed up for j-hope only. ARMYs showed up in style and sang along to each and every song while wildly waving their ARMY Bombs in support of the BTS member. His demand was so high that he was given an additional 10 minutes to perform.
The results of his assessment were clearly positive as he managed to successfully perform his 70 minute set commanding a crowd of over 105,000 people who were cheering his name at the top of their voice. At home, over 14.9 million viewers were watching his set live on Weverse. This number did not include residents of the US who were watching the performance on Hulu.
During his performance of Chicken Noodle Soup, for which Becky G made a surprise guest appearance, he gave a shout out to the original artists of Chicken Noodle Soup, DJ Webstar and Young B. He also paid homage to Wu-Tang Clan’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard by displaying his picture on the screen. He sampled his song Shimmy Shimmy Ya for What If…
These were not the only surprises he had in store for the attendees. He incorporated choreography into his performance of Hope World, taking the fans by surprise and also sang his verse from Cypher Pt. 1 for the OG ARMYs.
He even introduced a brand new choreography for the tropical remix of BTS’ song Dynamite. Despite this being his solo performance, he managed to make BTS a part of it with Jimin live in the audience to support his member and best friend.
The crowd was the loudest it has ever been for any act, surprising both j-hope and the Lollapalooza veterans. One can only hope that he will grace the Lollapalooza stage once again when the festival returns in January 2023 to India.
