KOOM Live Celebrated the Diversity of the K-Pop Music Industry, With SANTOS BRAVOS, WAYF BOYS, and More

On October 16, KOOM Week, the weeklong celebration of Korean culture, business, and entrepreneurship, culminated with KOOM Live, a lively concert held at Terminal 5 in New York City. The concert boasted a lineup of established and rising K-pop artists, including SANTOS BRAVOS, Dayoung, WAYF BOYS, XngHan&Xoul, and 1VERSE, each of whom brought their distinct flavor to the event, celebrating the diversity of the Korean music industry.

Upon entering the venue, everyone was handed a light-up wand, taking the place of the traditional K-pop lightstick, which set the tone for the night. Terminal 5 was packed to the brim with excited fans, all three levels full of flashing lights and buzzing excitement.

Kicking off the night was an opening performance by Joo Won Shin, a soloist who performed powerful and evocative rock music, backed by a full band. Her vocals were incredibly unique and I was thoroughly impressed by her performance. I immediately saved some of her music to my playlist when I got home.

The evening's hosts took the stage to introduce the concert, and the first act, 1VERSE. The three currently active members, Kenny, Nathan, and Aito, were a great way to kick off the main performance, the crowd erupting when the group's name was announced. 1VERSE performed several of their own songs, plus two covers, of BTS' "IDOL" and ATEEZ's "Guerilla", both crowd pleasers that had everyone dancing and singing along. 

Up next was XngHan&Xoul, also known as Seunghan, formerly of the group RIIZE. Now debuted as a full-fledged solo artist, and backed by two rotating dancers known as "Xoul", Seunghan oozes charisma. The crowd chanted Seunghan's name before he took the stage for what he revealed was his first-ever performance in the United States. Despite it being his American debut, he performed with the confidence and stage presence of a seasoned artist. Among the songs in his set, Seunghan performed his latest Japanese single, "HIGH BEAM" as well as his first two Korean title tracks, "Waste No Time" and "Glow", much to the excitement of his fans, known as "Mate." 

The third act of the night was WAYF BOYS, the five-member group that embodies the genre they call "Nu-Kpop", but closely resembles a hip-hop style. The night prior, the group took over Leon's Bagels in Manhattan for an exclusive fan pop-up (read my recap of that event here) and while member Junmyeong was missing from that event, fans were delighted to see him take the stage at KOOM Live alongside his fellow members. The group brought full energy to their set, performing songs "SWAG" and "WAYF BOYS DO", as well as their latest single "A4M." Each member also performed an a cappella mini-solo where they got to show off their impressive vocals. Despite having gone viral for a TikTok cover of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature", the group doesn't often show off their vocal skills in the music they have released thus far, and I very much hope that changes!

Dayoung took the stage next for a fun and flirty solo performance. A member of the girl group WJSN, Dayoung debuted as a soloist in 2025. She performed the viral song "What's a girl to do" as well as her latest single "FLIRTY" which features Jay Park (who unfortunately was not in attendance at this show). In between songs, she interacted with the audience, reading signs from fans. Despite mentioning that her English wasn't good, she communicated beautifully and even cracked jokes, riffing off of one fan's sign asking her to marry them. Her final stage was a cover of Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj's "Beauty and a Beat", which had the entire crowd jumping and singing along to every word.

Although the concert had no announced headliner, when the final group's name was announced, it was very clear who most people were there for. SANTOS BRAVOS, the 5-member Latin American boy group under HYBE Latin America, took the stage and the crowd erupted. I had previously seen SANTOS BRAVOS at KCON LA earlier this year, and was thoroughly impressed by that performance. After taking the time to learn some of their music, I was even more excited to see them perform at KOOM Live. Their music heavily features Spanish lyrics, and the audience sang along with every word. The energy was palpable and it was so exciting to see. The group put on quite the show, performing their high-energy songs "0%", "KAWASAKI" and "VELOCIDADE", and slowed it down for the more emotional song, "FE." I must say, I can't wait to see what this group does next.

KOOM Live was a success, bringing together artists at different stages of their careers, and giving fans the opportunity to see established performers alongside acts continuing to build their audiences. Celebrating the ever-changing and expanding diversity of K-pop music, the concert offered a varied look at the artists shaping the next chapter for the genre. KOOM Live provided a memorable conclusion to KOOM Week and left plenty of reasons to keep an eye on the performers who took the stage.