Perhaps more than gender, personality or class, the best way to divide society is in two: those who gather in pubs to catch the Euro finals, and those who would rather hit up Hyde Park for some K-Pop and friendly pop tunes; though both are probably beer-equipped. Despite the nation’s overflowing love for football, 65,000 music enjoyers choosing to watch Stray Kids last Sunday instead is a tell-all. 

Several hours before the superstars’ (spoiler: very explosive) set, thousands of festival attendees were buzzing around in anticipation, many donning red for their favourite boy group. Flying chairs were ridden, Yorkshire pudding burritos were devoured, and free tumblers were collected. Earlygoers could catch smaller talents like AlienBlaze and Tyler Lewis on the festival’s cosy Birdcage Stage, tucked behind the Great Oak.

Young Taiwanese heartthrob KIRE brought the sauce to the main stage, delivering a melty variety of his R&B and Afrobeats-inspired songs, and getting the mood going for the day to come. You could hear the crowd’s enthusiastic woos all the way over from the Rainbow Stage, where pop star in the making Bellah Mae was warming up. The scene was later graced by Elijah Woods who had on sunnies and a laid-back vibe to his purely acoustic-pop set, and Dhruv, a smooth R&B singer, who instantly warmed hearts with his opening of moonlight.

NMIXX was the first taste of K-Pop festivalgoers received, blasting the huge Great Oak stage with fully choreographed performances of their hits, including the particularly loved Run For Roses. The six-piece girl group handled covers of more recognisable bops for those less acquainted with K-Pop: good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo, Don’t Stop Me Now, and the UK’s musician travel visa requirement song, Don’t Look Back In Anger. American singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin took the mic after, switching up the mood to something a bit more low-key. The Let Me Down Slowly singer bared a cheesy grin while singing less-than-happy breakup lyrics. Regardless of their content, the 30-year-old promised the crowd: ‘If you listen to my music you’ll live forever’, elaborating that his drummer is in fact 108 with good skincare.

Maisie Peters was the penultimate act to grace the main stage, brightening the area with limitless energy and an inability to stand still. The British Taylor Swift flew about like a fairy, chanting along to her songs that, after a while, merged into one big blob of samey country-inspired breakup anthems. She’s got her niche locked in – but she sure is good at it.

With the drop of an enormous curtain bearing the name of one of K-Pop’s biggest bands of all time, the eight boys of Stray Kids, appeared all dapper in stylish beige and white, jumping in with their 2023 megahit S-Class. The full crowd was whirring with excitement: a welcoming mania that was undoubtedly warranted. Stray Kids last appeared in the UK back in 2019 for their “UNVEIL” world tour at the O2 Academy Brixton – eeny now for their standards. With their (very) long-awaited return finally made, the energy was limitless: crowd and performer. 

If Lo-fi and bedroom pop is music with no sharp edges, Stray Kids’ sound is that with all the catchy head-splitters: bassy and loud and laden with autotune. Usually, K-pop groups have set roles they rarely slip out of, but these boys are stand-outs; all of them can both sing and rap, and they do it well. Changbin, the meaty-armed rapper and producer and shiny member of subunit 3RACHA, spits like he came out of the womb reciting Eminem. Han, another part of the same trio, sang like an hour or two of intense choreography wasn’t even a workout. Mike Tyson has got nothing on Han Jisung’s lungs, evidently. Felix’s deep voice will have you questioning the limits of human vocal ranges. 

The vocalists absolutely stunned during their moments – especially the euphoric bridge of their hit Superbowl. Bang Chan, the group’s other Aussie to Felix, giddily teased: ‘Maybe we should all just not go home and stay here’. The crowd was endlessly alight with enthusiasm. It’s no wonder that the live band were visibly having the time of their lives, with the boys not letting down on their performance power for a single minute. The on-stage filmographer captured the boys’ fervour brilliantly, pasted on huge screens for those that were so far back in the endless crowd that the real deals were no bigger than pin-heads. 

But even as pin-heads, those at the outer edges could still catch the boys’ sharp and pronounced moves. At one point, a recreation of The Creation of Adam could be seen between Seungmin and Hyunjin during Back Door. Other striking choregraphies included the chopping move during God’s Menu, and the head drilling move in Maniac. The boys made sure to keep appearances fresh with a couple outfit changes throughout the night, changing into more appropriate attire as they let loose to have fun with the crowd.

The boys, not tired out by a spaceless schedule, absolutely killed it in delivering fiery performances of all their beloved hits: the aforementioned S-Class, God’s Menu, Maniac, LALALALA, and Back Door. During an encore that could’ve been a concert in its own right, fireworks bejewelled the sky as the festival approached its final moments. Everyone involved in the show – from those working behind the scenes to the shining captivators on stage – went all in. Even the sign language interpreters were feeling their performances. Few other groups of their genre could pull a crowd looking like an endless sea during such a huge sports event running at the same time. Parodying the supergroup’s slogan, several fans’ banners lovingly printed the words: ‘Stray Kids Make Us Stay’. It truly was a show that could not be missed, even for a football fan.

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Written by Maddie Armstrong

Featured image © Jennifer McCord for BST Hyde Park

_{View of the Arts is an online publication that chiefly deals with films, music, and art, with an emphasis on the Asian entertainment industry. We are hoping our audience will grow with us as we begin to explore new platforms such as K-pop / K-music, and Asian music in general, and continue to dive into the talented and ever-growing scene of film, music, and arts, worldwide.}