live music

✦

live music ✦

After an impressive Day 1, HITC continued on with Day 2. It started similarly with a DJ named B., and singer YY who woke the crowd with their lively sounds. Singer Youha also briefly appeared on stage for a 15-minute set, and I was disappointed that she didn’t stick around longer, as her presence was infectious. Despite being a solo act, she used the entire stage and dominated it.

Yung Kai and Piscee were up next, establishing a more laid-back tone with their sets. Of course, Yung Kai performed his most famous song, “Blue,” which I’ve heard a million times on TikTok. But it was nice to finally hear it in person, as its lyrics about falling in love really resonated with the audience.

Number_I, Piao, Higher Brothers, and 4Eve

Jonah Love and Japanese Boy Group Number_I switched up the atmosphere with hip-hop performances. Number_I stood out in particular as they had backup dancers engage with the audience during their set, along with the other members of the group when they weren’t busy performing their parts. I noticed that the crowd grew as they went deeper into their set, indicating that a lot of people enjoyed it.

Chinese-American singer Piao mentioned that this was her first festival performance, and I quite liked her techno Y2K vibe, especially with her song, “flip phone.” Afterwards, Thai rapper Milli picked up where Number_I left off by injecting a lot of energy into her performance and even had her own background dancer crew to heighten the experience.

DPR Ian and DPR Arctic played an electrifying set with songs like “Jealous,” “Darling,” and my personal favorite, “Color Drive.” The song’s funky horns got plenty of rotations in my car, so witnessing it live felt like a trip in itself.

The Chinese rap group Higher Brothers also made a rare appearance together for the first time since 2019, and that was also the last time I had seen them on tour. It was so exciting to see them perform for the second time. They played a few of their hit songs, including “Made in China” and a newly unreleased one, which I believe was called “101,” but it was a total banger.

4Eve was another standout during the festival, as they were the only other girl group to perform besides No Na. This Thai girl group made great use of props like fans to enhance the show and dance numbers. They brought tons of energy that would eventually transfer to the biggest acts of the night.

DPR Ian Charms the Audience

After 4Eve, DPR Ian took the stage. He was easily one of the most anticipated artists for Day 2, and he came out looking like a rockstar with dyed red hair, black leather pants, and coat, forgoing a shirt underneath to expose his tattoos. His smooth vocals were able to pierce through the crowd despite the screaming fangirls. He definitely had the most energetic set so far, as everyone was vibing with the music and throwing their hands in the air. DPR Ian also did a great job engaging with the audience, even staring into someone’s eyes for a few seconds. Lucky her!

He played a rather large setlist compared to the previous acts earlier in the day, with songs like “Dope Lovers” and “Avalon.” Throughout his set, he busted out his guitar skills and closed with “Ballroom Extravaganza” with an exciting electric guitar solo.

Before the final act of the night, Chinese-American R&B singer Sunkis took the stage. I’ve been a fan of his since I heard his music on TikTok. He’s got a modern sound that makes him easy to listen to. Sunkis performed his own part on J.Taylor’s “Like I Do,” the globally viral song that spawned its own dance challenge that many Kpop groups participated in, including Itzy, Seventeen, and NCT. He also brought out some guest performers like South Korean singer Gemini and Vietnamese singer Thuy, the latter of which sang an unreleased song with Sunkis named Baby Guai. It was the perfect warm-up for 2NE1, which ended Day 2.

2NE1 Returns

CL, Sandara Park, and Minzy came up on stage as they started with “Fire.” Even though the absence of Park Bom was noticeable, it was an explosive start to the set, and having one less member didn’t hamper the energy at all.

2NE1 has an extensive catalog built up over the years, so they couldn’t play everyone’s favorites, but they performed big hits such as “Clap Your Hands,” “Can’t Nobody,” and “I Don’t Care.” They were somebody’s favorites, but even if they weren’t, the crowd didn’t let up with its constant singing. Everyone was feeling it that night.

After a few solos from CL with a shortened version of “The Baddest Female” and “MTBD,” 2NE1 performed some mellower cuts, including “Lonely” and “Ugly.” Not to end on a slow note, the show picked up the pace again with “Gotta Be You” and “I Am the Best.” The group ended their set with “Go Away,” which was hilariously ironic given its title, but the crowd was pleased.

A HITC Finale with Jackson Wang, Sunkis, and More

With 2NE1 done, that wasn’t the end of the show. 88Rising put out a finale to celebrate the 10th anniversary. Artists like No Na, Yung Kai, and Sunkis performed once again before introducing the surprise guest: Jackson Wang.

He decided to perform a bit of his latest song, “Gotta Be A Dick,” (with Twitch streamer Jasontheween right next to him, of course) but didn’t really do anything after that. Instead, the artists who were still around all gathered on stage to celebrate, giving short speeches and platitudes about HITC. It was a nice sentimental event to close out the night.

It was a bit disappointing that Jackson didn’t perform an actual set, but to be fair, he explicitly said he wasn’t going to perform. His next album, Magicman 2, releases in July, so hopefully he’ll commit to a full set next year.

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