SEVENTEEN show K-pop’s global prowess and Glastonbury’s ability to embrace it on the Pyramid Stage

It feels like the crowd are on their side. Words: Abigail Firth. Photos: Patrick Gunning.

There may have been more obvious choices for Glastonbury’s K-Pop debut. Maybe the now-household names, perhaps a Pyramid-topping set from Coachella headliners BLACKPINK or stadium smashers BTS, or a Saturday tea time slot from buzzy next-gen leaders NewJeans or aespa. But when the 2024 bill was revealed with SEVENTEEN up there, it made perfect sense.

The quiet dominance of SEVENTEEN has taken them to stadiums across the US and Asia, but for their first ever(!!) European performance in their nine-year history, they’re taking the unexpected route too. Forgoing the usual one-London-date touring madness in favour of an exclusive appearance at the world’s most famous farm, it’s not a move many K-Pop groups would even attempt to pull off. Then again, SEVENTEEN have always been up for a challenge.

Their ultimate underdog story has seen the thirteen-member group go from chaotic teenage vlogging in their company Pledis’ green room, to multi-million selling albums laced with a DIY attitude that’s indicative of their slow rise to the top.

The group’s primary producer Woozi steps out alone, introducing the set with a piano solo from latest single ‘MAESTRO’ with a clear point to prove. The set quickly explodes into a run of their biggest hits (apt, considering they’ve just released a greatest hits compilation), including their most UK-dance-pulling track ‘Ready to love’.

Making the most of their hour-long slot, they promise to show what kind of team SEVENTEEN are, splitting off into separate units to show the full spectrum of the group’s versatility. The performance unit (that’s Hoshi, Jun, The8 and Dino) go for a sultry rendition of ‘I Don’t Understand but I Luv U’, while the vocal unit (Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, DK and Seungkwan) do up boyband perfection with ‘Cheers to youth’, complete with stepping up from the mic stand on the key change for real 90’s flair.

It’s the hip-hop unit’s performance of the fiery ‘LALALI’ that puts the show back on track with the bangers though, with S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu and Vernon spread across the stage as one another’s hype men.

It’s nice to see an appearance from older single ‘CLAP’ in the mix; juxtaposed with the more recent ‘HOT’, it proves SEVENTEEN have always been one of the best, and by the end of ‘HOT’, it feels like the crowd (initially mostly curious festival goers and the diehards down the front) are on their side.

A SEVENTEEN staple, the never ending ‘VERY NICE’ closes out a triumphant set, seeing the euphoric trumpet-laden chorus get performed time and time again, with Seungkwan walking the barrier and picking out audience members to sing along.

It’s super special, a historic moment for both the group and the festival that solidifies K-pop’s global prowess and Glastonbury’s ability to embrace it.