KCON LA 2026 Changed Things Up — Here's What Stood Out

KCON LA returned to Los Angeles over the weekend, but this year's festival looked a little different.

Held Aug. 14-16 at Crypto Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center, KCON LA 2026 introduced a major change to its nightly M Countdown concerts: each headliner was given a full hour to close the show. NCT 127, ZEROBASEONE and TOMORROW X TOGETHER took one night each, turning what would normally be a festival set into something much closer to a standalone concert.

Headliners Got a Concert of Their Own

NCT 127 was the first to try out the new format on Aug. 14. The longer set also gave fans a first look at the group performing an extended show with its current lineup.

Rather than sticking to recent releases, NCT 127 went back through its catalog with "Lemonade," "2 Baddies," "Summer 127" and "TOUCH." The familiar songs had the crowd singing along throughout the arena, at times making the hour feel more like an NCT 127 concert than a KCON appearance.

The group also gave "Piñata," a track from its upcoming seventh studio album, "BLINGY," its live debut and brought fans onstage for "Kick It" as part of KCON's Dream Stage. The extra time also allowed for individual moments from the members that would have been difficult to fit into a shorter festival set.

ZEROBASEONE took over the hourlong slot the following night. The group performed songs from "Ascend," including "Top 5," "Doctor! Doctor" and "SLAM DUNK," and debuted "Exotic" live.

But the longer format also left room for stages outside the usual group setlist. Sung Hanbin, Seok Matthew and Park Gunwook covered Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack," Kim Taerae sang IU's "Love Wins All" as fans lit up the arena with their phones, and Kim Jiwoong performed "CLOSER" solo.

TXT closed the weekend on Aug. 16 with an hour packed with some of the group's best-known songs. "0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)," "Deja Vu," "Good Boy Gone Bad," "LO$ER=LOVER" and "Anti-Romantic" were among the setlist, with little downtime as the group carried the final night through to the end.

Across all three days, the change was noticeable. Instead of headliners appearing for several songs at the end of a long lineup, each had enough time to build a set of its own, mixing hits with newer music, special stages and fan favorites.

Reunions, Covers and Unexpected Pairings

The headliners were not the only reason this year's concerts stood out.

One of Friday's most anticipated stages came from Wanna One, which reunited as nine members. The group performed "Energetic" and "BOOMERANG" before switching gears with its new song, "Spring Breeze, Again."

TREASURE also broke away from the usual stage setup by heading into the crowd for selfies and high-fives. &TEAM joined SANTOS BRAVOS for a BTS medley, while newer acts including KickFlip and KO1KEYZ got their own chance in front of the LA audience.

Day 2 brought more covers and collaborations. izna performed BLACKPINK's "DDU-DU DDU-DU," MODYSSEY took on One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful," and ILLIT joined fans for the Dream Stage. YEONJUN and P1Harmony also performed, while P1Harmony's Keeho and ZEROBASEONE's Matthew drew cheers when they found each other during the closing stage and went in for a hug.

Sunday's lineup stretched across different corners of the K-pop scene with JO1, MEOVV, ALLDAY PROJECT, NEXZ and ALPHA DRIVE ONE. EVAN made his first major North American festival appearance as a solo artist, while So!YoON! brought a different sound to the weekend with songs including "Go Easy."

KCON Went Beyond the Concert

The changes were not limited to Crypto Arena. Under the "Walk in SOUL CITY" theme, much of KCON LA happened throughout the day at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Artist Stage performances, the Toyota Music Den and Dance Stage gave fans opportunities to see artists outside the main nighttime concert.

Olive Young Festa was another major draw, bringing together 55 K-beauty brands with samples, skin analysis and other activities. K-Food and K-Story zones expanded the convention beyond music as KCON continued to position itself as a broader Korean culture festival.

The larger scale came with some problems. Long entrance lines were a common complaint, particularly on the first day, when some fans said they spent hours waiting to get inside and missed performances they had planned to see.

Still, the biggest difference this year came at night. Giving NCT 127, ZEROBASEONE and TXT a full hour changed the pace of the main concert and gave each day a clear finale. Instead of simply ending with the biggest name on the lineup, KCON LA ended each night with something much closer to a concert within the festival.