82WORLD: LA Best Moments: ATEEZ Brings It Home, P1Harmony’s Big Tease and a BTS Throwback

8TURN tipped their hats to the weekend’s headliners with the rising boy band covering ATEEZ’s “BOUNCY (K-Hot Chilli Peppers),” the delicious 2023 single from The World EP.2: Outlaw that reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. But according to 8TURN, their fans wanted to see them do the cover more than anything.

“We had like four songs and did a survey with our fans prior to our tour,” 8TURN leader Jaeyun told Billboard backstage at Day 1 of the festival. “‘BOUNCY’ was No. 1, like, straight off the bat by far. That was in May, so I think it’s time to do it and we went with it with no regrets. It’s so fun, so energetic, the fans love it as well.”

82WORLD acted as a nice warm-up for a new kind of audience before the octet kicks off the Trace in the US leg of their 2026 world tour tonight in New York, Oct. 19, hitting 11 cities before returning to LA again to end the trek on Nov. 14.  ”Every time we come to the USA, we always met our TURNING at our tour concerts,” member Yungyu adds, referring to the group’s fandom. “So, this was all of the [festival] artists’ fans and, I don’t know why, but it feels like a test. I really wanted to do my best and I think we did well. I really hoped they enjoyed it and liked it.”

After knocking out high-energy singles “CHAT” and “Little Miss,” GIRLSET slowed things down, stripping their SWV-indebted single “Tweak” to an acoustic arrangement. Without the full Jersey club and pluggnb production behind them, the members’ vocals carried the song all their own and reminded fans of the impressive vocal prowess at their core.

Not everyone at 82WORLD: LA was on the poster with Orange County-based Asian-American pop group FiveALIVE joining the schedule as a surprise addition and turning an eight-act bill into nine. The addition not only gave fans a bonus set for the same ticket price and shone a spotlight on a local act with a clear affinity for the K-pop community.

cosmosy reached for a modern K-pop standard with a cover of BLACKPINK’s 2020 hit “Lovesick Girls.”

There’s a bit of fun industry history here: the Japanese girl group’s creator, SINXITY, was part of BLACKPINK’s early years as an executive at YG Entertainment. And we’re happy to report that his latest quartet slayed their cover just like the BP girls themselves.

While 82WORLD: LA didn’t feature many idol interactions beyond the artist area backstage, 8TURN and AMPERS&ONE teamed up for the “This or That?” game on Day 1, a rare chance to watch two full K-pop groups share a fun, low-stakes moment together. Both groups boast several multilingual members who could make jokes with one another and the American crowd, adding a specific kind of humor not usually unleashed at K-pop events — like when AMPERS&ONE’s leader Kamden walked up to meet 8TURN leader Jaeyun, who joked to the crowd, “I can’t believe I get to touch his hands!” causing the audience and Kamden to crack up.

Ideally, future 82WORLDs will incorporate more casual artist-to-artist interactions like these to help it stand out in the increasingly crowded K-pop event space.

AMPERS&ONE pulled off one of the weekend’s biggest surprises with a cover of BTS’ “Boy In Luv,” a 2014 single predates BTS’ international breakthrough marking a special deep cut for fans of all ages and showed the group didn’t opt for an obvious crowdpleaser.

The quickly rising septet committed to the era too. They not only pulled on school-uniform jackets that recalled BTS’ own look from the time, but also embraced the more aggressive rap stylings that became a BTS signature in the early days, further displaying the group’s versatility that was seen in a set that included the sugary electro-pop-rock single “He + She = We” and “GOD,” which fuses elements of traditional Korean instruments with hip-hop beats.

While xikers kept the energy high all set, one moment during 2025 track “BREATHE” took the crowd’s hype even higher. Five members did the ballerina body roll made viral by ADELA’s “Ain’t in LA” performances, while the other five linked arms to form a human ballet barre. Then all 10 members came together for the body rolls.

The group later recreated it to the actual ADELA audio backstage at their trailer, much to pop fans’ delight with their Instagram post earning more than 700,00 views at press time.

BE:FIRST arrived to 82WORLD: LA fresh off their first Billboard 200 entry, with their globally focused WATCH ME landing at No. 130 following its September release. The chart-topping Japanese group performed several of its new songs in America for the first time, including WATCH ME singles like the ATL Jacob–produced “Bruce Wayne” and “and “WATCH ME (feat. BIA),” while mixing in some of their strongest and accessible J-pop material like “Mainstream” (their 2023 single that reached No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100) and “Want You Back” (the group’s reinterpreted take of the Jackson 5’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100).

Like 8TURN, BE:FIRST also used the festival as a testing ground, with two New York City shows set for later this month.

GIRLSET also delivered one of the festival’s best surprises with the live premiere of a new song titled “Young & Dumb.” The moment was made more personal when the quartet shared that they wrote it themselves.

Member Kendall shared a bit more context around the new song: “Have you guys ever been in a ‘situationship,’ but it might basically be a relationship at that point?” member Kendall said of the new song. I know it can be really frustrating when you’re all in and the other person doesn’t want to commit. That is what ‘Young & Dumb’ is about, about knowing that the not letting go because it would be harder to let go. So, this song means a lot to us and we hope that each and every one of you guys like it just as much as we do.”

Headlining their first U.S. festival clearly meant something to P1Harmony. Before wrapping up their set that closed Day 1, the members talked about how hard they have worked with Theo and Intak specifically focusing on the effort the band has put into their six years together. Lader Keeho wrapped up everyone’s thoughts in some final words for the audience.

“Thank you guys for letting us be here as headliners tonight,” Keeho shared. “We did start very, very small. When we first came to LA, we [performed] at the Theatre at Ace Hotel…and the fact that we’re able to headline in the same city is something so honoring and something we’re so thankful for. I don’t know how this is going to come off, but we did work really, really hard; we never stopped. We grinded ’til the very end. Obviously there were hiccups and starts and stops and certain turmoils that we bumped into along the way, and I truly, truly believe we deserve this. I believe whatever road we walk on, we’re going to deserve that too. This is not just some sort of empty confidence that I have; it’s truly because you guys have given us endless support and love.”

After sharing hints of new music on the way during their set and performances of newest songs like “UNIQUE,” “L.O.Y.L” and set closer “ICE (VVS)” all landing as some of the strongest of the night, fans were primed to look forward to whatever P1Harmony was preparing next.

At the end of the group’s set, a montage ran through footage and titles from all of their previous albums before landing on a message: “It’s time to go higher. The next step? Are you ready to Blow Up.” Fans took it as a major hint about the new song the group teased throughout the night, including when Keeho promised, “We’ll be back with new music very soon.”

We’d be remiss not to mention how much we loved the “ATINY Zone” boasting an area dedicated to ATEEZ and their fans’ Billboard 200 achievements: A huge wall celebrated the group’s latest No. 1 album, GOLDEN HOUR: Part.5, which debuted atop the chart dated July 11 with 228,000 equivalent album units for the group’s career-best sales week.

Plaques honoring several of ATEEZ’s Top 10 albums rounded out the display including THE WORLD EP.1 : MOVEMENT (which peaked at No. 3 in 2022), Spin Off: From the Witness (No. 7 peak, 2023), THE WORLD EP.2 : OUTLAW (No. 2, 2023), THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL (No. 1, 2023), and GOLDEN HOUR: Part.1 (No. 2, 2024).

For the “Tiny Radio” segment during the ATEEZ-dedicated Day 2 of 82WORLD, Hongjoong and Jongho hosted their own live radio program to field questions from ATINY (from how to convince a fan’s entire family to come to an ATEEZ concert to staying motivated, relationship advice and song recommendations) along with mini performances (like when Jongho broke into an a cappella cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You”).

Dancer and creator Jonny Tran spent his Oct. 18 birthday surrounded by ATINY, hosting a workshop that taught fans the choreography to ATEEZ’s latest Billboard Hot 100 hit “BAD.” Tran has worked and danced with top K-pop talent like BLACKPINK’s LISA, Jackson Wang, and Tomorrow X Together, and lent his skills to teach fellow on-the-ground creators backstage including Emily Mei and Jianne Kang (who hosted hello82’s “ATINY Outfit Streeterview” at the festival) and Skyler Lee (who acted as MC for the “ATEEZ Trivia” segment and previously DJed a Billboard Live event with TXT’s Yeonjun).

One of the last events of Day 2 was Mingi‘s “Listening Party,” which felt like a door opening for ATEEZ and other K-pop group members to take on festival sets of their own more often.

The 27-year-old released his FIX OFF Desire Project: ORIGIN project earlier this year, but has yet to make a proper solo debut, with only a few songs to his name. Still, Mingi filled a half-hour set with his songs, ATEEZ remixes and never-before-performed tracks like “Where Are You” from the soundtrack to the Korean drama Dive Into You. DJ Ethan Ko joined him on the turntables, as did producer-singer and Mingi’s creative partner QUAIMO, who has worked on several of the singer’s solo tracks as well as songs for ATEEZ, BE:FIRST, AB6IX and GHOST9.

If ATEEZ has their own dedicated day at a future 82WORLD festival, we’d love to see other members take on their own set — some obvious picks would be Hongjoong (who just released his new solo single “ENOuGH”) or Jongho (who has more than a half dozen OST tracks to his name).

To close the inaugural 82WORLD: LA, ATEEZ made their headlining set all about the fan favorites. The career-spanning show opened near the very start of their discography with “Say My Name,” the lead single from their second-ever EP, TREASURE EP.2: Zero to One. A live band made every song feel specially crafted, and the festival ended with extra pyro and fireworks for the ultimate, final bang.

ATEEZ’s live backing band made the biggest sonic difference on the 2022 single “Guerrilla,” which sounded reworked with even heavier metal and rock elements.

The members went all in, matching it with near-screamo wails and belts, in a rare moment when your favorite K-pop stars embraced a real metalhead fantasy.

During P1Harmony’s set, leader Keeho asked the crowd where all the pretty girls were at. Then, wanting to be “inclusive,” he asked where all the pretty boys were, too, which led straight into “Pretty Boy,” a standout song Keeho co-composed from the group’s DUH! album. We stan an inclusive K-pop king.