Welcome to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Each week, I’ll be rolling out interviews, lists, and all kinds of content to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest from our friends in Seoul and beyond. Also, make sure to subscribe to my companion newsletter!
It’s officially tour announcement season. Between festival rollouts and album news, 2023 feels like it’s starting off with a bang with how quickly tour calendars are filling up.
As we all know, K-pop tours are their own special kind of excitement — will our faves be coming to a city anywhere even remotely nearby? Will they even be coming to this country? Will I even be able to score tickets if all of those aforementioned factors also happen to fall into place?
With all that in mind, I decided to round up ten tours we’d love to see this year. This includes tours that haven’t been announced but we’d love to speak into existence, like a debut tour from NewJeans or LE SSERAFIM, to tours we’d love to snag tickets to, like the rescheduled stops from Stray Kids. Take a look at the list and let us know which acts are at the top of your 2023 tour roster.
aespa
aespa at Coachella, photo courtesy of S.M. Entertainment
Following the group’s appearance at Coachella 2022 — and with some new 2023 festival rumors circulating — it’s time to speak an aespa tour into existence. Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning have been steadily building a fan base in the US, and we’re ready to see them take on the new adventure of touring and really take their story to the “next level.”
Jackson Wang
Jackson Wang, photo by Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
GOT7 member Jackson Wang is always on the move, and he’s in the midst of the “Magic Man World Tour” at the moment. Currently, he’s only confirmed shows in Asia and Europe, with London as his next stop, but the elusive “And more…” on the tour announcement has room for hope. Wang is confirmed to return to Coachella, but we’d love to see him hit a few more cities in the US throughout 2023 as well.
KANGDANIEL
Great news — this tour is actually already locked in, including plenty of upcoming dates here in the US. Soloist KANGDANIEL will be bringing the “FIRST PARADE World Tour” to America in March, and whether you’re a fan through his music or his foray into K-dramas, it’s worth marking this tour down in the calendar. Tickets can be found here in the meantime.
LE SSERAFIM
LE SSERAFIM, photo courtesy of HYBE/Source Music
One of our 10 K-Pop Acts That Dominated 2022, LE SSERAFIM are absolutely making their mark. While “FEARLESS” put them on the map, “ANTIFRAGILE” and “Impurities” have kept the group playing on repeat. These girls seem ready to connect with more fans on a broader level, and we can only hope that 2023 will be the year for them do so.
NewJeans
Not to be dramatic, but “Hype Boy” live on a global trek could probably solve so many of the problems plaguing our world. The skies would clear. Crops would flourish. No pressure on the girlies of NewJeans who continue to crush it with every release, but whenever they’re ready, we’re ready, too.
