[Concert Recap] Hobipalooza and IVE set Lollapalooza Berlin on fire.

KpopConcertsEurope
Jul 16
4 min read

The army fandom slowly took over the city in anticipation for J-Hope who is performing at Olympic Park on Sunday the 13th of July. It's hard to walk around Berlin without spotting a Kpop fan. Afterall BAEKHYUN was also performing that weekend.

Lollapalooza kicked off at 11AM on Saturday the 12th of July.

Even with the rain coming down, it didn't stop fans from queuing up for IVE. Fans had rushed to the first two pits from the beginning of the festival. Wanting to see the girls perform up close. IVE kicked off their show with 'REBEL HEART'.

With the girls dressed in white, they radiated off the stage compared to the dark clouds that covered the sky. Performing several of their hits like ‘I AM’, ‘LOVE DIVE’ & ‘ATTITUDE’. The girls were clearly giving it their all, you could hear them catching their breaths as they spoke to the crowd. Thanking everyone for coming to see them perform.

The first two barricades filled with fans of IVE were dancing and singing along with their songs, many other festival attendees stopped by to have a look. Non kpop fans clearly bobbing their heads to the music.

Hobipalooza - Sunday the 13th of July

It's 10:30 and one of the gates already let the first group of army fans inside. Some ran like crazy to get to the first pit barricade. Fans have been lining up since the early hours of the morning. European army’s have traveled from all over the continent to be here today, having spoken to fans from The Netherlands, France, Spain, Hungary & Scotland.

The second gate opened at 11:00 as scheduled, the 2nd wave of army spread over the 1st and 2nd pit. Some already line up at the outer barricade. J-Hope wouldn’t perform until 20:15 but that wasn’t stopping them from having a great time.

With army's camped at the grounds, the fans get up for each of the acts that perform on the mainstage. Kicking off with Juli, the band had the crowd excited to start of the day.

Ronis Goliath took to the stage as a replacement act for Alessi Rose. Alessi who unfortunately wasn't able to make it due to a medical emergency.

Ronis was unstoppable! Hyping up the crowd, hours before J-Hope was even there. Telling them to shout. "Ronis! We Wanne Party!" The tagline stuck among the army fandom that would later be used to cheer on J-Hope.

Ronis said he didn't know many kpop songs but knew of APT. Ronis and the fans sang ROSÉ's and Bruno Mars's APT. One thing is clear, Ronis Goliath was now officially adopted into the army fandom.

Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso came to the stage a little before 4PM. A day that had been scheduled to be filled with rain had done a complete 180 at this point. The sun had broken through and a lack of sunscreen was getting noticeable as more and more fans started getting sunburned. Luckily the staff let some of the ice cream sellers in between the pits as the heat and crowded pits were getting a lot.

Benson Boone, a man who knows how to get a crowd to cheer for him. Putting down an amazing performance, the amount of times this man backflipped on stage. Had my army's too stunned to speak, from back flipping off the piano. To ‘simple’ flip right there on stage as he walked off like it was nothing. Performing many of his hit songs and finishing up with the song that changed his career only one year ago ‘Beautiful Things’.

J-Hope We Wanna Party!!

A crowd filled with army bombs are ready shouting Ronis' previous tag line.

J-Hope We Wanna Party!!

With a stage covered in smoke the silhouette of J-Hope appears, screams fill the air, after hours of waiting the army’s dedication has paid off.

Starting with ‘What if…’, ‘Pandora’s Box’ and ‘Arson’. Giving it his all J-Hope dances so smoothly it has the fans mesmerised. Each and every dance move more powerful from the next. Fan’s enjoy each and every song, the vibe is clear. Queuing all day has been worth it. With the background dancers and the live band each and every song is an absolute blast.

Performing ‘Killin’ It Girl’ set a whole new level of craze to the crowd with his iconic dance partner coming on, the chemistry radiating off the stage.

During ‘Mona Lisa’ army’s are singing along. Singing along during concerts has become somewhat of a European staple that Korean artists are not used to. The European crowd might shout an occasional fanchat here and there but singing along the lyrics is what keeps this party going.

Fan project

As if it was meant to be J-Hope twirls around on stage only to return to a sea of purple hearts. J-Hope was clearly overwhelmed by the love and affection he is receiving as fans. The smile on his face might forever be printed in fans' hearts.

Now that J-Hope has understood the memo of the European fans.

Instead of singing BTS’s iconic song ‘MIC Drop’ he asks his fans to sing it instead. Trying to contain his laughter as the crowd shouted ‘mianhae eomma’. The crowd sang along so loudly it was at times louder than the mic from J-Hope himself. ‘Dynamite’, ‘Butter’ and ‘Outro : Ego’.

‘Chicken Noodle Soup’ might have left some non kpop fans in the far back confused. As army’s sing along the iconic lyrics. Followed by ‘Hope World’ J-Hope introduces each and every member of his band.

Taking the time to thank his fans for coming to his performance, J-Hope unfortunately informs his fans that the show is coming to an end. Loud boo’s fill the air as army’s are not ready for it to be done. With a bright smile on his face, J-Hope continues his performance.