SMTown Live 2025 heads to the O2 Arena this week – a UK debut for the label-wide concert series and the first European edition of in 14 years.
In the new edition of Music Week, we mark SM Entertainment’s 30th anniversary with a deep dive into the history and continuing success for the K-pop giant.
Minho – from the K-pop group SHINee – was the latest addition to the line-up of 15 acts on Saturday (June 28).
Also performing at the O2 will be TVXQ!, Girls’ Generation’s Hyoyeon, EXO members Suho, Chanyeol and Kai, Red Velvet, NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV, Aespa (pictured above), Riize, NCT Wish, Naevis, DearAlice, Hearts2Hearts and SM trainees “SMTR25”.
Stella Kim, one of Hearts2Hearts' eight members, said: "It's an honour to be able to perform in the UK. The members and I have been talking about performing in the UK for a long time, so we are really looking forward to finally ticking it off our bucket list.”
Hearts2Hearts peforming at SMTown Live 25 in LA
Following SMTown Live 2025 concerts in Seoul, Mexico City and LA, the combined line-up of K-pop legends and rising stars now heads to London. The O2 Arena concert is promoted by K-pop specialist FrontRow Global in partnership with Kilimanjaro.
CEO & founder Monica Hyerim Lee launched FrontRow in London in 2016 and expanded to Seoul in 2021. Having moved to the UK eight years ago, Lee has made FrontRow a driving force behind the expansion of K-pop in Europe. FrontRow is a member of Tech London Advocates, Creative Tech and Music Tech UK.
“I really admired the London ecosystem,” Monica Lee told Music Week. “London is a very significant and symbolic city when it comes to music. Years ago, there wasn't a big community in K-pop but it has been growing fast. I wanted to introduce Korean culture and Korean pop to European people.”
“We survived Covid and we survived Brexit,” said Lee of the firm's early years. “So we’re very confident and passionate about it, and we have seen the significant growth. According to the research, the K-pop industry in the European market has been growing for 35% each year. It’s not only K-Pop but also the food and K-pop culture – the European market is one of the fastest-growing markets.”
FrontRow has now organised more than 40 major K-pop concerts and festivals across Europe, including this week’s SMTown London, SBS K-Pop Superfest, Dynamic Duo Europe Tour (2024) and Paris K-Expo (2024) featuring Monsta X's Minhyuk and Squid Game actor Park Sung-hoon.
The company has also expanded into ticketing through its proprietary platform, Konne Ticket. It aims to enhance fan engagement by integrating ticketing, merchandise and live experiences.
“We launched last year and it is really growing,” said Lee. “It's exciting to have the ticketing, partially, for SMTown London.”
Monica Hyerim Lee
In terms of the successful export of K-pop to the UK, Lee identified the “uplifting, energetic” quality of the music with “postive vibes” for teenagers and young people. It’s also family-friendly with children often attending with parents.
“Parents support it because they know that it’s having a very positive impact for their children,” Lee added.
The FrontRow CEO described the return of SMTown Live to Europe as a “historic moment”.
“We really appreciate that, thanks to SM Town, we have had more artists like Blackpink and BTS coming into Europe,” she said.
In South Korea and Japan, an SMTown show can sell out without a confirmed line-up. In the UK, it’s a bigger effort for FrontRow, who opted to move the planned Twickenham Stadium show to the O2 Arena.
“In the UK, it's a little bit different, because people are more familiar with the artist names than SMTown,” said Lee. “So we needed some time to introduce SMTown a little bit more, that's what we are doing.”
NCT 127 performing at SMTown Live 25 in LA
K-pop is an increasingly global phenomenon with recent hits for Rosé (with Bruno Mars on Apt), Jennie, Jimin and JHope. Jennie also teamed up with Dua Lipa on Handlebars, while JHope has a new hit with GloRilla on Killin’ It Girl.
“I think now that international collaborations are not just an option for K-pop artists – they are a must,” said Lee. “K-pop artists have become more globalised and more inspired by other artists, and they are getting collaborations. So I think these trends will continue more and more.”
Lee also noted that “Dua Lipa has been very welcomed in South Korea, she’s done collabs with K-pop artists”.
The concert also comes amid signs of an increasing connection between the UK and Korean music industries.
DearAlice are part of SMTown Live as the label’s first UK act They were the focus of last year's BBC show Made In Korea: The K-pop Experience.
“They are going to perform so we think that this is clearly a very great symbol of collaboration with the UK and South Korea,” said Lee.
On the music publishing side, there’s also an expanding role for UK songwriting talent.
Aespa have worked with co-writers Raye, MNEK and Becky Hill, as well as producer, singer and songwriter Shift K3y.
“A lot of K-pop composers and songwriters are from [the UK] – SMTown [acts] have been working with London songwriters a lot,” said Lee. “K-pop is growing [in Europe], at the same time the songwriting and publishing element is growing. It’s backed by UK songwriters.”
Karen Poole and production duo LDN Noise have also collaborated with SM Entertainment acts.
“I’ve been working on K-pop for a while now as part of my songwriting as a whole,” said Poole in the new edition of Music Week. “I value it greatly. I was early to be introduced to it, working on early Girls’ Generation and more, and just love the flexibility and freedom it gives to the writers and creators.
“It’s an incredible achievement for Korean music and in particular SM to have such an impact in global markets with so many of their artists. They are always creatively pushing boundaries, making incredible visuals with amazing performers.”
Music Week subscribers can read our SM Entertainment feature.
PHOTOS: SMTown Live 25 LA (SM Entertainment)
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