"NEVER underestimate the power of the BTS" - Fans react as Lollapalooza Director Houston Powell credits j-hope for opening doors for K-pop

BTS' j-hope was recently recognized for reshaping the dynamics of the U.S. Lollapalooza festival and setting a new milestone in K-pop history. To celebrate the 35th anniversary of MBC radio's Bae Chul Soo's Music Camp, the show was held live in Chicago under the title BaeCamp at Lollapalooza.

On the August 3, 2025, episode, the executive director of Lollapalooza, Houston Powell, appeared and discussed the BTS idol's impact on the global scene. He acknowledged how he did not have any knowledge about K-pop but was aware of BTS and their influence.

"I heard through Live Nation that j-hope would be starting a solo career. At the time, I knew about BTS, but not K-pop. I underestimated how big of a cultural moment j-hope's concert would be, but the results were tremendous," Powell said, as reported by Edaily (translated from Korean).

Powell also credited Hobi for opening the gates of Lollapalooza to the possibility of more K-pop artists performing after the idol's first performance at the festival in 2022.

This kind of appreciation, coming directly from the festival's director, seemed like a huge feat to BTS fans. They took to social media platforms to applaud Hobi for the kind of celebration his performance turned into.

"Lesson? NEVER underestimate the power of the BTS members or ARMY," tweeted one fan.

Similarly, others also commended the feat.

"getting the recognition he deserves," a fan stated.

"BTS PAVED THE WAY," another fan said.

"Hobipalooza was trully historical and Hoseok indeed paved the way for kpop in it with his mindblowing performance as a headliner," wrote another.

Fans credited both j-hope and BTS as a whole for paving the way for K-pop.

"the legend that you are," a fan remarked.

"Now that, THAT IS INFLUENCE," another fan praised.

"It's called Hobipalooza for a reason," a fan exclaimed.

More about BTS' j-hope's groundbreaking Lollapalooza appearance

j-hope at Lollapalooza Berlin 2025 (Image via Getty)

j-hope of BTS recently returned as a headliner for Lollapalooza after three years, performing in Berlin on July 14. He prepared a 70-minute solo set and became the first Korean artist to headline a major US music festival.

Hobi's show reportedly drew 100,000 on-site attendees and 19 million online viewers, marking the highest ticket sales in Lollapalooza's 31-year history. Merchandise sales reportedly hit $1 million, as per Edaily. On the day of the performance, the Mayor of Chicago and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell even came onstage to personally introduce him.

According to US-based analytics firm Maven Road, 69.8% of all social media mentions about Lollapalooza 2022 were about the BTS star, seeing a 4.4 times increase compared to the previous year.

Since the idol's performance, K-pop artists have regularly performed at Lollapalooza. Other global festivals have also begun inviting K-pop headliners.

"I'm grateful to j-hope for introducing me to a new world of music called K-pop... my horizons have been completely broadened, and the shows have become so much better. K-pop is such a passionate and wonderful world. I hope to hold a Lollapalooza in Korea someday," Powell said.

Stay tuned for more news and updates.

About the author

Rujula is a pop culture journalist who covers K-pop at Sportskeeda. She graduated with a bachelors in English Literature from Mumbai University, following which, as a self-proclaimed K-pop fangirl, Rujula pursued her passion for the written word to report on all things Korean. Rujula has over 4 years experience in curating content for diverse companies like Disney (Star Sports), KpopWise, Icy Tales, Nettv4u, and Walking Wicket.

For her, referring to official sources and cross-verifying information are of utmost importance to maintain objectivity and credibility of the information she offers to her readers. She also takes into account social media posts from people experiencing an incident first-hand to add depth and perspective to her story.

While creatively presenting information about an artist’s particular look or campaign is Rujula’s forte, she believes her true strength lies in interviewing celebrities and idols. At Sportskeeda, Rujula has exclusively interviewed famous K-pop groups and idols such as ChoCo, Jae Chong, BLACKSWAN, DKZ, Lee Taevin, E:LFIN, Kim Seong-gyeong, and Hyun-woo.

Rujula’s favorite artists in the K-circle are BTS, Jackson Wang, ENHYPEN, and SEVENTEEN, and she admires them for their humility, genuineness, and generosity. When not busy tracking the latest developments in Korean entertainment, Rujula can be found playing cricket, a sport she has played professionally for over 10 years.

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Edited by Ankita Barat