ATEEZ, &TEAM, Hearts2Hearts to appear at 'ASEA 2026'.
The music festival that brings together Asia's top-class artists, 'the 3rd Asia Star Entertainer Awards 2026 (ASIA STAR ENTERTAINER AWARDS, hereafter ASEA 2026)', will be held May 16 and 17 at Belluna Dome in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and the organizing committee said on March 12 that ATEEZ, &TEAM and Hearts2Hearts have confirmed their appearances.
ATEEZ (Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, Jongho) swept global charts with last year's mini album No. 12 'Golden Hour: Part.3' and the 'Golden Hour: Part.3 'In Your Fantasy Edition'. In particular, their 13th mini album released in February, 'Golden Hour: Part.4', became their sixth million-selling album overall, showcasing their stature as K-pop leaders. In addition, they expanded the world tour 'In Your Fantasy', which began in Korea last July and was held in 12 North American cities and three Japanese cities, to Asia and Australia, meeting global fans and proving themselves as a strong live act.
&TEAM (Eiju, Fuma, K, Nicholas, Yuma, Joe, Harua, Taki, Maki), HYBE's first Japanese group that debuted in 2022, released their Korean debut album 'Back to Life' last October and carried out successful promotions. In addition to becoming a million-seller on the first day of release, they recorded cumulative shipments of 1,331,733 units on Circle Chart, placing them among top-tier groups. They achieved meaningful results on major global charts, including a first entry on the U.S. Billboard chart and No. 1 on Japan's Oricon chart, as well as No. 1 on Korean music shows. Demonstrating expanding global popularity, they are preparing an Asia tour and will make a comeback in April with their third Japanese mini album 'We on fire'.
SM Entertainment's multi-member rookie girl group Hearts2Hearts (Jiu, Carmen, Yuha, Stella, Jueun, Aina, IAAN, Yeon), the agency's first such group since Girls' Generation, will appear at ASEA for a second consecutive year. Hearts2Hearts, which won rookie of the year last year, achieved 100 million streams on Spotify with their debut song 'The Chase', showing why they were the top rookie. Recently marking their first anniversary, Hearts2Hearts updated their career high by dominating domestic music charts with their new song 'RUDE!' and taking No. 1 on music shows, and they have also posted notable results on global charts. Their first fan meeting held in February was sold out, including seats with restricted views, proving their ticket power.
ASEA, launched in 2024, has established itself as a global awards show that selects and honors artists who have exerted influence beyond Asia and presents high-quality performances. This year, top-class artists who achieved meaningful results over the past year are expected to participate in large numbers.
'ASEA 2026' is hosted by Newsen, Korea's representative entertainment and sports media marking its 21st anniversary, and @style, the star and style magazine marking its 14th anniversary, and is organized by the ASEA organizing committee.
'ASEA 2026' will announce the artist lineup, award categories and judging criteria sequentially through the official website at a later date. [Photo] KQ Entertainment, YX Labels, SM Entertainment [OSEN]