What Head in The Clouds 2025 meant to a 2nd generation K-pop fan

Despite it being one of Los Angeles’ hottest days of the year, around 36,000 people are piled at Head in the Cloud’s main stage for the final performance of the festival’s first day. It’s a little after 10 p.m. on Saturday when the star of the night, G-Dragon, is ushered onto the stage by a troupe of backup dancers. “I’m the GOAT, the living legend,” he boasts by way of introduction before easing into the explosive flow of his new track, “Power.” Tonight, the fashion maven is dressed in a lion-embroidered Gucci jacket, splotchy bleached jeans, and chunky loafers. By his second song, “Home Sweet Home” — featuring his fellow Big Bang bandmates Taeyang and Daesung who aren’t physically present at the festival but appear on the jumbo screen during their respective verses — he’ll remove his Balenciaga frames and black fedora to display freshly dyed pink spikes.

A looming titan of K-pop, G-Dragon hasn’t stepped on an U.S. stage since 2017, and this is his first-time ever headlining a U.S. music festival. The historical significance of this show isn’t lost on this crowd which seems to be in a state of constant eruption. His 11-track set is fine-tuned to maximize this moment, wheeling through 2010s fan-favorites like “One of A Kind” and “Crayon” and tracks from his 2024 studio album Übermensch. When he plays his 2017 hype hit “Bullshit,” he remixes in segments of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” going as far to integrate the rapper’s iconic walk from the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show into his choreography. It feels like a statement on their mutual cultural standings, something that’s further underlined when he brings out surprise guest and former labelmate CL to perform 2009’s “The Leaders”: G-Dragon knows he’s an icon and has been an icon since his 2006 debut in the K-pop mega boy band, BIGBANG.

Hours after the festival has wrapped I catch up with the industry-dubbed “King of K-pop” at the artist compound backstage where he’s makeup-free and unwinding with a glass of white wine. “I missed this vibe, especially at an outdoor festival,” he tells me in English. “It’s different from any of my concerts. Here, I feel like I can just chill.”

A few nights from now, he’ll be flying to Macau to continue his Übermensch world tour. “I’m sad because we had two songs left that we couldn’t play,” he says of tonight’s performance, noting that he “feels sorry” that he couldn’t perform more for his fans. Despite that, he says he feels more excited than ever to be back on stage. “[For] now, it makes me want to keep doing this.”

If you were to ask G-Dragon’s fanbase even two years ago, they wouldn’t have expressed any hope of seeing him perform live again as he was deep into a seven-year hiatus that he recently was reawakened from in 2024. Fans probably could’ve said the same about Head in the Cloud’s other headliner 2NE1, who disbanded in 2016 and whose last U.S. performance was a surprise reunion at Coachella 2022 (also with HITC). Gravitas-filled, exhilarating showings was the theme of this year’s Head in the Clouds, 88rising’s annual music and arts festival that’s become an “Asian Coachella” of sorts in terms of scope and cultural impact.

Between energetic debuts — like that of the soon-to-be-massive Indonesian pop group No Na — and spots from emerging stars like Chinese-Canadian indie singer yung kai, Chinese-American singer Sunkis, and Thai rapper Milli, this year’s lineup showed off the rich and wide breadth of music being made by Asian, and Asian-descendant artists in music today. Korean powerhouses Dean and DPR Ian, who were among my most anticipated performers, allured crowds with heartstopping ballads and by taking their shirts off. But it was the fervent anticipation of G-Dragon and 2NE1’s appearances that defined the tone of the weekend. Decades after their debuts, their headlining performances marked a triumphant return to the forefront, and a resurgence of K-pop’s second generation.

Unlike other music genres, K-pop defines their artists by cultural eras. K-pop’s second generation, spanning roughly from 2003 to 2012, was the one that pushed the genre into mainstream popularity, kicking off what’s now known as the Hallyu wave. That era introduced innovation, musical experimentation, and an influx of idol groups — among them BIGBANG and 2NE1, two forces that had such a colossal impact on the industry it wouldn’t be an understatement to say they created the blueprint of what we consider K-pop to be today. That HITC had two of K-pop’s most iconic forebears at one event felt like a reminder of their influence and record-breaking contributions. Like many of the 60,000 spectators who reportedly attended the festival, I showed up to see the artists who’d informed so much of my Korean pop culture knowledge, and my Korean heritage, as a pre-teen. And like many of the fans present, too, it was the first time I’d see either of them in the flesh.

Two hours before 2NE1’s set on day two, I pushed my way to the front to get a close-up view of the girl group who were my entry points into that world. At 8:15 p.m., members CL, Sandara Park, and Minzy bursted into a 12-song frenzy down nostalgia lane. The group’s fourth member, Park Bom, withdrew from the festival citing personal circumstances. But even with her absence, the trio enthusiastically carried on. When Bom’s absence was felt — her deep vocal range simply can’t be recreated — the gaps were filled by the crowd singing along. (“Sing it for Bom,” CL directed at the start of their set.)

They kicked things off with their 2009 debut song “Fire” before tackling their major hits in succession. Fans thrashed to “I Am the Best” and “Clap Your Hands,” while ballads “Ugly” and “Lonely” were belted at the top of our lungs. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear or two. As branded light sticks and fan merch waved high above in the final moments of 2NE1’s set, I realized that I’d just experienced a historic reunion of K-pop’s second generation icons that I’m not sure I’ll get to witness again.