K-pop fans in the UAE have been treated to a performance by stars Rain and Heize at The Agenda in Dubai Media City.
The third Kite: K-pop in the Emirates concert, presented by the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Korean Cultural Centre in the UAE, took place on Sunday. It was a free event open to all fans of the music genre and featured live performances, as well as virtual shows from musicians in South Korea.
Rain is one of the country’s most famous personalities and is often referred to as the first K-pop star. He played some of his biggest hits during the event.
He gained worldwide popularity with his third album, 2004’s It’s Raining. He has twice been named as one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine and released his EP Pieces by Rain in 2021. It featured five tracks, including the collaborative single Why Don't We with Chungha.
Heize, who also performed live, is a singer and rapper signed to Psy's record label and entertainment agency P Nation. She made her music debut with a 2014 eponymous EP featuring six songs. In June, she released her second album, Undo. She was nominated for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Vocal Performance at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
During the concert, there were also extended reality metaverse video performances on a large screen from rock band YB, singer-songwriter 10cm, rapper Ph-1, duo Prudence, singer-songwriter SWJA and singer Car, the Garden.
They used extended reality live tracking and 3D technology to create virtual stages — in this case with the acts in South Korea looking like they were performing in Dubai.
