TXT, 630,000 Views for Practice Room Performance Despite New York Festival Cancellation..."Anywhere with Music and a Mic is a Stage"

Tomorrow X Together (TXT) (TXT) held a performance in an indoor practice room to meet fans after the ’2026 Global Citizen Festival’ scheduled in New York, USA, was canceled due to severe weather. This performance was broadcast live on the fan platform Weverse under the name ’New York Practice Room Festival,’ accumulating approximately 631,000 views and ranking first among all TXT live broadcasts. TXT members performed five songs with the dancers they had prepared that day, including ″You and I Found in the Sky at 5:53,″ a traditional Korean music version of ″Sugar Rush Ride,″ and a cover of a Justin Bieber song. Yeonjun also performed a solo song he had prepared for a separate festival stage in the practice room. The members said, ″As long as there is music and a microphone, we can perform anywhere.″ Since their debut in 2019, TXT experienced difficulties holding face-to-face performances during the period when they needed to expand their fandom due to COVID-19. Their first solo concert, ACT:BOY, was held online in October 2021, and it was about three years after their 2019 U.S. showcase that they met local audiences again during their first world tour, ACT:LOVE SICK, in 2022. In contrast, RIIZE, who debuted in 2023, started their fan concert tour, RIIZING DAY, at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in May 2024 and held the finale performance at KSPO Dome in September. CORTIS also held their first tour, PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN, at Incheon Inspire Arena in July this year, before their first anniversary. These junior groups have grown their performance scale by directly communicating with fans through face-to-face performances from the early stages of their activities. Fourth-generation boy groups who debuted between 2017 and 2021 had fewer opportunities for face-to-face performances during their early years due to the pandemic. However, TXT, Stray Kids, and ATEEZ maintained relationships with fans through online performances and video content. After face-to-face activities resumed, they gained stage experience through tours. In February, TXT held their fourth world tour, ACT: Tomorrow, performing 29 shows in 17 cities worldwide, meeting approximately 564,000 attendees. In Japan, they toured five major domes. Stray Kids held their world tour RUN IT at the Tokyo National Stadium in August, attracting about 140,000 spectators over two days. ATEEZ continued their activities in the domestic music market with their June release, BAD, which entered Melon’s TOP100 at number 81 and rose to number 7. Groups with more experience are strengthening communication with fans by changing the format of their own content. TXT’s NOT TO DO departs from the previous TO DO format, featuring members naturally reacting to new experiences. In the episode released last October, Taehyun and HUENING KAI met psychiatrist Kim Chong-gi to undergo psychological tests and counseling. In Stray Kids’ SKZ CODE ″Spring Body Outing″ episode, the process of measuring height during a health checkup became a subject of entertainment. ATEEZ’s San and Wooyoung started a joint YouTube channel, 9Tjjong, on July 15, with a concept that the channel will close if the video views do not exceed 500,000, offering various content. An industry insider commented on TXT’s experience gained through non-face-to-face activities and subsequent tours, saying, ″They seem to have developed the know-how to smoothly conduct both online and offline performances,″ and added, ″Their ability to naturally lead performances regardless of the form or scale of the show has become a major competitive advantage for the team.″ Regarding communication through fourth-generation boy groups’ own content, the insider said, ″The strength lies in the relationships built over a long time among the members,″ and ″Their proactive attitude regardless of their years of experience creates synergy.″ Their diverse appearances on and off stage serve as opportunities to introduce the team to both fans and the public. Fourth-generation boy groups that overcame the restrictions of the pandemic have accumulated experience in both performances and content, delivering their prepared music fully on stage while showing new sides of the members off stage. TXT’s case of converting a canceled festival into a practice room performance demonstrates the results of this experience.