“Hot people listen to WAY BETTER.” Once a cheeky comment turned into a slogan – and at KCON LA 2025 Presented by Olive Young, solo artists from20 and HELLO GLOOM made sure to deliver on it. To KCON veteran attendees, the duo’s faces may be familiar – both participated as panelists at last year’s event, and HELLO GLOOM even performed at KCON LA in 2018 under his former group.
The two former idols-turned-solo artists are also co-founders of their own independent label, WAY BETTER (formerly known as The Faker Club). It seeks to “go beyond the limit” of traditional entertainment as reflected in the label’s motto: “We Dream Better, Make Better, Do Better.”
Fresh off their second successful European tour, from20 and HELLO GLOOM flew in straight to Los Angeles, channeling their post-tour adrenaline into every KCON festival appearance – even as they did so without their WAY BETTER labelmates Lim Sejun and Kang Yuchan, who were unable to attend due to health reasons.
KCON attendees got their first taste of the from20 and HELLO GLOOM’s magnetic stage presence on the X Stage, where their addictive, high-energy dance beats rang through the speakers and transformed this corner of the festival grounds into a party. They kicked things off with “BLUE,” using the emotionally-charged hyperpop track to ease the crowd into their soundscape, before easing into from20’s “WEOL.” As they paced across each side of the stage, they leaned towards the crowd, feeding off everyone’s cheers as they hyped them up.
The energy shifted into a hypnotic groove as everyone vibed and clapped along to HELLO GLOOM’s “Dancing in The Dark” before the loudest screams echoed across the room for from20’s viral hit “Eye Candy.” The cheeky funk song made waves on social media for its unapologetically bold concept, and the two had a blast performing it onstage. In stark contrast, they followed up with their sweet fansong, “Your Love,” that boasts a fun dance club beat and a choreographed dance break that had fans’ cheering and singing along.
After shedding his jersey, from20 and HELLO GLOOM dove into from20’s “Chemical,” playfully headbanging to the bright track’s chorus. Lastly, the duo wrapped up their set with “MAMACITA,” a house-centric party anthem with an infectious rhythm – hands in the crowd shot into the air, chants echoed back at the duo, and by the final drop, the duo successfully turned KCON into a full-on festive party.
From20’s and HELLO GLOOM’s performance served as a perfect teaser for their equally dynamic set on the M COUNTDOWN STAGE at Crypto.com Arena, which brought plenty of fanfare ahead of the night’s main show. Carrying the same confident and explosive energy, the two commanded the stage with back-to-back performances of “WEOL,” “MAMACITA,” and “Eye Candy.” Across all of their KCON schedules, the two gave U.S. audiences a vivid introduction to who they are and what they bring to the stage, leaving many fans – both old and new – demanding a full U.S. tour in the near future.
Ahead of their X STAGE performance, Kpopconcerts.com caught up with from20 and HELLO GLOOM to discuss their KCON appearance, the pros and cons of running their own company, and more.
Meanwhile, from20 and HELLO GLOOM will be bringing their ALL EYES ON ME to Latin America with an eight-city tour around Brazil. More information can be found here.