Groups TVXQ!, NCT DREAM, and aespa are gathering together for Japan‘s representative year-end music festival, the ‘FNS Music Festival’, and they are a hot topic.

On the 4th, TVXQ, NCT Dream, and aespa appeared on Fuji TV’s ‘FNS Music Festival’, capturing the attention of local viewers with their unique performances and short interviews looking back on the year.

On that day, TVXQ completed a stage that showed off their experience and maturity with ‘SWEET SURRENDER‘, which was included in their regular album ‘ZONE‘, commemorating the 20th anniversary of their Japanese debut. They caught everyone‘s attention by saying, “We were able to come this far thanks to your support, and with a grateful heart, we will work hard until the end of our nationwide tour in Japan.”

Then, NCT Dream performed their new song ‘When I’m With You’ where you can meet their cheerful charm and sophisticated performance, and shared their thoughts on the year, saying, “It was a happy year because I was able to feel the love of Seasons up close while touring for the past year.”

Aespa also received a hot response by presenting a strong ‘taste of iron’ with this year’s biggest hit ‘Supernova’, and expressed their sincerity towards local fans, saying, “We are so happy to be making our official debut in Japan this year, and it was great to meet Japanese MYs through the tour.”

The ‘FNS Song Festival’ is a music broadcast program that is considered one of Japan‘s major year-end large-scale song festivals along with ‘NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen’. It will be broadcast twice over two weeks on the 4th and 11th, and the first broadcast, which will be held on the 4th and 11th, will be broadcast on KinKi Kids (Kinki Kids), Kudo Shizuka, Koda Kumi, Hamasaki Ayumi, Hoshino Gen, Hey! Say! JUMP, and other popular local artists also appeared, drawing attention.

Meanwhile, SM artists including TVXQ, NCT Dream, and Espa will participate in the ‘SMTOWN LIVE 2025’ Seoul concert to be held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on January 11 and 12, 2025.

Jo Sung-woon, Donga.com reporter madduxly@donga.com