Earlier this month, South Korean pop stars ARTMS paid homage to their roots with their world tour ‘Lunar Theory,’ selling out Times Square’s Town Hall.
Hundreds of fans waved their ARTMS and LOONA light sticks, colorful photos of members HeeJin, HaSeul, JinSoul, Kim Lip, Choerry emblazoned on picket signs, and many wore white angel wings in celebration of the popular girl group. It’s been less than a year since ARTMS returned to New York City, and still, these K-Pop all-stars were the talk of the town. So much so that their ‘Lunar Theory,’ tour stop at Town Hall was jam-packed with supporters, affectionately known as OURII.
The sold-out show paid homage to their roots as former members of LOONA, which originally formed in 2018; however, the members terminated their contracts with BlockBerry Creative after an ongoing legal battle, citing mistreatment in 2023. In 2024, members HeeJin, HaSeul, JinSoul, Kim Lip, and Choerry re-debuted as ARTMS, releasing their album ‘DALL’ last spring, which featured their hit track, “Virtual Angel.”
“Ever since I was young, I loved singing, and becoming an artist was always a dream within me. When I was in high school, I started attending vocal classes, and that’s also when I started auditioning. There were many difficult moments and challenges on the way, but I think I was able to withstand and overcome them because of the fact that our members always have each other’s backs, we help and support each other. There’s so many things I want to explore, including music genres, different activities and our fans’ support is a huge motivation,” JinSoul said.
Since their debut, ARTMS has worked strenuously to honor their history as LOONA members and showcase a new image and sound. ARTMS tells amNewYork that it’s been a whirlwind journey, but their passion has never wavered, thanks to the staunch support of their fans.
“For me, it would be ARTMS’ debut showcase. I remember feeling very nervous about re-debuting and performing for our fans after such a long time. I wanted to show myself in the best way possible, not only because it was our re-debut, but also to show my gratitude towards the fans that waited for me. Thankfully, many of our OURIIs were happy to see us on stage, and also me myself, I enjoyed standing there again,” Kim Lip said.
Returning to NYC this spring, ARTMS celebrated the release of their newest single, ‘BURN,’ with a live performance on Good Day New York.
“Every time we come to New York our fans cheer and support us a lot, so we always get a lot of strength when we’re performing. It was no different this time, they enjoyed our performances with us, danced with us as well, it was a very memorable experience. This tour is very meaningful to us as well, as we get to walk down the memory lane with our fans,” Choerry told amNewYork.
The ‘Lunar Theory’ showcase featured LOONA classics like “favOriTe,” “Heat,” “Love Cherry Motion,” “PTT” and more. The fans shared that they wanted to display how much this tour meant to them, so they decided to make it memorable and pitched in to purchase a billboard in Times Square welcoming the group back to New York City.
“My favorite part of visiting New York this time was that our fans organized a “WELCOME TO NY ARTMS” billboard at New York Time Square. That’s what stuck with me the most. When we arrive in a city, we actually buy magnets! So whenever we arrive in New York we buy yet another one, and there are always new ones coming out. Deciding which one to buy becomes a happy dilemma for us,” HaSeul shared with amNewYork.
While the tour culminated on April 18 in Tacoma, ARTMS is still skyrocketing to the top, and their next big dream is to perform at a musical festival in the United States.
“While we were on tour this time, it happened to overlap with the Coachella season. Since it’s such a special stage where only the most globally renowned artists perform, we also have a big dream of one day standing on the Coachella stage,” HeeJin said.
