Seventeen’s ‘Tiny Desk’ Performance a Success… But ‘First in K-Pop’? BTS Fans Push Back

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However, when the NPR homepage, along with Billboard and other music media, described it as the ‘first in K-pop,’ fans of BTS, who appeared on the concert in 2020, are pushing back.

On the 24th (local time), NPR released the video of Seventeen’s Tiny Desk Concert. Five members Joshua, Mingyu, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino performed for 30 minutes behind the iconic desk at NPR’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. DK was originally scheduled to participate but was absent at the last minute due to a vocal cord issue, and the other members spontaneously covered his parts.

Seventeen started their performance with ‘Super’ and passionately sang songs like ‘Darl+ing’, ‘_WORLD’, ‘To You’, ‘HBD’, ‘SOS’, ‘Rock With You’, ‘CLAP’, ‘HOT’, and ‘VERY NICE’. They particularly surprised fans by singing an impromptu a cappella version of ‘HBD’ when the audience shouted for it.

Seungkwan expressed his surprise, saying, ‘You all are so passionate. Wow!’ Vernon added, ‘I didn’t expect this kind of reaction at all. You guys are amazing,’ and ‘I was expecting a calmer, quieter atmosphere, but you all are truly wonderful.’

Vernon confessed, ‘Thanks to you all, I’m having a really great time. To be honest, I was very nervous about performing in this kind of setting. Thank you for making us feel comfortable. You’ve really boosted our confidence.’

American music media outlet Rolling Stone praised the performance, stating, ‘The boys of Seventeen visited NPR’s headquarters and delivered relaxed versions of their energetic songs at the Tiny Desk, filling the space with laughter and smiles.’

However, a controversy arose when music outlets, including the NPR homepage and Billboard, introduced Seventeen as ‘the first K-pop artist to appear on Tiny Desk.’ This is because BTS appeared on Tiny Desk in 2020, five years prior, during the time their song ‘Dynamite’ topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks. That YouTube video currently has 65.85 million views.

Looking closely at the original text on the NPR homepage, it states they are ‘the very first K-pop band to play behind the Tiny Desk,’ and Billboard also described them as ‘the first-ever K-pop act to perform in the iconic office space.’

So, technically, the phrasing isn’t incorrect, but it’s understandable why BTS fans would feel resentful. BTS fans expressed their feelings on platforms like Twitter, saying things like, ‘To claim that a Tiny Desk Concert during the pandemic wasn’t a real Tiny Desk Concert and call someone else the new ‘first K-pop artist’… BTS just had to follow COVID restrictions and couldn’t fly to the U.S…’ and questioning, ‘The only reason BTS wasn’t behind the ‘real desk’ was because of COVID, and they literally couldn’t go to Washington D.C. But they performed on the main show, so why make this a separate record?’ Some also expressed anger, asking, ‘What’s the difference in terms of achievement between going there and performing remotely?’

The Tiny Desk Concert is a flagship music program from the American public radio broadcaster NPR, which began in 2008. It was created by producer Bob Boilen, a former musician, with the aim of ‘music appreciation without audience noise,’ allowing for a proper appreciation of an artist’s music. It’s a ‘small concert’ that started in the NPR office in Washington. World-renowned musicians from various genres, such as Taylor Swift, Coldplay, John Legend, Billie Eilish, Yo-Yo Ma, and Lang Lang, have appeared on the Tiny Desk Concert.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also held as Tiny Desk ‘Home Concerts,’ where musicians performed from their own spaces. Although it is a program produced by an American radio station, it has become performance video content enjoyed by fans worldwide through YouTube. While videos are uploaded to the NPR homepage, many performance videos on the NPR Music YouTube channel, which has 8.25 million subscribers, have recorded tens of millions of views.

Besides Seventeen and BTS, other Korean artists who have appeared include the fusion traditional music bands Coreyah and SsingSsing.

Seventeen is currently on tour for their album ‘Happy Burstday’ (which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart), released in 2025. On the upcoming 29th, their concert at the Vantelin Dome in Nagoya, Japan, will be live-streamed in theaters worldwide to commemorate their 10th anniversary.