KAMP LA 2022 Becomes Controversial After Half of Its Artists Lineup Was Unable to Attend
KAMP LA 2022 is currently a topic of heated discussions among fans after announcing the absence of half of its lineup of artists, most of whom were scheduled to perform on Day 1 of the two-day event.
KAMP LA 2022 Becomes Controversial After Half of Its Lineup Artists Was Unable to Attend
Organized by KAMP Global and Eventim Live Asia (ELA), KAMP LA 2022 was a highly-anticipated event as it boasted a star-studded lineup for its two-day show.
Artists who were chosen to perform on Day 1 were iKON, EXO Kai, GOT7 BamBam, Jeon Somi, Super Junior, Girls' Generation Taeyeon, and P1Harmony. The list of performers for Day 2 included aespa, MONSTA X, Chungha, MOMOLAND, Epik High, Zion.T and T1419.
A few days prior to the event, several K-pop acts reported issues concerning their travel status, mainly because of their visa.
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Then, on Oct. 14 local time, just less than 24 hours before KAMP LA 2022 kicks off, KAMP Los Angeles announced that six artists can't make it to the show at Rose Bowl.
According to the event's organizers, EXO Kai, Jeon Somi, Girls' Generation Taeyeon, GOT7 BamBam, Zion.T, and LAPILLUS are all "unable to travel as planned due to unforeseen U.S. work visa issues and circumstances outside of the artists' and promoters' control."
All of the mentioned artists except for Zion.T were set to perform on Saturday, Oct. 15 local time. As a result of their absence, KAMP "increased artist set lengths on Saturday," adding MOMOLAND and T1419 as special guests.
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Of the artists included in the original KAMP LA 2022 lineup for Oct. 15, iKON, Super Junior, and P1Harmony will still be able to perform as scheduled.
KAMP Los Angeles also mentioned in their statement that anyone who purchased a single-day Saturday ticket is entitled to a full refund, or 50% refund off of a two-day ticket.
Unfortunately, the bad news didn't end there. Just a few hours after KAMP LA's notice, Starship Entertainment released a statement regarding MONSTA X's appearance at the same K-pop festival.
The company said, "Although MONSTA X fully cooperated with the organizers of 'KAMP LA 2022' to receive performance-related visas, including providing all required documents in advance, we ended up with no visa approval."
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Starship Entertainment also stated that KAMP had asked them to hold off on announcing the group's absence, but they decided not to delay the announcement for the fans who are waiting.
Later on, KAMP LA then issued their own notice regarding MONSTA X's participation.
As seven acts, including the headliners for Day 2 (MONSTA X and Zion.T) are unable to attend, KAMP LA 2022 lost half of its lineup of artists. The festival was soon met with criticism as many fans expressed their disappointment and rage.
A few fans compared the event to the infamous Fyre Festival, while others said it was a failed festival.
This is actually the K-Pop version of Fyre Festival. What a dumpster fire. 🫠🫠🫠 https://t.co/HEYgF2Zz6e
— 💗 Stella 💗 (@SonexStella) October 14, 2022
this fyre ass festival😭😭 like that’s half the lineup might as well shut that shit down https://t.co/U8TjqJZjX4
— kayla (@mikhaylacl) October 15, 2022
KAMP LA 2022 dubbed as being "the largest K-Pop event in American history" failed to prove themselves this weekend following visa issues
— 파룬 (@balloon_wanted) October 17, 2022
More than 7 out of the 15 acts were unable to perform due to visa issues
KAMP has not elaborated on the visa problems
So many things wrong with Kamp LA. 1st they book a venue that was way too big for their show, had poor artist announcements, and now can't even get the rite visas for their artist. Gonna be one of the biggest concert fails in history.#KAMPLA22 #KAMPLOSANGELES #KAMPLAApologize
— Andrew Rivera (@Kpopminipanda) October 15, 2022
Some fans even expressed their frustration as they spent money on booking flights to Los Angeles and reserving hotel rooms, and yet they didn't get to see their favorite artists due to visa issues.
dropping this less than 24 hours before day 1 after so many already booked their hotels and had flown in from out of city or out of state, while y’all were literally reposting fans arriving to LA from their flights, KAMP is just disgusting https://t.co/okJqCNd17b
— jordan thee stallion (@LeDipStanAcount) October 15, 2022
I cannot believe this is happening. No Kai at Kamp and also no Taeyeon and a bunch of other artists. I just requested a refund. I came all the way here from FL for nothing, lost 2k on flights, hotel and etc and I will probably not get to see Kai again 😞 #kai #KAMPLA22
— April🌷 seeing Taemin at Budokan 🔜 (@taemotivation) October 15, 2022
good that we can refund our tickets but what about those who flew? travelled all the way here who paid for accommodations and flight already? I literally just got to LAX when I received the news that Taeyeon couldn't make it. When I say I'm disappointed, I meant I'm furious
— ☆ k¡ng 탱구 | KhunSam Best Girl (@gencyannie) October 15, 2022
No 😭😭😭 literally spent over 2k NOT INCLUDING the tickets for flights, hotel, rental car and etc that I cannot get back #Kai #KAMP2022 #KAMPLOSANGELES pic.twitter.com/EH8Jc3LNTg
— April🌷 seeing Taemin at Budokan 🔜 (@taemotivation) October 15, 2022
What can you say about the issue? Let us know in the comment box below!
Lineup for KAMP LA 2022 Day 2
Meanwhile, since MONSTA X and Zion.T are unable to travel to Los Angeles for KAMP LA 2022, the remaining artists who will perform on Day 2 are aespa, MOMOLAND, Chungha, Epik High, and T1419.
The show will take place at the same venue, Rose Bowl, at Oct. 16 local time.
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Written by Maria Scott