SEVENTEEN Shares Their “Surreal” BBMAs Photo Diary

We previously posed this question when Maggie Rogers shared her tour diary: What would it be like, as an artist, to perform at a place that holds personal and professional significance for you? For one member of the K-pop phenom Seventeen, the answer was “surreal.”

As part of the Billboard Music Awards, which aired Dec. 12, the first-time winners for Top K-pop Touring Artist put on a dynamic and highly produced show filmed in Downtown Los Angeles and on the Santa Monica Pier, the latter of which Joshua says he grew up visiting. But, as the rest of the band tells NYLON exclusively, playing their DJ Khaled-featuring hit “Love, Money, Fame” to thousands of fans on the beach felt like a memorable homecoming of sorts, too.

Ahead, see Seventeen’s photo diary from the shoot — which was as much a feat of logistics planning as it looked — featuring the group’s popular BSS unit, masses of heart-shaped balloons, and a special moment for the CARATs.

“This was one of the set pieces we used during our ‘LOVE, MONEY, FAME (feat. DJ Khaled)’ performance.”

“I was the first one to film. We started in Downtown LA before heading over to the Santa Monica Pier.” — Seventeen’s Vernon

“We had a few moments in between takes so we put up our signature hand poses for a quick photo before moving onto the next scene.” — Seventeen’s unit BSS (Hoshi, Seungkwan, and DK)

“It was surreal to see our ‘LOVE, MONEY, FAME’ stage when we arrived on set. I grew up coming to the Santa Monica Pier as a kid and never imagined I’d be performing there one day.” — Seventeen’s Joshua

“We love to visit the beach when we come to LA so it was an unforgettable experience for us to perform here.”

“We wouldn’t have made it this far without our CARATs so it was extra special to have them be part of our first-ever Billboard Music Awards performance. Thank you for coming, CARATs! We hope you had as much fun as we did.”

“We finished our performance right after the sun set and wanted to say goodbye one last time before heading out.”