--- description: K-pop bands like EXO and CL wowed with Olympics closing ceremony performances in PyeongChang. K-pop fans went crazy for the performances. title: K-Pop Fans Went Crazy Over the Olympics Closing Ceremony image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1973566c7b6afc94/698928df4ee2627e5b311021/exo-closing-ceremony.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Very Passionate K-Pop Fans Inevitably Lost It Over the Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony Performances  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Updated: Jan 15, 2026 6:28 PM CUTPublished: Feb 26, 2018 2:25 AM CUT  Band EXO perform during the Closing Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Band EXO perform during the Closing Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.Maddie Meyer—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Updated: Jan 15, 2026 6:28 PM CUTPublished: Feb 26, 2018 2:25 AM CUT Sunday’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics closing ceremony brought plenty of pomp and circumstance — but for many K-pop fans, it was all about closing ceremony performers EXO and CL. [K-pop](http://time.com/5124176/best-k-pop-artists/ "undefined") — the umbrella term for the music churned out by South Korea’s music-making factories — attracts a rabid fanbase in general, but boy band EXO consistently breaks records for its sold-out shows and hugely popular albums. EXO members’ ever-changing hairstyles and alien alter-egos, each with a different superhero, only add to the mystique. It’s no surprise, then, that fans went a little crazy over the group’s K-pop performance at the closing ceremony. Fans worldwide tweeted about EXO eight million times in just four hours, [according to the head of social media for the International Olympic Committee](https://twitter.com/alexhuot/status/967820762995335171 "undefined"), and many of them were bursting with enthusiasm. > [](https://twitter.com/sehunfanboy/status/967738555253407745) > [](https://twitter.com/XIUKDT/status/967737407331160069) > [](https://twitter.com/Dena%5FVang/status/967958779538169857) > [](https://twitter.com/mom%5Fexo/status/967856326884732928) > [](https://twitter.com/swxggytea/status/967925216272896002) K-pop star CL, formerly of the girl group 2NE1, also got plenty of love for her closing ceremony performance, singing hits like “The Baddest Female” and “I Am the Best.” > [](https://twitter.com/Exo%5FGsD/status/967769736250580992) > [](https://twitter.com/ninjaLim4/status/967751157622845445) > [](https://twitter.com/NetizenDrama/status/967768255237681152) > [](https://twitter.com/EmiliaKarkela/status/967747770848333825) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5174898/olympics-closing-ceremonies-k-pop-performers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5174898/olympics-closing-ceremonies-k-pop-performers/"},"headline":"Very Passionate K-Pop Fans Inevitably Lost It Over the Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony Performances","datePublished":"2018-02-26T02:25:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-15T18:28:30.000Z","description":"EXO and CL performed","url":"https://time.com/5174898/olympics-closing-ceremonies-k-pop-performers/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Winter Olympics","onetime","2018 Pyeongchang Olympics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1973566c7b6afc94/698928df4ee2627e5b311021/exo-closing-ceremony.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1973566c7b6afc94/698928df4ee2627e5b311021/exo-closing-ceremony.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2018 Winter Olympic Games - Closing Ceremony","caption":"2018 Winter Olympic Games - Closing Ceremony","creditText":"Maddie Meyer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5174898/olympics-closing-ceremonies-k-pop-performers/","name":"Very Passionate K-Pop Fans Inevitably Lost It Over the Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony Performances"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"K-Pop's Next Act","description":"Riding off the success of Korean pop, artists CL, Dean and Eric Nam have their eyes set on the U.S. music industry","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2ukAz9Fl/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-10-31T13:20:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2ukAz9Fl.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5174898/olympics-closing-ceremonies-k-pop-performers/","duration":"PT6M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5174898/olympics-closing-ceremonies-k-pop-performers/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```