ZEROBASEONE headline KCON LA 2026, premiere 'Exotic' from mini album 6

ZEROBASEONE closed out Day 2 of KCON LA 2026 as headliners, running August 14–16 in Los Angeles. The set's biggest moment: a live premiere of Exotic, a track off their sixth mini album Ascend-, making its first-ever stage appearance that night.

The group performed in outfits made through a Swarovski collaboration. They ran through TOP 5, Doctor! Doctor!, V for Vision, SLAM DUNK, and Zero To Hundred back to back.

Unit and solo stages filled out the rest of the show. Sung Hanbin, Seok Matthew, and Park Gunwook covered Justin Timberlake's SexyBack—a noticeably different energy from the group's own catalog. Kim Jiwoong performed his solo track CLOSER. Kim Taerae took on IU's Love Wins All with his own interpretation.

Hanbin pulled double duty the whole event. He served as KCON LA 2026's global ambassador and hosted as MC. Park Gunwook was also on stage Day 1, joining Mnet M Countdown hosts So Jeonghwan and Gye Hoon for a performance of Crush's Rush Hour.

Seok Matthew had a separate variety slot. He appeared as a guest on chef Edward Lee's talk show, talked Korean food, put together a pojangmacha-themed playlist, and threw in a surprise live performance. (That's a lot of ground to cover for one event.)