K-pop boy band Stray Kids won International Group of the Year and closed the 2026 TMElive International Music Awards (TIMA) with a half-hour performance that sent thousands of fans into a frenzy on Sunday night (Aug 24).
The two-day music awards, sponsored by CTF Life, concluded at Kai Tak Stadium on Sunday, featuring 34 Chinese and international acts from a range of music scenes, including Chinese-language, European and American, Japanese, Korean and Thai music.
The second edition of TIMA was held at the 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium, with performances from artists including TAEYEON, Charlie Puth, IVE, NMIXX, SUPER JUNIOR and Stray Kids.
Stray Kids took the stage as the final act and performed for around 30 minutes, with fans standing up, dancing and waving along to their songs.
After introducing themselves, member Bang Chan won cheers from the audience by calling himself “your baby”.
The group said they were honoured to perform in Hong Kong and had specially brought a live band for the show. They also thanked fans for their support after receiving the International Group of the Year award.
Felix then addressed fans in Mandarin, saying: “Thank you for staying by my side. My happiness is you.”
The group encouraged the audience to get up and join them before performing songs including Chk Chk Boom and LALALALA, and later used their eyes to express their love for fans.
IVE also performed six songs during the ceremony, with leader Ahn Yujin appearing to be affected by an injury. She remained seated throughout the performance, singing but not dancing with the group.
The members thanked fans for waiting for them and recreated a game from their concerts in which members compete to find the camera. Rei and Leeseo formed a “revenge team” to challenge Liz and Jang Wonyoung, while Ahn Yujin served as the judge.
The members also followed an interpreter in speaking Cantonese on stage, saying “very good” and “very, very good”. Jang Wonyoung later encouraged fans to attend their Hong Kong concert in September.
TAEYEON received a loud welcome from the audience and performed her hit song Four Seasons. She said she was nervous as it had been a long time since she last performed on stage, but was happy to be back in Hong Kong.
She also revealed that she was preparing a new album and hoped to meet fans with the new release before the weather turns colder.
IVE members Liz and Ahn Yujin, both fans of TAEYEON, came out from backstage to watch her performance. Jang Wonyoung later also came out to watch Charlie Puth’s performance, while staff politely reminded the artists not to take photos.
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