Spotify has launched CLOSER, a new video series that puts rising Korean acts on stage and then sits them down to talk. The company announced it on October 16, 2026, with girl group Hearts2Hearts as the first featured artist and ALLDAY PROJECT and LNGSHOT among the acts lined up next.
What CLOSER is
Spotify describes CLOSER as a K-Music showcase fans can reach right inside the app. Each featured artist plays an intimate live set and then has a conversation about their music, creative world and life beyond the stage. The videos live on the Spotify CLOSER playlist. According to Buzzsetter's guide to the series, fans play a song and tap “Switch to video” to watch, and the video picks up where the song stopped.
Hearts2Hearts' episode was filmed at the group's own Spotify CLOSER show in Seoul. It includes the first live performances of “ICONIC HEART (Korean Version)” and “Baby Steps,” a special acoustic version of “Butterflies,” and a talk session recorded at the event and released as a video podcast. The Korea Times reports that the members shared studio stories and personal anecdotes in that conversation.
Why Hearts2Hearts goes first
The eight-member group, made up of Jiwoo, Carmen, Yuha, Stella, Juun, A-na, Ian and Ye-on, debuted in February 2025. Spotify says the group's monthly Spotify streams have grown nearly 20 times since then, and that it has earned more than 530 million streams in 2026 alone. The viral single “RUDE!” is its biggest track with more than 180 million streams. Buzzsetter lists the group's top 10 Spotify markets as the Philippines, Indonesia, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
“Our name represents a promise to connect with listeners through music that comes from the heart,” the group said in a statement. “Performing live with our fans right in front of us made that connection feel even more special. For anyone discovering Hearts2Hearts for the first time, we hope these performances inspire them to explore our music and get to know us better.”
The fan data behind the pick
According to Buzzsetter, all three CLOSER acts for 2026 are gaining monthly listeners faster than most Korean artists who debuted around the same time, appear in at least 10 times more fan-made playlists than a typical peer, and have grown followers more than twice as fast as listeners. Buzzsetter reads that as a sign that fans feel a real connection to these artists, doing more than just listening.
CLOSER joins a growing slate of Korea-focused programming on Spotify's newsroom, which also features NCT member JOHNNY's “Journey with Johnny” and a recap of Spotify House Seoul 2026 in Seongsu. For the wider industry, the series is another sign that streaming services want video and artist conversation inside the app, giving fans more reasons to watch, not just listen.