The News, Explained
Spotify announced CLOSER on October 16, 2026, introducing a video series that pairs Korean artists’ performances with conversation. Hearts2Hearts is its first featured artist. The videos were filmed at the group’s Spotify CLOSER show in Seoul, bringing performances from that event and a recorded conversation to Spotify. Source
Three performances, plus a conversation
The first videos include the debut live performances of “ICONIC HEART (Korean Version)” and “Baby Steps.” The Korean-version qualifier is part of the former track’s name. The group also performs a special acoustic version of “Butterflies,” an arrangement centered on instruments’ natural sound. Those distinctions identify which performance version a listener is looking for. Source
The accompanying talk session was recorded at the same event. CLOSER combines the stage performance with artists discussing their music, creative world and stories beyond the stage. That provides both a performance to watch and a conversation about the people making the music. Spotify’s announcement links to the CLOSER playlist and the talk session. Source
The forthcoming lineup
Spotify says videos featuring ALLDAY PROJECT, LNGSHOT and more are coming soon. It gives no individual release dates for those follow-ups. Separating the Hearts2Hearts videos described in this announcement from the forthcoming lineup makes the series’ current scope easier to follow. Source
OYOPICK’s Take
The promising part of CLOSER is the pairing of performance and conversation. Its opening videos bring together two songs’ first live performances and an acoustic arrangement of another. For someone discovering the artist, that could offer a sense of how the songs are presented on stage as well as how they sound. For an existing fan, the talk offers a separate layer of commentary from the creators.
We hope later videos give each artist’s musical character and creative story room to emerge. A longer announced lineup and an experience that helps listeners discover unfamiliar music depend on different things: the latter rests on what the released videos actually show. We would judge CLOSER less by the number of featured artists than by how specifically its performances and conversations introduce them.