K-pop boy band Seventeen make Glastonbury history

Boy band behemoth Seventeen have made history at the Glastonbury Festival, by becoming the first K-pop group to play the main Pyramid Stage.

Pouring onto the stage on Friday afternoon, the 13-piece group delivered an hour of precision choreography and sticky pop melodies to an audience of diehard fans and curious onlookers.

"We are just extremely honoured to be here," they said.

"Even though the language, country and culture are all different, we can still connect as one, through music."

Seventeen were the biggest-selling group in the world last year, shifting more than 10 million albums – but they only scored their first Top 40 single in the UK last month.

Mindful of that, they put together a setlist that focused on their most immediate and accessible songs.

They opened with their big hit, Maestro, which mixes honeyed vocals and fast-paced rapping with choppy piano riffs and unexpected rhythmical switch-ups.

It's one of their most ambitious tracks - but it was the songs with guitar riffs and easily-chanted English lyrics that fared best - among them, the rap-heavy track Lalali, the rocky 2 Minus 1, and the sinagalong anthem Hot.

"Have you heard of Seventeen before," asked band leader S Coups at one point. "So many members, right?"

The clever staging allowed all 13 members to shine. The group splits into smaller "sub-units" based on their rap, vocal and dancing prowess – with each given a solo spot.

Seungkwan and band leader S Coups were the most exuberant, riling up the crowd during and between songs, while Woozi’s airy vocals were juxtaposed with Vernon and Joshua’s more soulful tones.