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K-pop and a kid guitarist ruled the Olympics closing ceremony

Athletes bid farewell to Pyeongchang in spectacular fashion.

Chloe Bryan

on February 25, 2018

K-pop and a kid guitarist ruled the Olympics closing ceremony

EXO rocks the closing ceremeny of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Credit: maddie meyer / Getty Images

Athletes bid farewell to Pyeongchang on Sunday at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

But among the usual speeches, rituals, and parades, K-pop and a kid guitarist came out on top. Or they were the crowd-pleasers, anyway -- the closing ceremony is blessedly free of competition.

13-year-old guitarist Yang Tae-hwan played a variation on "Winter" from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons as part of a celebration of "hallyu" -- a term used to describe the "Korean wave" of ubiquity that Korean popular culture has achieved over the past several decades.

Korean musician Yang Tae-hwan, a star, performs during the closing ceremony. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

The performance was delightful, and he was wearing a big turtleneck, so the internet loved him. Naturally.

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Then, of course, there were the K-pop stars. The singer and rapper CL performed a track called "The Baddest Female," which contains the lyric "Not bad meaning 'bad', but bad meaning 'good,' you know?" and is my new favorite song.

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You know? Credit: Getty Images

CL. Credit: Getty Images

And then there was the superstar group EXO, who closed out the program. In case you were wondering how excited people were about their appearance, fans live-tweeted the entire ceremony with the hashtag #Olympics_EXO -- even if EXO was nowhere near the stage.

They appear to have delivered the goods.