Key of boy band SHINee and rookie girl group Hearts2Hearts, both under SM Entertainment, will take the stage at this year’s Rakuten GirlsAward festival, one of Japan’s leading fashion and music events, the artists’ agency said on Thursday.

This year’s spring edition of the biannual festival will take place on May 3 at Yoyogi 1st National Gymnasium in Tokyo.


Launched in 2010 under the slogan of "Shibuya to Asia, and the World,” the event is one of the largest fashion events in Japan, attracting an average attendance of 20,000 each time.

Having already performed at the fashion festival with fellow SHINee members in 2015, the upcoming show will mark Key's first performance at the event as a solo artist.

Hearts2Hearts, which debuted on Feb. 24, is expanding its presence in Japan, according to its agency. The girl group took the stage at the global music festival “The Performance,” which ran from March 28 to 30 in Yokohama.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]