S.M. Entertainment’s livestreamed global music festival SM Town Live drew a record-breaking 35 million-plus viewers on New Year’s Day, the company said Saturday.

Viewers in 186 countries streamed the concert, featuring the likes of Taeyeon, Taemin, Red Velvet, NCT 127, SuperM and aespa.

Themed “culture humanity,” this year’s show was online only and free to watch on videostreaming platforms such as V Live, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.

Taeyeon said she’d learned to cherish spending time with people over the past year.

She also said while COVID-19 had made things tougher, non-face-to-face concerts had become a trend, making it possible for everyone around the world to enjoy SM Town Live.

During the opening speech, Lee Soo-man -- the chief producer and founder of one of South Korea’s biggest music agencies, S.M. Entertainment -- said the show was a “celebration of the humanity of S.M. fans” and told viewers to be kind, be humble and be the love.

The show also hinted that K-pop group SHINee might come out with new music this year.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)