From JJ Lin to Kim Kardashian: All the music and celebrity buzz you missed at Singapore Grand Prix 2026

Here are the entertainment highlights of this year’s Singapore Grand Prix.

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12 Oct 2026 11:10AM

PSI, who? It was clear that the haze did not dampen the festivities at the F1 Singapore Grand Prix 2026 – for most people, at least.

From lively performances across all three days to surprise celebrity appearances at the paddock and beyond the Marina Bay Street Circuit, this year’s Grand Prix was one for the books.

Here’s a look at this year’s entertainment highlights.

THE MUSIC AND PERFORMANCES

Before K-pop boy group Cortis kicked off the festivities at Padang Stage on Friday (Oct 9), drama was already brewing on the ground, with social media reports alleging that some fans had littered the area and behaved unruly towards security personnel.

Regardless, the quintet themselves staged one of the best performances this Grand Prix, with their spirited personalities and catchy songs, like RedRed and Fashion, proving infectious. A remarkable feat considering it’s Cortis’ first-ever Singapore show.

Homegrown star JJ Lin capped off the first day’s festivities on a high with crowd-pleasing numbers like If Only and Careful With Fate, the theme song of the hit C-drama Pursuit Of Jade.

While the haze seemed to have no effect on the music acts across all three days, it did take a toll on our entertainment journalist who ended up missing most of Day 2’s performances, save one: The Killers.

And boy was it worth it.

Despite being drenched in sweat, courtesy of the humidity, vocalist Brandon Flowers gave his all as he brought millennials in the crowd on a journey to the good old days with evergreen hits like Human, Read My Mind and Mr Brightside.

The fact that every member of The Killers delivered a brilliant performance makes it all the more puzzling that the band has yet to stage a standalone concert in Singapore in their more than 20 years together.

Clearly, the demand is there, judging by the size of the crowds singing along to their anthems.

Speaking of icons, the final day of the three-day-long festivities saw Janet Jackson and Lana Del Rey closing out the Wharf Stage and Padang Stage, respectively.

Jackson was still smoothly executing the choreography to her evergreen hits like All Nite (Don’t Stop) and Feedback.

One of the biggest crowd reactions of the weekend came when she launched into Scream, her iconic collaboration with her late brother, the King Of Pop, Michael Jackson, as its music video played.

Lana Del Rey may have taken the stage about 20 minutes late, but she made up for it with the weekend’s most visually striking set. With extravagant set pieces, including a cottage and a giant swing, complementing her signature melancholic vocals, her performance was a masterclass by every metric as she breezed through her signature hits like Summertime Sadness and Born To Die.

While the set may have been Lana Del Rey’s first-ever Singapore show, it should hopefully convince her to stage a concert in the city – given the huge applause and cheers throughout the hour.

STAR POWER OFF THE RACE TRACK

At this point, it might have been easier to name the celebrities who weren't in Singapore over the Grand Prix weekend.

From the F1 paddock to brand events and pop-ups around town, the city was packed with familiar faces from the worlds of music, film, fashion and sport.

Some of the weekend's performers even found time to enjoy Singapore beyond the stage. The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers shared a photo of himself tucking into mee goreng at an open-air hawker centre – in the same sweltering weather that had him sweating buckets during the band's Saturday night set.

Swedish pop star Zara Larsson, meanwhile, appeared to have found a new favourite Singapore snack. She shared her enthusiasm for salted egg fish skin from local brands Irvins and The Golden Duck Co, stocking up on several bags before leaving the country.

Homegrown Mandopop star JJ Lin, who headlined Friday's Padang Stage concert, was also spotted enjoying the race weekend with his mother and girlfriend, Chinese influencer Annalisa Qi Qi.

K-pop fans had plenty of famous faces to look out for, too. 2NE1's Sandara Park attended the Reserve party and posed with drivers Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad. 

Stray Kids members Bang Chan and Felix attended separate engagements involving Aston Martin and Ferrari respectively, Got7’s BamBam was a guest for the Adidas Thailand x Mercedes-AMG Petronas collaboration, while Shinee's Minho squeezed in a 10km run around Sentosa despite Singapore's humidity.

"It's definitely humid. Sweat is pouring down. A solid jog," Minho wrote in Korean after sharing his run on Instagram.

Other K-pop stars in town included members of girl group Meovv, Ive's Jang Wonyoung, Twice's Tzuyu and CNBlue's Jung Yong-hwa.

The guest list also included South Korean actor Jung Hae-in, Chinese actor Gong Jun and Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao, who attended the Marina Bay Street Circuit with his wife, Summer Lin, as a guest of luxury watchmaker Richard Mille.

The star power wasn't limited to entertainment.

French footballer and World Cup winner Paul Pogba was in town as a Mercedes guest, while former NBA stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul also joined the festivities. Model Romeo Beckham, son of David and Victoria Beckham, attended as an F1 guest, while Chinese Olympic freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu was spotted with the race trophy on Sunday.

Gu also made time to check out the race ahead of her speaking engagement at Singapore Management University on Monday as part of the second KFF Inspiring Women Leadership Series.

AND THEN THERE WAS KIM KARDASHIAN

Arguably, the biggest non-sporting celeb in the circuit was American socialite-businesswoman Kim Kardashian, who flew in to support her boyfriend, Lewis Hamilton, who races for Ferrari.

Before the race, Kardashian was also spotted at Marina Bay Sands, where she visited Hamilton's pop-up store for his lifestyle brand.

She spent the race weekend in the Ferrari garage and paddock, cheering on Hamilton, who finished second in the Saturday sprint race and sixth in the main Grand Prix.

Clearly, the race track wasn't the only platform drawing attention over the weekend.