BTS are once again appearing on the world stage, and their most recent tour shows that their global influence has not diminished.
On August 10 the seven-member South Korean group concluded its large-scale Arirang World Tour in Baltimore by giving a performance before over 70,000 fans at M&T Bank Stadium. The audience included not only young children who were attending their first concert but also long-time fans who have supported BTS for years, demonstrating just how broad the group’s appeal has become.
The Arirang World Tour is BTS’s first big tour after the group had taken a three-year break while the members carried out their compulsory military service in South Korea; Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook are now back with a production aimed at stadium-sized audiences.
The tour is named after Arirang, BTS’ most recent studio album, which came out in March. The North American leg consists of 31 dates in 12 cities and ends with four sold-out concerts at SoFi Stadium in September. After that, the global tour will move on to South America, Australia and some other countries until it reaches March.
The concert in Baltimore clearly shows the reason why BTS is still one of the biggest groups in the world.
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The show began with the song ‘Hooligan’, this being followed by fireworks and a large stage that extended 360 degrees and was surrounded by massive video screens. At different times, about 50 dancers joined the seven members, thus producing continually changing arrangements over the vast performance area.
The show also featured a number of costume changes, video inserts, sophisticated lighting and pyrotechnics, with the performers moving around four catwalks that extended from the corners of the stage so that fans all over the stadium could see them closely on the large screens.
BTS also made use of the stage to show off its Korean background; the four ramps were based on the Geon-gon-gam-ri, which are the four black trigrams on the South Korean national flag, and the stage floor had further visual features related to the flag.
The cultural references were an important element of the programme, but the most significant link was the relationship between BTS and its fans.
During the performance the members alternated between singing and rapping, performing songs such as “They Don’t Know ‘Bout Us” and “Merry Go Round”; the ones that achieved greatest international success, for example “Butter” and “Dynamite”, caused some of the most enthusiastic reactions of the evening.
The energy then rose as a result of the performances of “Mic Drop”, “FYA” and “Fire”, with flashing lights, choreography and bursts of pyrotechnics.
They also sang ‘Idol’, turning the stadium into a huge sing-along as the members moved about the venue with dancers and security staff around them.
What gives a BTS concert its special character is not just the size of the production but the feeling of community among the audience.
Fans from all different generations, countries, and backgrounds came together to share the same experience. It made no difference whether a person was wearing a customized BTS jersey, had the name of their favourite member written on it, or was just wearing jeans and sneakers, since the atmosphere was always welcoming.
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BTS has already overcome many major barriers in the global music industry; the group was the first Korean act to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with Love Yourself: Tear in 2018 and also became the first K-pop group to receive a Grammy nomination.
The group has likewise managed to draw in huge crowds at stadiums all over the world, including over 130,000 fans at two concerts held at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It seems that BTS have come back together after having been apart on tour and still have the connection which made it a global phenomenon.
The Arirang World Tour is larger, noisier and more ambitious than ever before, but its most important feature might in fact be far simpler: it has seven performers who are still able to make tens of thousands of people feel as though they are part of something together.
For BTS and its millions of fans the message coming from Baltimore was clear: the group is back and, for the time being, it is very difficult to stop.
