While recently accepting the award for Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards, BTS’ leader RM (also known as Kim Namjoon to those familiar with the rapper and writer) had the following to say: “No one would have bet that we would be here tonight to receive this award — except for our ARMY.”
He’s not wrong. On paper, or even on video, 2013 BTS is a collection of definite underdogs. Eight years later, despite xenophobia, detractors, minimizers, and a global pandemic, the group has arrived at the top of the world, thanks to some really great music and an authentic commitment to kindness.
Few would have put money on BTS of yesteryear being where they are now. Some things just have to be seen to be believed.
That winding journey has now brought them here, to a four-night run of sold out shows at Los Angeles’ mammoth SoFi Stadium. The evening of December 1st kicked off the latter half of the brief residency which wraps tonight, December 2nd. This set of shows may be coming to an end, but it’s clear that BTS has only just begun their triumphant return to live performances.
This writer’s road to SoFi Stadium began in an airport parking lot 2,000 miles away at 4:45 a.m. These four dates offer BTS’ only live performances of 2021, and people are flocking from across the country — and even parts of the globe — for the chance to catch the act in person for the first time in nearly two years. From the parking lot to the airport gate to the lobby of the hotel in Los Angeles, a purple pilgrimage was underway.
BTS, Photo courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
It was reminiscent of a festival and the sort of crowds that descend on a city for events like Lollapalooza or Bonnaroo, where a quick glance is enough to confirm someone’s purpose in the city. What’s remarkable here is that one act managed to pull that kind of audience on its own.
RM made sure to mention the significance of the number three in South Korea, referring to it as a lucky number, while introducing the third show in this run. The set ran through stadium-ready bangers previously shelved by the pandemic (like the thunderous “ON” or the ‘90s-drenched “Dis-ease”) through the group’s foray into all-English tracks (smashes “Dynamite” and “Butter”) and a generous inclusion of some of their classics and greatest hits.
A fact both sad and admirable is that where many artists drop remixes they will never perform, BTS performs remixes they will never drop. HYBE, do us all a favor and share the revamped version of 2016’s “Fire.”
With a setlist of nearly 30 songs, picking standouts was a difficult task. There was a breathtaking moment early in the show, though, when the tender “Blue & Grey” cascaded into the symphonic “Black Swan.” The latter is a gut-wrenching track unpacking the perils of artistry (co-written by RM), and it’s Jimin, with his exceptional ballet and contemporary background, who consistently elevates performances of the track. Watching him embody the titular black swan while flanked by feathered background dancers was surreal.
Elsewhere, “Black Swan” was one of many moments that might help someone less familiar with BTS understand what makes this group so different. The song is risky in its moodiness,and was presented on stage closer to a piece of theater than a segment in a pop concert.
BTS, Photo courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
By the way, when BTS wants to go pop, they do it more than well. A live band supported the group for the middle third of the show, bringing a fresh sheen to well-loved tracks like “Boy With Luv.” Halsey, who featured on “Boy With Luv,” was in attendance at the December 1st show. Though Halsey did not join the group for a performance, after the camera caught the singer cheering along with a light stick in hand like the rest of the fans, their thoughts were summarized in a tweet after the show: “BTS are the coolest band in the world.”
PERMISSION TO DANCE: ON STAGE is different from BTS’ past tours in that all seven members were onstage for all the tracks. Historically, the group would include solo songs and sub-units (songs that only involve a few of the members) in the interest of giving the individual members a second to catch their breath. It seems like what was most important here, whether for the tender “Answer: Love Myself” or boisterous “Silver Spoon,” was having the chance to all be together onstage before their fans again.
