K-pop megastars BTS kicked off their world tour, riding the momentum of a chart-topping comeback album and a landmark performance in the heart of Seoul.
The seven-member group – widely regarded as the world’s biggest boy band – took to the stage together for the first time last month following a years-long hiatus prompted by mandatory military service, and after releasing their latest album Arirang.
The performance, on the doorstep of the historic Gyeongbokgung Palace, drew more than 100,000 fans to central Seoul, the group’s label said, while its Netflix livestream attracted an estimated 18.4 million viewers worldwide, according to the streaming giant.
Spanning 85 shows in 34 cities worldwide, the highly anticipated tour – starting in BTS leader RM’s hometown, Goyang, yesterday – is set to be a major money-spinner for BTS, potentially outdoing Taylor Swift’s recent Eras Tour, according to analysts.
The cities include Tokyo, Manila, Toronto and Buenos Aires, and marks the highest number of shows for a single tour by any South Korean artist, according to the group’s label.
“We all agreed that the most important thing for a singer is a concert,” member Jin said in a statement released hours ahead of the concert.
Their latest album Arirang – also name of the tour – is billed as reflecting the maturing boy band’s Korean identity.
It is named after the traditional Korean folk song about longing and separation, often dubbed South Korea’s unofficial national anthem.
Goyang, about 16km northwest of Seoul, has turned into a purple-lit celebration zone ahead of the concert, with landmarks such as Ilsan Lake Park lit up nightly in tribute to BTS and their global fanbase, known as ARMY.
Despite the rain, fans, many dressed in purple – the colour symbolising ARMY, the fandom – waited outside the venue.
Many K-pop boy bands have faced career downturns after completing mandatory military service, in a fiercely competitive industry where momentum is hard to regain.
But BTS are proving that is not going to be the case for them, said American sociologist Sam Richards, a professor at Pennsylvania State University.
“This is extremely significant for the future of K-culture and the nation of Korea because it means that unprecedented growth in soft power will continue,” he said. — AFP
