At 7:30 on the dot, seven young Korean men stepped out on the grand stage of the Sofi Stadium in LA to the cheers of over 70,000 fans; in between the screams of those adoring fans, you could hear my loud voice screaming “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God! It’s them!” Yes, I had the opportunity to witness the phenomenon that is BTS.

The globally famous k-pop group, BTS, presented themselves at the Sofi Stadium in LA for four consecutive days of shows. And I was invited to attend the very first day, and let me tell you I have never seen a bigger and more diverse group of people conglomerated together. I met and saw people of all ethnicities, races, and ages, from an 80-year-old woman to a 7-year-old holding the group’s merchandise; it showed how their music has crossed many barriers and has brought people together. Yet a question many people have had, including me, is how this group of seven–RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook– has reached the attention and adoration of so many around the world? I could explain it myself but I found someone, a well known fan of the group, who did it better than I ever could:

“I love what this band has done because they are this massively popular thing, and they have been so globally popular for so long…So, I got interested in their music, and then I got interested in what the music stood for. And they advocate self-love. They advocate don’t be afraid of failure. They advocate that you are enough. They kind of are trying to shatter all the stereotypical difficulties and uncomfortable situations that we go through, and they are catering to an audience that is living that–young people. So that’s why they’re so popular around the world. One, they’re great performers, but it’s the message they send–it resonates with the people,” John Cena answered in an interview with Jimmy Fallon in 2020, the first time since the pandemic started. 

Although the group has been around for so long, the pandemic proved to be an important moment of innovation yet struggle. They began to reach millions with music like “Dynamite,” an upbeat and groovy English song to cheer up their audiences, and songs like “Life Goes On” that are more emotional to comfort those going through difficult times, as many did in 2020. Even amidst many obstacles, those two years proved to be fundamental to BTS’s evolution, and now they were able to come back once more on stage after all that time.

“I hope you can enjoy this concert together with us, and really let go and release some of the sadness and depressing thoughts that have been weighing down the past few years,” J-Hope said in a press conference the group had after the first day of concerts. V added earlier, “We hope we can impart some very positive energy to ARMY.”

As the concert begins, an introductory video plays on a giant LED screen behind the stage where the 70,000+ attendees could watch from all corners of the stadium as BTS presents themselves in jail cells and being set free. This was a reference to how they are free from the confinements of the pandemic and no longer need permission, highlighting the name of their song and headlining tours “BTS’s Permission to Dance On Stage.” With this, they initiated their two-hour-long concert filled with first-time performances of songs like “ON” and “Black Swan,” which have been worldwide hits. Yet we didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes; let’s say that after two years of not seeing their fans, nerves came in.

“Before we started our first song ‘ON,’ the thing all of us really said was, ‘I think I’m going to cry.’ So we were very nervous, and because we have been away from live performances, we were really afraid to make a mistake. That also made us practice that much harder and that much longer to make sure we don’t… nobody actually cried though.”, said Jin at their press conference.

 “Seeing the stadium filled with all the fans yesterday got me emotional beyond words,” leader RM said during the press conference. “As artists [who] started out in Korea, the limitations of our identity, language, genre, invisible walls, we felt like they really existed. But every moment, we tried to give our best to every show, every performance, [all] the music, all of our hearts, and I think those small moments truly made today’s miracle for us. Going back on tour, seeing all the fans really makes us feel like this really is the beginning of our new chapter.”

Hopefully, this new chapter includes more concerts down the line all over the world, as they have constantly been hinting. Moreover, what I discovered throughout the show was that this concert wasn’t only a concert; it was a celebration of life, health, and connection. To make this celebration stellar, they went above and beyond with their precise dance moves, beautiful singing, impressive production, and overall constant interaction with their audience. They promoted the BTS Army to purchase a lightstick called Army Bomb, which you could connect with Bluetooth to the concert, so every light enhanced each performance with varying colors and went according to the song’s rhythm. Every light made BTS and the audience feel more connected as each light represented every fan. Although I will admit, my arms were sore the next day from recording with one hand and the other holding the lightstick,  I couldn’t help it; I wanted to enjoy every moment.

 They continuously professed their gratitude and love for the fans throughout the event. “I’m so happy to be here with you. It was so fun to be singing and dancing with Army!” said J-Hope. “From now on, let’s always stay together,” added Jimin.

Whether it’s speaking at the United Nations, winning three AMA awards, including ‘Artist of the Year,’,or receiving their second Grammy nomination, they prove once again to be a symbol for breaking barriers and a voice for the people to advocate moving and important messages.

As the show was ending, they sang  “We Are Bulletproof; The Eternal,” a song that samples one of their debut songs from back in 2013 and describes the story of their rise to fame. One line stuck out to me from that song as the audience sang along: “We are not seven, with you.”

The seven finally delivered their closing statements, “…About halfway through our queue sheet, I began to realize that this is reality. I saw you dancing and singing, and I thought, ‘this is my job! This is what I do! And finally, we are where we should be!’” Suga said, and we couldn’t agree more.

This is definitely the beginning of something new that is going to take the world by storm, and I can’t wait to witness it.