kicked off in a way no one expected. It was a sight to behold, as heaven literally opened up to pour wishes upon the boy band, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, who returned to a stadium stage after nearly 3.5 years.
Despite heavy rains, the septet and ARMYs kept spirits soaring. Putting curtains up on its estimated to be wort h $1 billion, spanning over 34 cities across 23 countries and 85 shows, what’s in store for fans is possibly the biggest music concert seen in K-pop. The OT7 fought the pouring rains, singing, rapping, and dancing in complete sync and ensuring everyone who thronged the sold-out stadium went home happy. Adding to the electrifying air was the screaming ARMYs with purple-red lightsticks, who sang in unison, often echoing fanchants and giving the much-needed support to their favourite idols.
BTS opened the show with ‘Keep Swimming’
With “Keep Swimming” as the core emotion of the entire ARIRANG, the world tour followed suit. BTS started the show by bringing its latest tracks from ARIRANG to the forefront. Hooligan, SWIM, Aliens, 2.0, Please, they don’t know ’bout us, Like Animals, Body to Body, they did not leave out any.
When the group turned the mic towards the audience in the Arirang portion of Body to Body, in the backdrop of fireworks, the entire stadium matching the tune was a goosebump-inducing moment. Fans couldn’t thank BTS enough for live performing the “hidden track” Come Over for the first time with Suga leading the group.
From new releases to classics
The band also belted out classics like Dynamite and, Fake Love. It was, however, a remixed version of Run BTS, and an unexpected mashup of FYA x Burning Up (Fire), apart from the incredibly synced Mic Drop that stood out. J-Hope’s rap portions during every act became its high point, though.
V, Jimin, Jungkook’s Maknae shenanigans
V aka Kim Taehyung, also enacted a swimming movement on the puddle of water that had accumulated on stage. The show saw similar adorable moments, including Jimin drying V’s hair with a towel, along with Jungkook holding and manoeuvring the jimmy jib camera during the performance. V and Jimin had more for the fans when they did an impromptu gig on I Need U. When Jungkook removed a broken eyelash on V’s face, the stadium was left screaming, leaving the two maknaes of BTS giggling.
BTS’s labelmate TXT was also seen in the audience at the concert. The show lasted about 3 hours and had a total of at least 24 tracks. This marked the end of Day 1 at Goyang.
ARMYs thank BTS for a lifetime memory
ARMYs flooded social media with live videos from the concert. The entire show was also live-streamed for subscribed users on Weverse. A fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Thank you @BTS_twt for giving your all on Day 1 of the BTS WORLD TOUR ARIRANG Despite the heavy rain, you still shined so bright. And to all ARMYs who sang along, hope you enjoyed every moment of the first day!”
Another fan expressed, “The first ARIRANG concert in Goyang is done and I still can’t believe it… even in the rain they gave their best, I’m so proud of them, hope BTS and ARMYs don’t catch a cold and stay safe!! I couldn’t watch live but was happy for those who did.”
BTS will return to perform two more days, on April 11 and April 12. It will next move to Tokyo on April 17-18, and then begin the US leg from Tampa on April 25-16, and April 28.