By: Madelline Gastelo
Surrounded by sand dunes, tumbleweed, and a supposed government alien hiding place lies the city of Las Vegas, along the border of Nevada and California. Over the course of the 2nd and 3rd weekend of April, the great Las Vegas exodus began with people from all over the world making the great trek to the secluded desert city to see global sensation BTS.
It’s not everyday that one gets the opportunity to see global superstars live, so when an interesting turn of events left me in this predicament, it was clear what my answer had to be. The pop group from South Korea have turned into a global phenomenon over the last few years, with fans emerging from every crevice of the world. After being unable to perform due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the group has recently begun live performances again, and over the week of April 9, 2022 I found myself in Allegiant Stadium at a sold out show watching the seven boys perform.
As someone who is not a BTS fan, or ARMY, as they call themselves, I had the benefit of being on the outside looking in, and I was able to take in the experience in its entirety. Prior to attending the show, I was sure to do my research and I found myself attempting to listen to their entire discography, but with over 235 songs in the queue, I found myself overwhelmed and instead stuck to listening to their set list.
Preshow at Allegiant Stadium
In preparation for the show, I was told to buy a light stick and to learn the fan chants. Light sticks, or ARMY bombs, are small light sticks that light up and can be connected to your seat via bluetooth so that certain lights appear at certain times, which made for quite the sight throughout. Fan chants are chants of the members' names that were shouted during certain spaces in between certain songs. I kept these in mind, and did not realize the importance of both things until I was actually at the show.
The group, who banded together in 2010 and debuted in 2013, performed their show titled “Permission to Dance,” which included 32 of some of their more popular songs, three of which being their latest all-English singles. Seeing the grandeur of the performances made it very clear to understand why they have such a huge following. The group seems to not specialize in any specific genre, and with a broad variety of songs, there’s a little something for everyone. With seven different members, they all specialize in something, some of them rap more, others sing more, and others dance more. The combination of impressively coordinated dance routines and variation in music make for stunning pyrotechnics which has attracted a global audience and following.
Light sticks spell out "BTS"
Despite being a Korean group, the fans were abundant in diversity, with people ranging from every gender, age, race, and sexuality in attendance (the last part being clear when a sign reading “Bisexuals For Namjoon” appeared on screen). With this culture of fans seems to come with a sense of community. Prior to the show, I was approached by several different people, offering picture cards of the BTS members and packaged candies, while others offered purple hearts that I was instructed to raise throughout the show.
Of course, with having a huge fanbase there are always crazy fans, and this is true of BTS, with stories of crazy fans always circulating the internet. My experience with the other fans proved to be limited, and I did not encounter any sort of situation in which fans turned on me. One girl, however, I found crying behind one of the rows and I approached to make sure that she was alright. In her hands she had a double sided poster, one side saying “BTS ARMY SAVED MY LIFE” and the other saying, “PERMISSION TO CALL NAMJOON DADDY” (Namjoon being the name of a member of the group). She explained to me that other fans were “hating” on her for her poster, claiming the defense of the group member. To my surprise, though, this was the only moment of fan toxicity that I witnessed.
I came into the show deeply curious about the behaviors of fans and how I would be treated as a non-fan, but left with a deep respect and admiration for the group and their dedication to putting on an entertaining show. Due to technical difficulties, the show was delayed by 40 minutes, and the group began the performance by apologizing, and ensured that they would deliver the entirety of the show. A worldwide community has clearly been built by the group, and it was beyond exciting to see the phenomenon in person.
Jungkook at Permission To Dance
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