As the lights in the venue dimmed the screams from the fans only became louder. The stage was lit only enough to see the seven situates that the thousands of fans that had gathered at the Prudential Center recognized as the Bangtan Boys, better known as BTS.
As the curtains raised and the seven men were revealed the fans only scream louder, cheering them on as they began to sing the first of almost 30 songs.
The fans had been waiting for hours, and they were not going to stop cheering for the next two hours that the concert lasted.
BTS is a Korean pop group (K-pop) in a world of many others, but their international fan base is thought to be one of the biggest in the industry. Thousands of fans from across the country and even outside, showed up to support the group for their Western leg of their world tour, selling approximately 60,000 tickets, according to BigHit Entertaininment, BTS’ managing company.
In Newark, NJ some of the fans had been waiting at the venue since the early morning, even setting up tents and staying overnight to make sure to be as close to the stage as possible.
“Their talent is unreal” said Rachel Spetz, 21, who had been waiting on the venue line since 8 AM, “Performing that choreography with said song every time it’s performed. To me it’s amazing, they need athleticism, they need coordination, they need to strengthen their lungs, it’s just everything.” Spetz has been a fan of kpop for six years, and of BTS since their debut in 2013.
As with all other kpop groups BTS do not only sing, they also dance and interact with fans. Outside the stage kpop idols also attend talk shows, act in soap operas, attend fan meetings, and keep up with their music careers.
While most kpop groups’ popularity thrives mainly in South Korea, BTS has reached international charts with their last two releases ‘Wings’ and ‘You Never Walk Alone’, which made it to rank 61 and 26 respectively in the Billboard 200 chart. They’ve had two world tours which included the United States, both of which have sold out in under a day.
“BTS is not turning into mainstream music in America,” commented Rei Tran, 22, who went to New Jersey from California to attend the concert “They have their own style. Which is really choreographed.”
In the next two weeks BTS will finish their world tour in America and take a break before completing their tour completely in Asia and spreading the next generation of kpop across the world.