03 December 2021
Newsdesk
21st century pop icons BTS wrapped up their four shows (November 27, 28 and December 1, 2) of ‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE - LA’ tour. The LA tour marks the act’s first offline concert in two years, since the 2019 BTS WORLD TOUR ‘LOVE YOURSELF: SPEAK YOURSELF’ [THE FINAL] held in Seoul in October 2019.
The total number of audience including concertgoers at SoFi Stadium, viewers who watched the online live streaming of the last show (Dec 2), as well as fans who viewed the real-time live screening event at a nearby venue in LA (‘LIVE PLAY in LA’) summed to approximately 813,000.
‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE - LA’ opened with a powerful performance of “ON.” The septet then went on to perform 24 of some of their greatest hits including “Burning Up (FIRE),” “DOPE,” “DNA,” “Black Swan,” “Blood Sweat & Tears,” “Life Goes On,” “Dynamite,” “IDOL,” “Butter,” and “Permission to Dance.” Setlist variations between the different show dates were also made with “We are Bulletproof : the Eternal,” “I’m Fine,” “HOME,” and “Mikrokosmos” added into certain days.
Notably, the tour in LA consisted entirely of all-seven-member stages without any solo performances, and deliberately selected fan-favorite songs to celebrate the band’s long-awaited return to an offline concert stage.
The shows ended with BTS’ most recent release “Permission to Dance” delivering the message that no permission is needed to dance to your heart’s content. The ARMY BOMB, BTS’ official lightstick, connected fans all around the world with the band.
‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE - LA’ was full of surprises, offering various fun and interactive elements for the audience to enjoy throughout all four nights. Megan Thee Stallion appeared as a special guest at the second show (Nov 28) to perform the remix version of “Butter” with BTS while Coldplay's Chris Martin who collaborated with BTS on the chart-topping “My Universe” also made a surprise appearance on the last day to join the septet for a performance.
The seven members expressed their sincere feelings and thoughts leading up to their return to offline performances: “While preparing, we worried a lot about whether we’d do well or not.” Expressing their appreciation for their fans the band added, “We can’t express how much it means to us to be able to meet our fans in one place like this.”
At the end of the show, BTS revealed that the next concert would be held in Seoul in March 2022.