BTS Goyang review online

BTS’s opening Goyang shows have become the first big test of the group’s live return, with NME scoring the April 11 concert 4.5 out of 5. (nme.com) NME’s review, published April 12, said the seven-member group used a 360-degree stage, traditional Korean visual motifs and songs from the new album “ARIRANG” to frame the concert as a new chapter rather than a nostalgia run. (nme.com) The Goyang residency opened the “ARIRANG” world tour with concerts on April 9, April 11 and April 12 at Goyang Stadium, and Weverse sold online livestream access for all three dates plus delayed replays on April 18 and April 19. (concerts.weverse.io) Night one on April 9 introduced a 23-song set that mixed new tracks including “Hooligan,” “Aliens,” “they don’t know ’bout us,” “Merry Go Round,” “Come Over,” “Please” and “Into the Sun” with older songs including “FAKE LOVE,” “MIC Drop,” “Butter,” “Dynamite” and “I Need U.” (nme.com) The Goyang concerts are the start of BTS’s first world tour in nearly seven years, according to NME’s review of the April 11 show. Reuters reported before opening night that the tour followed the group’s comeback run after military service and a new single that had already topped rankings worldwide. (nme.com) (msn.com) Big Hit Music described “ARIRANG” as the largest concert tour by a Korean act, and The Korea Times reported on April 9 that the schedule was set to span 85 shows across 34 cities, with all 46 initially announced dates sold out. (koreatimes.co.kr) That scale has already pushed the Goyang shows beyond the stadium. Reuters reported on April 11 that fans who could not travel to South Korea gathered at an AMC theater in Los Angeles for a cinema screening of the concert, with another screening tied to the Tokyo stop on April 18. (usnews.com) NME’s review of the April 11 date said BTS cut back on some familiar K-pop concert devices, including fan-service routines and elaborate video interludes, and replaced them with a calmer introduction built around Korean calligraphy-style imagery and traditional music. (nme.com) The immediate question after Goyang is whether the same format holds as the tour leaves South Korea. For now, the review and the rollout point in the same direction: BTS used Goyang to present “ARIRANG” as a stadium-scale relaunch, not a reunion lap. (nme.com) (koreatimes.co.kr)