BTS returns with comeback concert in Seoul after hiatus

South Korean megastars BTS reunited for their first show in nearly four years in front of enormous crowds in Seoul for a K-pop extravaganza livestreamed to millions more worldwide.

Widely lauded as the biggest boy band in the world, BTS went on hiatus in 2022 so the seven members of the band - RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook - could complete compulsory military service.

The performance at Gwanghwamun Square launches a months-long global tour spanning dozens of shows across the US, Europe and Asia.

The concert special, which was broadcast live around the world on Netflix, had been highly anticipated.

While only 22,000 received the 'Golden Ticket' to attend, the event was expected to attract as many as 260,000 fans, making it the largest-ever public concert in South Korea.

"It's been a long journey but now we are finally here!" said BTS's leader RM to huge cheers as the group performed songs from their new album, as well as old hits Dynamite and Mikrokosmos.

"We are finally here and seeing you again... All seven of us standing on the stage together makes me so happy," said fellow member Jimin.

"BTS 2.0 is just getting started," said J-Hope.

The free concert comes a day after the group released its fifth album, ARIRANG, which takes its name from a folk song. It is often dubbed South Korea's unofficial national anthem.

Featuring collaborations with multiple Western artists and producers, the 14 tracks on the album mix rap, heavy beats and experimentation.

"Compared to their earlier work, there's a wider range of genres, which gives it a more mature and expansive feel," Lee Ji-young, a university professor, told AFP.

The show preceded a world tour set to be a major money-spinner for BTS, potentially outdoing Taylor Swift's recent Eras Tour, and for South Korea thanks to tourism and sales of merchandise from BTS dolls to toothbrushes and cans of tuna.

Starting in Goyang, South Korea on 9 April and ending in the Philippines eleven months later, BTS's tour encompasses 82 shows in 34 cities in 23 countries, including around 30 shows in North America.

Source: AFP