In the four years since BTS’s previous Las Vegas showing, both everything and nothing has changed. In the final moments of their last performance at Allegiant Stadium in April of 2022 on their “Permission to Dance Tour,” RM, the group’s leader, cut into the party-like send-off with a stunning gesture of humility and gratitude.
Before a crowd of thousands, he came to the kneeling position of keunjeol, the Korean traditional “full bow,” head as low as possible with hands placed in front. It’s a sign of profound respect and gratitude usually reserved for solemn moments and for many in attendance — uncertain of when they might see all seven members perform together again — it was incredibly moving.
But little did their dedicated ARMY fanbase know that at that moment, BTS was less than two months out from announcing an extended break from group activities.
Four years later, they are back in Las Vegas for another four sold-out dates at Allegiant. At Sunday’s (May 24th) show, the audience, while still largely female and age-diverse, had noticeably more male fans and more children in attendance. During BTS’s break as a group, there was a constant flow of pre-filmed and recorded content, solo releases and tours that kept the fanbase growing.
In contrast to 2022, the Vegas stop is part of a massive two-year tour (get tickets here) in support of their long-awaited comeback (and certified hit album) ARIRANG. The four-day run kicked off Saturday, with the two weekend gigs building anticipation for tonight’s (Monday, May 25th) American Music Awards, where the group will make a special appearance and are up for a handful of awards. They’ll then return Allegiant on Thursday the 28th and Friday the 29th before the tour briefly returns to South Korea in June for their yearly anniversary celebrations.
The “ARIRANG Tour” setlist spans 20 songs over a tightly-paced two-and-a-half hour run time, the new album played in its entirety with some tried and true hits and throwbacks sprinkled in. Sunday’s concert began, as always, right on time. A lone masked dancer ran out smoking flare in hand, quickly followed by others as the thumping opening strains of the hip-hop track “Hooligan,” penned in part by Spanish producer El Guincho (Björk, Rosalía), began.
BTS, photo courtesy of BIGHIT Music
RM, along with fellow rappers j-hope, and SUGA, and vocalists V, Jimin, Jin and Jungkook swaggered out clad in variations of black and plenty of leather, buckles zippers, and layered jewelry, looking like dark heroes ready to take on a dystopian world. It’s a stark contrast to the poppy, color-laden “Permission to Dance Tour,” and one of the first signals of a new era. Another one being the 360-degree rotating stage design, centering a massive set of screens, almost Brutalist in form. The set was inspired by the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion in Gyeongbokgung Palace, and is one of many traditional Korean touches in the set and lighting design.
The screens proved necessary to not only sell more seats, but ensure every audience member had an unobstructed view; BTS are less focused on this tour on the intricate choreography they are known for in favor of a looser structure. Which isn’t to say they are not capable of tight choreo these days. During “2.0,” they whipped into tight formation. Rather, the focus has shifted to movement that allows for more moments of spontaneity. The massive screens serve to capture every wink, every gesture, every smirk into the mic.
Around 25 or so backup dancers, equally divided between male and female and South Korean and American, formed a kind of Greek chorus of movement, enhancing the themes of each song and offering a minimalist offset to the big setpieces from previous tours.
Next came the stuttering “Mike WiLL Made It” producer tag intro to “Aliens.” The songs’ cutting lyrics underscore BTS’s dual status as a world-dominating cross-cultural force and as Korean outliers who broke into a Western market rife with barriers and stereotypes.
“Run BTS” the delightfully quirky hip-hop throwback off of 2022’s anthology album Proof was their first moment of power choreo in the set, followed by the slower, almost ominous “‘They Don’t Don’t Know ‘Bout Us.”
On the hit lead single “Swim” thousands of individual lightsticks called “ARMY bombs” synced with the lighting design of the show, turning a deep shade of blue as the members were revealed one by one during their vocal parts from under undulating “waves” of white fabric held by swaying dancers. The melancholy “Swim” signaled an introspective mood shift as the first act of the show concluded.
During their time apart, each member released solo work that, rather than pull them farther apart, enhanced group cohesion in ways both big and small. In what has become a favorite moment, in the latter half of the set, BTS rotated two “random” songs into the setlist, an idea that proved highly successful on powerhouse vocalist Jin’s solo tour last year (he spun a wheel to pick a song).
In BTS concerts, moments of rest are built in with either mini pre-filmed “movie” interludes called VCRs, member solo songs (there are none on this tour), or “ARMY Time.” During “ARMY Time,” fans become the eighth member. Appearing on the giant screens, they create a sea of lights with their twinkling handheld ARMY Bombs, they show off creative outfits, and hold up inside joke-laden signs. The signs serve as a request line for the random play songs; Sunday night’s winners were the trap-influenced “Black Swan” and the 2014 throwback hip-hop track “Spinebreaker.”
By the second act, the group had reappeared in casual grungy streetwear. Their styling emphasized texture down to their hair, with vocalist Jimin’s long blonde and braided locks creating a viral moment. Jimin, who released two albums during the group’s break, was one of the members who wasn’t able to go on a solo tour. And while the group dynamics were balanced, he was hitting his stride by turning an improvised dance solo during the second-act headbanger “FYA” into an unexpected moment of grace.
During their encore, BTS emerged from backstage dressed in variations of their tour merch ready for maximum shenanigans. Years ago, they performed variations of their biggest crossover hits — the all-English-language “Dynamite” and “Butter” — in feats of choreo that seemed to get more exacting with each performance. With nothing left to prove, and in an act of perhaps unintentional subversion, Jin, Jungook and V instead took turns laying down next to each other, vamping for each other and the fans.
BTS, photo courtesy of BIGHIT Music
The members, almost all in their early 30s, are more comfortable now with their sex symbol status. All hitting the gym of late, on this tour, usually someone tries to show someone else’s abs and this time it was V’s turn, but his bandmate was ultimately unsuccessful in pulling down the zipper of his hoodie.
During one of their “ments” — traditional breaks where the house lights come up and BTS takes turns addressing the audience — youngest member Jungkook announced that he will be reviving his beloved “Golden Closet Films” mini documentary series by releasing vlogs of each tour date starting in Vegas.
“Vegas is called Sin City,” said V, whose model-looks belie a quirky personality, adding, “You have to prove it to me tonight!” J-hope declared, “Vegas is officially ours.”
And he wasn’t joking. As thousands of fans exited the stadium, they were greeted by over 30 marquees all lit up in ARIRANG’s signature red, reading “Las Vegas Welcomes BTS.” The Welcome to Las Vegas sign, The High Roller Observation Wheel, and the Sphere were also in red. It was all part of the special “The City” experience, which also included photo ops, official after parties, food collaborations, and a special pop-up.
As for the show itself, “Body to Body” proved to be BTS’s new stadium anthem. Its pleading lyrics to have some “body to body” and calls to get the “whole stadium to jump” turn into a goose-bump-inducing chorus of the traditional Korean folk song the album and tour are named after — “Arirang.” At Sunday’s performance in Las Vegas, the audience joined in on the Korean lyrics.
In their Netflix documentary on the making of the album, centering the record on “Arirang” was a much debated move and one that could have failed spectacularly. But as is often the case with BTS, pop dominance on a massive scale somehow combines with intimate, deeply cultural elements in a way that often feels right. They simply do it like no one else can.
BTS 2026 North American Tour Dates:
05/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium [Buy Tickets]
05/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/01 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/02 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/05 – Foxborough, MA @ Gillette Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/06 – Foxborough, MA @ Gillette Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/10 – Baltimore, MD @ M&T Bank Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/11 – Baltimore, MD @ M&T Bank Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/15 – Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/16 – Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/22 – Toronto, ON @ Rogers Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/23 – Toronto, ON @ Rogers Stadium [Buy Tickets]
08/27 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field [Buy Tickets]
08/28 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field [Buy Tickets]
09/01 – Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium [Buy Tickets]
09/02 – Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium [Buy Tickets]
09/05 – Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium [Buy Tickets]
09/06 – Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium [Buy Tickets]
