By Jae-Ha Kim
Variety
May 5, 2019
It has been a good week for BTS. On Wednesday (May 1), the South Korean group won two awards at the Billboard Music Awards (for top duo or group and best social artist). On Saturday (May 4), the septet kicked off its global “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” stadium tour at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. They will play the second of two consecutive sold-out nights on Sunday. Their tour also includes upcoming dates at Chicago’s Soldier Field, East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium and London’s Wembley Stadium.
Prior to the kickoff, group leader RM told radio.com the group had some surprises for fans. “Since it’s a worldwide stadium tour, I think we [should] do something [with] bigger skills,” he said. “We should [have] new details for the new tour.”
He wasn’t speaking metaphorically when he referred to bigger. The nearly three-hour concert opened with the group clad in white, flanked by a pair of giant panthers as they performed their first song, “Dionysus.” Later, Jungkook floated above the crowd as he sang “Euphoria,” Jimin appeared out of nowhere inside a transparent bubble for “Serendipity” and various group members took turns racing down a ginormous bounce house slide during “Anpanman.”
There were fireworks, giant holographic hearts and a sea of fan-held glowing light sticks, swaying in time to the music throughout the night. And each member — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook — got a turn to shine in solos designed to highlight their individuality.
Early on in the show, V said, “Rose Bowl make some noise!” The enthusiastic crowd didn’t need to be told twice. The Jonas Brothers’ Nick Jonas was among the 60,000 concertgoers in attendance and he shared a few videos throughout the evening.
Nick Jonas IG story update from the Rosebowl concert (1)#SpeakYourselfTour #BTSAtRoseBowl @BTS_twt pic.twitter.com/YETt1q5KNv
— Bangtan_India (인도 아미) 🇮🇳 (@bangtan_india) May 5, 2019
As they were nearing the end of their concert, eldest member Jin said, “Thank you for making happy memories.”
V said, “Yesterday I was nervous. This morning I was nervous. Now I am happy.”
And RM summed up the group’s feelings when he said, “This is the most important night of my life. … Many years later, I’ll definitely think about this night.”
BTS’ set list tends to be representative of their musical progression. This concert was no exception. The Rose Bowl is the group’s first concert since the April 12 release of “Map of the Soul: Persona” – the third of BTS’ albums to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in less than 11 months.
Rose Bowl Set List:
1. “Dionysus”
2. “Not Today”
3. “Outro: Wings”
4. “Trivia: Just Dance”
5. “Euphoria”
6. “Best of Me”
7. “Serendipity”
8. “Trivia: Love”
9. “Boy With Luv”
10. “Dope”
11. “Baepsae”
12. “Fire”
13. “Idol”
14. “Singularity”
15. “Fake Love”
16. “Trivia: Seesaw”
17. “Epiphany”
18. “Truth Untold”
19. “Outro: Tear”
20. “Mic Drop”
21. “Anpanman”
22. “So What”
23. “Make It Right”
24. “Mikrokosmos”
BTS Tour Kickoff Brings the Noise to the Rose Bowl https://t.co/3RJe98MWnI pic.twitter.com/TEQnBNBqWV
— Variety_Music (@Variety_Music) May 5, 2019
This is such an amazing article. Thank you so much for bringing up the highlights and the feelings of the members themselves.
i am from the philippines and in my late 50s. But what the heck! I am really thankful that through your article we could have a glimpse of what is going on inside Rose Bowl.
Always good quality articles as expected for you Jae thank you 💜
It was amazing and i just saw Some videos but
I can feel the vibe and good energy of the crow and my boys in stage doing what they most dream and love, be one whit ARMY .
They are the universe legends Amry loves them and always support them. When they smile we smile when they cry we also cry they mean the whole damm universe to army BTS💜ARMY
BTS brought MUSIC, ENERGY and 60K FANS to Rose Bowl.
I was honored to have escorted my 11 year old daughter to the concert at the Rose Bowl on the 4th! The crowd was amazing and so enthusiastic before the concert began! The members did not disappoint and gave an awesome performance! BTS has definitely risen to the top and many blessings to them!