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This 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats is about America’s obsession with art and shopping at the turn of the millennium. But it could just as easily be about K-pop Difficult industries, grinding to do after work to see what is attached (sometimes with a lack of attention to art or artists). The film culminates with a sleazy company that sells branded headphones that broadcast subliminal marketing messages directly into the brains of fans.
It’s the kind of film that comes to mind when you watch BTS play their first UK concert in seven years, a spectacular display of pyro and visuals, and a pure meltdown that makes the boy band’s most well-crafted set to capture the hearts of fans. BTS is the biggest K-pop group in the world. With over 40m albums sold, they have a very active fanbase called The Army. This is the band’s first tour since taking a three-year hiatus to allow each member to complete their 18-month military service – marked by a new album, Arirang – and is complimented by events across the capital including the takeover of the London Eye. A cynical mind might think that the spiral staircase offers more opportunities to sell expensive tickets. A cynic might see things turned off on the water bottles on the platform and think… “surely Fiji Water didn’t push for help”. A cynical mind can see the light of “Army Bombs” being used by the masses and think… “are they mind control tools?”
But Arirang’s journey makes it difficult to doubt about BTS operation as it is to hear after two hours of the army shouting loudly in the ears. It starts strong, all black clothes, round glasses and pyro from outside. BTS looks at the cameras that broadcast them to the big shows above the stage and look like caricatures, distant from the crowd and not interacting. But gradually, it softens into a more social and relaxed atmosphere: the boys go through a playlist that ranges from hard rap to buttery pop.
No matter how much we know K-pop groups are, BTS’ versatility is still amazing. The stands are literally rocking as they pound through the pop-rap crossover Hooligan; the Tame Impala-indebted As Animals hone their skills with balladry, soft and floaty enough to feel as if they were being sung directly to each of the 62,000 people in the room. The show’s mid-range videos show an energizing energy and the unusual and unusual music playing seems to entertain even the band, which sings and sings along in parts.
The excitement on the stage is also seen by about a million people. It goes back through a wall of screams and a sea of firebombs. Girls have pictures of their favorite members woven around their heads and hanging from their handbags. They end gracefully, gesturing to each other to pull out the headphones so they can hear the fans singing Sunset to them. I started the show in a random way and at the end I had a member that I liked (Jimin) and wanted to learn Korean. I wanted to make them into my papers and drop them on Duck & Waffle. I didn’t even have a Bomb stick so if he controlled my mind and other ways. Whatever BTS has, it’s strong.
