SEOUL — South Korean supergroup
BTS return to the stage in
Seoul to play for their adoring hometown fans for the first time since 2019
on Thursday, after tickets for the three-night stadium concerts sold out in
minutes.
اضافة اعلان
While COVID-19 emptied arenas and shut clubs
worldwide, the K-Pop septet thrived during the
pandemic — scoring a string of
number one hits, expanding their global fan base, and reaping record profits.
Despite most of the band catching the virus, the
trailblazing musicians barely missed a beat as the world locked down — using
social media, fan cams, and livestreams to cement their position as the
world’s biggest and most influential boy band, analysts say.
“Oddly enough, I think that the pandemic may have
helped BTS to grow their worldwide fame,” said “K-Pop professor”
CedarBough Saeji of Pusan National University.
“So many people who were stuck at home and desperate
for something new fell down the rabbit hole of BTS,” Saeji told AFP.
The group’s feel-good songs were a “perfect”
antidote to COVID-19 blues, she said, and their digital native fans, well used
to livestreaming gigs and social media engagement, pivoted naturally to
virtual concerts.
Even BTS’ first-ever No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot
100 “Dynamite” wouldn’t exist without COVID-19: “we were trying to convey the
message of healing and comfort to our fans,” band member Jin told Esquire.
The floppy-haired musicians, all in their 20s and
often sporting earrings and lipstick, appeal to a generation comfortable with
gender fluidity.
They are credited with generating billions for the
South Korean economy, and their label HYBE enjoyed a surge in profits despite
holding fewer concerts during the pandemic.
The global
music industry saw performance revenues
collapse as venues closed, but recorded-music revenue grew significantly,
thanks largely to subscription streaming services, industry data showed.
K-Pop rise
People are drawn to BTS
because their music “reflects the world’s complexity and human experiences”,
said Candace Epps-Robertson, an assistant professor at the
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
“We want to hear how others process challenging
emotions and obstacles,” she told AFP.
K-pop followed the success of Japan’s J-pop in the
1990s and quickly won a strong following in Asia, but had struggled to cross
the Pacific.
BTS are widely credited for bringing K-pop into the
mainstream in the
US, and analysts say the pandemic supercharged their role on
the world stage.
The group was invited to the
United Nations General Assembly last year -- their second visit -- to deliver a speech about embracing
change.
This “shows another dimension that previous K-pop
acts didn’t have”, said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor at King’s College
London.
When three members tested positive for the virus —
two more were later infected —
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health
Organization chief, wished them a fast recovery on Twitter, adding a reminder
about the importance of vaccinations.
That tweet garnered tens of thousands of
engagements, and researchers said BTS — all vaccinated — had become “the most
significant driver of health discourse” on social media.
Record profits
Despite fewer concerts, HYBE
enjoyed a record-setting year in 2021 posting more than $1 billion in sales,
driven by online content and albums.
Even before the pandemic, social media had been a
key tool for BTS to connect with their largely female fans — collectively
known as ARMY.
The group has always live-streamed concerts to
accommodate their global fan base, a practice that made “the transition to
online-only, streamed concerts at least slightly easier”, said Jenna Gibson, a
PhD candidate at the
University of Chicago.
In 2020 BTS were forced to call off what was
supposed to be their largest international tour with almost 40 gigs, though
they held some concerts online.
The group’s first in-person show since the pandemic
was at SoFi Stadium in
Los Angeles in November, with the four-night run grossing
$33.3 million, according to Billboard.
The same can be expected for this week’s concert,
part of their “Permission to Dance on Stage” tour, but for fans, the resumption
of the “communal experience” of live music is key, Gibson said.
“Fans truly missed that during the pandemic,” she said.
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