BTS Connects with ARMY through Innovative Online Concert

After their successful online summer concert, BANG BANG CON: The Live, which broke the Guinness World Record for most viewers for a concert livestream, BTS returned on October 10 and 11 with their latest virtual experience, MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E. Framed as the online edition of the concerts the group had to postpone due to COVID-19, ON:E drew in as many as 1 million concurrent viewers and served up a plethora of intricate stages that created a mind-blowing concert experience, despite fans being stuck at home.  

An Experience Like No Other

It was clear from the start that MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E would be a high-production event. Prior to the two-day concert, BigHit Entertainment announced that production costs for ON:E were eight times that of BANG BANG CON, with four different stages and the integration of AR and XR technologies. The label also put out a call for fans to participate in “ARMY on Air.” Using the lottery system similar to offline event ticketing, fans could apply for one of the two shows to appear live in front of BTS on digital screens, giving the allusion of an in-person audience for the group members and allowing fans to have a more interactive concert experience.

BigHit offered several viewing packages for the concerts, including tickets for both shows with multi-cam views, single view tickets with 4K resolution, and concert tickets paired with exhibition tickets (another online event that will open on October 13). Fans could also preorder concert merch via Weverse before the shows and will soon be able to buy additional commemorative merch such as physical tickets and an acrylic poster. Much like BTS’s previous tour, fans will also have the opportunity to buy merch at the upcoming online and offline pop-up stores, accessible for many global fans despite the pandemic.      

Traversing through Seven Years of History

The setlist for MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E varied just slightly for each concert, with similar small variations in costuming. It’s clear from the programming that ON:E, like the MAP OF THE SOUL album series, was a look back at BTS’s past merged with their present.

After an opening VCR with visual references to the “ON” music video, the concert opened with a marching band, complete with a flag guard. An absolutely powerful performance of “ON,” “N.O,” and “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2” followed, where BTS wowed fans with dance breaks that referenced older performances and awesome new mixes of these classic tracks.

RM’s “Persona” was the first of the solo tracks and featured the same AR giant RM seen in the track’s music video. In-line with this throwback-inspired track, the stage then shifted to “상남자 (Boy in Luv),” before moving on to the first talk segment. Next was a stripped down (but still trap) version of “Dionysus,” with another VCR leading into Suga’s “Interlude: Shadow” and “Black Swan,” with a mesmerizing solo dance by Jimin to the orchestral version of the song.

The next VCR brought us to the unit tracks, with the aggressiveness of the rap line’s “UGH!” paired with a boxing ring stage and the vocal line’s “00:00 Zero O’clock” staged with classic mic stands and a simple digital clock. The next VCR break took fans into the vocal line’s solo songs, with sultry performances from Jungkook (“My Time”) and Jimin (“Filter”), a Le Petit Prince-themed stage for Jin’s “Moon” (with an actual giant moon and fox masks for the backup dancers), and a magical carousel stage for V’s “Inner Child,” where he sang to a young boy, representative of his younger self. “Inner Child” also created an opportunity for more interactivity with the audience, where fans were asked to sing along with the ending, which was then blended with V’s vocals.

After another VCR, j-hope’s playful “Outro: Ego” wrapped up the solo stages and led into a remix of “Boy with Luv,” which was similar to the colorful BANG BANG CON performance with umbrellas. BTS ended the concert with “DNA,” “Dope,” and “No More Dream,” again referencing their past but this time with an awesome AR-infused stage that projected them across a variety of digital environments.

The encore varied between the two concerts, with Day 1 featuring “Butterfly,” “Run,” and “Dynamite,” and Day 2 with “Spring Day,” “IDOL,” and “Dynamite.” Both concert encores ended with an emotional “We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal.” For the four-song encore, the members stood in front of digital screens with projections of real fans watching the concert (winners of the “ARMY on Air” lottery). The inclusion of fans into the performance gave the members a chance to walk around looking at their audience while also letting a few lucky fans take part in the creation of the concert.

Until We Meet Again

It wasn’t hard to see how much these performances meant to both BTS and ARMY, with the heartfelt talks by the members and the outpouring of love on social media from fans. “We are literally strong. The ARMYs I know, and the BTS you all know, are all strong,” RM said in his closing talk. “We’ll find a way. We always have. If there’s no way, let’s draw the map again. So, no worries, we’re strong, and we’re still connected.”

Despite being a virtual concert, MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E was everything an offline BTS concert always is: high quality, enthralling, and fulfilling. Though the current state of the world has made it difficult for artists to connect with fans, BTS found a way to fill that void to the best of their ability with their impactful performances, sincere words, and their team’s creativity. So until fans and BTS can meet again in offline spaces, ARMY has a small but certain happiness to hang on to.