Grammy-nominated K-pop group BTS officially confirmed they’ll be taking part in the live-streaming concert BTS Permission to Dance On Stage on October 24, 2021. The announcement comes on the heels of the breaking news that their Map OF THE SOUL world stadium tour has officially been canceled. (More details on the live-streamed concert to come.)
This will be the band’s first concert in a year, with their most recent – ‘BTS MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E’ – held in October 2020. That concert was viewed across 191 countries/regions to the tune of 993,000 viewers.
The global superstars have a jam-packed schedule. The septet is currently in New York where they delivered the “thoughts and stories of youth” via a speech as well as a special performance of “Permission to Dance” at the 76th United Nations General Assembly. BTS has been appointed Special Presidential Envoys for Future Generations and Culture and after being introduced by President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in, they shared their remarks during the Sustainable Development Goals program as representatives of the youth today.
Their September 20, 2021 appearance marked the third time the band delivered a speech at the United Nations. They previously appeared in front of the UN in 2018 and 2020.
While preparing for their speech, BTS turned to social media to ask the youth across the globe key questions: “What were the past two years like for you, and what’s your world like today?” They received countless stories from all over the world and presented some of them today to make sure the voices of the future generation are heard.
“We think that instead of the ‘lost generation,’ a more appropriate name would be the ‘welcome generation.’ Because instead of fearing change, this generation says, ‘Welcome!’ and keeps forging ahead.” They also mentioned the importance of getting vaccinated, sharing that all members of the group have received the vaccine. The group closed the speech on a hopeful note: “We think the day we can meet again face to face is not far away. We believe that every choice we make is the beginning of change. We hope that in this nascent new world we can all say to each other, ‘Welcome!’”
The speech was followed by a special music video of their chart-topping hit, “Permission to Dance,” which BTS opened by singing in the General Assembly Hall. The epic performance was capped off with the band doing the International Sign gestures for “Joy,” “Dance,” and “Peace” alongside dancers on the North Lawn.
BTS doesn’t have any plans to slow down and recently teamed up with another famous group, Coldplay. The popular K-pop group’s seven members are featured on Coldplay’s song “My Universe.”
In support of the collaboration, Coldplay released a TikTok video of lead singer Chris Martin in the studio with BTS while making the song. The video has already garnered over 14 million views. The single drops this Friday, September 24th, and is available for pre-order now.
You can catch both groups on Saturday, September 25th on Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour event taking place on seven continents. It was announced Coldplay will be performing from Central Park in New York and BTS will be performing in Seoul, South Korea.
