That’s a wrap, folks, Global superstars BTS just finished their sold-out four-night “Permission to Dance on Stage” concerts held at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. BTS drew in fans from around the world, and even some famous faces were spotted in the audience during the four-night event.
BTS opened their shows with a bang, kicking off each night with a high-energy performance of “ON.” The septet then went on to perform 24 of their greatest hits including “Burning Up (FIRE),” “DOPE,” “DNA,” “Black Swan,” “Blood Sweat & Tears,” “Life Goes On,” “Dynamite,” “IDOL,” “Butter,” and “Permission to Dance.” Setlists varied for the different concert dates, with some audiences also treated to “We are Bulletproof: The Eternal,” “I’m Fine,” “HOME,” and “Mikrokosmos.”
The four-night event was full of surprises, offering various fun elements to the shows from the synchronism of the BTS’ official light sticks (better known as their “ARMY bomb”) with an array of beautiful lights to confetti cannons the BTS members could shoot off themselves. But two of the biggest surprises during the sold-out shows were the appearances of special guests Megan Thee Stallion and Coldplay’s frontman, Chris Martin.
Megan Thee Stallion took the stage as a special guest during the second show (November 28th) to perform the remix version of “Butter” with BTS. Chris Martin, a collaborator with BTS on the chart-topping song “My Universe,” made a surprise appearance on the last day, joining the group for a live performance.
As concertgoers were leaving SoFi Stadium they were greeted with an image on the jumbo screen which read “See you in Seoul, March 2022.” The official BTS Twitter account then tweeted the same message, teasing the possibility of a world tour in 2022.
See you in Seoul, MARCH 2022#PTD_ON_STAGE_SEOUL #PermissiontoDance #BTSCONCERT #BTS #방탄소년단 pic.twitter.com/wVcuUzXZIW
— BTS_official (@bts_bighit) December 3, 2021
BTS drew in 813,000 viewers during the SoFi Stadium concerts, including in-person concertgoers, viewers who watched the online live streaming of the last show (December 2nd), and fans who viewed the real-time live screening event at nearby YouTube Theater.
BTS didn’t just deliver four nights of incredible performances; the award-winning Kpop group also helped boost LA’s economy. According to Gene Del Vecchio (Adjunct Professor of Marketing, USC Marshall School of Business) in an interview with LAist’s Josie Huang, it’s possible “the economic impact of the BTS concert series could easily exceed $100 million because many of the fans are coming from afar and will stay longer to maximize their time here.”
Billboard reports the SoFi Stadium concerts set a new record for venues reopening after the Covid-19 pandemic shut everything down. Per Billboard’s December 3, 2021 wrapup: “According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, BTS’ four Los Angeles-area concerts grossed a mammoth $33.3 million and sold 214,000 tickets. Those totals make the SoFi Stadium shows the highest-grossing engagement since venues began re-opening this year. Further, it’s the largest gross for run of shows at a single venue since 2012, when Roger Waters earned $38 million over nine shows at Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina.”
One might think after four stadium concerts the Grammy-nominated group would relax. On the contrary, they’ll be hitting the stage tonight (December 3rd) for iHeartRadio’s annual Jingle Ball taking place at The Forum in Inglewood, CA.
