By Ella Finnegan
Courtesy of HYBE
As the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas can be a difficult city for even big acts to stand out in.
But if you were anywhere near there between May 23 – 28, 2026, you couldn’t have missed the presence of seven of the most talented musical artists on our planet right now, who are symbolized by only a few iconic letters: BTS.
In addition to the excitement of four sold out concert nights being held at Allegiant Stadium during this time, many of the most famous landmarks, grandest hotels, and largest marquees in Las Vegas lit up with the red, white, and black signature look of BTS’s recently released studio album, ARIRANG, which was all part of a stunning immersion experience, BTS THE CITY ARIRANG LAS VEGAS. Select restaurants even added BTS-themed food and drinks to their menus, the Arte Museum gave itself a full makeover to celebrate the pop royalty group, nightclubs held concert afterparties, and the Sphere was continuously surrounded by fans watching for the digital faces of their favorite icons to appear on the largest LED screen ever made.
To see all of this in person, as part of a small number of journalists invited by HYBE—the entertainment powerhouse that manages BTS—was the biggest honor of my life.
Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
Within a week’s time in Las Vegas, BTS performed live for over 250,000 people, opened the American Music Awards with a pre-taped performance, and then, in person, presented an award to SZA and went on to win three AMA awards themselves, including the night’s top prize, Artist of the Year. This marked the second time BTS has won this legendary award, and they remain the only K-pop performers to ever win it.
Known professionally as Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, these South Korean natives have crossed borders, pierced hearts, and broken record after record during the past thirteen years together. And even throughout their hiatus of over three years, so they could all complete mandatory military service, BTS maintained their end-of-year spot as the #1 streamed K-Pop group on Spotify. This feat not only suggests an unfaltering devotion to the group’s previous hits, but is also evidence of a massive fanbase—known as the BTS ARMY—who remained eager for more upon their return.
This has been proven by the instant success of the BTS comeback album, ARIRANG, as well as every available seat being sold for their worldwide tour, within only a few hours, before the album was even released. And the concert I just attended in Las Vegas was filled with such an electric, tangible love for their music, it surprised me that the stadium didn’t shatter.
Arriving nearly three hours before an event begins may be overdoing it at other concerts, but K-Pop culture is different.
Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
The ARMY vibes were already on. Allegiant Stadium was surrounded by tens of thousands of fans—a fairly organized, yet still chaotic crowd—many who had already spent several hours in merch lines, hoping to buy the most coveted items. Now these same fans stood in what seemed like endless security lines, but they were still happily receiving and handing out BTS-inspired freebies, most of them homemade. I had a large bag full of bracelets, photocards, and keychains by the time I entered the venue.
Years of anticipation boiled over inside. Fans were dressed in outfits they probably planned weeks in advance, if not longer. Most matched colors that correlated with the ARIRANG theme, or the BTS purple they have long been associated with, but many fans went above and beyond with visual shoutouts to iconic music videos, and even inside jokes that had built up over a decade of time.
Then the venue finally went dark, all visible surfaces glowed red, and the images on the colossal stadium screens began to burn into digital ashes, at last revealing a live video feed of BTS walking toward their ARMY. The crowd roared. Roared. The Bangtan Boys were now right in front of us, in the center of the 360-degree, multi-leveled stage, and we were all rapidly immersed in a lifechanging experience.
From this point forward, color-changing light sticks bounced with every beat, and every word of every song was devoured.
RM
Jin
SUGA
j-hope
Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
The first three songs didn’t allow the crowd even a moment to breathe, let alone ease the performers, including dozens of backup dancers, into the extremely demanding setlist. BTS began with two bangers from their new album: Hooligan and Aliens. Based on the screaming alone, any outsider could have guessed the stadium had indeed been invaded by seven extra-terrestrial beings. Explosives were even involved. And then came the 2022 classic, Run BTS, which inspired another round of pandemonium. The chorus of “Run bulletproof, run, yeah you gotta run,” increased the volume in the stands to a fever pitch.
One of the highlights of this intro was when Jungkook grabbed a low-flying drone and used it to film closeups, similar to “fan cam” videos that are shared on social media. The footage captured from these interactions was shown in real time on the stage screens.
Following these songs, each member of BTS took a few minutes to say hello to their fans in a personal, playful way. They thanked us for our efforts to get there and expressed their gratitude for being back on the stage, interacting with their beloved ARMY again. These breaks to talk to their fans happened several times during the concert, and were equally as entertaining as when the songs were performed.
Jimin
V
JK
Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
The rest of Act 1 slowed down the tempo with four additional tracks from their album ARIRANG: they don’t know about us, Like Animals, SWIM,and Merry Go Round. These were split in the middle by an ARMY favorite, 2018’s FAKE LOVE. This is a song that somehow encapsulates the conflicting needs to both leave and stay in a toxic relationship. It feels like rage in the shape of a heart. And rage we did, with every hammering fist pump.
The next act brought us 2.0, NORMAL, Not Today, MIC Drop, and Body to Body, as well as a sensational mash up of FYA from their most recent album, and FIRE which was released a full decade ago. These two songs were glued together perfectly, and the stadium lit up, both literally and figuratively. Blasts of fire encircled the stage, and the heat could be felt from where I was sitting, hundreds of feet away.
But even among all of these high-impact production elements, the intentional incorporation of Korean culture—which BTS has said was the driving force behind the ARIRANG album and tour—was stunning in its own, more meaningful way. It could be both seen and felt throughout the concert by the use of traditional flags, masks, dances, and countless visuals. Even the stage is designed to reflect symbols, motifs, and special locations that are important to Korean culture. This theme reached an emotional peak during the performance of Body to Body, which includes a beautifully placed sample of a significant Korean folk song, Arirang, which all 65,000 concert attendees appeared to sing along with.
Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
I had goosebumps.
The transitions between acts were expertly crafted, especially at the end of this particular segment that finished with IDOL. During the length of the song, both the group members and dancers walked around the entire perimeter of the stadium floor, giving several thousands of fans a much closer look at each member of BTS, and these guys did not disappoint! They were exceptionally playful with the crowd—holding up hand-hearts, waving to everyone in sight, and even blowing kisses to fans. It wasn’t until this song was over that I noticed all performers had somehow disappeared from the field. It was magical.
This brings us to the final act, when BTS performed their all-time biggest hits, Dynamite and Butter, which their group leader, RM, consistently hints that every person in the audience has likely memorized every word of (whether they wanted to or not?) and he isn’t wrong. These songs alone have streaming totals well into the billions, and can be credited for the original launch of BTS into global superstardom. The audience now danced like we were at a last-day-of-school pool party, while the trio of Jin, V, and Jungkook, entertained the crowd with the on-stage antics they are famous for. This time, they sang a portion of Butter while lying flat on their backs. Then V carried around a full-sized video camera while performing Dynamite, choreography and all. I’m still waiting for that footage to show up somewhere.
Come Over and Please were also included in the final act, as well as the two “surprise tracks” that the ARMY is always eager to hear. I felt beyond lucky that the songs chosen for this specific concert were some of my personal favorites: Black Swan and Spine Breaker.
Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
The night was cooled off by several minutes of each group member saying a personal goodbye (for now), while the center of the tiered stage rotated so everyone could get a last, good look at them. They topped this off with their new ballad, Please. Then Into the Sun was the finale, which seemed especially appropriate because it created the feeling that BTS sang this track’s poignant words directly to their beloved ARMY, and their ARMY sang the words right back to them. It was a perfect love song.
These otherworldly artists—each with individual talents that could carry an event of this size on their own, but have chosen to return to the stage with friends—deserve every speck of concert confetti. The “Bangtan Boys” are back and bigger than ever.
Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, “I don’t care how far . . . I’ll follow you into the sun.” Las Vegas, May 24, 2026 will stay with me forever.