The Bangtan Boys Shows That They Are Bulletproof!

A.R.M.Y (the official fan club name of Bangtan Boys) definitely had a blast and a weekend to remember last week. The 7-member hip hop boy group consisting of Leader Rap Monster, Jimin, V, Jung Kook, Suga, Jin & J-Hope delivered a 2-hour long energy-packed performance filled with adorable antics, powerful rapping and dancing combined with smoothing vocals. The Bangtan Boys (also known as BTS) first ever visit and concert in Singapore held at The Star Performing Arts Centre attracted thousands of fans and ended off with tremendous success.

Despite a half-an-hour delay due to technical issues, the fans of BTS undoubtedly didn’t mind one bit as they waited patiently outside the venue armed with their colorful, brightly lilted placards and banners of their favorite idol’s name – most of it hand-made out of love and admiration. During the group’s first introduction, responsible leader Rap Monster apologized for the delay and added that he hope everyone here will enjoy the night.

Even though the group only debuted just a year ago, the boys were consistently the talk of the town and already had quite a discography – showcasing it with full perfection and enthusiasm for all the 23 tracks of various genres during the concert. The boys of Bangtan are undeniably versatile and talented as they showed us the different sides of them with their various hit singles – switching from the strong and tough images with hip-hop/rap tracks such as “N.O“, “We are Bulletproof Pt.2” and “No More Dream” to slower tracks such as “Rain” and “Propose” which showed their emotional side. Furthermore, fans were also treated to a night of fan service as the boys generously gave their flying kisses and warmly interacted with the clamorous crowd who are continuously and passionately waving their hand-made banners. Against their hip-hop tough image, the boys also showed the audience their adorable and lovely side during “Blanket Kick” where the performance had a bed and a sofa as they made everyone squeal with excitement with their lovable antics, aegyo poses and lots of hugs.

At times, the video screen even had romanized Korean lyrics which allows everyone – fans and non-fans alike, doesn’t matter if one is able to read Korean or not to sing along in harmony with them. The fans’ harmonious voices was even more distinctive when the background music was turned off in between lyrics and the BTS boys definitely enjoyed it as they continuously exclaimed their excitement and told the fans that they were cool and to keep up the singing! To add on to the list of fan service, J-Hope slyly suggested playing a game of “Rock, Scissors, Paper” where the losers will have to do aegyo as a punishment during the next performance – “Look Here”. Jin & Jung Kook emerged as the losers and both of them had quite of a mental breakdown while shedding their tough image for aegyo during the performance. The both cuties immediately buried their face out of embarrassment and hid behind the members after completing their mini punishment. Although the boys seemed to be embarrassed, their fans definitely enjoyed it as the theatre echoed with screams of enjoyment.

Another highlight of the concert would surely be the beautiful and touching fan project banners prepared by the dedicated A.R.M.Y! Fan projects are always something special to look forward to as it is always full of surprises and moving which brings out the emotional side of the idols. For the Bangtan Boys, their devoted A.R.M.Y. prepared not one but two fan projects – one during “Just One Day” and another during “Miss Right“. A wave of pink banners with a sentence of the “Just One Day” lyrics – “너와 하루만 있기를 바래 바래” (I hope I can be with you for just one day) gave the boys a pleasant surprise. “You see what they’ve got?” Rap Monster expressed his delight while the other members of BTS gave their continuous thank you and mentioned that it was a really sweet thing to do! During “Miss Right” as the fans were chanting their hearts out to the song, white banners with “방탄아, 바로너야” (Bangtan-ah, it’s you) was raised in response to the lyrics.

The concert was then brought to another climax during “If I Ruled the World” and “Cypher Pt.3 Killer” as the strong crowd got up on their feet and instantly turned the sitting theatre to a huge party. With all the party and jumping going on, the venue definitely got hotter as the boys continuously exclaimed that it’s really hot! Fans also started screaming as they change their white jackets to black for the next stage. The Bangtan boys also expressed their sadness as the show draws closer to a close and felt that it has only been a mere 5 minutes since they have started. “Are you already exhausted?!” Rap Monster questioned the restless crowd of A.R.M.Y. as they shouted “NO!!” in reply. It definitely got to an all-time high as the concert continued with popular catchy hits from their recent discography such as “Hormone War“, “Danger” and “Boy in Luv” – the passionate fans had really loud fan chants while some even danced along to the choreography!

Throughout the entire duration of the concert, the thoughtful boys of Bangtan made several attempts to speak in English in order to communicate with their fans better. During one of the talk segments, V expressed his excitement with his adorable attempt on English and mentioned that the boys tried one of Singapore’s popular local delights – The Chilli Crab. Rap Monster spoke in fluent English and mentioned that since young, he have been told that Singapore is a clean and nice country; he then show off that he actually did some research on the country as he shared that Singapore is very small but it’s GDP is very high! The randomness in his speech was definitely one of the highlights of night as it drew a wave of laughter.

Before the start of the encore, a short VCR showing the boys audition clips, late night training sessions and other segments of their pre-debut era. Although they have debuted for not long, the Bangtan boys have definitely come a long way to come to where they are today as evident from the powerful rapping, strong vocals and how in sync they are while pulling off challenging and tiring choreography. The encore then started off with “Path” – a song with strong emotional lyrics about the road they have chosen to fulfill their dreams; they then proceeded on to the bright and lively “JUMP” and “Rise of Bangtan” and concluded the concert with the energetic and fun “Satoori Rap“.

The boys then wrapped up the concert with their last talk segment, continuously expressing their gratitude and thankful heart for the fans’ hard work and love and mentioned that without their beloved supportive A.R.M.Y. this wouldn’t be made possible. BTS made a promise that they would return really soon (The Red Bullet Episode III hopefully? :D) and hoped that the fans who are present for this concert would also be there the next time they are in Singapore.

Even though the concert is close to an end, BTS’s fan service is definitely never-ending as they threw towels, caps and flying kisses to the enthusiastic fans standing at the bottom of the stage. The boys then slowly left the stage while continuously shouting “I love you Singapore” and promise that they would definitely come back soon, showing how reluctant they are to leave and end the concert. Footage of the Bangtan Boys preparing for their Red Bullet concert was then shown, as the concert came to a final end.

We will definitely miss the Bangtan Boys in Singapore; it was without a doubt a memorable night for all – fans or non-fans alike. As the group has promised, we sincerely hope that the boys would keep their promise and return soon for a visit to Singapore!

Korean Updates would like to extend our sincere thanks to Three Angles Production for organizing the event and the media invitation. Korean Updates is also proud to be the one of the Supporting Online Media for BTS Live Trilogy Episode II 2014 – The Red Bullet in Singapore. Do head on to our Facebook page for more pictures and do follow our Twitter for more K-pop updates!

By Singapore Representative Zen