The press conference for BTS’s Permission to Dance on Stage LA concert was held November 28 at 2 P.M. (EST) at SoFi Stadium just before their second performance. “The past two years with the pandemic weren’t really easy—not just for us, for everyone,” BTS member RM said at the conference. “But today we will try to show how much we’ve grown through these past two years.” The concert was more than a chance to see their fans in person for the first time in two years; it was also a chance for BTS, who has been giving hope and comfort to people weathering the pandemic through their songs “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Permission to Dance,” to reaffirm with ARMY the messages behind their music. This article recaps BTS’s thoughts on what they’re trying to convey in this concert about their songs, ARMY and what they want to say about this era where hope is sorely needed.

 

Greetings and thoughts on the concert

V: I’m thrilled we can finally have an in-person concert after two years of waiting. With the life we took for granted gone, the two years leading up to this point have been an extremely sad and difficult time for us, but I’m really looking forward to today’s concert and we put in a lot of practice for it. So now I’m full to the brim with excitement. I want to give ARMY and reporters happy vibes.

 

SUGA: We’re finally holding an in-person concert after nearly two years since the pandemic. I was so excited, and even got nervous performing, thinking, Is this all a dream? This always happens to me, from our debut eight years ago and including our debut in the States four years ago. When I think back on these two years of being unable to perform, nothing I did came easy. We’ve always made an effort to overcome such barriers, and the same goes for this concert. While performing, I thought about how BTS’s strength is that we can keep trying without fear, no matter what challenges are before us. We’ll continue to take on challenges and overcome them in the future as well.

 

Jin: This is our first press conference abroad since the Wembley Stadium concert in London so I’m both nervous and excited. Thank you to all the reporters who’ve come from far away to see us. I hope that, following this concert, we’ll be able to have many more concerts with ARMY. After this concert, we also want to have one in Korea. That’s the plan, so keep your eyes open for that.

 

Jung Kook: First off, thank you for taking your time out to spend it with us today. Just like last year, we’re getting a lot of love this year, too. With the pandemic, we released emotionally honest songs and songs to give the hope and comfort needed to overcome this moment together. With so many people giving us love and rooting for us, we grew stronger, too. I’ll channel that energy into our performance today.

 

RM: Seeing the scene filled with all the fans yesterday got me really emotional beyond words and finally meeting the members of the press in person, face to face, is so touching and such a pleasure for me. The recent Artist of the Year at the AMAs and the second Grammy nomination were truly meaningful for us. As artists who started out in Korea, the limitations of our identity, like genre and other invisible walls—we felt that they truly existed, but every moment we try to live our best, to do every performance and all our music with all of our hearts. I think those small moments truly made this mountain for us. Going back on tour and seeing all the fans finally after two years makes us feel like this really is the beginning of a new chapter. The past two years with the pandemic weren’t really easy—not just for us, for everyone. But today we will try to show how much we’ve grown through these past two years. Thank you for being here with us tonight.

 

Jimin: Thank you to all the reporters who showed up for our first in-person concert in two years. I was really lethargic and sad the whole time since I couldn’t see the fans. But we did all we could by releasing a string of songs: “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Permission to Dance.” We made a special effort to give comfort to everyone who stayed with us through this whole time and for ourselves as well. Being up on stage in front of our fans for the first time in forever, it feels like we’re right back where we should be. I hope everyone can return to where they need to be soon for a fresh start.

 

j-hope: We’re back in the US again for this concert following a visit to the UN General Assembly. Now that I’m seeing the reporters here, it feels like we’re really in the States. Actually, I feel a bit awkward saying BTS has become the voice of a generation and represents them, but I also think it comes along with a special responsibility. We were just honored that we could make and share the music we love, but when I stop and think about it, I think that’s the power and energy behind BTS’s music. We also put in a ton of effort practicing for this concert to be sure we could convey that power and energy our music has. I hope everyone has a good time. I heard that not only are there a lot of American fans here, but a lot of Korean fans came as well because it’s the first in-person concert in a long time. I hope it helps everyone to shake off their feelings of being worn out, feeling tired and feeling depressed from the pandemic and that it’s fun and makes them feel happy.

 

Were you nervous to get back on stage after so long? Do you lose the ease of performing after such a long time, or does it come back to you immediately?

Jin: It’s been about two years since we put on a live show. We have some time to talk to each other in the green room before the start of our concerts and what we talked about the most yesterday before the concert was how we would probably cry during the opening song “ON” when we saw everyone in the audience. We practiced a ton because it was going to be the first time seeing the fans in a long time and we were worried we might make some mistakes. It was our first time in front of an audience in two years so all the members were really nervous and practiced a lot. Even though we talked about that, though, nobody actually cried. (laughs)

j-hope: Um, I almost cried.

 

V: Tears came out of my nose. (laughs)

 

You say you didn’t cry, but surely you felt different after performing for the first time in two years. I’d like to know the first thing you were feeling after the concert ended. I also heard that some of the members were talking to fans after the concert, and that V said he likes jazz and wants to try out different genres. I’d like to know if you have any plans to work in genres that you haven’t tried before and if you have any plans to release any albums, singles or mixtapes before the year is out.

Jimin: I had a lot of regrets after yesterday’s performance, if I’m being honest. I’ve been waiting for nothing but the day I could see the fans again for two years and those two years felt longer than I thought. So I was worried about what facial expressions to make, what kind of gestures to do, what I should say and in what way and how much I should express my feelings. So I felt regretful because I feel like I couldn’t enjoy everything while I was looking out at the fans. I think today I’ll try to be a little more relaxed and enjoy myself more.

 

V: I grew up listening to that kind of music when I was little, and I’m getting more into blues and jazzy things lately. I thought I wanted to express myself through these things so I’m trying to work with them but I’m not a pro when it comes to them so it’s difficult. I hope I can share that kind of music with everyone someday.

 

j-hope: I usually try not to draw any lines between genres and just keep working hard. I’m also trying to integrate those kinds of things into my mixtape. I’ll keep working hard because I can only ever release something if I come up with something good, but I’m not sure or even very confident I can put anything out this year.

 

On behalf of ARMY, I just wanted to say congratulations on your first concert back. Your first time actually performing in front of ARMY was at the AMAs when you won three awards, where the crowd was mostly ARMY. How did that experience compare to performing last night in front of tens of thousands of your fans again?

Jung Kook: It didn’t really hit me until the AMAs, to be honest. We always say that ARMY cheering gives us a lot of strength whenever we’re at such an event. It was a lot of help at the concert yesterday, too. We get the same big value from ARMY cheering whether we’re doing a concert or at an awards ceremony. That got us really excited and I think we were able to put on a good show thanks to that.

 

You first received your award at the Billboard Music Awards in 2017 and then you released a skit that expressed your sort of hesitations and your fears. You had lines about, “I have fears. Will I go down? What will happen next?” So now that you have received major awards, including at the AMAs, do you still harbor those hesitations and fears, or did they disappear at this point? Also, your most beautiful moments in life continued over the past four years. How do you feel about that?

SUGA: If you’re asking whether I’ve totally gotten over the fears and hesitancy compared to back then, then no, actually. I think anyone living in this world always lives with fear and hesitation. The difference between then and now is that I’m enjoying myself. One of the things we all said after COVID-19 happened was, Why weren’t we able to enjoy ourselves back then? And once it became a situation where it became impossible to enjoy things, I thought quite a bit about why I wasn’t able to accept things at the time, why I was afraid and scared and why I wasn’t able to enjoy it. So I was seriously really happy for this AMA award in particular. I was so happy to see an audience in person for the first time in two years, and the award was a bonus. My mindset’s the same as it was then, but I also realized on the other hand how lucky it is that I’m able to enjoy myself a little more. And I’m realizing how truly thankful I am for the past few years leading up to now, which you described as our “most beautiful moments in life.” Whenever we have an interview or talk to the media in the US, we get a lot of questions about how we’re able to be with a fandom as passionate as ours. We can keep at it a long time because of all the fans—ARMY are with us. I could feel it during the concert yesterday, where I once again realized that their movements, actions and voices keep us alive.

 

You have a lot of Florida fans—Florida ARMY—and they want to send a message. You know, you have a lot of ARMY here that are here for the concert but a lot of ARMY that could not attend this special four-day event, so what is your message to the ARMY who are not able to attend?

Jung Kook: We feel bad we can’t see those ARMY, too, and we’re waiting for the day we can put on more performances. Seeing as we haven’t been able to see them even once in two years, if we had the chance, We’d want to put on a bunch of concerts and performances and perform our songs all over, but with the way things are currently, I’m sad that moment hasn’t come. But still, we’re going to put our everything into performing for the people who did come to see us, and I hope the day we can see even more ARMY right in front of us comes as soon as possible. We’re really wishing for that day to come and, as a singer, it’s one of the things I want most of all.

 

We, in the US, had to deal with Asian hate since 2020. Your positive light has obviously combated that, so how do you feel or what comment do you have to make about the positive role that you have taken to show a positive light to Asians and Asian Americans?

RM: When it comes to Asian hate, we always feel very heavy responsibility. Like I said before, I’m not born and raised abroad, but, through the past years, on our path all over the world, sometimes I truly felt the walls, and the walls can’t always be described in words. Sometimes they’re visible, sometimes they’re not. So when we talk about Asian hate, our path, all the words, our music—I just hope that this could truly help every Asian in the world, especially those who live in countries abroad. If there’s something that we can help with or that we can do that could give consolation, we’re always open, and we strive to expand diversity and stop discrimination and racism. Thank you very much for asking the question.

 

LA’s been in a frenzy over BTS’ visit. There’s been crowds of ARMY not only at SoFi Stadium but at hotels, the airport, Korean restaurants and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. BTS’ mark can be found all over the place. There’s also been reports in the LA media day in and day out on BTS over the past few days. Given all that, it seems the group’s status has changed from when they visited the Rose Bowl stadium a couple years ago. How does this kind of response make you feel?

SUGA: The stadium tour we did in 2019 was actually bigger than this one. We tried to think about what we could do during the COVID-19 era, and we put out “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Permission to Dance,” which lots of people all around the world really loved. So while the scale of things isn’t much different from before, they seem to be way, way more happy to see us now. I think it’s also different because we haven’t been able to perform for two years. I kept thinking about what it would be like to see the response for real while we were just recording “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Permission to Dance” in Korea without an audience, but now I’m having an even better time and feel even happier than I expected to.

 

Jung Kook: Everybody ended up being unable to do even the most trivial things, like their hobbies, their work or seeing other people. Tours were always more important to us than anything, but because we couldn’t do one, things like concerts and awards ceremonies became really important to us.

 

Jung Kook, you gave a very touching acceptance speech at the AMAs, but what were you going to say after, “I’m going to focus on”?

Jung Kook: This is really embarrassing, but there were just three more words: “enjoying every moment.” (laughs)

 

This is the second year in a row that you’ve been nominated for a Grammy Award. How does that make you feel?

SUGA: I still can’t believe we’ve been nominated two years in a row at all. I grew up watching the Grammy Awards shows and performances, so while in one way I’m still excited and hopeful about being nominated, I know it won’t be easy to win. It’s tough to be nominated, let alone win, and like we said before, there’s obstacles to overcome and we’re thankful for the challenges we can overcome going forward, I think. I hope we’re able to overcome.

 

Jin: The one award we haven’t won yet is a Grammy. That doesn’t mean the other awards don’t make me happy. But I would still like to win a Grammy, since it’s the one we haven’t been able to get yet.

 

SUGA: There’s a saying: There’s no such thing as a tree that doesn’t fall when you chop at it 10 times. It would be nice to knock it over with just two swings, but that might be wishful thinking.

In 2017, you said you weren’t expecting that level of success—and that was then. A lot’s happened since then. You’ve always been humble and you’ve always believed in yourself, but amongst all of the success, how do you stay true to yourself?

j-hope: I don’t really want to set up a specific level for success. If you set that kind of standard, you’ll end up burnt out mentally and physically trying to accomplish that. So instead of assigning such standards, just work hard at what you’re doing and keep living your life feeling content with your life and current situation and how you feel. That way, the fruit of your labor comes about naturally. I usually try not to worry too much about that sort of thing. That’s how I keep my composure and carry myself forward.

 

RM: I’ll add something since this is the last question. It’s very simple. If there’s 100% to success, I put half with the ARMYs, and then, the members, they put, like, 5% each, so that’s 35, and 15% from HYBE and Big Hit. If it’s a trophy, my percent is just the edge of the trophy, so I always tell myself, You’re just a little part of this whole journey—this success is not all yours. I always try to realize that and it really helps me keep myself down to Earth, and I think that’s really important to survive in this industry.