Bang Bang Con The Live garners 765k+ views across 107 regions
Global superstars BTS has opened a new era of On-Contact show with BANG BANG CON The Live that has met 756,600 ARMY across 107 regions. The 100-minutes long Bang Bang Con The Live invited fans to BTS’s room, where members freely navigated through and performed in various spaces – composed of five rooms and two stages, each stylized in different moods.
BTS delivered through six multi-view screens their 12 track setlist comprised of “DOPE”, “Boyz with Fun”, “Like”, “Just One Day”, “Jamais Vu”, “Respect”, “Friends”, “Black Swan”, “Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)”, “Go Go”, “Anpanman” and “Spring Day”.
The concert was the first collaborative effort between Big Hit and Kiswe, a live streaming solution company in the U.S., that recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
By incorporating the multi-view live streaming, fans were able to choose their favorite angle from the six screens playing simultaneously and could pick from a wide range of options – from video call-like close ups to full shots that encapsulate the tight choreography.
BTS’s special gift was dedicated for the fans who have long waited for their concert. “We have prepared a short preview of our tour” said BTS as they performed “Black Swan” and a newly rendered stage of “Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)”. The latter featured umbrellas with LED lights that were linked to the official lightstick ARMY BOMB, giving a sense of connectivity with fans.
The concert also brought to life for the first time the live performances of “Jamais Vu”, “Respect” and “Friends” from their fourth studio album Map of the Soul : 7, staged on LED screens and bus station themed layout. BTS then gathered on a studio inspired set to perform a combo of “UGH!” and “00:00 (Zero O’Clock)”.
Fans’ responses were more passionate than ever – the fan club saw an increase of 10k members and the concert reached up to 756,600 peak concurrent viewers, which equates to 15 shows at a 50k-capacity stadium. Marking the biggest audience for a paid virtual concert, BTS is regarded to have shown new possibilities of virtual concerts in the age of COVID-19.
As the show came to a close, BTS shared a message of encouragement and appreciation to the fans. “I hope you could feel our love for the stage, as we prepared really hard for today,” said j-hope, adding “I am so happy to be in a sweat after performing.” Jimin told fans that “Though we may not be able to see each other at this time, we’ve been constantly striving to grow as a group. We are coping up with it pretty well so hope that you too can overcome this time by finding the small joy within. Hope we can meet each other again with smiles on our faces.”
Last week, the K-Pop superstars announced its first Japanese album in over two years, Map of the Soul : 7 – The Journey, digitally at 11 am EDT on July 14th (0am JST on July 15th), followed by the physical products on August 7th in the U.S.
The album title represents the theme which is the map of BTS’s seven year journey that took off with their Korean debut in June 2013, during which the members went through so much including joy, successes, hardships, and challenges, and their quest for the answer of the journey that will never end.
Limited Edition A and B versions include a Blu-ray or DVD containing the music video of “Stay Gold” and its “making of” footage, plus other music videos. Limited Edition C and D versions include a 56 page photo booklet featuring an array of new and unseen conceptual photos of BTS. Moreover, each edition includes an exclusive square photo card available only outside of Japan.
A standard edition contains the CD with 20 page booklet, one trading card (one of seven types of ‘selfie ver.’ randomly enclosed for first press only) and one square photo card (for world except Japan/same design as in other editions).
