BTS announces new digital concert in June

BTS at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles (Image: AFP/Valerie Macon)

Last month, the South Korean superstars were forced to suspend their “Map of the Soul” world tour over coronavirus concerns.

“Due to the nature of BTS concerts, involving travel by thousands of international fans no matter where the performances are held, it is also difficult to resume the tour with the current strict restrictions on cross-border movement still in place,” BTS’s management, Big Hit Entertainment, said in a statement.

The South Korean septet has now announced that an “un-tact” (no-contact) concert, “Bang Bang Con the Live,” will be livestreamed at 5 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on June 14.

The concert will run for approximately 90 minutes, during which RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, V and Jungkook will perform for their fan army in a single room.

Details about the paid-to-watch experience are still scarce at this point, although BTS will update fans on the concert via their Weverse app in the coming weeks.

The announcement arrived a few weeks after the seven-piece South Korean group streamed a marathon of full-length concerts and fan meetings recorded over the past six years.

The online event, dubbed “BANG BANG CON,” amassed 50.6 million views in total and a claimed 2.24 million concurrent viewers, Variety reports.

Jungkook and his bandmates are also set to appear in YouTube’s virtual graduation ceremony, “Dear Class Of 2020”, during which musicians and thought leaders will commemorate graduating seniors in a series of commencement speeches.

The multi-hour event, headlined by former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, will premiere on Saturday, June 6, on the YouTube Originals channel and YouTube’s Learn@Home site.

“Graduation is a tradition that students and families look forward to and with the current state of the world, YouTube is lending some inspiration in the form of a virtual commencement,” Susanne Daniels, Global Head of Content for YouTube, said in a statement.

“We hope bringing together noteworthy, influential speakers along with performances from some of their favorite artists will provide encouragement for the students who have worked so hard to get here.” CL /ra

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