There was one simple warning I gave my sister before we walked into MetLife Stadium on August 1, 2026: It’s going to get loud. BTS, the seven-member K-pop group, were finally making their big return to the stadium after a fitting seven years. Fans from New York, New Jersey, and all over came together to see the group again, and it was clear that it was a long time coming.
The band’s Love Yourself: Speak Yourself Tour in 2019 was their first introduction to MetLife. They were set to return during their planned Map of the Soul tour, however, it was ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When their Permission to Dance on Stage tour was announced, fans were shocked when they realized they would only be heading to the West Coast—four shows each in Los Angeles and Las Vegas—before they went on their planned hiatus in 2022 due to mandatory military service.
While they technically did perform at MetLife Stadium during the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, they only sang one song, “Dynamite,” and the stadium was filled with soccer loyalists—some of whom definitely are ARMY, or members of the band’s fandom—instead of the band’s biggest fans.
For many attendees, it was the first time they would see them live in seven years. Mother-daughter duo Christy and Brooke returned for their big reunion after going to their 2019 tour.
“We still don’t believe it yet,” Christy said about their comeback. “We’ve grown to be big ARMY since then.”
For both of them, the messages of the Love Yourself era became impactful. And it’s obviously continued to make an impact, with Brooke noting that she is now more into K-pop in general.
“They just tend to move music in a way that is very unique to them,” Brooke added.
Immediately walking into the parking lot, several fans ran to check out Samsung’s multiple activations nearby, which included a photo booth and the chance to win special surprises. The band has a special partnership with Samsung Galaxy for their upcoming Z Flip8 and Z Fold8 phones, both of which will be available on August 7.
As we got closer to the stadium gates, several BTS ARMY members were handing out freebies including pins, stickers, bracelets, and one special item: a flower that was to be held up after the band’s second surprise song. The flower was part of a special fan project led by Ashley Noh, a fan who discovered BTS prior to the Permission to Dance on Stage tour and quickly fell in love with the band.
“My best friend actually showed me BTS videos because she had just gotten into them,” Ashley told me a few days after the concert via Zoom. “I also was going through a very, very difficult season in my life, so I was in a really, really rough place. It was just like the most cosmic thing that had ever happened.”
In January, she launched her fan project in the hopes of giving out over 50,000 flowers during the first show in NYC. This is her second time tackling a project like this, originally creating one in support of BTS member Jin during his solo show in Newark, New Jersey, in July 2025. Thanks to crowdfunding and over 100 volunteers, the crowd was filled with flowers.
It wasn’t the first time that Ashley got to see the band live. She first saw them at their L.A. stop during their 2021 tour. However, it was attending that concert that made her realize that being part of the BTS ARMY was different.
“I have always been a fan of K-pop since I was very little. I’m Korean American, so it was like really embedded into my youth,” she said. “I just remember walking in there, getting to my seat, and everyone starts singing in Korean. I just started crying. It was truly one of the most healing and illuminating experiences of my life to see so many non-Korean people enjoying K-pop and loving Korean culture.”
During a portion of the concert where fans showed off handmade signs, usually to ask the DJ to play a specific song during the surprise track slots, many fans took the time to reveal signs in support of the band after they announced their plans to not submit their recent album, Arirang, for the upcoming Grammy Awards after the award show announced a new category: Best Asian Pop Music Performance. For many fans, they view BTS as doing something that is still unseen in English-language/American-based pop music.
“The first music video I saw by them was ‘Blood, Sweat, and Tears’ in 2018,” revealed Tess, another fan of the band. “I was like, Wait, no one’s kind of doing this in the States. The production, the styling, the dancing.”
Kaylee, who was also attending the concert with Tess, noted the band’s lyrics also helped her as she was going through a frustrating work situation.
“I found a lot of them very relatable when I was going through a tough time. I felt very seen in the lyricism,” she said.
As the show started and nearly 84,000 people and countless ARMY bombs—special light sticks that can connect via Bluetooth in order to be a part of the concert’s larger overall experience—huddled together for the show of a lifetime, it became apparent that this was a special homecoming for the group. RM, one of the band’s members and its leader, noted that Nas, one of his biggest inspirations growing up, was in the audience.
“It is a really wonderful feeling to perform in front of your teenage idol,” he said in his speech.
During the flower reveal moment, BTS member RM read the special message out loud: “The moment we waited so long for, our Spring Day!”
“It really like knocked me on my ass truly. The whole concept of this project is that the long-awaited winter is finally over,” Ashley said. “My whole concept of this was to remind all of us that when BTS and Army are together, no matter what, we are always in full bloom. To see that materialize in such a visual way, it was very beautiful to witness.”
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Along with songs from Arirang and other fan favorites like “MIC Drop” and “Burning Up (Fire),” BTS also performed two surprise songs that have switched at every stop of the tour. The first track was “Dis-ease” from BE and the much-beloved “Run” from The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 2. When the first chords of “Run” came on, the entire crowd erupted in a way that I had never experienced before. My sister looked at me and remembered the warning I gave her earlier, happy she had her Loop earplugs in and could take the moment in as her first BTS show started to wind down.
The concert ended with what felt like a gift to the audience. As the band stepped off the stage after performing their track “Into the Sun,” the final song in Arirang that features the lyrics, “I’ll follow you into the sun,” blazing golden fireworks sparked all around the stadium. Suddenly, BTS brought the sun out to them despite the night sky. And, as always, the ARMY promised to follow them yet again, this time hoping for another chance to see the band yet again.
