BTS held live online concert despite Covid-19

South Korean boy band BTS held its first online concert Bang Bang Con: The Live yesterday. The global streaming event was cosy and personal. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the K-pop industry has been affected and live events have been cancelled. International promotions and tours were postponed and the industry has to find ways to turn the situation around by starting online streaming concerts to connect with fans internationally.

SM Entertainment’s SuperM was the first to hold a paid interactive online concert during the height of the coronavirus outbreak on April 26. Yonhap news agency reported that based on SM, the concert drew about 75,000 fans across the globe. BTS’ Bang Bang Con: The Live which ran for 90 minutes drew about 753,000 fans towards the end of the show according to realtime tally shared with fans. There was no official data on the number of viewers.

BTS performed 12 songs on different intricately produced stages and the show was seamlessly strung together with intermission-type talk segments throughout. The core concept of Bang Bang Con revolved around “rooms,” with “bang” being the Korean word for “room.” During the performance, the stage production changed regularly, showing a variety of scenes or rooms to suit the theme of the song BTS performed.

The style seemed suitable with the spirit of social distancing amid the time of the outbreak as in viewing concerts alone or with a small group of people at home. The pros of these online formats are the ability to interact. Bang Bang Con could offer an experience for viewers to watch the show via six different camera angles because they partnered up with US streaming service startup Kiswe Mobile.

BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys consists of seven members and it is a popular South Korean boy band formed in Seoul in 2010. The members include Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook. Each member take turns to write their content. With a hip hop background, their genre has evolved to suit different musical tastes. BTS found popularity both locally and internationally. They have toured abroad a number of times and have won accolades for their music. /TISG