Over the weekend, BTS made a victorious return to Los Angeles.
On Saturday, the international sensation began their “Permission to Dance” tour at the SoFi Stadium.
Thousands of members of the K-pop group’s “Army” flocked to the stadium to watch RM, Jin, V, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, and Jungkook dazzle with their dance routines and appealing songs.
On Sunday, the group conducted a news conference at which CNN was present, and the South Korean singers expressed their delight at being able to play live again despite the pandemic’s delays.
“I’m very happy that we’re having this in-person concert for the first time in two years. Obviously for the past two years, ‘ordinary’ and ‘normal’ were no longer normal, so it was a very sad and difficult time for everybody,” V said.
Suga added that when he was on stage the day prior, he found himself asking, “Is this really reality or is this a dream?”
The Covid-19 pandemic was traumatic for the band, according to Jimin, and they tried to pour that into their music.
“We were depressed because we felt powerless. We tried to break out of that by doing what we could, releasing our songs ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Butter,’ album ‘Be’ and ‘Permission to Dance.’ Again, doing what we can and trying to find a way out of this situation,” Jimin said. “We worked hard at this because we wanted to bring healing and consolation to everyone else who were also going through hard times and who are also living through these challenges.”
“The fact that we received so much love for these songs that we’ve created gave us a lot of energy, and we hope we can pour in this positive energy that we’ve received in doing these concerts,” Jungkook said.
The ensemble was nominated for a Grammy for best pop duet or group performance, which Jin described as a “honour” if they won at the January event.
“We haven’t won a Grammy yet, and it would be an honor if we could win one,” he said.
