BTS, 157,000 Fans Enthralled Over Two Days of New Jersey Tour... Sold Out U.S. Shows for the First Time in 7 Years

BTS (BTS: Jungkook, Jimin, Jin, V, J-Hope, RM, Suga) took the American stage for the first time since announcing their absence from the Grammy Awards. On the 1st and 2nd of this month (local time), they held the second North American concert of their world tour ″Arirang″ at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA. Both days of the concert were sold out, with approximately 157,000 attendees. This concert was an official show held about two weeks after the halftime show of the ″2026 FIFA North and Central America World CupTM″ final, which took place at the same venue on the 19th of last month. BTS performed again at the same location for the first time in about 7 years and 2 months since their world tour ″LOVE YOURSELF: SPEAK YOURSELF″ in New Jersey in May 2019. The local music media Billboard praised the first day’s concert, stating, ″Following the World Cup final halftime show, they once again proved why they deserve to be on the world’s biggest stage,″ highlighting 15 of the best moments from the performance. Notably, American hip-hop artist Nas attracted attention by attending the event, and RM introduced Nas on stage, saying, ″I want to express my gratitude to the artist who dominated my teenage years.″ He added, ″It feels really strange and amazing to perform in front of my idol.″ The gratitude toward Nas continued on the second day. Media outlet Complex reported that during the concert on the 2nd, RM introduced Nas as ″the king of New York, Big Nas is here tonight,″ emphasizing that he was a representative artist of his teenage years. Local media NJ Arts reviewed that unlike the 2019 ″LOVE YOURSELF″ tour, this tour chose a 360-degree center stage setup. As a result, large-scale group choreography was somewhat reduced, and the stage focused on mobility and intimacy. Local broadcaster CBS New York also provided live coverage of the two-day concert. Since this was their first American concert after announcing their absence from the Grammy Awards, Billboard reported that fan placards with messages such as ″BTS is bigger than the Grammys″ and ″What we need is ARMY, not the Grammys″ were repeatedly captured by the audience cameras. The reactions of fans who attended the event also drew attention. When the 2015 released song ″Autumn Leaves″ appeared as a surprise stage, one fan expressed amazement on X (formerly Twitter), asking, ″Is this really my favorite song, Autumn Leaves?″ A music news account revealed that a new photo of RM and Suga with Nas was released. BTS is scheduled to continue their North American tour starting on the 5th and 6th of this month in Foxborough, Massachusetts, followed by Baltimore, Arlington, and other locations.