BTS resumes North American tour with 80,000 fans... 'BE' tops iTunes in 78 countries

As BTS resumed their North American tour, the official fandom ARMY supported the group’s move by topping the iTunes ’Top Songs’ chart in 78 countries worldwide with ″Aliens.″ On the 1st (local time), BTS began the second North American leg of their world tour ″ARIRANG″ at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA. About 80,000 people gathered at the stadium, and RM greeted the audience in Korean. Following their announcement that they would not submit to the Grammys, BTS selected ″Hooligan″ and ″Aliens″ for the opening stage. During the performance, the lyrics ″I’m tired of explaining / Gather at the stadium, what more is there to worry about?″ were sung, and fans held up placards reading ″Grammys, get lost,″ ″Who needs whom,″ and ″Proud strangers″ to show their support. At the concert, a 360-degree open stage inspired by Gyeonghoeru Pavilion from the Joseon Dynasty was unveiled, with the floor featuring the Taegeuk pattern and Geon-gon-gam-ri symbols. Additionally, performances inspired by Seungmu and Ganggangsullae were presented. The British daily The Guardian described BTS’s stance as a ″gentle but powerful rebuke,″ while NME expressed opposition to categorizing pop music awards by region.