With multiple over-the-top stages and powerful performances, BTS’ Map of The Soul ON:E becomes the highest-grossing paid virtual concert of 2020. Showcasing the songs from their 2020 album, Map of the Soul: 7 along with some classics from their discography.
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While the two-day online concert definitively proved that BTS has been releasing quality hits through the years, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook’s humanity became the heart of the show. It’s no wonder the fanbase is ever-growing. Numbers can’t lie, either. According to Touring Data, Map of the Soul ON:E ranks at #1 highest-grossing virtual concert of 2020 with over P2.2 Billion earned from 993,000 paid viewers in 191 regions (₩50 billion; 2 shows).
Having the tendency to become a fangirl myself, it was hard not to fawn over the Korean boyband. With each performance never the same as the old ones, they took the fans (and first-timers like myself) by surprise in every song. The first night of the concert exhibited a whirlwind of emotions—not only from the fans, but the boys as well. At one point, Jimin broke down in tears, saying how unfortunate it was for the pandemic to happen as he was looking forward to meeting ARMY face-to-face like they usually would for their concert tours. Nonetheless, it was evident that the seven members of BTS gave their all on that stage. With a jam-packed setlist of 23 songs, they made every penny worth it.
Each of them had their shining solo moments too, making a first-time BTS concert attendee like me, get to know them better. For ARMY, this Map of the Soul ON:E concert marked the first time they ever got to see the solo and unit songs from Map of the Soul: 7 performed live.
Their songs were presented with grand set pieces across multiple stages. There were jaw-dropping costume changes, new choreography, and song remixes, and bold special effects that provided escapism for fans.
Personally, what I loved most about their online concert was the fact that it was actually live. Lucky fans were shown on-screen, and even onstage almost throughout the concert, showing real-time reactions from ARMY as they performed. There were ARMY bombs lit up across the venue, representing all the fans that could not be there physically.
And consistently in those two days, before they performed their final song, they would take their sweet time thanking ARMY for the unconditional love and support in this tough time.
To close the show, they performed, We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal, a song that reflects on their past struggles while affirming their love for each other and ARMY.
It’s safe to say that after attending this two-day concert, my heart has turned purple for BTS.
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