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Then again, most of BTS\u2019s Wednesday show was, in the best way possible, overwhelming. The group\u2019s first of two consecutive Foxborough shows burst with details that fought for your attention. Look at the fireworks \u2014 no! look at the 360-degree stage, rising and splitting into layers like a wedding cake \u2014 no! look at the video panels overhead, angled in a dozen directions to help you single out whichever gentleman was currently singing, as a horde of dancers bobbed between the seven members. The centerpiece of the chaos was the music of \u201cARIRANG,\u201d the March album that ended a four-year break the group needed to pursue solo projects and complete mandatory service in the South Korean military. <\/p>\n
When BTS announced their reunion and the new album in January, fans and detractors alike wondered if the group would still possess the mojo of their COVID-era prominence, during which they earned six No. 1 entries on the Billboard Hot 100. Wednesday\u2019s performance at Gillette demonstrated that they\u2019ve still got it, and that it\u2019s matured into something far more compelling.<\/p>\n
![\"Fireworks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ETO5OBIY3FBGHB3HGLEDLAJUHM.jpg\")
Fireworks light up BTS’s first of two shows at Gillette Stadium.HYBE\/BIGHIT MUSIC<\/p>\n
Performing \u201cButter\u201d and \u201cDynamite,\u201d two of the songs that cemented their status as global superstars, BTS brought the requisite pep to boilerplate boy band choreography, but the material paled compared to the richer layers of \u201cARIRANG.\u201d \u201cDynamite\u201d was one of the least explosive moments of the two-hour show, dwarfed by more dynamic songs like \u201cBody to Body\u201d and \u201cFYA,\u201d and the velvety synth-pop of \u201cSWIM,\u201d the group\u2019s latest chart-topper, was smoother and more effortless than the boyish \u201cButter.\u201d On \u201cthey don\u2019t know \u2018bout us,\u201d another crowd favorite from the new record, the group\u2019s lyrics spelled out the shift: \u201cYou said we changed? We feel the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say there was no love for older tunes. Fans endearingly punctuated Jimin\u2019s dovelike vocals with rousing chants on the chorus of 2018\u2019s \u201cFake Love,\u201d and they seemed to take the 2015 tune \u201cRUN\u201d literally, moving in place with such fervor that you could feel the stadium tremble. <\/p>\n
BTS\u2019s final songs, \u201cPlease\u201d and \u201cInto the Sun,\u201d ditched the flashiness altogether, as the group performed sitting or standing in place while the stage gradually spun them to face every portion of the crowd. The energy had waned by that point, like a spinning top that was losing momentum and on the verge of tipping over. But for the first time, your eyes were drawn to just one thing: a row of evolving musicians, working in harmony.<\/p>\n
BTS<\/p>\n
At Gillette Stadium, Wednesday. Also Thursday<\/p>\n