{"id":606090,"date":"2026-09-20T09:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T09:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/606090\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T09:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T09:30:17","slug":"bts-returns-to-iheartradio-music-festival-after-6-years-le-sserafim-follows-on-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/606090\/","title":{"rendered":"BTS returns to iHeartRadio Music Festival after 6 years; Le Sserafim follows on day 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BTS BTS performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday. (Getty Images) <\/p>\n

BTS and Le Sserafim took the stage on consecutive nights at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, with BTS returning to the event after six years and Le Sserafim becoming the first K-pop girl group to perform there.<\/p>\n

BTS closed the festival\u2019s first night Friday at T-Mobile Arena, leaning heavily on large visuals and special effects for a cinematic feel.<\/p>\n

The group framed the performance around what it called \u201cBTS 2.0,\u201d a concept tied to its latest album and the group\u2019s current phase.<\/p>\n

\"BTS BTS performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on Friday in Las Vegas. (Getty Images) <\/p>\n

BTS opened with \u201cSwim,\u201d the lead track from its fifth LP, \u201cArirang,\u201d as wave imagery filled the screens behind the members. The group followed with \u201c2.0,\u201d another track from the album that echoed the theme of the set, as well as its 2017 hit “Mic Drop” and “Fya,”<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you so much, iHeart, for having us tonight,\u201d RM told the crowd after the opening performances. \u201cWe\u2019re having such a great and honorable time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing fans in the arena, he added, \u201cVegas always feels good thanks to you guys. Thank you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BTS BTS performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on Friday in Las Vegas. (Getty Images) <\/p>\n

In an interview conducted before the performance, J-Hope said the group was grateful to be back on large stages after completing their military service. RM reflected on the continued enthusiasm of BTS fans, known as Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re literally the best fans in the world,\u201d RM said. \u201cIt\u2019s been 14 years, and seeing them singing along to all the Korean lyrics, that\u2019s the most amazing part. That\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Le Sserafim took the stage the following day, becoming the first K-pop girl group to perform at the festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our first time performing here, so it\u2019s an absolute honor,\u201d Huh Yunjin said in a pre-show interview. \u201cWe also heard that it\u2019s the first time a K-pop girl group has participated in the show, so we\u2019re really honored and excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Le Le Sserafim performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday in Las Vegas. (Getty Images) <\/p>\n

The five-member group opened with \u201cMade My Night,\u201d its latest release created in collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment\u2019s shooting game \u201cOverwatch,\u201d before moving through \u201cBoompala,\u201d the lead track of its recent LP \u201c\u2018Pureflow\u2019, Pt. 1,\u201d as well as \u201cIconic By Mistake,\u201d \u201cSaki,\u201d \u201cSpaghetti\u201d and \u201cCrazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For \u201cIconic By Mistake,\u201d originally released in June as a collaboration with fellow Hybe girl groups Illit and Katseye, Le Sserafim performed a shortened version featuring only its own section.<\/p>\n

The group appeared in Western-inspired outfits incorporating cowboy boots, plaid and denim, giving the performance a visual theme that matched the Las Vegas setting.<\/p>\n

\"Le Le Sserafim performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday in Las Vegas. (Getty Images) <\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard that Vegas doesn\u2019t do anything halfway. Well, neither do we, so we would love for you to make most of the night with us,\u201d Yunjin told fans after performing \u201cMade My Night\u201d and \u201cBoompala.\u201d \u201cYou make our nights every night and we hope to make yours tonight in Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Le Sserafim\u2019s appearance follows a string of major festival and broadcast stages this year. The group recently performed at Summer Sonic 2026 in Japan and returned to BlizzCon in Anaheim, California, where it closed the main stage on Sept. 13.<\/p>\n

\"BTS BTS and Le Sserafim pose for a photo backstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival held in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena on Friday and Saturday. (Source Music) <\/p>\n

Ahead of its performance, Le Sserafim shared a photo with BTS on its official social media account Friday, drawing attention to the two Hybe acts\u2019 back-to-back appearances at the festival.<\/p>\n

The groups have also crossed paths musically in recent years. Huh Yunjin participated in a track from J-Hope\u2019s solo album in 2024, while J-Hope later featured on Le Sserafim\u2019s \u201cSpaghetti.\u201d<\/p>\n

The iHeartRadio Music Festival, held Friday and Saturday, is an annual two-day event held in Las Vegas that brings together the biggest names across multiple genres and formats. Other than BTS and Le Sserafim, this year\u2019s lineup featured artists including Cardi B, Snoop Dogg, Muse and Zara Larsson.<\/p>\n

lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BTS performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday. (Getty Images)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-606090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}