After a hiatus of nearly four years, BTS finally came back in full throttle, announcing their new album, “ARIRANG,” and their awaited world tour. One of the stops being our very own borderland city, El Paso.
As a fan of BTS for almost 10 years, I cannot begin to describe the shock I felt. I was 9 years old when I first discovered the K-Pop band. At my grandmother’s house, in a separate room, my cousin asked my sister to pick between a “happy song,” and a “sad song.” She chose “Not Today” as the happy song, their most recent song at the time.
After my sister played the song for me a few days later, I immediately fell in love with it, and I can truly say that song changed my life in the best way possible. It meant so much to me because my sister, who loved it as well, made it a point to share it with me.
I spent the next nine years listening to new K-Pop artists, but none of them compared to the connection I had with BTS because their music resonated with me the most.
They are always the first artist I go to if I ever need a pick-me-up or if I ever want to listen to something nostalgic. They were also the reason I made so many friendships I still have to this day, so getting the chance to see them live was truly a blessing.
I don’t think any of us expected to see El Paso on the lineup of their tour, most people even going as far as bashing the city online for BTS not having picked a larger Texas city. However, it was now our turn to shine. According to RM, we were “hotter than this goddamn desert.”
I got the chance to attend the concert at their second stop at El Paso on May 3 and it was an experience I truly will never be able to forget. I fought very hard for those tickets and Ticketmaster was my biggest hater that day. Even with getting in the line early and having our mom and brother get into queue as well, it took almost 40 minutes for us to get onto the screen to buy the tickets.
With thousands of fans getting onto one page of the site, it was slow, and we almost lost the four tickets we were holding because of the delay. I even had the chance to get two more tickets, but I was kicked out of the site, leaving us with just the four we got.
Despite the drama that came with BTS arriving in El Paso and their hotel getting leaked through social media, the weekend seemed to be a success for concertgoers. Some fans and my friends even got to attend both days and I am so jealous of that.
The production of the concert was beautiful. The screens showed amazing videography with special effects added. Everything sounded perfect, and the performances by the members and the back-up dancers were so fitting for the concert’s aesthetic.
As soon as the first song, “Hooligan” started playing, I felt tears form in my eyes from the pure disbelief that I was finally seeing the band that changed my life. You may have seen me if you were in the crowd with my neon green NCT light stick waving all over the place. Even if it wasn’t the official BTS light stick, I still felt immersed in the whole experience.
It was a full circle moment for me, as I got to go with my sister and our cousin. I have never fangirled harder with someone than I did with my cousin. We even got to hear the song that started it all, “Not Today.,”
At every stop of their tour, they have two surprise songs at the end of their setlist, ranging from their debut album “2 kool for skool,” to “ARIRANG.” Every fan anticipates the announcement of what songs will be played. Once a certain song is played, it is no longer an option for other tour stops. I had hoped for two specific songs to be played, “Just One Day” and “Butterfly.”
As it reached the end of the night, the surprise songs were “Dionysus,” a song they haven’t performed since late 2020 and “Best of Me.” I have never screamed louder at a show than I did when I heard the first few seconds of “Dionysus” play. I apologize to my sister and cousin who may be suffering from hearing loss after sitting next to me.
Despite standing in a long line for almost three hours in the heat, I had an amazing time being there. Seeing the interactions between fans trading freebies and bonding over their shared love for BTS gave me such a warm feeling.
Arts & Culture Editor Abigail Perdoza at the BTS concert on May 3, in El Paso, Texas.
Everything was worth it in the end, including the headache I left with from screaming my heart out. Ultimately, the pain from standing all day and my voice being gone didn’t matter to me. I got to fulfill the dream 9-year-old me had: to watch BTS live and wave my light stick in the “ocean” of lights.
Abigail Pedroza is the Arts & Culture editor at The Prospector and may be reached at [email protected].
