[ad_1]
By Park Boram
SEOUL, July 15 (Yonhap) – The four concerts that the KTS BTS super group organized in Japan this month attracted a total of 210,000 fans, making the Japanese tour of the group's world tour a resounding success despite the deterioration diplomatic and trade relations between South Korea and Japan.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Korean Septet rocked the 50,000-seat ECOPA stadium in Shizuoka in Japan's second city on their "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself" world tour.
It was in addition to the group's concerts at the previous weekend at Yanmar Stadium Nagai, seat of 47,000 seats, in Osaka, the first leg of the Japanese tour.
In total, the concerts gathered 210 000 spectators, announced the management agency of the group, Big Hit Entertainment.
This photo, provided by Big Hit Entertainment, shows BTS performing at one of his concerts at Yanmar Stadium in Osaka, Osaka, on July 6 and 7, 2019.
"I love you: Speak for yourself" began in May at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, United States before hitting Brazil, England and France.
The Japanese leg came with a special set list; he presented the first stage presentation of the Japanese version of the group's last world song, "Boy With Luv".
It was one of three titles of "Lights / Boy With Luv", the Japanese single of BTS released on July 3.
The record has become Oricon's unique weekly record for the week of July 1-7, with 637,000 points, the highest score of the first week of all foreign artists in Japan.
The Sunday concert in Shizuoka was also screened live in 277 Japanese movie theaters, according to Big Hit.
The Japanese BTS expedition was little affected by the deterioration of diplomatic and commercial relations between Seoul and Tokyo. To protest court rulings in Seoul that ordered Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of forced labor in wartime, Japan has adopted measures to restrict exports of materials essential for semiconductor production and exhibitions to South Korea early July. Japan is generally expected to introduce new export restrictions, which will aggravate the trade dispute with South Korea at the World Trade Organization.
Bilateral trade and diplomatic relations have begun to show signs of influence in the public opinion in neighboring countries, with some South Korean consumers having begun boycotting Japanese goods and services.
This photo, provided by Big Hit Entertainment, shows BTS during its performances in the ECOPA stadium in Shizuoka on July 13 and 14, 2019. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Even in this context, the Japanese stadiums of the recent BTS concerts were packed and enthusiastic fans attended concerts featuring a mix of iconic BTS songs such as "Fire," "Not Today" and "Dionysus".
Big Hit said.
"We thank the Japanese army that has supported us since the first album until the single we released recently," said BTS, quoted by Big Hit, following the Japanese tour. ARMY is the name of the BTS group.
"The time we spend with ARMY is the best time for us, we are happy thanks to you who enjoyed the performance with us."
Building on the success of the Japanese tour, the BTS announced on Sunday that it was going to add a new Saudi stage to the "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself" tour.
Performance at Riyadh's King Fahd International Stadium, scheduled for October 11, makes the BTS the first non-Saudi artist to stage a solo stadium concert in the Arab country. Other foreign acts have occurred at festivals in the kingdom.
This panoramic view, provided by Big Hit Entertainment, shows the Osaka Yanmar Stadium Nagai at the BTS performances in this city on July 6 and 7, 2019. (PHOTO NO SALE) (Yonhap)
This panoramic view, provided by Big Hit Entertainment, shows the ECOPA stadium of Shizuoka during performances of the BTS in this city on July 13 and 14, 2019. (PHOTO NOT SALE) (Yonhap)
[ad_2]
Source link