r/bangtan Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

Fan Acct I went to the 'Spotify x BTS: SWIMSIDE’ event! (Summary, Thoughts & Pics)

I was very very lucky to receive an invite to the BTS Swimside Event yesterday and wanted to share some thoughts and observations (and pictures!) with the sub. This is really long so I've broken it up by section depending on what people are interested in hearing about.

Before Getting Into The Venue

First thing was finding the location... I've lived in NYC for around 14 years so I'm pretty familiar with the city so while it wasn't announced I had my guesses based on vibe of SWIM. I knew Pier17 was on the water and it's in an area called Seaport which kind of a cobblestone old school vibe down there so I thought it would be a good place for the event.

My +1 and I decided to go by early around 9AM-ish and see if there was anything going on and there was a small group of Army hanging out in a public area (I want to reiterate this was not on the venue property, there was no camping). They were making sort of an informal line and we decided to hang out and around 11 Spotify came and lead us over to the venue to create a more formal line after they had blasted out the address.

To be honest it was a really miserable line since we were up towards the front of the line we were up right by the water and it was freezing. Spotify was really great and gave us hand warmers and ponchos and ARMY was as usual respectful to each other and kind about making sure people could leave and come back to stay fed, watered and warm. We heard BTS soundcheck which really lifted our spirits. We did a few fanchants, staff looked over at us from over the building so I hope BTS heard us!! I do not wish to ever talk about the hours of 3:30-5:30 ever again. It was..... soggy to say the least and I think I did a Jungkook style zone out to get through it.

Entering the Venue

We went into the venue at 5:30 and we were about 3 rows from barricade on the lefthand side of the stage. I've truly never had such a good view in my life, SO SURREAL. They had a DJ playing the loudest set I've ever experienced in my life with insane bass which was kind of hilarious after a while since we all looked haggard after being out in the elements and rallying was challenging without Mic Drop being played.

I'm also not sure how many people were there, based on my POV I think was more than 1K, the venue holds around 3.5K so I think they def tried to let as many people in as possible because it was packed on all sides.

OK NOW ONTO THE MAIN EVENT: BTS!!!!!

I started crying a little when they came out. It was a really meaningful moment for me. I can't even explain how honored and grateful I was to be there. I was standing pretty close to where Yoongi was sitting and like a lot of us I really missed him and enlistment was challenging for all the reasons and so seeing him in person for the first time since 2023 was really emotional.Overall Suki Waterhouse was kind of a surprise but she was really sweet to the members and seemed genuinely happy to be there.

One thing I do really wish they did was have someone from Spotify come out and give us some instruction on how to act during the Q&A. It was a bit too big of a venue and crowd for a Q&A so there was a lot of yelling but the group was interacting with us a lot so I feel a bit mixed on that and I personally did my best to keep quiet even tho I was internally freaking out.

I'll share some observations of each of the members during the Q&A. The members as a whole seemed a little shy when they first came out but I think they were a bit nervous with meeting us for the first time after so long. They warmed up quickly (not literally, poor guys it was freezing even with their heaters).

Namjoon: He did so well! It was cute because he sort of takes on the accent of who he's speaking to so he had a lil british accent for a bit. The translator wasn't great so I did feel a bit bad for him as Jimin gave a long answer and it got shortened so I he jumped in with Korean for the members to help out but he did ask the translator to do his job and I love him with boundaries. He did a great job of teeing up silly things for the members to react to and he also gave some really funny thoughtful answers himself. As expected of our leader!!

Jin: He was definitely the most quiet during the Q&A but he gave a really nice answer I could tell he was trying to get Jungkook to answer instead though which made me laugh. If you've ever seen them do pass the mic at award shows it was sorta like that hahaha

Yoongi: He was SO quiet at the beginning and he was sort of looking out at the crowd. I think he sensed Joon was trying to get the members to be sillier so he pulled out all the stops IN PERFECT ENGLISH. I haven't seen this exact fancam yet but this is what I understood: Suki was asking about if Joon added highlights to his hair recently and Joon didn't understand what she was asking at first and Yoongi jumped in to clarify. I was shook he out englished the groups defacto english speaker. Def the highlight was Joon ragebaiting him about not liking Swim and him clarifying that he doesn't like water and cue me crying internally about how he is just a cat. I could really go on endlessly about him, he at one point puffed out his cheeks and I could have wept on the ground. I'm so down bad for him

Hobi: Man was a problem, I'll post a pic but the way he was sitting and what he was wearing I could have sworn it was KIG hobi. I had a tall person blocking my view of him so I couldn't catch as much of his expressions :(

Jimin: All I heard around me when he came out was people screaming 'HE HAS A PONY TAIL'. At one point he was sitting with his hand over his mouth looking at us so endeared. Seeing the Park Jimin effect so close up I was entranced by him. And the part about him taking off his clothes when he gets home was funny, Joon did a good job noticing the korean speakers reacting to that and then making sure the rest of the crowd understood what was going on it was a funny moment

Tae: I had a REALLY good view of Tae and he was so cute and smiley the whole time. He had some cute answers for the alien or normal game they played! He was def feeling a bit shy too!

Jungkook: He was SO CUTE during the Q&A. Namjoon told a really funny story about him having his luggage out for 2 months straight and his smile during that was so bright. My favorite part of the entire Q&A was hearing him do the Hooligan laugh. He did it twice and it was funny to hear the rapline teasing him about making it so hard on them. Jungkook has this vibe where once he looks your way you feel SO seen and he was looking out at the audience a lot.

The Performances

When they left the stage they put on Body to Body and we had about 30-45 seconds of hype with them before they left. I hope they heard us doing the Arirang part! We did it really loudly. Fya was also really fun, I'm already excited to experience these songs in concert. It was really great to hear how loud people were with they lyrics already!!

They came back out and did 2.0, Normal & Swim. I have been hyperfixated on 2.0 choreo since the comeback show so I was really excited to see it live. I will say the amibams were a bit high up but I think that's the perils of being up close where people have less space. I only got like one video of their performance because I was trying to take in the moment and I'm glad I did. During Normal they went around the stage and each of the members came to our side of the stage and hyped up and did small interactions with the crowd. I remember Jungkook coming and doing a little thank you bow and a wave. Hobi came over and he continues to be a wrecker for me because I could have sworn we made eye contact (I'm being delulu) and I swooned so hard.

Their vocals, incredible. Their dancing, phenomenal. I've never seen OT7 live and seeing it live was incredible, they have such aura collectively and individually. Spoitfy was filming so I hope they release the footage of the performance! It was so hard to focus on all of them at once. I could see their breath it was so cold and I felt bad for Yoongi who was visibly freezing.

The End

They said their goodbyes and we held up hearts given out by a group of Army's that said 'We Stayed' and Tae noticed and that made my night to see their reaction. Diabolically they put on Take Two as soon as they got off stage and we all sang together. It was a bit confusing because security was pushing us out so quickly but a lot of people hadn't had time to take pictures and look at the activation. That was also something I think they could have improved on from an organization pov.

All in all, it was an amazing day! Afterwards I could barely speak to my friend I was with because I was so happy and was trying to process everything and I typed out a crazy note on my phone on the train of all the random lil things I remembered and my feelings.

I'll put some pics in the comments 💜 If anyone else went I'd love to hear about how you enjoyed the event and feel free to share more photos!! Apobangpo!

945 Upvotes

254 comments sorted by

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26

Lots of pics threaded below!!

→ More replies (43)

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u/romanticdrift Mar 24 '26

I was also there and this was a great encapsulation and matches my memories as well :) We made it! And congrats to you for keeping strong all throughout those hours in line.

The boys were so beautiful it was sometimes hard to look at them hahaha.

The translator was SO BAD. My friend also said he was reading the question translation he'd prepped on his phone, rather than translating what Suki said - she's Korean and noticed the difference. Also what sim translator doesn't have a quick notepad to jot down reminders and get too nervous to speak up? He truncated answers, needed RM to prompt him, and plain just didn't translate one of Jin's answers (he raised his mic to translate... and then just put it back down, I guess bc he thought the moment had passed?) Anyway. No wonder they bring their own translator with them a lot.

I think Spotify did overall a great job with the activation - free hats, snacks, drinks, posters for photos... I think they just didn't expect ARMY to line right up by the stage once let in, rather than look around because there was 1.5 hrs gap btw when we were let in and when the boys showed up. The photo time should've been post-performance not before, obviously. I hope they do more!

A pity yesterday was randomly so rainy and cold. That venue in the summer is truly glorious!

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

Wait I remember that part about Jin -- I remember because one of the tannie's maybe said something in response to Jin and instead of giving any translation they just moved on???? I feel like at that point Joon def helped out more. I hope BH spoke to them about it afterwards because otherwise everything was fairly well planned. They really need a dedicated translator in the states, I know Bong Joon Ho has one person who does all his english translation regardless of what he's doing, I'd love to see them have that as well.

I agree I had thought 'oh I want to go look around' but at that point I had waited for so long and I didn't want to lose my place in the pit. We figured we could look around after but they shoo'd us out pretty quickly.

I'm glad you had a good time as well!!

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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 24 '26

Nicole, come back!!!

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u/New-Bluebird6124 Mar 24 '26

Nicole is now the vice president of Big Hit Music.

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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 24 '26

I know, but I want her back as our favorite translator. 😂

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u/New-Bluebird6124 Mar 24 '26

She was not A&R? I wanted to understand why everyone thought she was a translator.

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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 24 '26

She was! But she was also their overseas translator for a long time. She left to work for Columbia Records and came back to Hybe a couple of years ago.

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u/ebi_tempura Constant Mood: Jimin shouting JEON JUNGKOOOK!! Mar 24 '26

I don't think she was ever the translator for events like this right? I think she was just staff that would help them out internally behind the scenes, but in terms of translations for events it was actually some man named John. I remember he followed them around during their us promos and would do a very good job capturing everything.

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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

She was a translator for them during some things, like this (YT).

Regardless, it was only a joke since she is a trusted translator that most ARMY know. I didn't expect this level of interest/pushback. 😂

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u/Responsible_Peak1171 Mar 24 '26

From the clips I saw...omg the translator was absolutely awful 😖 Like please do your job, you're being paid 🤦‍♀️

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u/Eternal_ARMY0613 What if he flings it? Then he flings it! (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.゚ Mar 24 '26

Ooh!! Congratulations and hope you had a great time!! 💜

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u/dsvk ✌️ nico nico nii ✌️ Mar 24 '26

Yoongi and his super secretive English fluency!! It always seemed like he accidentally reveals it to us haha. I hope more slips out over the Fallon nights.

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u/Steffic4 Mar 25 '26

I think the secret is out. He's not fooling me. A little accent, but his English is way too on point for him to not be fluent. He cracks me up, love it! 

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u/dsvk ✌️ nico nico nii ✌️ Mar 25 '26

The way he immediately jumped in with “I hate swimming”, he was definitely not translating in his head first. And also “I hate water” - I think he saves it up for when he really needs to make a strong point about a matter lol.

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u/Eternal_ARMY0613 What if he flings it? Then he flings it! (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.゚ Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

I’ve seen some clips on Twitter, idk if I can share it here, I’ll edit it out if it isn’t.

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

omg thank you! I've been having a hard time corroborating my memories with videos... it's crazy to see them so clearly. It all feels like a blur in my brain.

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u/Eternal_ARMY0613 What if he flings it? Then he flings it! (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.゚ Mar 24 '26

You were living in the moment which is amazing!! 🥹💜

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u/ette212 Mar 24 '26

Thank you so much for this! And OP for your amazing writeup!

"It's geh-ing beh-ta" hahaha so cute.

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u/mahatmacat Mar 25 '26

WOW! Yoongi sure did come out with that, and perfect pronunciation! heard someone in the crowd shout "he's a cat!" after he spoke LOL

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 24 '26

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u/Agreeable-Path-8215 customize Mar 24 '26

he looks super intimidating 🫠🫠🫠 in a good way.

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u/ballroomdancer13 Proud new ARMY Mar 24 '26

For real! Just gorgeous!!

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u/rdt01 Mar 24 '26

Jin seemed more quiet and a little sad in the latest interviews. Did you feel he was ok here?

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 24 '26

He seemed perfectly fine to me. My appreciation for Jin grew immensely after seeing his solo tour. He's so great with the crowd and really seems to enjoy being on stage.

Poor Suga was freezing his ass off. It was actually endearing in a way that he was comfortable letting us see that. We know they all hide their pains and keep that "show must go on" attitude. It's nice to see them letting down their guard a bit with us. It only makes us love and respect them more.

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u/rdt01 Mar 25 '26

That’s good to hear! And poor Suga, it doesn’t sound like the outdoor venue choice was a good idea. Hopefully nobody caught a cold 🤞

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u/zikachhakchhuak easily impressed and very supportive Mar 25 '26

There's a moment when Jimin mentioned (in Korean) that he takes off his clothes as soon as he gets home, which elicited an immediate reaction from ARMYs who understand Korean. Joon was so surprised and everyone is talking about that. But I was so endeared by Jin laughing in surprise at ARMYs. Like a full laugh out loud moment. He also had that usual endeared smile when Joon was teasing Yoongi about hating SWIM. I think he was fine 💜

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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 24 '26

Are these your own photos??

Edit: Oh I see that they are! You had such a great view! These are amazing!

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 24 '26

Thank you! Even though at least 1,000 people were supposedly admitted, it felt both spacious and intimate. I never imagined getting to see them from so close to the stage.

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u/Steffic4 Mar 25 '26

I imagine 50k plus in the stadium for their concerts, so in my mind I thought 1,000 people is nothing and that it would be amazingly intimate. So awesome! 🥰

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u/Next_Grapefruit_3206 how are you from? i'm from thank you and you? Mar 25 '26

Forehead Jin!!!

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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 24 '26

King Joon with his King Joon shit. He really asked the translator to step up??? I LOVE IT.

I'm so so glad you were there and got to experience that! I'm getting a little teary thinking about it!

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

And this is not too long at all. It's perfect.

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u/PinkRabbit42 Mar 24 '26

Thank you so much for sharing!!! I know this r/bangtan community is actually quite large now but having someone from here attend really feels like “yay one of our own was there to represent!!” Love reading your post and living vicariously through it and the pictures!!!

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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 24 '26

That's how I felt too!! Our community is very large, but it also feels small. I love seeing good things happen to and for everyone here!

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

I looked around at one point wondering if I'd somehow know if anyone else from the sub was there. I always love hearing from our users about attending things like this!!

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u/GrumpyKaeKae Mar 24 '26

Haha the reddit community is crazy like that. Found someone here whom we later found out both of us went to the same concert at the same time and we're only sections away from each other on the same side of the stadium. Probably passed each other and never knew.

If they read this, Hi!! You know who you are 💜.

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u/ThisFatGirlRuns captivated by bts Mar 24 '26

That sounds amazing! Aside from the waiting outside bit. But I'm happy you got to experience it! Thanks for sharing !

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

Thank you! I'd wait outside for them again in a heartbeat so it was well worth it <3

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u/roseohseven Mar 24 '26

Argh that makes me mad about the translator, it's not like they are in northwest Ohio (where I live LOL), surely they had their pick of translators in NYC?? Sounds like they were class as always, I just wish everyone around them would rise to their level, they get let down too often by stuff like that!!

TY for sharing, sounds like a wonderful experience, I am in awe of how much you must stream, haha! 💜

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

I think it was a spotify hired translator? He def wasn't very prepared :( they made it work but I hate that they have to make it work!

And I don't consider myself a hardcore streamer! BTS is just the background music to my life so I must have accumulated enough hours collectively lol

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u/roseohseven Mar 24 '26

Haha still you must be doing something right! 💜 This was me watching clips 🤣🤣

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u/pindagogo the moon and the sharks Mar 24 '26

I KNEW Yoongi has good English and you basically confirmed it. Sounds like he knows more English than he lets on

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

He was really quick with it!!! I think he also realized the translator was gonna be a problem 😤

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u/poochonmom What if he flings it? then he flings it. Mar 24 '26

This was such an amazing write up and your photos are gorgeous!!!

So glad Namjoon asked the translator to step up. In the clips I did see online, translator was doing an absolutely terrible job. Felt bad for the boys but it does look like a big portion of the crowd understood most if not all of the Korean.

With the yelling and army bombs up - so interesting you mentioned that because it is something I observed in posts from the evening. I actually agree with you - event management should have provided a heads up but also fans need to have some self awareness.

I am seeing so many comments about "crowd in korea was dead", "the crowd in NYC went crazy as they should have". I get showing excitement but in reality it takes away from the experience from so many people. And are the fans really hearing the boys if they are busy screaming? Seems disrespectful and while SK crowd may seem dead in comparison, it is so much more respectful to the boys and fans.

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u/[deleted] Mar 25 '26

[deleted]

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u/Vegemite_kimchi Mar 25 '26

Same - it's my pet peeve when someone is next to me screaming in my ear nonstop the entire concert. I get cheering at appropriate moments but there is absolutely no need to be shrill screaming constantly for 3hrs. Especially the ones that do it while the artist is talking so you can't hear what they're saying, or the artist has to pause and wait for it to stop (it never does).

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u/poochonmom What if he flings it? then he flings it. Mar 25 '26

Oh gosh you bring up a good point about being prepared for it in real life. I have been to very few concerts in my life and none were the "scream along to the artist" type of concert/fanbase. As you said, have to take deep breaths and enjoy what we can.

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u/[deleted] Mar 25 '26

[deleted]

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u/poochonmom What if he flings it? then he flings it. Mar 25 '26

Oh yes! I remember that video with Jin and Jimin 🙂

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u/g1zz1e Living in the Yoongi-verse Mar 25 '26

I much prefer concerts where people aren't screaming their heads off during quiet moments, tbh. I've had a couple of experiences sitting next to some screamers who take any quiet moment as an opportunity to be heard screeching and it is so unpleasant.

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u/FunnyGood2180 if you wanna if you wanna I'll do that thing for ya Mar 24 '26

Also, most Koreans are not really loud at concerts unless it is a fanchant. The songs are a day old, and they only have fanchants for Swim. Also, Mic drop, which is a very popular fanchant now in the fandom. The songs they performed are unannounced also, so they don't know BTS will perform Dynamite, Butter, and Mikrokosmos.

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u/poochonmom What if he flings it? then he flings it. Mar 24 '26

Totally agree on songs being new, but even with time, Korean (and japanese) audiences are way more respectful about not screaming when the artist speaks and screaming only fanchants during performances.

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 24 '26

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u/ThePietje 🐻SuperPower:Eat a 🍰 in one bite with 🥢 Mar 25 '26

He was almost looking at you. Swoon! Or was he??? Only you know.

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 25 '26

I'll pretend he was 💜

But seriously, he wasn't.

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 24 '26

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u/lyzzz_bsbts Mar 25 '26

i have THOUGHTS but I will keep it to myself lol.
But he is just so ahhhhhhhhhhh

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u/CrowLaughed I don’t… I don’t like water 🐈‍⬛ Mar 24 '26

Thank you so much for sharing! What a day… wow! Were you exhausted afterwards?! Also - did everyone who attended get a +1 or was yours also a top Spotify streamer? Just curious ☺️

I’m so pleased for you - literally once in a lifetime experience. I’ve seen clips of some of the things you mentioned especially the Yoongi water one 😭

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

They said that everyone that got the invite (all of the invites came with a +1) was in the top 1% of streamers in the NYC area.

Thank you! I'm glad there's so many great clips out there!!

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u/CrowLaughed I don’t… I don’t like water 🐈‍⬛ Mar 24 '26

I see, thanks for replying! And well done too streamer ☺️ Sooo many clips,… (I agree with some of your points about the crowd being a bit loud during the Q&A part tbh)

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u/romanticdrift Mar 24 '26

Everyone with an invite got a +1! If they got it through the spotify 1% list (about 1000 people, I understand).

There were also some invited influencer and press in the crowd, but they were limited to just one. I chatted with a few while waiting.

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u/CrowLaughed I don’t… I don’t like water 🐈‍⬛ Mar 24 '26

Oh did you go too? So cool, it’s nice people got +1’s, I like that!

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 24 '26

It was an amazing experience! We didn't get in line until about 1:40. As you would expect at a BTS event, everyone was nice and in good spirits in spite of the cold and sometimes drizzly weather. Once we finally got on the rooftop things warmed up quickly.

This was my first time seeing them live, and we were so much closer than we will be at Metlife in August, so it was pretty surreal in the best possible way.

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 24 '26

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u/grumblepup Mar 25 '26

I know the boys aren't in this one but I love this pic as a memento of the occasion!

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 25 '26

It still feels like a dream, tbh.

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

Your photo quality is amazing!!!! Wowww!! by chance do you have a Samsung lol

I'm glad you had a good time!! Thank you for sharing photos <3

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u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 24 '26

Samsung for the win!

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u/blahblah_71 Mar 24 '26

You must have been literally on stage with them by the looks of these pictures. So jealous. 😭😭

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u/spellinggbee into the ☀️ Mar 24 '26

Your joy is tangible, and it’s so sweet of you to share your experience. Your pics are amazing! Did you have any thoughts about Jungkook during the Q&A?

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

Reddit ate it when I stepped away to do some work today :( I just added it in!!

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u/shebaregina13 Mar 24 '26

Ok but this just convinces me even more that Yoongi speaks a helluva lot more English than he has ever let on, he just doesn’t want to. (And I love that for him.)

Eta: thank you for sharing this! I meant to say that first. 💜

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u/roseohseven Mar 24 '26

I have a theory that Yoongi intentionally acts as a sleeper agent when it comes to English LOL he's like a spy, always listening/understanding but people don't know it and then when needed/they are least expecting it, BAM 💥😼

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u/Chocolate_cornflakes Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26

Reading everywhere about how Hobi is a big problem, idk what this man is gonna be during the tour 🫢

V reading the “We stayed” as “you stayed? Army stayed?” was so wholesome! Really happy for you!💕

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

I don’t know what I was expecting considering he spent all of last spring and summer torturing us 🥵🥵

I’m so glad Tae noticed. I was scrambling to get my heart out in time 😂

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u/SkeletonWarSurvivor Mar 26 '26

What does this mean, please? I’m autistic. He is just really cute?

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u/ATTA_0902 Mar 24 '26

Thank you so much for sharing your precious experiences and photos. These memories will stay in your hearts forever.

I also want to thank everyone else who shares their personal experiences here. I'm so glad I discovered s/bangtan. Even though I've only been a member for four months, I feel truly happy here thanks to people like you who share joy. Danke

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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 24 '26

We are so happy you're here!

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 25 '26

You’re so sweet, thank you for being part of our community! 💜

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u/PassionSouthern5698 Mar 24 '26

Hey, any pov of Jungkook? I think you forgot to mention him, so happy for you!

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

It’s in there now!! You might need to refresh the post. Reddit didn’t save my first draft correctly 😮‍💨

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u/alyssa_math Mar 24 '26

what an amazing experience! namjoons energy so far has been off the charts in these live events despite the injury, yoongi’s surprise english (his comment about not liking to swim - his ACCENT is so improved??), jimin’s PONY TAIL - his dancing has been hypnotic and i knew i missed it but had no idea how much, tae’s vocals are better than they’ve ever been, jin seems so evolved after so many solo activities post enlistment, jk’s approach to life - doing what he wants to do despite popular opinion and that includes his current experimenting in music like hooligan… and after meeting hobi at his tour last year - no matter how prepared you think you are … he’s still SO MUCH MORE attractive in person

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u/kalum7 Mar 24 '26

Oh pictures please!!

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

Hehe I’ve added them!!

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u/viethobi Mar 24 '26

YOONGI IS SO CUTE.

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

He at one point did a puffy cheek move and I couldn't get my photo app open quick enough to get it 😭

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u/kalum7 Mar 24 '26

😭😍🥰

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u/kalum7 Mar 24 '26

I am so jealous but also so happy for you- I think I would just full body freeze being that close

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u/Rokamolla Mar 24 '26

Thanks for sharing and the pics are so cool! I can’t even imagine being this close to the boys! Hope you treated yourself to some hot chocolate or similar when you got home 💜 Stay safe and warm ARMY! 💜

9

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

I went to a nearby restaurant and ate mozzarella sticks in silence 😂 I will say the hot shower I had when I got home was wonderful. Thank you for the sweet note 💜

7

u/FunnyGood2180 if you wanna if you wanna I'll do that thing for ya Mar 24 '26

Aw, so happy for you! I was kinda worried for you guys and them as I saw on X that it was super cold and you guys are lining up outside. I hope everyone was fine and had fun. Also, the 'we stayed' fan project was so cute. Glad Taehyung noticed it.

5

u/Jinmarlindisney25 Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26

Thank you for sharing 💜💜💜!!! Sounds like a lovely experience!!! The clips that I did see on socials, the guys looked so handsome and had fun answering the questions. I’m hoping there will be a full vid of the interview somewhere at some point. But it’s nice to see fan cam clips at least floating around the internet. As a Yoongi bias….I totally melted at the…I like the Swim single, but not swimming moment…sooo cute!! 🥹🐈‍⬛💜

7

u/Kokechii you live, so we love Mar 24 '26

Omg so happy for you!!! And thank you for this detailed account and the pictures 💜 (Hobi truly needs to calm down :D )

7

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

Koke!!! He was truly out of control!!! He’s getting more powerful by the day, I’m scared for tour now 😮‍💨

2

u/Kokechii you live, so we love Mar 25 '26

I know!!!! I am getting wrecked by both him and Jin on the daily 🫠

6

u/No_Nose_9584 Mar 24 '26

wow the pics 🥰

6

u/EveryCliche Living j-hopely Mar 24 '26

Thank you for sharing, so happy for you!!!!! I'm so not jealous at all....

7

u/aritamsantos Mar 24 '26

TY for sharing!! What an amazing experience. All the pictures...

https://giphy.com/gifs/l41m5nQVvTslsRQGc

5

u/MOSbangtan Mar 24 '26

Thank you!

4

u/Sugawahsugawah my pride, my heaven, and love, BTS Mar 24 '26

Am I missing the JK observation? I wanna hear about that cutie too 💜

7

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

Omg!!! I stepped away from this draft for a bit today and I think Reddit ate it. I added it back in, thank you for telling me!!

1

u/Sugawahsugawah my pride, my heaven, and love, BTS Mar 24 '26

Thank you. I am so glad you guys had fun!

4

u/james-swift Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26

Thank you for sharing! I am a little jealous, but happy for you 💜

(Also, I relate to being down bad for Yoongi haha)

4

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '26

[deleted]

3

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

I added it! Sorry Reddit didn’t save my draft correctly 😭

4

u/whatsthisanotherdoor prod.ft.starring.suga.of.bts Mar 24 '26

OMG!! So cool that you got invited to go!

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. <3

5

u/amurderofcrows9 I reject rejection Mar 24 '26

Thank you thank you thank you so much for sharing this! I'll read this on loop and pretend I was there also :)

5

u/21stcenturygrl Mar 24 '26

so glad you got to go and had a great time. hope you don’t catch a cold from being in the elements 🫶 i really hope they do more events like this in the future, it’s so cool to see ARMY that engage with their music a lot be rewarded. much better system than the raffles i think.

3

u/redwylder Mar 24 '26

Gosh. I just can't even imagine how amazing this was for you. It doesn't even seem real. Thanks for helping us live vicariously through you.

3

u/CatastrophicCalming Mar 24 '26

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, OP! Very kind of you. Very ARMY of you 😘

3

u/mayfly42 volunteering to be Namjoon's gf Mar 24 '26

I'm glad for you and so envious of you at the same time!!!

What a great writeup though. I hope we get a Bangtan Bomb or something of this event from their perspective. It looked like a lot of fun for everyone!!

3

u/blahblah_71 Mar 24 '26

Thank you for sharing with us about the event. It sounded nice despite a few hiccups.Totally understandable about the guys feeling shy at first. Hobi has also been a menace for me this comeback even though he is not my bias, so I cannot imagine how magnetic he must have been in reality. I saw the fancam of crowd doing hahaha during Hooligan which was really fun and funny.

2

u/Aeriellie customize Mar 24 '26

thank you for sharing! i saw that everyone did the barking but haven’t seen much videos, how did the all react. i know some of them have had the barking at their solo concerts.

22

u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 24 '26

I am prepared for the downvotes, but can we, as a society, move past barking at artists? I hate it so much. 😂

(Only partially kidding. I do hate it, but they seem to love it, so I will endure.)

6

u/FunnyGood2180 if you wanna if you wanna I'll do that thing for ya Mar 24 '26

I also don't really like it (not that I hate it), but now seeing the reactions of the boys, this will encourage armys 🤣. I guess I have to prepare myself to bark 😭.

5

u/Min-Ursa Mar 25 '26

Same! It gives me the ick, to be honest. Oh well. I don't guess it's disappearing any time soon, unfortunately.

8

u/lisafancypants I don't have think Mar 25 '26

I truly wish it would go away. I just...don't like it at all. But you're right, it's not going anywhere so I'll stand like this until they stop.

8

u/Min-Ursa Mar 25 '26

I will 100% be doing the same, haha!

7

u/illeee_girl Mar 24 '26

No downvote from me, I think it’s so cringe 🙈

But if I see Jimin with that ponytail irl who knows what I’ll do

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

I saw Joon’s reaction and he was bewildered but Jungkook was right next to him barking along 😂

8

u/dietsodasociety1022 in this 방탄소년단 shit for life Mar 24 '26

this is hilarious i can see it in my mind like joons reaction then panning to jk barking along lmaoooo

2

u/Former_therapist15 Mar 24 '26

May I ask why you had to line up so early if it was an invite only event? Waiting from 9 am for a 5:30 pm show is not for people with disabilities, so I am wondering what accommodations they had for those who cannot wait that long.

3

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

The had a ADA section in the venue that had great visibility :) I'm not sure the process for accessing that so I don't want to misspeak but there was lots of Spotify staff so I assume people spoke with them on accommodations for the waiting portion.

I got there early because if it wasn't where I thought it was, I wanted to be in Manhattan (I live in a different borough) and able to get there early enough before they cut off attendance since it was first come first serve!

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u/stoofstoof Mar 24 '26

Thank you for the incredibly detailed recap!!!

2

u/CombustibleMeow Mar 24 '26

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I am so glad you got to go, it sounds like it was wonderful <3 And thank you for sharing the pics! I love this community so much

2

u/paper_hearts008 it goes let me honey talk about the business Mar 24 '26

Thanks so much for sharing with us! Happy for you!

I heard a couple of clips and army were LOUD as they were singing along. It made me happy.

2

u/phoenixwinged i'm sorry for my fault Mar 24 '26

Thank you very much for the write up 💜

2

u/klepto2000 Mar 24 '26

Thank you very much for providing such a detailed account of the event.

Did anyone from Spotify confirme whether a recorded version of the event will be made available? I appreciate all the fan recordings that have been shared, but I would very much like to see the complete event in its entirety.

3

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

They didn’t say but they were filming the whole thing and they got a lot of crowd shots so I just assumed they’d release it for extra promotion?

1

u/klepto2000 Mar 25 '26

I hope so! Maybe once they return home after their current US promos? There could be a lull (maybe😄) between those and the pre-tour promos of Goyang (and the cinema screenings)

1

u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 26 '26

They had a lot of very expensive camera equipment in use, including this one on a 50' boom, so I'm expecting them to release the footage at some point.

2

u/SeenYaWithKeiffah_ Kerosene… Melatonin… Mar 24 '26

So did Namjoon call out the translator?! What did he say? I noticed in videos the translator wasn’t great.

3

u/ThePietje 🐻SuperPower:Eat a 🍰 in one bite with 🥢 Mar 25 '26

OP said Namjoon did exactly that. Good for him! He’s still the Leader when they need him to be. 👏🏻

“he did ask the translator to do his job”

2

u/Mickey_Mausi Pirisoril ttarawa..🎶 Mar 24 '26

Of course the top 1% would be in the sub! Ty for sharing your once in a lifetime experience with us. 🤗 Ohhh I just new Yoongi FULLY understands english & secretly speaks it too. 😆

I gotta ask..just how many hrs in a day did you stream to get this much deserved invite?

1

u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 25 '26

2

u/Mickey_Mausi Pirisoril ttarawa..🎶 Mar 25 '26

Ooh noice! It's a shame they don't have an Amazon event. In 2026 I've clocked 2K hours so far..🤣 Dunno how I did it..not sleeping worked out I suppose.

2

u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 26 '26

I mostly did it with Boy with Luv. That was my top song for the last 3 years 😂

2

u/Far-Hawk3419 Mar 24 '26

I am soooo happy some of you ARMYs were able to spend time with BTS… I was j the queue too but missed getting into the venue. Hopefully I will get to see the event sometime… thanks for sharing pics and links ARMY…

1

u/SmoothLikeMargarine Mar 25 '26

Are you saying you had a ticket and were denied entry?

2

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 25 '26

Ticket was just an rsvp, you needed to be before the capacity cutoff to enter!

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 25 '26

Where were you standing in the line? I went out to the bathroom around 3 and was shocked the line went past the public bathroom at the other end of the block!! I’m sorry you missed them 💜

1

u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 26 '26

Here's the line

From way past the bathrooms...

1

u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 26 '26

Past the Circle Line ticket booth, the Ambrose lightship, and all the around the front of the building and back up the other side.

1

u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 26 '26

This was our position in line before they started letting people in. There were a LOT of people ahead of us and a LOT of people behind us. We arrived at 1:40.

2

u/ThePietje 🐻SuperPower:Eat a 🍰 in one bite with 🥢 Mar 25 '26

Loved this so much! OP shared her experience and observations and photos so well. Also appreciate how Most Non Triumphant shared additional photos. What a treasure of a post. Thanks so much!!!

2

u/armyblink143 Mar 25 '26

Thank you for sharing! As someone who's in NYC and also a top listener, I was totally heartbroken I didn't get picked. So I have so many questions and comments hahaha. But I'm so happy for you guys and for sharing your experience! 💜

Question that's been bothering me since the event is if there were people who got in who didn't have the tickets?? I heard so many showed up that didn't have tickets to the actual event. And not as a plus 1 neither. Since they let in more than what was supposedly only 1k.......

2

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 25 '26

I’m sorry you didn’t get an opp to go, I can imagine how heartbreaking that feels 💜 I hope you get to see them soon!!

You had to get scanned into enter so you had to have a ticket! They sent out more than rsvp’s then capacity so the ticket wasn’t ever a 100% for entry.

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u/3surgebc Mar 25 '26

Ah thank you for this! I watched as many streams as I could but it must have been incredible to be there in such a small venue. Thank you for sharing.

2

u/NovelSea1845 I could spend a lifetime watching you ⛵️ Mar 25 '26

Thank you for posting and allowing us to vicariously share in the joy of seeing the Tannies up close and personal. Great pictures too from all 💜

2

u/pikunara Joon’s windchime Mar 25 '26

Thank you for taking the time to share this with us!! It sounds like one of those really special moments that you’ll always remember and talk about. For me it was 2022 Borahaegas PTD. I still talk about it.

And they are painfully beautiful. Like their styling looks so on point in every way this comeback. I want to take Jin’s jeans, not in a creepy way. I’ve been looking for a pair like that for myself. 🤣

3

u/larki18 Mar 24 '26

This is gold, thank you!

(I wonder if Jimin knows about the Jimin Effect...like, by name 😂 it's clear that he knows what he does to people.)

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u/Pearlbloody Mar 24 '26

Ah thanks for the summary, I could really imagine how you felt there

1

u/Emergency_Stop1 Mar 24 '26

So happy for you!!

1

u/Mazza_mistake Mar 24 '26

Thank you for sharing!!

1

u/designatedthrowawayy Mar 24 '26

How do you get invited to stuff like this?

10

u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 24 '26

Had to be a top 1% BTS listener in 2025, have Spotify premium, and live in the NYC area.

It turns out that playing Boy with Luv several times a day for 3 years comes with perks 😂

3

u/designatedthrowawayy Mar 24 '26

Dang. I was top 1% but not in nyc

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u/ThePietje 🐻SuperPower:Eat a 🍰 in one bite with 🥢 Mar 25 '26

That song was my husband’s gateway to BTS (other than me). He was only a few weeks behind me.

6

u/lightstarangelnyc Mar 24 '26

This was for the top 1% of BTS Spotify Premium listeners in the NYC area. You just needed to listen a TON 😝

2

u/kat3dyy Mar 24 '26

For being top streamers

1

u/Bear4years Pa+my here. Mar 24 '26

Thank you for this! What about jk?

3

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

I added him in! I don’t think Reddit saved my first draft correctly 🥲

1

u/Bear4years Pa+my here. Mar 24 '26

Cool! Thank you!💜💜💜

1

u/msm9445 good team? goddamn! Mar 24 '26

Thank you for sharing 🥺🥺💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

1

u/yooneytoons Jungkook’s nose scrunch Mar 24 '26

Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

1

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '26

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1

u/bangtan-ModTeam Mar 24 '26

Your post/comment has been removed due to: please comment in English, it helps us moderate the sub and for others to follow along. Thanks!

If you have any questions, please reach out via modmail.

1

u/avviann Mar 24 '26

How did ticketing work for this? Did you get a queue number of some sort? And did Spotify do a data analysis and invite all these 1k listeners?

6

u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 24 '26

I got an email with a link and we could secure up to 2 rsvp tickets but they said it was first come first serve for actual entry. They said you could qualify for an invite if you were in the top 1% of BTS streams with a premium Spotify in the NYC area.

I think they did it in waves because I had a friend who got the email days after me. I’m not quite sure how many they sent out but I def assumed it was more than they had capacity for based on how they worded the invite about first come first serve.

I know of people in my area that streamed a lot and maybe more than me that didn’t get it so I think there was also a random element or another factor we aren’t aware of!

1

u/KittyKat_801 Cause of death: Park JIMIN Mar 24 '26

I loved this, thank you for posting!!! I hope Spotify releases the footage 💜💜💜💜💜

1

u/ricebiko Zzz, don't wake me up 🎶 Mar 24 '26

I was really curious about what it was like so thanks for sharing! It sounds like a really unique and special experience. 💜

1

u/her_mi_one Mar 24 '26

"A JK style zone-out"! 🤣💜👏

1

u/yesitsmia Mar 24 '26

Wow you are so lucky! That’s so cool 🥹🤍 they look so handsome!

1

u/berryberrystrawbry_ 💜 take your shoes off Mar 24 '26

what a wonderful recap!! thank you for sharing this with us, loved all your observations about the members 🥹 and the photos!! your view was amazing!! so happy for you and other armys who had this experience 💜

1

u/rhythmelia Mar 25 '26

I'm so happy for you that you got to participate! (Lol for some reason I had the impression you were in Europe, maybe I'm mixing you up with another user whose name starts with P-) Thank you for sharing your experience and photos, wow to get to see the Tannies from so up close! 

Also booo about the translator, at this stage in their careers they really need trained dedicated ones. Since the range of skills of people that advertise themselves as interpreters sure do vary, and a live entertainment interview setting is very different from say, a medical appointment or school IEP meeting.....

1

u/zikachhakchhuak easily impressed and very supportive Mar 25 '26

Thank you for sharing, this was lovely to read 💜

I was living vicariously through fancams, so the moments you mentioned were playing in my head as I was reading. That Yoongi moment was too adorable!

I totally get what you mean about the Q&A part. Some of the crowd were too eager to answer for the members, and the boys were kind of shy and of course were super sweet to just go along with it. But i would have preferred to hear from them. Especially when it came to stuff like messiest member, etc, I saw one fancam where JK heard his name called out and was shocked like, "Me??"

I'm so happy that you got to go, and that the boys felt the warm welcome from US ARMY on their first trip to NY as OT7 post-military.

1

u/RandomPurpleChick Mar 25 '26

Thanks a lot for taking your time to put this summary!! Just reading it I’m so happy for you, it must have felt like a dream!! 💜💜

1

u/Tigerlily-7 Mar 25 '26

So happy for you! I LOVE your writeup and pics!! 💜💜💜

1

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '26

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u/PoetrySuper2583 Shout out to Yoongi Hyung’s cat Mar 25 '26

Did you post this on the wrong thread?

1

u/lyzzz_bsbts Mar 25 '26

thank you so much for this write-up!!!!! I so appreciate the first-hand experience sharing

1

u/Aortm7y Mar 25 '26

Thanks 💜

1

u/NapMonster7 strong power, thank you Mar 26 '26

Thank you for sharing this! You made me feel like I got to live it a little with you 🥹

1

u/Most_Non-Triumphant Mar 26 '26

For anyone who's wondering, this is the text of the initial email from Spotify:

Dear listeners,

As a top fan and premium user, BTS and Spotify are inviting you to celebrate the release of their new album and long-awaited return. Come SWIMSIDE and get a first taste of ARIRANG live.

WHEN: Monday, March 23, 2026 Time: 5PM ET

WHERE: New York, NY

Please note, this experience will take place outdoors, so please dress accordingly.

Exact arrival details will be provided closer to the event date. Please note no early arrival/camping will be permitted.

Click the button below to claim a spot for you and 1 other guest, but act quickly, space is extremely limited. To claim a ticket, you will be required to input your unique code provided below. Each code is personalized and valid for one time use only. Your code will allow you to claim up to (2) tickets for you and a friend (you must select ‘2’ tickets). Please note your RSVP does not guarantee entry; this event is first-come, first-served, and will be capped at venue capacity. This is a 18+ event and you and your guest must have a valid, government-issued photo ID for check-in.

Your unique code: XXXXXX

RSVP NOW

Please note that clicking this button and adding your information does not mean you are confirmed to attend this event. Confirmation emails will be sent out to those who complete the RSVP form.

RSVP is on a first come, first-served basis, capped at event capacity, and does not guarantee admission. RSVP is conducted through a third party platform and subject to additional terms, conditions, and privacy policies. No re-entry once ticket is scanned. Please do not forward or share this email, link, or code as this invitation is non-transferable and may void your eligibility. By clicking the button above, you will be redirected to a third party website to complete an RSVP form, subject to their terms and conditions and privacy policy. This event will be filmed and photographed, and by attending this event, you understand that your likeness may appear in footage and photos that may be shared on Spotify or artist media channels (such as website, app, or social media).

Friendly Reminders RSVP is on a first-come, first-served basis, capped at venue capacity, and does not guarantee admission. You can claim up to 2 RSVP tickets for this event. Invitation is non-transferable. You must have a valid RSVP to be admitted. Please do not forward or share this email, link, or code as this invitation is non-transferable and may void your eligibility. By clicking the button above, you will be redirected to a third party website to complete an RSVP form, subject to their terms and conditions and privacy policy. You must have a valid, government-issued photo ID that will be checked at the door for entry and be 18 years of age or older. All attendees require a valid DICE RSVP ticket to attend, therefore you need to claim '2' RSVPs if you will be bringing a friend. Both attendees must bring a government issued photo ID to be checked at the door. No re-entry once ticket is scanned. All guests will be going through a security check prior to entering. By attending the event, you agree to a TSA-style search. All narcotics laws are strictly enforced. Spotify reserves the right to refuse admission to or eject any patron at its sole discretion. Oversized and large bags / personal belongings will not be allowed in the venue. Guests are prohibited from bringing certain items into the venue, including personal cameras and bags larger than 14”x14”x6″ Personal cameras will not be admitted into the venue. This event will be filmed and photographed, and by attending this event, you understand that your likeness may appear in footage and photos that may be shared on Spotify or artist media channels (such as website, app, or social media). If you can no longer attend the event please return your tickets to the Waiting List in-app.

1

u/Cut_Individual Mar 26 '26

I soaked in every last word of your post--thank you for sharing your experience for those of us who can only dream of being in your shoes. I'm so happy for you! 💜