BTS @ MAMA Hong Kong

"The Answer Is To Love Yourself"

By

Marsha Night

BTS - MAMA Awards - Hong Kong - 14th December.

ARMY were not ready for any of this. I don't think BTS were even ready for what unfolded on this night. 

We all knew what was happening in the beginning, the Red Carpet, the performances of other idol groups, awards in between, BTS and other groups taking it in turns to come up to receive their awards for "Best Style", "Best Dance" etc. It was pretty standard as far as Asian award shows go.

What we were really not expecting was the performance from BTS and the 30 minutes that followed straight after that....

Let's start with the performance.

Taehyung comes into focus, the camera rests on his face whilst he stares back at you completely comfortable where he is. The curtains fall back and Jimin, dancing on a table surrounded by suited back up dancers start the theme for the evening - Strength. After Jimin jumps through a hoop made of arms the camera pans over to Hobi and Yoongi who do a fast paced mirrored Latin inspired duet dance which I really wasn't expecting, so it really built up the hype and the feel of the performance to come.

Taehyung comes back into focus holding a rose which he casually throws over to Jin who, gives a relaxed dance move using back up dancers and a napkin. Behind Jin we see Namjoon's back to the camera, as he is being measured up by the back up dancers he turns round slowly, throws his jacket over one shoulder and makes his way to one of 6 seats in the centre frame. The others follow whilst the camera zooms in on some velvet curtains which open as the camera reaches the cloth. 

We see a lone white suited figure strutting down the walkway to a long instrumental of the 'Airplane pt. 2' intro. It's Jungkook. He looks into the camera and moves to sultry salsa as he continues down the walkway until he reaches the retro mic ready for the start of the song. 

Source: Mnet K-Pop

Now that was an introduction.

The choreography for 'Airplane pt. 2' is the same but the difference (apart from the angelic white suits) is the feeling they are putting into the performance. You really feel the meaning of the song through their movements. 

After this, I believe, was one of the greatest performances I have ever seen displayed by BTS.

Out come dark clothed marching figures from the stage and even down the stairs of the audience isles. There was an Army in that arena and they were marching strong in force. 

The army parts to reveal Namjoon, dressed in a black cloak who goes straight into a O!RUL8,2? LY Remix which the army marches to the beat of his powerful and passionate rap. 

Source: YouTube

From either side of him and the forever matching army, the other members rise fully cloaked to chant alongside each other with "I'm so sick of this Fake Love" in rounds, each time growing louder with more passion each time until it becomes so loud that the members fall backwards one by one to the beat into the sea of Army.

The screen goes black and 3 words appear:

We  Are  IDOL.

All the members of BTS roll out on a multicoloured tiger head dressed in colourful clothing, some custom made, some traditional Hanbok inspired. 

The instrumental to 'IDOL' is continuing until they walk into formation and there it begins, the song that signifies who BTS are and how they feel about who they are, empowering themselves and giving some of that power to all those who listen to the music and the meaning behind the song.

Source: Mnet K-Pop

The passion in this performance is unlike ANY I've seen from BTS, they lived and breathed every word that came from their live mics and they did it with such sincerity and power that they owned the entire arena. The fan chants were explosive, the dancing and the energy was exquisite to watch.

When you thought the performance was coming to an end they surprised you with an extended "EDM Dance" instrumental where they cheered on the crowd who were responding with the catchy " Oh oh oh oh" of the main hook. It was truly magical.

They finished the song with another round of the chorus giving everything they had into those last 30 seconds, solidifying why they are the best. Period.

Just when you think it's all over they start to announce the Daesangs. 

I am going to focus on the one Daesang, "Artist Of The Year". It is THE award of the evening and needs to be spoken about.

This is an award that EVERY group/soloist wants to achieve in their career. Generally, the artist who wins this award are from 'The Big 3' - SM, JYP or YG.

This particular award started being given in 2006 when the first recipient's to receive it were TVXQ (DBSK) - setting the bar extremely high from the beginning.

Back to the evening of the 14th December 2018 ....

The 'Artist Of The Year's award goes to ........

B T S!

It was a moment Army & BTS were waiting with hope for, all year. The sense of pure joy, happiness and relief echoed through the arena, onto BTS's faces as they walked up to receive their award, and also to the team of people I was sharing this moment with over Social Media and beyond.

Source: BTS ARMY Cult

The speeches start with Hobi. Telling us how they want to be so perfect for Army, they never want to fail us and he clenches his heart to convey just how much feeling goes into their craft.

Hobi then pauses and a wave of emotion overcomes him and the ray of sunshine that we know on the outside finally shows us some rain in the form of tears that start to fall. I don't see these as sad tears as he states himself; "I would have cried whether I received this or not. We went through so much and because we received so much love from all of you, we really wanted to repay you. I really thank you and I want to say thank you so much to the members who are with me in this moment. Thank you. I love you."

I see this as a release of all the tensions that he (and the others) will have been feeling 24/7 in everything that they have done up until this point. They want to be 110% for Army and put so much into it that I feel, winning this award tells them they succeeded - they worked hard enough and Army stayed with them again. It's pure relief. 

Jimin comes to the front whilst Hobi moves to the side.

"ARMY! Thank you. There can be some difficult things while going through this year. While going through those things, we gathered and talked amongst ourselves and I think there we times where we looked back together. While doing that, I realised that there really are so many people next to us and behind us. I came to think, "When did you so many people to be beside us?" Even though we were suffering. I think that we could gain strength and think that we're happy because that. To all of you who did that, I really wanted to tell you thank you. And I really wanted to receive this award again at this spot. As I've always said, as all of you think of us proudly, that pride is soon our pride as well. Next year, we will show you better appearance and we'll repay you with this award. Thank you. I love you"

Jimin really kept it together and I feel, is one of the most selfless people I have ever come across. It's amazing to hear him question how there are so many people supporting BTS and be so grateful for us that he called us "Their Pride". A truly heartfelt and humble speech.

It really showed how selfless and loving Jimin is when he made sure to console everyone when they became emotional, make sure they were ok & then waited until the very end of the speeches and moved away to quietly cry. 

Next to speak was Taehyung.

"First, our members' fathers and mothers who are watching this broadcast. Thank you so, so much for raising us. The fact that we can receive this award, is really, unbelievable and we'll become singers who won't put this award to shame. And you give us such good awards at the end of every year. Even if I was to be reborn again, I think ARMYs are a really valuable gift to us. I really thank you and I really love you. Thank you."

Taehyung lives and breathes family. He never forgets where he came from and he consistently makes sure Army knows how much he appreciates them. I feel like Taehyung has such an old and sensitive soul. A true gentleman.

Yoongi.

"Thank you ARMYs. I'm so so happy that we were able to receive the Artist of the Year award again. ARMYs who are always watching over us, I'll think of this as an award being given to us by ARMYs and will work harder. Also, I want to say thank you to our families that gave birth to our 7 brothers. 2018 was a year where I was so happy to the point that I wondered if I could be this happy while living life. I will make 2019 a more wonderful and a happier year. Thank you."

This speech made me feel relieved & truly happy.

Yoongi has always been very straightforward with his feelings bad or good and we know that he has had numerous struggles in the past and will still do in the present but this speech showed me (in my opinion) that he has currently found a balance and is able to enjoy and live in the moment finally. He deserves to be happy.

When you thought that you couldn't cry anymore or feel anything more than you were already spilling out, Jin came to the front to speak.

"ARMY. I'm really reminded of early this year. At the beginning of this year, we mentally had a really difficult time. So while talking amongst ourselves, we worried if we should disband or not. But we put our hearts together, and I think that we were realy fortunate that we were able to produce good results like this. I'm so thankful to my members who were able to put their hearts together again and I want to say thank you members - I want to say thank you to the ARMYs - for loving us. Thank you."

Jin knows when & where to speak (when it comes to serious discussion) and I believe this was the correct time and place to say what he did. Personally I feel that this was meant to inspire and reassure people rather than upset or scare anyone. 

He was telling us that they are human, that they feel stress, fear and happiness.

They felt thoroughly pressured enough that they questioned themselves as to whether they were good enough to succeed further, it's a realistic and logical conversation. They had a discussion around the topic of disbanding but the following;

"we put our hearts together" that signifies that regardless of what was said, in their hearts, that's not what they wanted. They have faith, trust and belief in themselves to succeed and that shows just how strong they are and that's why they signed another 7 years.

They personally carry so much on their shoulders and it comes as no surprise to me when they break down, say how tired they are or how difficult things can be for them. They put their all into what they do to be the best and sometimes you just need some downtime from it. 

Army are unbelievably lucky that BTS loves them as much as they love BTS. It's a fandom relationship that I believe, cannot be matched.

I also believe that  most Army  are a true representation of what BTS stands for. The amount of projects & charity that Army does in the name of BTS and ARMY themselves is absolutely phenomenal. They don't just put their power to use on votes but they actually try and make a difference in the world promoting self love and to love others for who they are. 

Just like BTS.

It's a perfect match. 

So to round up my review:

It was one of the best performances I've ever seen from them with so much emotion and pure power it bounced through the arena with the audience giving passion back in fan chants and feeling.

The speeches showed just how humble, grateful and grown BTS are. Their love for Army is immeasurable, they know who they are, what they want and that makes them the most loved and strongest group in the world right now. 

Here's to the next 7 years.

Marsha 

#ThankYouBTS #ThankYouForStaying #BTS #BTSonRadioUK