BTS @ MAMA Japan 2018

BTS at MAMA Day 2 in Japan

By

Charlie Murray

2 years ago, I watched my first MAMA’s show. I watched clips as I sat in my school’s Sixth Form area, scanning Twitter for updates. Last year, I was in a lecture but barely paying attention as I again scanned Twitter for updates. This year, as a university student, I was able to stay at home with a day of no lectures, so I sat in bed and watched the show properly. And it was just as phenomenal and exciting as I’d expected. 

This was day 2 of the Mnet Asian Music Awards, hosted in Japan where the fan-voted awards were given out. BTS won 4 in total: one of the Worldwide Fans’ Choice Top 10 Awards, Favourite Music Video (IDOL), Favourite Male Dance Artist and finally they became the first ever recipients of the Worldwide Icon of the Year Award.

From the start of their set, I was expecting a mind-blowing performance. And when I saw the two large hands on either side f the stage, with pieces of cloth dangling from them, I knew that that was what I was going to get. The boys, adorned in the quintessential Fake Love-esque cloaks, stood in a row, before I saw the visual spectacle that made me gasp. The stage lit up with large reflections of the boys in the cloaks, and the boys reached out to their reflections, before they disappeared one by one and the members walked behind Taehyung in a line. I recognised this starting position, and watched in awe as Fake Love started. The boys moved fluidly as ever, putting their all into it, as if it was their first time performing it. I especially noticed how quickly Jimin ran from each position, moving so swiftly and professionally. I also noticed, in the corner of the screen, Jungkook using just one hand for the choreography in parts, the other one at his back fiddling with his microphone pack. He must have had a problem with his microphone, but he kept dancing around as if nothing happened, and quickly fixed the malfunction. A true professional. 

Their outfits, too, deserve a special mention: Taehyung wore a black leather jacket, Jimin and Jungkook were in black sparkly jackets, Hoseok wore black leather gloves… I truly thank their wardrobe department for that treat. 

The fanchants, which had been present when other groups had performed, seemed louder now. The energy in the arena visibly switched when the biggest boy band in the world emerged on stage. And I could hear the power in the members’ voices as they sang and rapped during the choreography. 

At the end of the song, they all fell to the floor, before Hoseok rose to perform a solo dance (as stunning as I expect of Hoseok, but I was still shocked at how brilliantly he moved), before the members all started to move like dolls. This eery, creepy doll aesthetic was something I loved about Tear era, and I'm so glad they put an emphasis on that with this performance. They bring something new to each performance, and Inever get bored of it. 

I of course cannot fail to mention Jimin’s gravity-defying move, when the members grabbed his wrists and he was propelled forward through the air. The core strength of that man. And more reason why Jimin’s natural talent should never be underestimated. 

Next, the VCR started. I braced myself, and for good reason: the stunning imagery of the bright-coloured lights cascading over BTS’s face opened the performance in a beautiful way. They formed an elegant veil over Jimin’s face, highlighting his beauty and appearing secretive; they covered his eyes, the windows to the soul. Bright colours were splattered over Hoseok’s face, reminiscent of the imagery of his short film for Mama, or maybe that was just the Wings elitist in me talking. Various other images appeared over Hoseok’s face, most notably a clown mask, reminding me of how his playful, joking, colourful persona is ultimately a mask for his real feelings at times. And Jungkook had flowers covering the upper half of his face, because of course we are still in HYYH era at heart. 

The words “Take off the mask and face yourself” appeared, and smoke cascaded over the boys’ faces, making the patterned colours disappear. Jungkook’s flowers, for instance, scattered into petals. The members were all then shown removing the black cloaks they were wearing, and the words “I can be your hero” appeared as we saw them stood in white outfits. Here, they were stepping away from the darkness of Tear era and sincerely smiling at the camera in pure white clothes, happily declaring themselves as heroes. It was comforting, as BTS is a comfort to all of us. It was them showing that they are removing themselves from the darkness, and choosing happiness. 

And of course, this whole VCR was a message directed specifically to us. To ARMY. The final words we saw: “I didn’t know what power is. I didn’t know what love is. But you taught me how to use power. But you taught me how to use love.”

The next song they sung was Anpanman, to carry on the hero theme. The boys appeared from platforms under the stage, in cute superhero poses. Ah, yes. The 7 dorks I’d waited to perform, smiling sweetly at ARMYs with their fists raised like Superman at the biggest Kpop awards show. And then Namjoon and Hoseok appeared - Hoseok was making a funny face as Namjoon appeared in - a spacesuit. Because of course. 

This is why I stan. Not taking themselves too seriously, BTS were dancing around in silver spacey jackets with their leader dressed as a spaceman, making ARMYs in the arena and at home watching via live streams, smile at our 7 Anpanmen. 

Jokes aside, this stage was so energetic. After yelling out “sorijilleo!”, hyping up the crowd like only a truly powerful group can, they easily got into the routine. Every time BTS sings a song that they’ve performed countless times on tour and at comeback stages, they treat it like their first performance. They grinned widely, knowing the effect on us, as they jumped around to the happy and comforting song. They were clearly having fun performing, which is what they do best, and that is what is important. 

And if that didn't make me proud enough, the Worldwide Icon of the Year award was given to our truly deserving boys. Jin’s scream of “AAAAAAAARMYYYYY” and his joke about Worldwide Handsome winning the Worldwide award brought a wide smile to my face. Even when winning a huge award, he still wants to make ARMY laugh. And still remembering their roots, he mentioned how they came from a small company and were grateful for this award. And Namjoon acknowledged the diverse international fanbase, reminding us that “worldwide” implies the award was given to them because of fans from all over the world. He even spoke in English for us, and in his typical Namjoon way, used a metaphor of just how a program can be implemented with a click of a Windows button, ARMY open new windows for them. It was so poetic, and so Namjoon. 

Overall, BTS did not fail on their promise to deliver a spectacular set. They made sure to impress us with wonderful performances that made us feel like it was the first time hearing those songs. 

And don't even get me started on MAMA day 3. 

Speech translation creds: BTS-trans / bangtansubs / @BTS_Trans