BTS reigns supreme at 2019 Melon awards with 37-minute career-best performance

Dec 3, 2019 | Entertainment

By Ashley Cruz

From the official BTS Twitter account

Multi-awarded boy band BTS, performed an intense 37-minute show at the 2019 Melon Music Awards (MMAs) held Saturday night, Nov. 30, at the Gocheok Sky Dome in South Korea.

Titled “Map of the Soul: The Show,” the 11-song set kicked-off with the first-ever live performance of “Intro: Persona” by RM with a backdrop that resembled the official music video.

Paying homage to their early days, the band traveled through time with the performance of their 2014 hit single “Boy In Luv” from the album “Skool Luv Affair.” Clad in gray suits reminiscent of their schoolboy image in the music video, it was set to be a nostalgic stage.

It was followed by the record-breaking track “Boy With Luv” from their 2019 album “Map of the Soul: Persona,” which would eventually win “Song of the Year” and “Album of the Year” respectively.

As a gift to fans, BTS members brought the entire universe down to the stadium for “Mikrokosmos” also from the Persona album. It was the first time they performed the song outside of a concert.

Their main stage heated up as they showcased their individual skills dancing to band arrangements of their older hits, hyping up fans at the venue and those who were streaming online via YouTube.

It started off with V dancing to their debut single “No More Dream” (2013), accompanied by aerial dancers ala Cirque Du Soleil. It was followed by Jin who danced to “Danger” (2014), sending everyone on a frenzy as he appeared on a Trojan Horse in an all-white ensemble.

A mellow contemporary dance by Jimin complemented the strings arrangement of the 2015 hit “I Need U.” In total contrast was the explosive and fiery number of Suga for “Fire” (2016).

Jungkook dancing in water for the stripped back version of “Save Me” (2016) reminded viewers of the iconic rain scene in “Step Up: The Streets,” while j-hope (Jung Hoseok) popped and locked to the EDM remix of “Fake Love” (2018).

Capping the whole set was the theatrical spectacle of the BTS track “Dionysus.” With ancient Greek columns as backdrop, the performance was full of Greek mythology references — from the horses (no animals were harmed as it was pre-taped) to the panthers, down to the thyrsi and the maenads, represented by women of various racial backgrounds.

Given the power, charisma, aesthetics and depth of their performance, it was one of BTS’s best live stages, if not a career highlight worthy of a million replays.

ARMYs, the BTS fanbase, posted the most supportive and witty remarks, even coming up with their own interpretation of the entire performance with new theories and Easter eggs to decipher:

Did you catch all the Easter eggs or do you need to relive the iconic moment? Watch the full video below: