Ever since BTS announced their hiatus as a group during their Festa 2022 dinner — an annual celebration of their debut and a beloved tradition for members and fans alike — ARMYs all over the world have been holding their breath to see what what Namjoon, Seokjin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook have in store.
And let me tell you — if their upcoming solo projects are anything like what J-Hope has been up to these past few months, we better clutch our pearls and our army bombs and be prepared. Because our favorite Hoseok has shown us a side that’s completely different from his usual sunny self—and that includes absolutely tearing up the stage at this year’s Lollapalooza.
The hiatus
But let’s back it up a bit. So, BTS announces that they will be going on a group “hiatus” – I put that in quotes because it’s about their music, but they will continue to do many other group activities like the comeback of their reality show Run! BTS. J-Hope and HYBE then confirm that he will be the first member to release his solo project.
And this solo project is Jack in the boxinspired by the concept of Pandora’s Box and featuring two lead singles – “More”, which acted as a pre-release single for the entire album, and “Arson”.
Now, technically, J-Hope’s solo debut happened in 2018 with his mixtape The world of hope. Before the hiatus, all three members of BTS’ rap lineup tried their hand at solo work by releasing mixtapes—Namjoon was released RM in 2015 and Mono in 2018, while Yoongi released August D in 2016 and D-2 in 2020.
As a rule, though, rappin’ mixtapes didn’t have physical copies and received very little promotion beyond the music video for the title tracks (everyone, let’s take a moment to contemplate the majesty that is “Daechwita”). They don’t even appear in the discography section of the official BTS website.
Jack in the boxhowever, it’s considered a full-on comeback, and received the right amount of promotion—most notably the Lollapalooza stage.
The announcement that J-Hope would be one of this year’s headliners arrived around Festa week in early June – an already historic feat since it made him the first South Korean artist to headline one of the main stages at one of the festivals music major of the United States.
Lollapalooza 2022
Fans have been preparing for his July 31 performance for the better part of two months, fighting tooth and nail for tickets — after all, is it really a BTS ticket event if it’s not an absolute bloodbath? – and exchanging advice on Twitter about whether or not it was worth making a run for the barricade.
But despite all that, nothing could have really prepared us – and that includes all of us as the whole band was too streamed live on Weverse for ARMYs all over the world to rejoice—for what actually happened the moment Hoseok walked onto that stage.
Not only did Hoseok absolutely wow everyone (giving his 110% performing the songs from his new album), but we also got to hear “Chicken Noodle Soup” live. AND with Becky G on stage, having only heard it through our screens, as BTS performed it during their 2021 Muster.
The two hugged on stage after their performance with a brief but meaningful comment from Becky G, who said that “as an artist, this moment here means a lot to me because not only am I so honored to be here, but also so proud. I’m so grateful for our friendship and this opportunity,” and later tweeted that they all speak a universal language, music.
And then! Hoseok finally got the chance to sing his own Others out of Map of the soul duology, egolive with ARMYs.
It would probably be one of its main features Map of the soul tour, also known as the tour-that-never-happened, and has so far only been conducted through live shows. But not anymore. If you’re assuming I replayed that clip of Hoseok realizing the crowd is singing ego I turn to him with the most surprised look on his face, again and again as my eyes bug out – you’re definitely right.
So why is the event nicknamed “Hobipalooza”?
After such an iconic night, the ARMYs were quick to name the entire event “Hobipalooza” (because everyone in BTS absolutely takes on everything wherever they go). From Hoseok paying homage to historical names in the hip-hop scene, to bisexual lighting illuminating the stage during “=(Equal Sign)” to a return to BTS’ origins with “Cypher Pt. 1” to shoutouts of rants that set the crowd on fire – the night was definitely satisfying and emotional for all involved.
J-Hope himself expressed how meaningful the night had been in an Instagram post, where he described it as:
“One of my biggest and most memorable moments…Lollapalooza was one of the most important Jack in the Box challenges. Preparing an hour-long show with me front and center was just a dread-filled moment, and I beat myself up as hard as I could, over and over again, to practice for the show. Above all, preparing every detail with so much attention and care made me learn along the way who I really am. Yesterday was the culmination of this whole process, and that is why it will be a much more precious memory in the history of my life and will have much more meaning!!!”.
And let’s not forget the post-show, which treated us all to a VLive and, in very typical BTS fashion, Hoseok took the opportunity to chat with ARMYs about the Lollapalooza stage and his new album, along with fellow member of BTS Jimin, who had flown all the way from Seoul to support him in this very special moment. And who also reprimanded him with gas asking why he “was cooler than at a BTS concert”.
Lovable.
(via: Billboard; image: HYBE)
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