“BTS The Comeback Live” seeks to rival the Super Bowl halftime show

Songs in a foreign language. A visual spectacle with high-energy dancing. Secrecy surrounding key elements and surprises. A massive scale of coordination. Challenges with live broadcast. A message of unity and belonging.

Move over, Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show. Netflix is making a bid for the 2026 live event crown, fueled by K-pop.

 

 

On Saturday, March 21 K-pop group BTS makes its comeback in a live performance that Netflix will stream live from Seoul, South Korea. The seven-member group comprising members RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook, made their farewell performance in 2022 before they each entered into mandatory military service. The anticipation for their return as a group – by the devoted ARMY, aka BTS’ global fandom, has no modern-day equivalent but rather can be understood as a mix between Beatlemania and when Elvis Presley returned from military service. Or perhaps a more modern way to put it would be if Taylor Swift had to pause making and performing music for four years and finally was unleashed back onto the public much like a marauding pop princess kraken.

The event takes place outdoors in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, and given the importance and scale of the endeavor, Netflix – along with South Korea’s conglomerate Hybe and Big Hit entertainment agency – hired the team behind the Super Bowl halftime shows. Done + Dusted and director Hamish Hamilton have put on the past several halftime shows, including ones for Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Kendrick Lamar and yes, Bad Bunny.

“I hope viewers experience pure joy,” Hamilton said in a statement. “BTS is back after four years, and the world has been waiting. Whether you are standing in Gwanghwamun Square or watching from the other side of the planet, this is a moment of unity, a shared celebration between a band and the people who love them. [ARMY] has stayed loyal and devoted through every chapter, and this show is BTS’ way of saying thank you.”

By setting “BTS the Comeback Live: Arirang” at 8 p.m. local time, this allows viewers worldwide to keep the March 21 appointment as they tune in at odd hours. In the United States, the audience wanting to experience the comeback in real time will be streaming at 7 a.m. ET/4 a.m. PT. With such time zone shenanigans, Netflix helpfully created a hub where viewers can check their tune-in time.

Coordinating time zone is only one tiny piece of the puzzle to pull this event off. Here’s a breakdown of how BTS intends to mark its historic and ambitious comeback:

Songs in a foreign language

While Bad Bunny sings in Spanish, BTS has put its Korean identity front and center with their fifth full-length album “Arirang,” which dropped March 20. K-pop groups often mix English and Korean lyrics, and this album is no exception. However “Arirang” is the first BTS album with a fully Korean title that doesn’t have any singular English translation. That didn’t stop ARMY from going down a research rabbit hole though to uncover its meaning.

 

 

“Arirang” is the title of an ancient Korean folk song that is believed to be at least 600 years old and is still sung to this day. Approximately 60 different versions of the song exist with an estimated of upwards or 3,600 variations. It’s so popular that BTS has already performed a few versions of the song previously and the name is used all throughout South Korean as names from restaurants and breweries to hotels and even a TV station. Both South and North Koreans also sing the song, which acts as a rare point of unity between the nations.

In the album’s first track “Body to Body,” the group’s modern sounds give way to a recording of “Arirang” in all of its traditional glory – not just lyrically but also instrumentally and how it’s performed in a pansori style with singers and drums.

During a press conference following the walk-through, Nicole Kim, vice president of Big Hit Music, explained, “As you can tell from the word ‘Arirang,’ this is a concept that really started off from the BTS members’ identity and also from their roots. And because we want this message to be shared with as many people as possible around the world, you will notice that the members used both the Korean language and the English language in this album.

“We did that because we really want this story to be heard and shared with as many people around the world as possible,” she contined. “So we truly believe that this new album is not only going to be a great treat for the existing fans of BTS who have known the band and love them so much, but we also hope that this will really transcend generations, and hope that it will reach and touch the hearts of those who have never heard of BTS before.”

A spectacle with high-energy dancing

While the Super Bowl features multiple backup dancers to enhance the celebratory moment and central artist(s), K-pop often features main performers who both sing and dance as part of the full entertainment package. While each member of BTS participates in the dance portions – many of them coordinated in unison — three breakout members are also acknowledged as the main dancers: J-Hope, Jimin and Jung Kook.

Hamilton confirmed that dance sequences will be a key part to the event. “There is so much to this show,” he said. “There are complex choreographed numbers – truly impactful moments – and then there are moments that are beautifully intimate, where you have insight into their personalities, become part of a song and just perform seamlessly together. Their music is personal to them – this album especially – and you can feel that in every track. Then there’s [ARMY], a relationship unlike anything I have encountered; it lifts everything. When you have that in a live setting, it becomes its own force.

Secret preparations

Conversation around Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl continued for days afterward, especially for using hundreds of real people dressed as plants and foliage to facilitate rapid set dressing transitions. While it’s unlikely the South Korean program will attempt to pull off its own foliage feat, the particulars of “The Comeback Live” are still shrouded in mystery so as not to spoil the surprises in store.

When Netflix allowed global press to walk through the Gwanghwamun Square venue on March 20, it was an active construction site and still not ready for the numerous rehearsals that would be required. Although both Garrett English, executive producer at Done+Dusted and Jonathan Mussman, VP of production and live events at Netflix, were on hand to guide journalists through the venue, no photos nor questions were allowed. Even a Q&A afterward provided few particulars regarding what fans can expect to see from the artists or spectacle.

Massive undertaking and scale

The primary feature of the performance stage is a giant LED screen that resembles an arch with an opening the frames the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. Not only will the audience be able to watch images on the exposed side of the LED screen, but the inside of arch also features LEDs.

The performance and its giant images are planned to be visible for several city blocks and from the rooftops of surrounding buildings, not just for the ticketed few who will watch from inside the square proper. Walking around the Seoul, global press members saw several signs welcoming BTS Army to the city.

On a technical side, capturing such a large live event from every angle to best showcase the spectacle and each band members’ expressions and move requires 23 cameras. They include the the Sony VENICE full-frame camera, which has been used on “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Godzilla Minus One.” Other cameras include spacial cameras (such as the EagleEye system, a Towercam on track and steadicams), iPhones and even cameras placed on rooftops as far as a mile away.

The global production team includes 10 nationalities with eight languages spoken, and coordination required teams across six different time zones. No other live streaming production has been attempted on this scale, which also serves to create a more immersive and intimate experience that convey BTS’ emotional message in person.

Live challenges

Scale is one thing, but streaming live is another matter. After some early hiccups, Netflix has successfully produced and delivered several live events, ranging from reality show reunions, talk shows, sporting events and most recently, “Skyscraper Live” in which American climber Alex Honnold scaled the Taiwan skyscraper Taipei 101 without the use of ropes. Spoiler alert: He didn’t fall to his death.

“It was very clear from the start that this opportunity was one we could not pass up,” Brandon Riegg, vice president of Nonfiction Series and Sports at Netflix, told journalists on the Friday before the comeback. “We view these live events as an opportunity to reach fans and members around the world in a way that is becoming increasingly tough to find: singular events that really pull people together. When you can find these opportunities for these very singular moments, it feels like
something that creates urgency and that you can’t miss.”

While the initial live broadcast will use SDR quality with live captioning, a higher quality picture plus sweetened sounds and subtitles will be delivered when the on-demand version hits Netflix for rewatching.

The weather for any outdoor event is often a concern, and early forecasts had shown rain expected for many of the days surrounding the actual comeback event. Fortunately, clear skies will bless BTS for the live event, although Netflix’s Mussman admits without elaboration, “There was a rain plan.”

A message of unity and belonging

In this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, Bad Bunny declared, “Juntos, somos América (Together, we are America),” listing Central and South American countries and territories under the umbrella of America, not just the United States, prompting the world to reconsider definitions of identity and borders.

BTS has issued a different but not dissimilar concept with “Arirang.” What does it means to hold Korean identity in a world that increasingly embraces Korean entertainment? And of course in a world full of mixed and diasporic identities, with access to art and ideas around the world, is a centuries’ old folk song really a barrier when music is seen as a universal language?

BTS has long acted as ambassadors for Korean culture. In 2020, they became the
fastest group since the Beatles to chart four No. 1 albums in the United States in less than two years. They’ve been invited to various United Nations events, were invited by Joe Biden to the White House and even filmed a pre-recorded performance at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

More than a concert

Netflix representatives made it clear that the March 21 event is not to be considered a concert. After all, it’s only an hour long, and the band kicks off its actual world tour in April.

And again, if weren’t already clear enough from the title “Arirang” and with Seoul shutting down all traffic and transforming into BTS City, this comeback event is just part of a larger concerted effort by all parties involved to bring Korea to the world through BTS.

“Preparing for this performance, the question I got the most is why Gwanghwamun?” said Hybe president Brandon Yu. “All I can say is that it really, truly relates to the identity of BTS. We were focused on asking ourselves the question, ‘What is the most BTS? And what is something that only BTS can bring and show to the world?’” said Yu.

“And this is their comeback in nearly four years time and it’s going to be a historic moment. And it is also going to be one that signals what is to be expected of the band in the future. And our chairman Bang Si-hyuk has said that, if we are focused on the identity of BTS being this band that was created and originated from Korea . . . that this historical moment has to be in Korea, and it also has to take place in the most iconic space in Korea. . . To be able to bring that to the rest of the world, it is immensely meaningful for us to be able to do that at the heart of Seoul, in a iconic moment with the fans around the world.

“And we truly believe that this is not just a performance, but as it is going to be a moment to remember in history and a culture-defining moment as well.”

“BTS The Comeback Live | Arirang” streams on Netflix on March 21 at 8 p.m. KST (4 a.m. PST / 7 a.m. EST).

 

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