K-TOWN
BTS Announces Free, Surprise L.A. Concert
7/13/2014
by
Jeff Benjamin
With less than two days notice, the K-pop boy band will perform for 200 lucky fans
Los Angeles K-pop fans may have to adjust their Monday night plans: Boy band BTS (aka Bangtan Boys) have announced a surprise concert in West Hollywood with less than 48 hours notice.
Early Sunday morning, BTS' official Twitter account posted about their "<SHOW & PROVE Concert" at the Troubadour in West Hollywood at 6:00 p.m. local time. The performance will be free for 200 fans.
The septet added, "We'll show you what weve [sic] learned in the U.S., and some of our songs too" via Twitter.
While Korean acts continue to make America a touring priority, U.S. concert dates are typically announced months in advance. Rarely are they free – a true treat for K-pop fans who are known to spend extra cash to import physical CDs. A similar moment came in 2012 when Girls' Generation premiered a music video in New York and invited fans via Twitter with 1,500 schoolkids showing up that day.
Alongside with Girls' Generation, BTS was the first artist announced for KCON 2014. With just over a year since their May 2013 debut, the guys already hit Billboard charts with their "Skool Luv Affair" album (No. 3 on World Albums chart) and 2014 singles "Boy in Luv" and "Just One Day" (Nos. 5 and 25 on World Digital Songs).
"Boy in Luv" also notched the band their first K-Pop Hot 100 entry this year, peaking at No. 54.
