BTS back to stage after thriving in pandemic

South Korean supergroup BTS return to the stage in Seoul to play for their adoring home-grown fans for the first time since 2019 on Thursday, after tickets for the three-night stadium concerts sold out in minutes.

While Covid-19 emptied arenas and shut clubs worldwide, the K-Pop septet thrived during the pandemic -- scoring a string of number one hits, expanding their global fanbase, and reaping record profits.

Despite most of the band catching the virus, the trailblazing musicians barely missed a beat as the world locked down -- using social media, fancams, and livestreams to cement their position as the world’s biggest and most influential boyband, analysts say.

“Oddly enough, I think that the pandemic may have helped BTS to grow their worldwide fame,” said “K-Pop professor” CedarBough Saeji of Pusan National University.

“So many people who were stuck at home and desperate for something new fell down the rabbit hole of BTS,” Saeji told AFP.

The group’s feel-good songs were a “perfect” antidote to Covid blues, she said, and their digital native fans, well used to livestreaming gigs and social media engagement, pivoted naturally to virtual concerts.

Even BTS’ first-ever No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 “Dynamite” wouldn’t exist without Covid: “we were trying to convey the message of healing and comfort to our fans,” bandmember Jin told Esquire.

The floppy-haired musicians, all in their 20s and often sporting earrings and lipstick, appeal to a generation comfortable with gender fluidity.

They are credited with generating billions for the South Korean economy, and their label HYBE enjoyed a surge in profits despite holding fewer concerts during the pandemic. BTS are widely credited for bringing K-pop into the mainstream in the US, and analysts say the pandemic supercharged their role on the world stage.