South кσяєαn and international media outlets have been reporting over the past few days that the United States is truly being swept up in the “BTS fever.” From the thunderous cheers shaking the San Francisco night sky to waves of purple lights filling Stanford Stadium in San Francisco, USA, BTS’s presence has completely taken over the city.
What makes the venue especially significant is that BTS became only the second artist in the world to hold a concert there, following legendary band Coldplay. BTS is also reportedly the first artist in history to perform three consecutive nights at this iconic stadium. Media outlets even concluded: “No matter where they go in the world, BTS continues to prove their overwhelming status.”
However, that may have been the media’s observation! From the perspective of the ARMY community — and even the BTS members themselves — the au∂ιєnce reaction at Stanford was not as impressive compared to the general standard seen at other stops. Especially considering that just one week earlier, fans in мєχι¢σ had left BTS and global fans genuinely astonished by their endless energy across all three nights.
Specifically, after the two nights of concerts at Stanford, particularly the first night, multiple videos circulated across social media capturing moments where BTS members directly encouraged the au∂ιєnce to engage more with the performance. During the first night, after several opening songs, Jungkook told fans: “I see a lot of phones right now. We came all the way here to see your face!” On the second night, before performing “Butter,” RM also candidly shared: “For those who are just looking at their phones and not singing along with us, maybe you don't know any songs, but now you've got to sing with us.”
According to many ARMYs who attended the concert in person, the tendency for au∂ιєnce members to spend most of the show recording on their phones or remaining quiet throughout the concert was quite common, especially on the first night. One fan wrote on social media: “I was at Stanford, I can confirm the crowd was ∂єα∂ AF. The girls next to me were covering their ears because of my screaming.” The fan added that they screamed even louder after realizing how quiet the atmosphere around them was and felt bad for the members because they clearly wanted to hear support and cheers from the crowd.
Some other ARMYs also pointed out that the number of lightsticks seen at the concert was lower than usual. There were even attendees who did not know the names of the songs being performed or were unfamiliar with fan chants. One fan recalled that when the intro to “Hooligan” started playing, several people around her turned to each other asking whether it was the song “SWIM.” Through numerous fancams shared online, many moments also showed the crowd reacting rather reservedly compared to previous BTS concerts.
This sparked heated debates among global fans. Many expressed disappointment, believing BTS did not receive the level of support they deserved. Some comments even joked that the members “had nothing to compliment about the crowd except pizza and Stanford University.” Other blunt comments criticizing the atmosphere included: “They ain’t coming back back to Stanford”, “Standford got nothing good except pizza” or “Stanford, I would be embarrαѕѕed”....
However, amid the wave of criticism, some ARMYs also stepped in to provide additional context so fans could have a broader perspective. According to several attendees, nearly half of the au∂ιєnce at Stanford consisted of locals, university students, or students’ family members because the university had sold ticket packages and distributed many tickets throughout the campus. As a result, many attendees were either watching a BTS concert for the first time or were only newly exposed to K-pop fandom culture.
These fans also emphasized that different stops on a concert tour should not be compared because people have different cultures and ways of expressing excitement. Meanwhile, the ARMYs who attended the show still enjoyed themselves fully and cheered loudly throughout the night. Rather than viewing the situation negatively, some saw it as a positive sign that many new people were beginning to support BTS and become exposed to fandom culture.
Another ARMY shared a similar opinion: “We have to accept that BTS are now a household name and many, many people are going to be curious about them and will be tuning in from now on...We should should encourage more ppl to check them out, push ARIRANG on the charts for visibility, and most importantly, talk about the album more!! Talk about the production, the lyrics, the historical inspiration, the live performances, etc". The other also commented: "We can't expect all crowds to be fully packed of ARMYs, there are people who just love music, festivals, or they just simply wanted a new experience & were not hardcore fans".
At least, the atmosphere at Stanford gradually improved during the second night as local attendees began syncing more with ARMYs. Near the end of Day 2, RM also praised the au∂ιєnce, saying: “I could see your faces really well. And you guys are really beautiful. You know just honestly, I just hope you had a great time because you know, time flies life is too short, and there are too many, you know little, small, precious moments in our life, so I hope you had a great time and thank you, I appreciate it. You guys were way better than last night. thank you stanford.”
Even so, fans are still hoping the atmosphere during the final concert night will become even better and leave an unforgettable memory for the seven members, who have given their all to Stanford across all three nights. They commented: "I think when you go to a concert, you should at least listen to the album beforehand. Not just so you can scream along with the crowd, but to enjoy it even more", "Tampa and мєχι¢σ concerts are crazy. Hope the last day in Stanford at least goes well too", "Hopefully the final night crowd will be louder and give BTS the energy they truly deserve", "I really hope everyone puts their phones down and just lives in the moment with BTS", "The final night needs to feel unforgettable for BTS", "You don’t have to scream, but at least sing along or show some excitement instead of standing there like a statue",...
