K-pop band books three shows in city
Hamilton will become the K-pop centre of the world for a few days in September when South Korean boy band sensation BTS comes to perform three concerts at FirstOntario Centre.
The three shows — Sept. 20, 22 and 23 — were announced in South Korea a little more than a week ago and are the only Canadian dates on BTS’s world tour.
In North America, the only other venue to host three shows is the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the staff of Core Entertainment, which manages FirstOntario Centre, have been deluged with social media requests from around the world on how to get tickets.
“The social media has been like nothing we’ve ever experienced, especially Twitter,” Jill Kurtz, Core Entertainment assistant director of marketing, said about the BTS fans.
“They call themselves the army and they are rabid fans. I’ve been talking to teenage girls for the past week.”
“A lot of people are going to be coming from all over the world. It’s pretty exciting and scary at the same time.”
Kurtz said she’s expecting tickets to sell out quickly for all three shows once they go on sale on Monday at 4 p.m. through Ticketmaster or at the FirstOntario Centre box office. Prices range from $80 to $325.
BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, are a seven-member band formed in 2013. They broke into the American charts in 2017 with “Love Yourself: Her.”
Since then, videos like “DNA” and “Mic Drop” have scored hundreds of millions of hits on YouTube.