Here’s What You Missed Out On: j-hope’s Hope on the Stage Tour

Elaborate Stage Design

Before the show starts, the stage is covered with sheer blankets and once j-hope pops up on stage with “What If…”, the stage and its surroundings become unsheathed. Through the moody first stage that contains songs from his album Jack In The Box, j-hope plays the literal character by popping up in between platforms and dancing around the creepy shadows. As you enter the Hope on the Street era, the mood gets increasingly lighthearted. j-hope uses the stage as his personal playground—carrying around a boombox and towards the end, even brings out a mini diorama of the stage to express his love for it.

The Return of Dancing Royalty

As BTS’ main dancer, j-hope made no hestitation to showcase his roots and immense talent. He incorporates b-boying and dance battles with his background dancers—harking back from his trainee days and early performances before big stardom. He moves swiftly and fluidly in between his background dancers but still gravitates towards the spotlight. And when it came down to songs from his album Hope on the Street vol. 1, he harmoniously matched the energy with his partner in his dance duets for “lock / unlock” and “i don’t know.”

Fashion is j-hope’s Passion

During the second stage, j-hope emerges all out in a Louis Vuitton fit. His shirt is plastered with the emblem of the iconic French fashion house and is a nod to him being a House Ambassador. When he debuts his new song after a costume change, he points to his sparkly pants and shimmery “Mona Lisa” belt and says “Guys look at this!” He knows he has an eye for fashion and will flaunt it any chance he gets.

A Sea of ARMY Bombs

Light sticks are obviously essential when it comes to a K-pop concert, but nothing really compares to the bright sea of ARMY bombs. These lightsticks are extremely luminescent. When more than 19,000 ARMY bombs are in that magnitude, and purposefully synced with the stage design in an arena as intimate as Barclays Center, it accentuates the stage production and makes fans feel like they’re part of the show. I’ll admit, my ARMY Bomb ver. 2 that I got when I attended Permission to Dance LA didn’t work for this concert so I got so much FOMO. If you need one, I highly recommend getting one before the show through this link.

A New Song Debut

j-hope surprised fans when he debuted his new song “Mona Lisa.” The upbeat song is about being so infatuated with a girl that he compares her to the classic masterpiece. It’s a departure from the familiar songs heard early in the setlist and leans into the same sexy themes that were explored in “Sweet Dreams.” To celebrate this abundance of love, a camera transforms unsuspecting fans in the crowd into the famous Leonardo DaVinci painting.

And a Hint of Bangtan Sonyeondan

A BTS solo tour isn’t complete without the members performing hits from their group discography. Like Suga during his D-Day tour, j-hope sprinkled in classic BTS songs through multiple acts like the Rap Line highlight “Silver Spoon,” or the peppy “Dis-ease.” One particular highlight was when he performed a bit of MIC DROP. ARMY immediately erupted with the BTS fan chant during the long instrumental intro and set the scene for the ultimate hype song.

Setlist

1. What if…
2. Pandora’s Box
3. Arson
4. STOP
5. MORE
6. on the street (solo ver.)
7. lock/unlock
8. i don’t know
9. i wonder…
10. Trivia : Just Dance (BTS song)
11. Sweet Dreams
12. Mona Lisa (World Premiere)
13. 1 Verse
14. Base Line
15. HANGSANG
16. Airplane / Airplane pt.2 (BTS song)
17. MIC Drop (BTS song)
18. Silver Spoon
19. Dis-ease (BTS song)
20. Outro : Ego (BTS song)
21. Daydream
22. Chicken Noodle Soup
23. Hope World

Encore

North American Tour Dates

• Thu Mar 13 -Brooklyn, N.Y. – Barclays Center
• Fri Mar 14 – Brooklyn, N.Y. – Barclays Center
• Mon Mar 17 – Chicago, Ill. – Allstate Arena
• Tue Mar 18 – Chicago, Ill. – Allstate Arena
• Sat Mar 22 – Mexico City, Mexico – Palacio de los Deportes
• Sun Mar 23 – Mexico City, Mexico – Palacio de los Deportes
• Wed Mar 26 – San Antonio, Texas – Frost Bank Center
• Thu Mar 27 – San Antonio, Texas – Frost Bank Center
• Mon Mar 31 – Oakland, Calif. – Oakland Arena
• Tue Apr 01 – Oakland, Calif. – Oakland Arena
• Fri Apr 4 – Los Angeles, Calif. – BMO Stadium
• Sun Apr 6 – Los Angeles, Calif. – BMO Stadium