BTS reclaims North America with 'Arirang' tour, drawing 157,000 fans at MetLife Stadium

New York has fallen to BTS — completely.

BTS drew more than 157,000 fans over two nights at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Aug. 1 and 2 (local time) as part of BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG,' Big Hit Music said Monday. It marked the group's return to the venue for the first time in seven years and two months, since the "SPEAK YOURSELF" tour in 2019.

The concerts came just two weeks after BTS co-headlined the halftime show of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final in North and Central America on July 19.

The resumed world tour drew particular attention because it opened in the immediate aftermath of a controversy: BTS had declined to submit entries for the 69th Grammy Awards, and the Recording Academy was accused of retaliating by quietly removing footage of the group's past Grammy performances from its website.

BTS's declaration that music should be judged on its own merits — not by language or geography — was borne out by the sold-out crowd at MetLife, where ARMY fans sang along in Korean en masse throughout both nights.

Across the two sold-out shows, BTS performed a wide range of songs, including SWIM, the title track from their fifth full-length album, and the B-side "Aliens."

Hip-hop legend Nas attended the concert. Leader RM said he felt deeply moved to perform in front of someone who had been his idol as a teenager. The members told the crowd they would "never take the love you give us for granted" and pledged to give their all until the very end.

BTS launched the world tour in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, after reuniting as a full group in March. By May, just 12 shows into the run, the tour had generated $127.8 million in ticket sales, topping Billboard's "Top Tours" chart. Powered by the group's return, their agency Hybe posted record quarterly sales of 1.45 trillion won ($1.01 billion) and an operating profit of 170.9 billion won in the second quarter of 2026 — the highest figures since the company's founding.

BTS next moves to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Wednesday and Thursday. The group will be the first Korean act ever to perform at that venue.