BTS’ ‘Bang Bang Con’ virtual concert was a record smasher

Another month, another BTS record.

With Sunday’s (June 14) Bang Bang Con: The Live, the K-pop superstars smashed the virtual attendance record and banked a fortune.

The 100-minute live stream reached a peak of 756,000 concurrent viewers across 107 countries and territories, according to Big Hit metrics reported by Variety.

Boil it down, and that’s the equivalent of 15 shows at a maxed-out Suncorp Stadium, by some distance the biggest audience for a paid virtual concert.

Tickets for the interactive performance were priced at ₩29,000 (A$34) for members of BTS’ ARMY, and ₩39,000 (A$46) for the general public, meaning the concert grossed at least ₩21.9 billion, or $18 million (A$26 million), the Korea JoongAng Daily reports.

The boy band performed 12 songs in their set, presented by their management company Big Hit Entertainment with U.S.-based live streaming specialist Kiswe.

BTS

“This was the largest paid online concert to be held in the world,” Big Hit Entertainment said in a statement.

“Even though the performing arts industry is struggling during Covid-19, BTS has opened up new possibilities through this online performance.”

It’s a struggle keeping up with BTS’ record-setting feats.

In the U.S., they’ve bagged four No. 1 album titles. Only one other Korean act has led the Billboard 200, SuperM, a supergroup comprised of members from Shinee, Exo, NCT 127 and WayV. SuperM have done it just once.

BTS has twice led the albums chart in the U.K. and Australia, and their 2019 video for ‘ON’ set the all-time mark on YouTube Premiere with more than 1.54 million viewers immediately logging on.

The one-off streaming event last weekend also proved to be an impressive ARMY recruitment tool. With Bang Bang Con: The Live, BTS added 10,000 new members to its fanbase, according to Big Hit.

With all those new followers on board, BTS has rolled out a new toy to keep them connected: a signature Samsung device.

Samsung 💜 BTS #GalaxyS20Plus #GalaxyBudsPlus #BTSedition #BTS #Weversehttps://t.co/Xj8vFq6F04

— Samsung Electronics (@Samsung) June 15, 2020

Just hours after the virtual concert wrapped up, BTS and Samsung Electronics unveiled its Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition, which features the group’s logo and heart icon.

The devices are available to pre-order at Samsung.com and will be widely available from July 9, the date which marks the seventh anniversary of ARMY.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.