BTS Yet to Come Review: Coming back on the stage for this live concert in Busan, all seven members of the South Korean music act – RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook – step up for their last performance together before heading out for the extended hiatus for their respective military services. The cinematic, re-cut version of the concert has been directed by Oh Yoon-dong, who paints this last OT7 showcase in a long time as a warmhearted letter to the fans of the group, BTS ARMY. With a runtime of 1 hours and 43 minutes, the film features close-ups and the grand view of the concert arena to pull you into the emotional and immersive musical experience.
BTS members perform several hit songs from their diverse discography, moving back and forth between their older tracks and relatively new record-breaking singles. English subtitles are also available for international audiences, thus offering a personal touch to the stories told by the singers through their music. The BTS Yet to Come concert movie was initially also released in cinemas in February 2023.
-BTS Yet to Come OTT Review Contains Spoilers-
BTS Yet to Come Review
Life is defined by transience, but in the case of BTS’ legendary career and legacy, the group may have decided to take some time off to fulfil their national duties, yet has also set in stone the promise of their glorious return to the stage in 2025. In the meantime, the members yet to move out for their enlistment period are focussing on the “BTS Chapter 2” saga that entails them working on their solo magnum opus and musical identities.
However, it’s but inevitable that the BTS ARMY has missed seeing all 7 artists in the same frame. To satiate that heartfelt desire, the global sensation has arrived to greet us through the small screen with the OTT premiere of their last concert in Busan.
Its setlist kicks off into action with MIC Drop – the perfect way to initiate the concert and fire up the audience’s vigour right away. Eventually seamlessly transitioning into the much-awaited premier performance of Run BTS from the band’s first anthology album Proof, it makes for yet another hype track that sparks the arena with more energy as fans vow to wave their ARMY bombs in support of the members’ endless supply of onstage performative fuel.
Meanwhile, the camera captures the stage but also the overview of the audience sweeps you away while inspiring you with hope that one day you too can be a part of this purple ocean. And if not physically present at the concert, even then the BTS Yet to Come movie puts in great efforts to make you feel included.
The members balance off the setlist with songs that can equally blow off the roof with their vivacious fervour and power-packed choreographies, while other tracks get the fans singing along to their softer melodies. The camera makes it a point to capture the members’ shared antics as they have fun while serving their bangers hard with dance performances, that by the end, leave you wondering what must fuel the group’s stamina like so that they never miss a beat, while simultaneously pumping up the audience to celebrate along with them at this festival.
The stage’s production standards also fit in the group’s anthology of stories over the years with common signature symbols like the white sneakers dangling off a tree and the rusted carousel as seen in Spring Day, the angel sculpture from Blood Sweat and Tears, the same school bus from BTS’ rebellious chapters of No More Dream, but this time owning a softer outlook, considering how far they’ve come on their journey that has now blossomed like colourful flowers.
Watching any concert can turn into a nostalgic fever dream, especially for fans who’ve followed the particular artists over a long period of time. BTS Yet to Come in Busan has the same power to transport us back to the old days of their beautiful tunes from back when their big chapter had merely started.
There may be a lot of people who may have moved on from liking BTS’ discography to taking an interest in the volumes-load of other musical releases of equally talented K-pop acts, but as soon as BTS’ tracks from their previous chapters, like Butterfly and Save Me, start playing, you can’t help but recount the magic of those days gone by.
This well-balanced setlist plays a huge role in reminding us of why and how this group kickstarted a new chapter of the booming Hallyu Wave around the years 2016-18. This equilibrium between the old and new serves as a reminder to new fans that there’s a lot to where the new pop hits like Butter and Dynamite came from, dating back to a truck-load of playful hip-hop tunes like Ma City, Dope and Fire.
Special unit song showcases, like the rap-line coming onstage with a beastly persona, yet again draw up parallels in the group’s long discography timeline. By performing a relatively newer song UGH and following it up with their ever-iconic Cypher Part 3 that had us all dreaming of becoming rappers at one point in our lives, much like V aka Kim Taehyung, the rapping trio wins us over for the millionth time, or more, who’s keeping a count anyway?
The director’s choice of switching the overall view of the arena to the drone view circling around the stage, literally on fire, and the audience down there in the pit works its charm in terms of fuelling the fest with an unmatchable vibe. The direction ensures that even while watching the members through the screen, you feel as if you’re one with the crowd.
However, that may also come up as a distraction for the musical sets at some points as you wish the focus was a tad bit more on the members as they’re performing, because ultimately, they’re the highlight of the show, along with the grandness of their showcases. On the contrary, if looked at from the members’ point of view, this way, the film shapes into more of an open letter to their fans, BTS ARMYs – possibly the most fitting and emotional takeaway. That way, the show promises the fans of the group’s highly anticipated full-fledged comeback in 2025 too.
BTS Yet to Come on Amazon Prime Video: Final Thoughts
With concerts like this, you’re bound to be left with a lingering feeling, wishing there was more to the show. Yet to Come concert is overtly shorter than the group’s main concert shows as the members take off on their individual routes for the time being, with the promise to come back again. They end the concert with Young Forever, For Youth, and the ever-heartbreaking and moving masterpiece that is Spring Day, which is a big hit in the feels.
The group gives us the word that “they’ll keep coming back for more” and that their “best is yet to come”, thus keeping the light on for the BTS ARMY tower. Special props to the Prime Video team for mentioning the lyrics of each song the boys perform throughout the concert film, instead of merely adding in the usual redundant “[singing in Korean]” reminder. This concert film is a must-watch for fans who’re ardently missing their beloved artists.
BTS: Yet to Come is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.