LOVE YOURSELF, SPEAK YOURSELF – BTS AT WEMBLEY

Guys.

I finally saw my babies and oh my God I’m still not over it. I never will be. I can’t believe it actually happened like ??????? they were right there in front of me. Literally the most famous people in the world and my favourite people on the planet were stood right there in front of me and ???????? My brain still can’t comprehend it. I got to see Kim Namjoon dance in real life. Like seriously, God bless.

I had so much anxiety surrounding this day but I’ll be doing a separate post on that, for now this post is just going to be sharing pictures and how the actual concert experience went because holy shit I’ve never seen anything so good in my entire life. Out of every single concert I’ve been to and every single performance I’ve ever seen live, BTS were the best, hands down. I think I’ll have post concert depression for the rest of my life because I just want to do it all over again, I need to see it all for a second time.

The concert was on Saturday and I’m writing this on Monday but I still haven’t recovered and I’m also panicking because I have so much to say and so many ways I want to word things and I feel like I’m just going to forget all of them. I could literally talk about this forever…where do I even begin.

We hopped off the tube and straight away were overlooking the crowd surrounding Wembley, literally just a sea full of thousands of people wearing merchandise with the boys’ names on, and their faces were everywhere. It was crazy to me because even though Kpop is obviously huge, it’s not something I ever see in my everyday life, I don’t turn on the radio and hear it or flick through TV channels and see it – it’s something that for me, exists only online because I follow it and search for it – it’s not something I get to see naturally in real life. However, looking out over Wembley and seeing BTS’ faces on flags surrounding the stadium…I couldn’t really believe my eyes.

this is bighit’s photo but i’m stealing it ’cause it’s a better angle than mine

There were South Korean flags, balloons spelling out ‘BTS’, merchandise, posters, banners – there was even a stand that had been set-up called “Kim Namjoon for President” (aka, my life motto). It was crazy. My friend and I were walking through this crowd of thousands of people and I just kept saying to her “I can’t believe this is real. I can’t believe this is a real thing that’s happening right now. This is crazy.”

BTS balloons

And it was, it was so crazy and I couldn’t get my head around it. I know BTS are famous – they’re literally the most famous people in the world, but to see that fame right in front of you, to actually be in it…it was insane. They were everywhere, people of all ages, races, genders, everybody was there. Everything was BTS. I was in awe. We’d literally only just stepped off the tube and already we’d found ourselves in a crowd of people that were shouting “J-HOPE” at the top of their lungs. I kept looking up at these flags of their faces and smiling at how precious they were. I’d taken 100 photos before we even got to the stadium, I just couldn’t believe it. It was the best thing ever.

There was a random dance play going on as well and if you’re not sure what that is, it’s a game played on a lot of Korean reality shows where random (usually Kpop) songs will play and if you know the dance routine, you come out and dance to it. There was a huge crowd of people just cheering and dancing and it was so fun. I wanted to try and say this in a more elegant way later on in the post because I mean it so much, but I have never been in such an environment where literally everyone is your best friend. We were all ARMY and we all loved each other so much – you could literally just stand next to any random person and instantly become best friends because you loved each other and you loved BTS. I literally loved every single person in that place. Everyone was beautiful, everyone was accepted, everyone was so full of love and happiness. There were “love yourself” and “speak yourself” banners plastered everywhere and it was even flashing on the screens that were giving out information to people around the stadium.

There were photo walls, merchandise booths, people handing out freebies – I was literally just walking and someone shoved a photo card into my hand and guess who I got?

None other than Mr Kim Taehyung which, what are the chances. Look how precious. Instantly my day was made (like, really? what are the chances. I’m so grateful).

My friend also got us some cute little wristbands to mark the day of the concert!

We also quickly walked over to the Wembley SSE Arena which is right next to the stadium, because they had banners flashing on their screens for GOT7, NCT 127 and Monsta X who are performing there later this year (and they’re my babies) – it was so crazy. I was literally in Kpop heaven. To see this all finally in real life I was like ????? what ?????? I’ve only ever seen it on my laptop screen before, but suddenly the names and faces of all of these people that I love were being shown for the world to see. I was so proud.

There were so many Korean people too, naturally, and they (of course) were speaking to each other in Korean and I was trying to practice my listening skills and see what I could pick up on, since I don’t get to converse in Korean in my every day life. The whole place was just so full of culture and love and acceptance and I’ve really never experienced anything like it before, the atmosphere was incredible. You really have to have been there in order to fully grasp what I mean but honestly, it was insane. I remember just feeling so proud and so happy for the guys because look what they’ve done, look how big they’ve made it, look at the changes they’re making and the impact they’re having on the world. I couldn’t even take it all in myself.

I don’t know how but we had club Wembley seats and so once we got inside club Wembley we were given the pink day one banners which said “When times are hard, look at the road we walked together”. We then made it to our seats and the atmosphere was electric. They had all of the BTS music videos playing on the screens and everyone was just screaming them, it was so amazing to see – like I said, I’ve never experienced any of this before other than over the internet so to finally be in a place full of so many people that were exactly the same as me, and to see it all happening in front of my eyes, was insane.

our day one banners

My favourite MVs that came on were Not Today and Fake Love because the crowd reactions were insane, it was so powerful, I know I keep mentioning this but to hear 60,000 people screaming “A day may come when we lose, but it is not today.”  was the most empowering thing I’ve ever heard, I literally just had goosebumps the entire time. Secondly, Fake Love was practically shaking the entire stadium because we were all doing the chant of “Fake love” and it was just, the best thing I’ve ever experienced to be honest.

The whole thing was just selfless. So selfless. If I could describe the whole night in one word it would be selfless, because it was about everything. It was about love and acceptance and I remember standing and watching that stage and thinking oh my god this must be the best experience of their lives, I’m so fucking happy for them. I was so, so happy for them and I kept imagining how great they must have felt and I was so, so happy because I wanted that for them more than anything. That’s all I wanted. Their happiness is our happiness and if they’re having the time of their lives then so are we. You don’t get that anywhere else. I was watching them having the time of their lives and I stood there smiling like an idiot because I was so glad that they were, and I was thinking about how exciting and wonderful it must be for them and I was so grateful that they were getting to experience that because they deserve it more than anyone. They’re the best people in the world and no one can tell me otherwise.

photo wall

I literally spent most of the night stood there with my hands over my face because I was so in awe and I was so happy for them and I just couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it for them, I was just so mesmerised watching them take it all in and I thought oh my god you deserve this so much. It wasn’t even about me getting to see them live, but just to be there and witness something great that was happening to them. That’s what it was about for me – it wasn’t about me – it was about getting to see them enjoy themselves and be so happy that this was happening to them and for them, and that was the same for everyone – we were all there for that same reason, and that’s why if I could describe it I’d choose the word selfless. It wasn’t about us, it was about them. We were doing this for them.

They deserve the world and more and I have never been in a place full of literally 60,000 people and felt so comfortable. Everyone loved everyone, everyone was each other’s best friend, we were all there for the same reason and the same purpose and we came together to show these 7 people that they were changing the world one step at a time, and we were so grateful for that. They’re paving the way for how the world is supposed to be – the world BTS are creating is the one we’re supposed to live in – the one we all want to live in hence why there were 60,000 people in front of them completely and utterly, selflessly loving them. People wonder why these guys are so big, but they’re paving the way and changing the world and I will follow them forever. We all will.

I’ve also found that usually when you enter these environments it’s normally very possessive and competitive. With boybands (even though BTS are not a boyband), it feels like a toxic environment between fans over who loves a member more or which member belongs to which fan etc. and with BTS and ARMY I didn’t find that at all, but then again, I wasn’t expecting to. Like I said, it was such a selfless environment – we loved each other and we loved them and this was simply a way for us to all come together to celebrate and support that – to show that love for them. No one was competing against each other, no one was trying to ‘claim’ a member or prove that they loved them more than anyone else did, and even though we all have our favourite members, we showed equal love to all of them, one scream was not louder than the other, one love was not bigger than the other, it was all equal. You cheered for your 7^th favourite member just as much as you did for your favourite, because you love and support all of them and they deserve every piece of that. It was so, so beautiful. It was such an amazing environment and atmosphere, I’m so grateful I got to be there and be a part of it.

The space they have created is so incredible and beautiful and I am eternally grateful to be a part of it – I love you ARMY, so much. I love you. At the end Jimin just kept screaming I love you ARMY and I was thinking oh my God, we love you so much more always.

I wasn’t expecting it to happen but surprisingly, Hobi got me choked up a few times throughout the night. Near the end when they were giving their closing speeches he said I love you as his closing line and I was tearing up, because he meant it. They all meant it, of course, but there was something about Hobi’s tone that was just…I don’t know. I can’t describe it and you won’t understand unless you were there but it really, really hit me. The next time he made me cry was just before they were about to leave the stage and he said “I’m here” looking directly into the camera, and then he pointed at himself and said “Hope’s right here”. And I just. I was a mess. I’m tearing up again just thinking about it now but he is such a beautiful soul and he’s a beacon of light for all of us, he really is our hope and he meant it so much. He was looking out to 60,000 people and saying hey, it’s okay. I’m here. Hope’s right here, and I always will be. And I just. I love that man so, so much.

Speaking of men, let’s speak about the best man on the entire planet, Mr Kim Namjoon. I know we all joke (but not really since we’re all serious) about wanting him as President but I swear to God, every time he came onto that stage I felt like I was in the presence of a king. I’m not kidding. He is magic.

baby namjoon

Not everyone will understand what I mean here but basically, sometimes you choose your bias and other times your bias chooses you. Tae is my bias by default just because, and there’s no getting away from that. But if I was to choose my bias my God Kim Namjoon would be it. He is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, inside and out, I felt like I was in the presence of a God.

Which brings me on to my next point and let me say this loud and clear, I have been to many concerts, seen many artists, watched many performances and seen many songs sang live, and Kim Namjoon performing Trivia Love to 60,000 people wipes the floor with all of them. I’ve never witnessed something so insanely spectacular in my life. It was absolutely unreal. Once he’d finished the song I wouldn’t have cared if they’d scrapped the rest of the entire setlist and instead had him sing that another 10 times over for the rest of the night. I’d literally buy a ticket to see him perform that song on repeat for 3 hours straight and I’m not even kidding. It was insane. He is so fucking clever I swear to God. I remember him saying that he created that song for the purpose of it being performed on tour and well he hit the nail right on the head once again with that one. I have never in my life witnessed something so brilliant, I literally cannot get over it. The feeling in that stadium…the atmosphere – the feeling it gave me. I’ll never, ever forget it. He is incredible.

Jin’s Epiphany was also so beautiful, it was actually the performance that I was most looking forward to which may surprise some people, it even surprised myself. There’s just something about him and that song that gets me and I couldn’t wait to hear and see it live and of course, I was not disappointed. It was so, so beautiful. I just wanted to mention that because Jin deserves so much credit. Hearing 60,000 people singing “I’m the one I should love in this world” is something I’ll never forget.

Throughout the night, to hear the whole stadium singing the Korean lyrics just as loud as the English ones, was insane. I was so happy and so proud and I just thought to myself again, guys, look what you’ve done. Look at the changes you’re making. They’re literally single handedly taking over the world and I’m so, so here for it.

When they did their solo performances or whenever one of them was getting emotional, everyone would begin chanting their names in support. I realised I never get to say their names out loud and so to be shouting Kim Seokjin at the top of my lungs was just, yeah. It was great, basically. Near the end when they were giving their closing speeches, we began chanting their names as each of them began to speak and stomping our feet so loud it was shaking the whole stadium and I remember just seeing their faces in absolute amazement like wow, this is really happening right now? and all I could think was I !! am !! so !! happy !! for !! you !!

There’s so many more things I could say that I know I will have forgotten but I’m still recovering and trying to get my head around the fact that they were right there in front of me and I’ve never loved anyone so much in my entire life. All I can say is thank you for everything and I’d literally follow these guys to the end of the earth. I will. I love you ARMY & I love you Bangtan. I 💜 you forever and I purple you. Thank you for everything and for changing my life. You saved me.

All my love,

Chloe .xx

this is also bighit’s photo and i’m still stealing it