The LA Times Just Named Jimin the Highlight of BTS's First LA Stadium Show in 5 Years

When the LA Times sat down to review BTS's September 2 opening night at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Jimin's outfit stopped the writeup in its tracks. The paper described his mesh top and vest combination as looking "an awful lot like somebody's grandpa's fishing vest", a deadpan line that landed as a compliment, because in context it absolutely was one.

The reviewer named Jimin the highlight of the entire show, and the observation landed well beyond a fashion aside. The LA Times framed the moment as part of a broader shift: after years of coordinated concept meetings and matching stage costumes, BTS appears to have entered what the paper called an era of adult free dress, with each member now wearing what he actually wants. It's a small but telling detail about where the group is creatively after their military service period and full-group reunion.

From London to Paris to LA

This is far from the first time Jimin's stage presence has commanded a review's best lines. At BTS's London concert at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in June, The Guardian gave the show a rare perfect five-star score and singled Jimin out specifically, writing that by the end of the night he had become the reviewer's personal favorite member. The critic added, almost as an aside, that the show had made them want to learn Korean. Billboard covered the same London date and focused on Jimin's blond, grown-out hair, calling it striking enough to deserve its own recognition.

At Stade de France in Paris, Jimin wore a custom Dior look designed by Jonathan Anderson. As a Dior House Ambassador, he's worn the brand on red carpets before, but fashion outlets covering the Paris date said the stage performance elevated things further, with several describing him as the house's muse rather than simply its face.

Back in March, at the full-group comeback stage in Gwanghwamun Square, Jimin appeared in an armor-concept piece by Song Zio that reinterpreted the flowing silhouette of hanbok. The styling, themed around the image of a poet, drew widespread "best visuals ever" reactions from fans across social media.

What the LA Times said about the show itself

The review wasn't only about fashion. The LA Times described BTS as "world-class pop artists who need no separate awards category," and characterized the Arirang Tour as a test of K-pop's sustained cultural reach. The paper noted how the new album ARIRANG weaves traces of the traditional Korean folk song into pop and hip-hop production, and pointed out that during the live performance of "Body to Body," images of women in hanbok played across the venue's large screens.

The language dynamic on stage caught the reviewer's attention too. Members spoke between songs mostly in Korean, while the songs themselves were largely in English, a tension that a Netflix documentary apparently captured the group working through directly. Suga addressed the LA crowd in Korean: "LA, it's been a while, hasn't it?" The members shared that their hope is for the music to be loved as it is, without division by region or language.

SoFi records and a city that showed up

The four SoFi Stadium dates sold out completely. Across the full North American leg, BTS played 31 shows across 12 cities, drawing approximately 1.92 million attendees. With this run, the group has now performed eight times total at SoFi Stadium, accumulating around 496,000 cumulative attendees there and setting the venue's all-time record for most performances by a single act. The LA shows marked the group's first solo stadium dates in the city since 2021, roughly five years ago.

The city itself got into it. LA officially designated September 1 through 8 as "BTS Week," holding a formal proclamation ceremony at City Hall on August 31. On September 1, City Hall was lit entirely in red, the color of the ARIRANG album, rather than the fandom's traditional purple, a choice that fans noted as a deliberate nod to the new era.

Koreatown, about 4 miles northeast of SoFi Stadium and connected by the Metro K Line, filled with concertgoers before and after each show. The Line Hotel nearby put together member-specific food tour itineraries, routing fans through spots like Joseon Galbi and Quarters for barbecue lovers, Gobawoo House for bossam and kimchi jjigae, Yeopgi Tteok for tteokbokki, and Haru Cake for dessert. It was the kind of city-wide embrace that makes a tour stop feel like an event rather than just a show.