From “Hold Me Tight” to “Muchachos”: BTS and Argentina Found a Shared Rhythm

V sings “Muchachos,” the audience joins in, and for a moment the stadium in La Plata sounds as if a World Cup final is being played there. The Argentine football anthem that accompanied the national team to the 2022 world title found its place at a BTS concert too. It's hard to imagine a better way for V to get closer to the local audience!

From October 21 to 24, BTS played three concerts at Estadio Único Diego Armando Maradona in La Plata, not far from Buenos Aires. Argentina hosted all seven members for the first time, and the encounter brought much more than the usual concert programme. From Argentine football and local expressions to the return of songs they hadn't performed in years, almost every night had something of its own.

On the very first night five members appeared in Argentina national team jerseys with the number 10, made famous by Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. Jin and Jimin chose outfits in the colours of the Argentine flag. V went one step further and showed what he had learned from his hosts.

“Aguante ARMY!” he shouted, then added “Fuera de joda, son el mejor público,” which roughly means “No kidding, you're the best audience.” At the second concert he sang “Muchachos” and suggested sharing a mate, the traditional Argentine drink. His introduction to local customs turned into one of the funniest stories of these concerts.

For Jin, the return also carried special meaning. He had already visited Argentina in 2022, when he performed “The Astronaut” live for the first time as a guest of Coldplay. Back then he stood on stage without the other BTS members, and four years later he returned with the whole group. He recalled that performance and the warm welcome he received.

The audience was exceptionally loud on all three nights, which surprised Jungkook in particular. At the first concert he admitted he had always thought he was more passionate than ARMY, but that in Argentina he might have finally found some competition. He could hear the voices from the stands even through the in-ear monitors he wears during performances.

All that energy also led to a somewhat unexpected meeting of two concert cultures. Argentine audiences are known for pogo, the custom of jumping together and bumping into each other to the rhythm of the music. Although it's best known from rock and punk shows, in Argentina it has long been part of a much broader concert culture.

At the first concert, part of the audience on the floor began jumping intensely and pushing toward the stage. Jimin grew worried about the safety of people in the front rows and asked the crowd not to push. Later RM reacted too, warning that the situation could become dangerous. The show paused briefly until the crowd stepped back.

For many in Argentina pogo is a completely normal expression of concert excitement, but the BTS members clearly didn't expect that kind of movement from the crowd. A debate also developed on social media about whether they had even been familiar with the custom. It hasn't been confirmed whether they were warned about pogo in advance, but their concern was understandable. According to Argentine media, there were no serious incidents.

The musical side of the concerts brought another lovely surprise. Over the three nights BTS performed six surprise songs, including songs we hadn't heard live in years.

On the first night they performed “Hold Me Tight” (2015) and “Dionysus” (2019). The return of “Hold Me Tight” was especially interesting because BTS hadn't performed it live since 2016. During the performance the members were trying to recall the lyrics, which added a bit of spontaneous humour to the whole show.

The second concert brought “Attack on Bangtan” (2013) and “Epilogue: Young Forever” (2016), while “Lost” (2016) and “BTS Cypher 4” (2016) were chosen for the final night. Both songs from the last concert returned to the stage for the first time since 2017.

It's especially interesting how many different periods of BTS's career are represented in those six songs. From the early years and the album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life to the songs that marked later tours, Argentine ARMY got a lovely cross-section of the music BTS grew up with.

SUGA mentioned on the very first night that he had a feeling they would return to Argentina. After a welcome like this, that possibility sounds entirely natural. For now what remains is three concerts, six special songs, a few new Spanish expressions and one attempt by V to sing “Muchachos” that Argentine ARMY greeted with delight.