Chile Waited Nine Years: BTS Returned With Heartbeat, Spine Breaker and a Special Farewell

It had been nine years since BTS last performed in Chile. The return to Santiago was therefore more than just another stop on the ARIRANG tour. Three sold-out nights were waiting for them at Estadio Nacional, and after the first one it was already clear how much this reunion meant to both the audience and the members.

The members arrived in Chile a few days before the concerts and managed to find a little time outside the stadium. Local media reported that they were able to go out for dinner and spend part of their stay in the city more quietly, while fans asked that they be given enough privacy. Later, their stories on stage made it clear that they had seen more than just backstage areas and hotel rooms. Empanadas, completos, vineyards and Chilean slang that they had obviously been collecting diligently all came up.

The first night, October 14, came just one day after Jimin's birthday, so the celebration continued in front of a full stadium. The members sang to him, the audience raised yellow hearts, and Jimin once again found himself at the center of birthday attention, this time in front of tens of thousands of people.

For the surprise songs they chose “RUN” and “Save ME,” so the very first show got the dose of nostalgia that old BTS songs can bring after just a few opening notes.

From the first night the audience was incredibly loud, and the members kept adding local expressions and references. V used the well-known “Chile, el mejor país de Chile,” which drew one of the biggest reactions of the night.

The second concert, on October 16, brought what may have been the biggest musical surprise of their stay in Santiago.

After “Telepathy,” the first notes of “Heartbeat” began to play. The song, released in 2019 for the game BTS World, had never been performed at a concert before. More than seven years after its release, it got its first live performance in Chile.

The audience recognized it almost immediately. A song that ARMY had wanted to hear on stage for so long finally became part of a BTS concert, in front of a stadium that knew it from the first line to the last.

BTS's return could be felt outside Estadio Nacional too. The Orfeón de Carabineros, the Chilean police orchestra, played “Dynamite” at Plaza de la Constitución, and the video quickly spread on social media. For those few days Santiago truly lived to the rhythm of their return.

The final concert brought two more great surprise songs: “Jump” and “Spine Breaker.”

“Spine Breaker” already has a small BTS history with Chile. During their stay in 2017 they filmed a legendary improvised video for the song in a hotel there, with minimal equipment, plenty of their own ideas and even more fun. That made it especially meaningful to hear it again in Santiago, and the audience knew exactly why this choice was different from any other surprise song.

The third night also brought a completely unplanned moment during “2.0.” The central lift platform didn't work as intended and stayed higher than it should have. The members finished the song anyway and carried on with “Normal.”

Afterwards they explained to the audience that there had been a problem with the platform and asked them to act as if they were watching “2.0” for the first time. That way Santiago heard “2.0” twice that night, and the second performance went as it should have.

Before the closing speeches came one more surprise: all seven members appeared in traditional huaso outfits, with ponchos and chupalla hats. Jin's purple poncho drew particular attention, but above all the scene was a charming sign of attention to a country they had come to know beyond the hotel-to-stadium route.

During “Body to Body,” RM singled out the Chilean audience for the way it sang “Arirang” and said they had sung that part better than at any previous stop on the tour. Jungkook spoke about how much he will remember the volume of the stadium and that he wants to come back, j-hope said that, no matter how much time passes, they will have to return, and Jimin said quite openly that he doesn't want to leave Chile.

Perhaps those final speeches describe their whole stay best. They didn't just play three concerts and move on to the next city. They had time to get to know a little of Santiago, talked about the food and the places they visited, had fun with Chilean expressions, listened to the stadium sing “Arirang” with them and finally walked out in front of the audience dressed as huasos.