RECAP: BTS Week at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
In case you missed it, legendary late night US talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon wrapped its BTS Week with interesting interviews, chaotic games, and grand performances of some of their best hits.
BTS Week kicked off on Monday, September 28 with a special introductory video of BTS singing Dynamite with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots – acapella beatbox style! At this rare moment, Jimmy became the 8th member of BTS, now owning the nickname "Chimmy Fallon" (inspired by Jimin’s BT21 character, Chimmy). The special guests that night were Jim Parsons and Shepard Smith.
To end the first show, BTS performed their 2018 hit song IDOL from the Love Yourself: Answer album. What made this performance extra special was the fact that they shot it in Gyeongbokgung Palace under a full moon which signifies Korea’s Chuseok Day. The boys wore their modernized hanboks too and as expected, they gave an energetic performance. Proudly Korean!
On Tuesday, self-confessed BTS Army John Cena joined the show as the first ever live studio guest. Apart from playing with Jimmy, promoting his new children’s book, and sharing his thoughts on being a part of The Fast and the Furious franchise, the WWE icon also narrated how he became a part of the BTS Army and why he respects the group so much.
BTS fans were surprised in a positive way when the group chose to perform a B-Side song from the 2019 Map of the Soul: Persona album titled Home. This is one of my favorite chill tracks from the band and it is perfect for those who are staying at home whilst on lockdown.
BTS made sure that armies wouldn’t feel bored and sad with this performance. They’re too cute in their pajamas and it will make you long for staycation nights with friends and family. Since this song has no official music video, I guess this will be it now.
Honestly, I was hoping for Cena and BTS to finally meet virtually. Since the dance performances of BTS are already pre-recorded, what we imagined didn’t really happen in reality. We’re hoping that they’ll meet each other in person at the right time.
The real chaos began on Wednesday! The viewers really had fun watching Jimmy and the Bangtan boys as they play the "Dance with Your Feeling Challenge." Who won in the end? Clue: WWH.
After playing, the vibe got serious (at least for a while) when Jimmy asked questions related to BE, the upcoming album of BTS. He also asked RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook how were they like in high school. The group gave a touching and relatable graduation speech at YouTube’s "Class of 2020" and they continue to inspire the youth more.
The "model student" aura of the boys vanished once they stepped on the stage for Black Swan. The song is the second single from their latest album Map of the Soul: 7 which talks about the fear of losing your love and interest to your own art. Watch the boys’ sensible and marvelous dance moves in this performance:
Chaos continued on Thursday with the Zoom Olympics. Are we watching an episode of Run BTS here?
For this round, the golden maknae won! Michael Che and Colin Jost were the studio guests for that night. For a change, the group performed their song Mikrokosmos in the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion of the Gyeongbokgung Palace. This song is special to armies especially for those who were lucky to attend their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself Tour last year. This song brings comfort and hope. Shine, Dream, Smile!
Also, they released Savage Love BTS Remix much to the delight of fans. The new collaboration with Jason Derullo and Jawsh 685 featured BTS Jungkook, Suga and J-Hope.
For the Friday finale show, Jimmy interviewed Adam Sandler and Millie Bobby Brown on their new movie projects with Netflix. I remember reading tweets from fans predicting which song BTS will perform for the last day of their Fallon residency. Is it Blood, Sweat and Tears? Mic Drop? Or is it Dynamite again?
In a promotional sense, it is already expected that BTS will perform Dynamite. This time, they’re in a roller skating ring. Keep an eye out for some funny yet touching moments while some of the boys struggled with skating and the others either trying to help them or laugh at them.
Jimmy wrapped up BTS Week with a touching message for the boys and Army. "The BTS Army," he begins. "They're some of the most loyal, positive, and fun fans that you could ever dream of, and I just want to say 'thank you' to all of them. Chimmy Fallon loves you."
Thank you Jimmy and the rest of the staff and crew of The Tonight Show! This one-week residency made me reminisce that one late night in late February when I chanced upon the Grand Central Terminal performance of BTS for ON which made me more interested in knowing the members. Hopefully, more "Baby Armies" will be born from this week-long celebration.
Thank you, Chimmy Fallon! What about extending to BTS Month?
(Images fron NBC)