VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty ImagesThe ARIRANG World Tour has everything BTS fans have been waiting for since the band announced its comeback after going on hiatus in 2022. The 2.0 era involves tons of choreo, FYA pyrotechnics, and something new at every show — including a special twist that would make Taylor Swift very proud.Similar to Swift’s Eras Tour, BTS is bringing back a few oldies from their discography with a surprise song section. After performing two of their biggest hits, “Butter” and “Dynamite,” the ARIRANG show continues with a “DJ” playing two tracks that aren’t a part of the official set list.This surprise song moment is always a shock to ARMY and members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, because you never know what track the DJ is going to spin. It could be a major throwback like Las Vegas getting “Attack on Bangtan” from their 2013 debut mini album, or a more recent single like “Permission to Dance” from 2021. Just like the Life of a Showgirl singer, BTS isn’t immune from repeating tracks either — so you really never know what you’re going to get.ARIRANG’s surprise songs have kept ARMY on their toes, and the section has also sparked a bit of a rivalry between cities with Tampa getting the “favorite child” moniker for hearing beloved hits like “Pied Piper” and “Baepsae (Silver Spoon).” To follow along and see what songs you’ve missed, here are all of the surprise tracks BTS has played on the ARIRANG World Tour:The Las Vegas, NV SongsYouTubeMay 23BTS brought back “Permission to Dance” for the second time. Even though fans think RM and JK weren’t pleased with the DJ’s repeat choice, the 2021 single was a nostalgic pick since the last time they performed it on the PTD Tour was in Las Vegas. The DJ was quick to redeem itself afterwards with a true throwback of “Go Go” from 2017. May 24Another track that was last performed in Vegas on the Permission to Dance on Stage Tour in 2022 was “Black Swan,” which was the first surprise for Day 2. The 2020 hit was followed up with BTS’ 2014 “Spine Breaker.” YouTubeMay 27Fans weren’t waiting long to hear “Anpanman” again after it was played in Stanford. The DJ in Vegas picked the 2018 track for the first surprise of Day 3. The vibes kept going with “Attack on Bangtan” — the 2013 track has been the biggest throwback so far. May 28For BTS’ final night in Sin City before their two-week break, the DJ picked two more oldies but goodies. The first was 2015’s “Boyz With Fun” from their third mini album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1.Then, from the band’s 2014 debut studio album, the DJ played “Danger.” The Stanford, CA SongsYouTubeMay 16For BTS’ first show in Stanford, the DJ went all the way back to the beginning with “N.O” from their debut mini album. Then, they played “Anpanman” for the first time on the ARIRANG World Tour. May 17On Day 2 in Stanford, BTS broke out songs previously on the Permission to Dance on Stage set list. The first was “Dope” from 2015’s The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 with RM, V, Jung Kook, and Jin all trying to remember the choreo. The show continued with “Blood Sweat & Tears” from 2016’s Wings with Jimin joining Jung Kook, V, and Jin dancing to the chorus. May 19Stanford’s final show got a nostalgic surprise set with “I Need U” that featured Jimin and Jung Kook dancing. Then, from the band’s first-ever single album from June 2013, the DJ played “No More Dream” which included a few ab shots from Jimin, Jung Kook, and V. The Mexico City, Mexico SongsYouTubeMay 7BTS really showed how much they love Mexico with some fan fave tracks, starting off with “Boy In Luv” on Day 1. They kept the energy up with 2018’s “So What” right after. May 9While wearing cowboy hats, Jung Kook, Jimin, J-Hope, and V performed the choreography to the night’s first song “We are Bulletproof Pt. 2.”Then, they slowed things down a bit with “Just One Day” from Skool Luv Affair. May 10The vibes were high with Mexico City’s last show, so the DJ spun the Latin pop “Airplane Pt.2” from 2018. For an emotional sendoff on Day 3, the surprise set ended with another ARMY fave “Spring Day.” This was also the first time BTS repeated a track, giving hope to fans with concerts at the end of the tour that they could still hear some of their dream songs. The El Paso, TX SongsYouTubeMay 2The first of two show days in Texas started off with “On”, which featured Jung Kook and Jimin performing choreography from the music video. Then, BTS performed “Outro: Wings” with Jin dancing around with a scarf on his head. May 3The last show in El Paso started off with the high-energy “Dionysus.”The DJ then played “Best of Me” from 2017, which got everyone jumping around the stage. The Tampa, FL SongsRachel ChapmanApril 25During BTS’ first show in the U.S., they brought it back to their last tour with “Permission to Dance.” Then, something that showed how much BTS loved their time in Tampa was their second song choice, “Magic Shop.” The 2018 song is one of ARMY’s favorites in the band’s discography, and fans at home were not happy to lose that one. April 26BTS brought it on Day 2 with “Boy with Luv,” their 2019 single featuring Halsey. They followed that up with another favorite ARMY track, “Pied Piper.” The crowd’s reaction to the song really surprised BTS. J-Hope later said in a livestream that the song was “on another level”, and Suga claimed he saw someone faint in the audience. April 28After a great time in the Sunshine State, BTS closed out their final show with the more mellow “Life Goes On” in their surprise set. They then provided an energy boost with “Baepsae (Silver Spoon).” J-Hope said the 2015 song had a “much bigger reaction” than he expected, while Suga thought the stadium was going to collapse. The Tokyo, Japan SongsYouTubeApril 17At BTS’ first show in Japan since 2019, they kicked off their surprise set with “Save Me” from The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever with Jimin and V trying to remember the choreography from the music video. They then played “Crystal Snow” from BTS’ third Japanese album Face Yourself. April 18For Day 2, BTS surprised the audience with “Dope” for the first time. Then, off their second Japanese album, BTS’ final surprise song in Tokyo was “For You” from 2016. The Goyang, South Korea SongsYouTubeApril 9The first surprise song of the ARIRANG World Tour was “Mikrokosmos,” which BTS also performed during the THE COMEBACK LIVE film on Netflix. The rainy set continued with 2015’s “I Need U” for the first time. April 11For Goyang Day 2, BTS performed their 2023 song “Take Two” — which they released after their hiatus was announced, so it was the first time the song was performed in front of fans. BTS followed that up with the higher energy “DNA” that was last performed on the PTD Tour set list. The group did their best trying to remember the concert choreo. April 12For the final day in Goyang, the DJ spun “Spring Day” for the first time. It ended in an emotional sing-along with ARMY. Bringing the vibes up, BTS ended the surprise set with the high energy “Run” from 2015. (Not to be confused with 2022’s “Run BTS” on the actual set list, and the band’s game show.)
All The BTS Surprise Songs Performed On Their ARIRANG World Tour
