The Red Bullet Tour, also known as 2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet and 2015 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, was the first concert tour headlined by South Korean boy bandBTS to promote their 2 Cool 4 Skool (2013) debut single album, O!RUL8,2? (2013) EP, Skool Luv Affair (2014) EP, and Dark & Wild (2014) studio album. The tour began on October 17, 2014, in South Korea and initially visited six cities in Asia. Its world tour extension began on June 6, 2015, in Malaysia and toured Australia, North America and Latin America before ending in Hong Kong that August. In all, the entire tour attracted 80,000 spectators at 18 cities in 13 countries.[2]
Background
Following the release of their first studio album Dark & Wild August 2014, BTS released a video teaser on YouTube and a poster on September 4, 2014, announcing their first concert tour, titled 2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, with October dates for two shows at AX-Korea in South Korea.[3] The two shows sold out within 2 minutes, prompting the addition of a third show in South Korea followed by dates in Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.[4][5]
Set list
The following set list is obtained from the show on December 7, 2014, in Manila, Philippines. It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.[6]
On May 7, 2015, BTS announced a full-scale world tour extension, titled 2015 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, starting June 6 at the Mega Star Arena in Malaysia followed by July dates in Australia and the United States.[1]
Reception
Shows in Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City were all sold out in the matter of minutes. BTS performed for over 12,500[9] fans for the US leg alone. The two concerts in Melbourne and Sydney were also sold out,[10] despite the fact that the cities were located in a place that traditionally did not experience that level of success when it comes to selling out venues for K-pop acts. In Brazil, similar success happened. The original venue would have a maximum capacity of 2,000 people, however due to high demand the promoters transferred the concert to a venue with more than twice the capacity.[11]
According to Billboard, BTS made their concert memorable with their outstanding performances.[12]
"A staple of K-pop concerts is the meticulously rehearsed choreography and CD-quality vocals prepared for every performance of the night. For their New York City debut, BTS did that, of course, but also showed a more relaxed and freer side of themselves that made the show that much more memorable -- even with an abrupt finish."
The following set list is obtained from the show on July 10, 2015, in Sydney, Australia. It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour extension.[10]
^The first half of the tour ended on March 8, 2015; however a separately named world tour extension, called "2015 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet", was eventually added.[1]