Hope on stage, Starting with “What If…”, “… Pandora’s Box”, “Arson”, “STOP”, and “MORE” as the opening repertoire, J-Hope continued his performance with other songs — such as “lock/unlock”, “Sweet Dreams”, “MONA LISA”, to “Daydream” — which made ARMY continue to sing along.
Not to be missed, several BTS songs were also performed, such as “MIC Drop”, “Silver Spoon”, “Dis-ease”, to “Outro: Ego”.
The great energy from the audience was also very clearly reflected on stage. Despite appearing as a soloist — with the accompaniment of backing dancers in several songs — J-Hope appeared to dominate the big stage. This shows how the 31-year-old man is an undeniable world idol, who is able to control a big show with tens of thousands of fans in front of him.
World-Class Production
As a member of BTS, J-Hope has indeed become a world-class performer. However, I came without high expectations, and considered it similar to other K-pop idol performances, which are more interesting to see the communication between the artist and the fans rather than the performance on stage itself.
Hope On The Stage provided a different understanding. With the accompaniment of a live band, J-Hope’s performance on stage exceeded the standards that are labeled for many K-pop artists – who often perform with playback accompaniment.
Although not a fan of J-Hope and BTS songs, I could feel the enjoyment during the performance – which may be different from ARMY – towards all aspects of the production displayed on stage.
First, the sound quality that came out was so clear and crisp. Indonesia Arena – which is actually an arena for basketball matches – is the right choice for audiences who want a quality and satisfying music performance. Not only were their ears satisfied, I’m sure many ARMY were satisfied because they could see J-Hope clearly and from a relatively close distance.
In the United States, many NBA basketball team headquarters become concert venues for big singers or musicians. I think the “Hope On The Stage” concert at Indonesia Arena is already at that stage, and can be a reference for organizing other concerts.
Second, what made me really enjoy this concert was the dynamic stage that was shown throughout the show. With the thrust stage concept, the main part of the stage where J-Hope performed, consisted of 20 rectangular stage lifts (4 rows × 5 columns) that could be adjusted in height.
At the beginning of J-Hope’s performance, the entire stage was at the same height. Then, for the next stage, the stage conditions would continue to be adjusted. There were times when only the front or last row was raised in height, but there were also times when the stage lift formed steps or waves with different heights.
With the dynamic stage conditions, I always looked forward to new shapes that would be shown in each song. And not infrequently, the stage conditions changed in the middle of the song. When performing “Daydream”, one of the stage lifts was even changed into a bed.
Third, what amazed me even more was the readiness of the entire team involved in this concert. “Hope On The Stage” is indeed a series of concert tours — which of course have been carefully conceptualized and prepared — but seeing how the local promoters and vendors involved in this show, makes me proud that this world-class concert can be presented in Indonesia.
Great appreciation for what J-Hope showed on stage. Singing and dancing with backing dancers with constantly changing stage conditions is certainly not an easy job.
My gaze also often focused on the front of house (FOH) with dozens of monitors. The technicians seemed so focused on changing the stage display, LEDs, to producing stage effects with time accuracy that was always maintained.