The worlds of K-pop’s biggest boy band and girl group collided over the weekend, with j-hope of BTS showing support for BLACKPINK by pulling up to the second night of the DEADLINE World Tour on Sunday (July 6).
In a video shared by Billboard Korea on Instagram, j-hope is escorted to his seat at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, South Korea, where ROSÉ, LISA, JENNIE and JISOO played two back-to-back shows to kick off their first full-band trek in two years. Excited fans cheer and snap videos as the boy-band star — looking suave in an open button-down shirt and shades — passes by.
Another clip shows j-hope vibing to music playing over the speakers, making up little dance moves in the stands.
BLACKPINK’s shows in Goyang put an end to a two-year band break, during which the four members focused on solo music (some of which they performed in between full-group numbers over the weekend). It’s possible j-hope attended Night 2 to take notes on his own band’s upcoming reunion, with BTS set to come back together in 2026 now that the members’ respective times in the South Korean military have concluded.
“We’ll be releasing a new BTS album in the spring of next year,” the band announced in a joint statement on July 1. “Starting in July, all seven of us will begin working closely together on new music … We’re also planning a world tour alongside the new album. We’ll be visiting fans all around the world, so we hope you’re as excited as we are.”
BTS last dropped an album in 2020, with Be topping the Billboard 200 in December that year. Similarly to BLACKPINK, the seven members of the boy band each experimented with solo music during their time apart, with j-hope dropping EP Hope On The Street, Vol.1 in 2024. Most recently, he released singles “Mona Lisa” and “Killin’ It Girl” featuring GloRilla in March and June, respectively.
“After pursuing our own little ventures, we are now coming back together, and I love that for us,” j-hope told Weverse Magazine of BTS’ upcoming reunion in December. “When we’re all back together as a group, it’s going to have a huge impact, and everybody’s going to be watching. I’m excited to see what it’ll feel like when we perform together again. I want to come back in style and say, ‘This is us. This is BTS.’”
This story originally appeared on Billboard
