BTS' Jin brings chaos, charm and confetti to London

Their group activities came to a brief halt in 2022, just shy of their tenth anniversary, as each member completed their mandatory military service in the Korean army. Jin, the first to return home, is incidentally also the first of the seven to bring his solo show to the UK, playing two nights at the very venue his group did seven years prior. While rappers J-hope and Suga (and his alter ego Agust D) have taken their solo work on tours of the US and Asia, and Jimin and Jung Kook have conquered the UK Top 10 with their solo singles, there’s something about Jin’s cheeky charm that connects so well with a British audience.

He arrives with unexpectedly little fanfare, nonchalantly walking down The O2’s runway to press a big red button that starts the show properly, immediately setting off confetti cannons as he launches into ‘Running Wild’. That’s not to say he’s met with silence; his laid-back entrance is obviously the cause of ear-splitting screams, and after a couple of songs, he gives the crowd a literal minute to cheer. “I know how excited you all are, but we’re gonna give everyone one more minute,” he says as a sixty-second countdown clock appears behind him.

The tour, officially titled ‘RUNSEOKJIN_EP TOUR’ after his variety show (a spinoff of the RUNBTS series) of the same name utilises these short skit moments and later, audience challenges, in between songs, cultivating a performance that isn’t the usual K-pop concert, complete with long speeches and perfect choreography, but it isn’t entirely the same as a big western pop star show either.

It works brilliantly for Jin, whose place in BTS is as the tender-voiced eldest member, but is perhaps better known as the playful heart of the group. His personality is well reflected in the setlist; flipping between the lovelorn downtempo of recent single ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’ and the chaotic trot of ‘Super Tuna’ (yes, it is a song about catching a big fish). His outfit for the latter - an inflatable alien-spaceman combo - was chosen by the audience in a charade-like game that involved him guessing Jin-adjacent words from the crowd’s actions.

When the show is silly, it’s very silly, but when it’s serious, it’s an emotional affair. He returns to the stage on a paint-splattered piano for ‘I will come to you’ and one of his first proper singles ‘, Abyss’, it’s particularly affecting. Vocally, he sounds better than ever. Clear and bright, the time off stage and away from regular comebacks has done his pipes some good, and it shines outside of the group harmonies. This is an audience itching for a full BTS comeback though (roll on May 2026), and Jin knows that, treating them to a quick medley of the group’s huge English hits ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Butter’ along with fan favourites ‘Mikrokosmos’ and ‘Spring Day’ to satisfy that craving.

Celestial motifs are scattered throughout BTS’ discography, whether in ‘Mikrokosmos’ (literally meaning ‘little world’) or in the Coldplay collaboration ‘My Universe’, but they seem to resonate with Jin even deeper. The (also Coldplay-assisted) ‘The Astronaut’ is a standout as the show winds down, thanks to both Chris Martin’s ability to craft lush, arena-filling ballads and the sentimental nature of the track. Likewise, ‘Moon’, Jin’s solo track from BTS’ ‘Map Of The Soul: 7’ is a delight. Once describing it as Jin seeing himself as the moon and ARMY (the fans) as the earth, he uses it as an opportunity to walk the front row and pass them the mic for the “ooh ooh ooh ooooh” melody.

Freed from complex choreography and allowed to let his full, both goofy and melancholic self out on stage, for the two hours Jin is on stage, he lets us into his bonkers little world. What a treat it is to be able to share it.