Get the latest gossip

7 Best Moments From J-Hope’s First Solo U.S. Concert

All eyes were on J-Hope as he checked off another big first as a soloist. Here are seven highlights from his New York show.

Anyone familiar with the role the bright, driven dancer plays in BTS knows exactly why those ideas are so anathema to him, but on his first solo full-length album, 2022’s darkly introspective Jack In The Box, he interrogates that persona: “I asked myself dozens of times / Am I really like that? As J-Hope toured through his early mixtape and SoundCloud drops, Billboard Hot 100-charting BTS hits and new solo singles, he was completely in his element (“a fish that met water,” as he brags on the raucous, rock-rap “MORE”), easily proving he has all the aforementioned qualities in spades. “= (Equal Sign)” brought the social commentary — a BTS trademark — while “Future” laid out a bright road ahead; “NEURON,” a nod to the name of his former dance crew, told the story of a passion so deeply rooted it could never be extinguished.

Get the Android app