The worlds of K-pop’s biggest boy band and girl group intersected over the weekend when j-hope of BTS attended BLACKPINK’s second night of the DEADLINE World Tour on Sunday, July 6.
A video shared by Billboard Korea on Instagram shows j-hope being escorted to his seat at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, South Korea, where BLACKPINK members ROSÉ, LISA, JENNIE, and JISOO performed two back-to-back shows. Fans cheered and recorded videos of the boy-band star as he walked by, dressed in an open button-down shirt and sunglasses.
Another clip features j-hope dancing to music playing over the stadium speakers.
BLACKPINK’s performances in Goyang marked the end of a two-year hiatus for the group, during which members focused on solo projects. It’s speculated that j-hope attended the show to gather ideas for BTS’s impending reunion. BTS is set to reunite in 2026 following the completion of their military service.
“We’ll be releasing a new BTS album in the spring of next year,” the band announced in a 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 released an album in 2020, with “Be” reaching the top of the Billboard 200 in December of that year. During their hiatus, the members pursued solo projects, with j-hope releasing the EP “Hope On The Street, Vol.1” in 2024. He also 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 about BTS’s 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."”