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J-Hope opened his Hope on the Stage show at Barclays Center with a series of questions: What if he had no hope, no dream, no passion, no vision?
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? / Hopeful, optimistic, always with a smile on my face.”

If the opening set introduced any doubts, though, the rest of the show refuted them. 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. “I’m at my happiest when I’m on the stage,” he shared at one point, though he needn’t have spelled it out in words: “You guys can tell, right?”

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Thursday night (Mar. 13) may have been J-Hope’s first solo concert in the U.S. (his historic 2022 Lollipalooza set made him the first Korean artist to headline a major U.S. festival), but he addressed the momentous occasion with modesty — and just a bit of fan service. “You’re here on this meaningful day,” he told the audience, smiling. “And you’re the center of attention.” 

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

J and the Box(es)

There’s no confusing one BTS solo concert for another. Sonically and visually, the seven members have established their own artistic identities — all while still actively participating in the biggest boyband on the planet. J-Hope’s stagecraft is completely unique from that of SUGA’s 2023 Agust D tour, yet the two are comparable in their level of detail: whereas SUGA stripped the stage down so far that he was performing on the floor by the end, J-Hope elevated himself on boxes that reconfigured themselves for nearly every song. 

So integral were the lifted boxes to the show that, during the encore, J-Hope emerged from backstage with a miniature glass replica of one in hand. “It’s very special, so I’ll put it down,” he said, laughing. 

Taking It to the Streets

Even accomplished dancers need backup, and J-Hope’s troupe helped him pay homage to his roots as part of a collaborative dance crew on the streets of Gwangju. The lo-fi, old-school hip-hop of Hope On The Street, Vol. 1’s “lock / unlock,” “i don’t know,” and “i wonder…” are accompanied by popping, tutting and more. Every single person on the stage got an individual shout out — by name — from the dancers to the live band. Now that’s how you give flowers.  

An Artful Single Debut

J-Hope’s recent release, “Sweet Dreams (feat. Miguel),” was a departure for the rapper, given that it was far more explicitly romantic than most of his solo discography. Then he debuted a brand new single, “MONA LISA,” at Thursday’s show, which is even more of a switch up: “Love the way you take the stress and Louis off of me,” he sings on the sultry song. Add in that choreo? An artwork ready for the Louvre. 

A History Lesson, Bangtan-Style

Just as SUGA added a few certified BTS classics (ahem, “땡 (Ddaeng)”) to the setlist for his tour, J-Hope took ARMYs on a short but impactful trip down memory lane. After starting the section with “1 VERSE” — his first ever solo — and selections from his mixtape, Hope World, adrenaline spiked for his solo run of “Airplane Pt. 2,” “MIC Drop,” and “Silver Spoon.” It came to a close with “Dis-ease” and “Outro : Ego,” which, until now, never got its proper day in the sun because of COVID-19 tour cancellations. 

OT7 4-Ever

The past few years have flown by, so it’s easy to forget BTS haven’t played a show in the U.S. since 2022. Still, fans aren’t out of practice. As the fiery intro of crowd pleaser “MIC Drop” blared, ARMYs screamed the full OT7 fanchant — aka, all seven names — while J-Hope waved his arm like a conductor with his baton. The countdown to the first post-enlistment BTS tour begins now.

Hobilingo 

J-Hope prepped English words for throughout the show, but to allow himself some spontaneity toward the end of the night, he asked if he could talk freely in his native language. One condition, though: he wanted that permission in Korean, asking the audience to yell, “한국말 해줘!” (“Please speak in Korean!”) Elsewhere, J-Hope coached the crowd in a call-and-response of “병” and “아니야” (“disease” and “no”), before joking, “You guys speak Korean!”

Spanish was also no problem for the seemingly multilingual crowd, who took on Becky G’s “Chicken Noodle Soup” verse with ease: “Ninguna de estas mujeres tiene el flow que tiene Becky / Latino americano, soy de aquiii.”

A New Hope

We could all use a little hope right now, and count on J-Hope to provide. While he doesn’t shy away from complexity in his solo work, as the Pandora’s box allegory on JITB suggests, light always follows the dark. Thus, his encore was top to bottom optimism. “= (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. 

It takes us back to the beginning: So, what if J-Hope didn’t have hope, dreams, passion, vision? Hopefully, we’ll never know the answer.