j-hope Shares Heartfelt Tribute to His Grandmother During BTS Concert
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At the BTS concert in Tokyo on Friday, April 17, j-hope shared poignant news with the ARMY: his grandmother, who played a vital role in his upbringing and took great pride in his achievements with the group, has passed away.
Addressing the thousands of fans at the Tokyo Dome, j-hope expressed his emotions candidly. “Honestly, this might be a bit of a heavy thing to share, but I really wanted to express how I’m feeling today,” he said, translated from Korean. “Right after we arrived in Japan, I got the news that my maternal grandmother — the one who raised me from when I was little — had passed away.”
“I was in complete shock and honestly didn’t know what to feel, but being with the members, sharing a meal together and pouring myself into rehearsals helped ease that feeling more than I expected,” he continued. “My grandmother was always so proud — not just of me, but of all the members. She thought what we did was truly incredible. So I’d like to think that if she was watching from up above today, she would have absolutely loved every moment of it.”
j-hope concluded by thanking the audience for making his first performance following his grandmother’s death as memorable as possible.
BTS is currently on tour promoting their new album, ARIRANG, which recently achieved its third consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. After three initial performances in Goyang, South Korea, the group will hold two concerts at the Tokyo Dome before heading to North America. By the tour’s conclusion in March of next year, they will have also performed in Latin America, Europe, Australia, and additional areas in Asia.
The same day as the Tokyo performances, j-hope’s one-on-one interview with Rolling Stone was released. During the discussion, he elaborated on his role as a leader in the group. “I think that’s my role on the team,” he stated. “It just comes naturally … It feels weird to call it a ‘role.’ But all I can do is take it in stride and do what I can for the other members.”
Additional reporting from Billboard Korea.
