As he prepares to direct Saturday’s Netflix live event, BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang, Done+Dusted partner, director and executive producer Hamish Hamilton is completing what he internally refers to as the “quadruple crown.” In just a few weeks, Hamilton has directed the Grammys, the Super Bowl halftime show, the Oscars, and now.
“This,” of course, is a one-hour event taking place Saturday night local time, marking the return of pop superstars BTS as they embark on a world tour celebrating their return after a long hiatus and their first studio album in six years.
“It’s really amazing,” said Hamilton, who flew to Seoul just hours after director Conan O’Brien bade him goodnight at the Oscars. “When we got off the plane, people were talking about it. Walking down the street, the excitement here is palpable. It’s a huge event.”
Done+Dusted partner and executive producer Guy Carrington also spoke to Variety from Seoul. “I’ve been here about 10 days now, and I can see it’s getting exciting. When the stage starts going up, people start coming together, taking pictures, trying to figure out what to use the stage for, like where the bands are coming from and where they’re going. The whole city is focused on this event right now, and there’s a vibe. There’s a real electricity running through the city because of this.”
“BTS The Comeback Live” will be held at 8pm Korean time at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul (where Gyeongbokgung Palace is located) and will be broadcast live worldwide on Netflix, including at 7am Eastern time (or 4am Pacific time for those on the West Coast). Because this is an outdoor space, Done+Dusted and BTS will not be able to rehearse in advance. Hamilton admits it’s a little difficult.
“Being able to create something and deliver it on stage when there are no rehearsals is extraordinary,” he says. “There’s no rehearsal with the band on stage. It’s kind of ridiculous. That’s never happened before! But over the course of 17 Super Bowls, you learn.”
Hamilton, of course, just oversaw Bad Bunny’s complex Super Bowl LX halftime show, which reportedly impressed the members of BTS.
“We needed their buy-in,” Carrington said. “We didn’t have the traditional three or four day rehearsal time on stage to get this through from start to finish, so we needed their buy-in and we needed their contact. Hamish and I sat down with them in Seoul a few weeks ago to walk them through the show and talk about the process, and they totally understood. This was right after the Super Bowl and they had all seen it, so they understood how these things were put together.”
Carrington and Hamilton said they had “amazing access” to the BTS members and workshopped some of the show’s key moments (sometimes using their iPhones).
“They bought into the idea, ‘Look, if we really want to tell this story, and if we really want to express the music, this new chapter, we need your buy-in. We need time with you in the studio. We’re going to need to go offsite for a few days,'” Carrington said. “And they did it 100 percent. They had a lot of fun. I didn’t really know what to expect from them, to be honest. And they’re like seven brothers having a good time. They listen, they know what they like, and they add their input.”
BTS members Jin, J-Hope, RM, V, Jimin, Jungkook, and Suga will all be exempted from South Korea’s mandatory military service for up to 18 months. Each of the seven members left the group at different times and released solo works. Currently, the band’s fifth studio album “Arirang” will be released on Friday, the day before the performance, and “BTS: The Return”, a documentary depicting the production process of “Arirang”, will also be premiered on March 27th on Netflix.
There is a sense of national pride in BTS’ revival, and despite the challenges that come with a non-traditional venue, BTS was really keen to hold this show at Gwanghwamun Square.
Done+Dusted North America CEO Melanie Fletcher said there was “a lot of discussion about how to do that and whether it was actually possible.” “But they absolutely and adamantly wanted to have this moment in this venue, and the city of Seoul immediately stood behind them, knowing that it would be a big moment for this country on the world stage.”
The team eventually came up with the idea of surrounding the stage with a frame, like a picture frame. “I thought, ‘So how do I put together a concert? Maybe I just build a big picture frame,'” Carrington said. “You can see that the set is basically a big square cube made of LEDs, but it changes itself over the course of the show. We really wanted moments where the band could be the band, moments where we could highlight the palace in the background.”
The D+D team has been tight-lipped about any special surprises that might happen on Saturday, only sharing tidbits such as the movie camera they’ll be using and how the show will be about the group’s “personal journey” over the past few years, as well as BTS’ new album.
“Over the course of the show, you’ll see how each track is presented a little differently,” Carrington said. “There are some big choreographed numbers. There are big, impactful, dynamic moments. There are also moments that are very intimate. Moments where you see their personalities. Moments where they sit on something and perform together. You see how they fight with each other. They get on each other’s nerves. They have a great time. I really can’t praise them enough.”
Fletcher said being in charge of “BTS The Comeback Live” is a “sweet spot” for Done+Dusted. “We are a company skilled in both event production and live broadcasting, but we don’t always have the opportunity to flex both muscles on the show. This time we need to flex both to the best of our ability. We go to completely unknown locations in exotic locations and build events for tens of thousands of people that will be broadcast around the world. So we need our ‘A’ team to do that. The stakes are high. ”
And she, too, senses that something special is happening in Seoul. “The stage staff said there was a sense of national pride in this event,” Fletcher added. “They’re working 20 hours out of 24 hours, and they’re doing it for their idols. It’s a cultural moment. It’s a huge thing for Korean culture to be able to have an event at this historic site. It’s never happened before. And I think everyone here is very proud of that.”
