NEW YORK – April 30, 2023 — SUGA of BTS successfully kicked off his solo world tour SUGA | Agust D TOUR ‘D-DAY,’ two nights in Belmont Park and one night in Newark on April 26, 27, and 29.
The whole U.S. leg was sold out early and the shows at USB Arena and Prudential Center over three nights were attended by approximately 43,000 people.
SUGA gave a show-stopping performance each night, with various unique elements to deliver his stories as both SUGA and Agust D. He performed tracks from his solo discography, boasting his live performance skills with confidence.
The opening VCR showed SUGA and Agust D in various moments and ended with SUGA lying on a street on a rainy day. He then appeared on stage being carried by the dancers, connecting the scene from the VCR in real life. The show opened with “Haegeum,” the main track from his latest solo album D-DAY, “Daechwita,” “Agust D,” and “give it to me” which immediately heated up the atmosphere. He said to the audience, “Tonight, you will see many things I’ve never shown you, as SUGA of BTS.”
Playing the guitar, SUGA performed the acoustic version of “Trivia 轉 : Seesaw,” and staged “SDL,” “People” and “People Pt.2,” showing a softer side of his music. Then he continued with “Moonlight,” “Burn It,” “Interlude : Shadow,” and the medley of “BTS Cypher PT.3 : KILLER” and “BTS Cypher 4,” and “UGH!,” “Ddaeng” and “HuH?!” to switch up the mood. “Shoutout to j-hope!” said SUGA about his bandmate’s contribution to “HuH?!”
SUGA also showed a new, vulnerable side of himself by singing and playing a simple, wooden upright piano for Agust D’s version of “Life Goes On.” Before performing “Snooze,” SUGA paid tribute to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, his role model who featured in the song alongside with Woosung from The Rose. He finished the night with “Polar Night” and “AMYGDALA.” Throughout the show, fans saw the stage be deconstructed gradually and make use of impressive pyrotechnics and well-placed props to highlight SUGA for who he is as an artist.
Fans called for an encore, and with the stage now out of the way, SUGA reappeared and performed “D-Day” at eye level with the crowd and surrounded by fire and sparklers. Closing the first night, SUGA said, “I had a lot of thoughts while preparing for this tour. I was worried and excited at the same time. But right before I got on the stage—I’ve been to a lot of stadiums—I didn’t feel nervous at all [this time]. [I thought to myself] Let’s just show them everything I prepared. Today is the first day of the tour, and there are more shows left. Please enjoy the show until the end,” wrapping up the show with “Intro : NEVER MIND” and “The Last,” which he performed surrounded by cameras at nine different angles that were displayed on an LCD backdrop.
SUGA | Agust D TOUR ‘D-DAY’ IN U.S. will continue to be held in Rosemont, IL; Los Angeles, CA; and Oakland, CA until May 17. The tour will then hit up Asia with stops in Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore; Kanagawa, Japan; and Seoul, South Korea until June 25.
Photo Gallery
All photos taken by: BIGHIT MUSIC
