Three days after BTS dropped their new album Map of the Soul: 7, Jimmy Fallon made New York City the K-Pop band‘s playground for a very special Tonight Show on Feb. 24. He took V, 24, Jungkook, 22, SUGA, 26, Jin, 27, RM, 25, Jimin, 24, and J-Hope, 26, on a long subway ride on the F train where they played games and responded to fan questions. One person asked if there was any person they’d like to meet, and RM was quick on the draw saying “John Cena! I want to see him. He’s a big fan of us and we’re a big fans mutually. We were always watching WWE since we were 13.” Jimmy then promised to make the meeting happen. John revealed in a 2018 interview that he’s a BTS superfan and his two favorite members are RM and J-Hope.
When Jimmy asked them what it was like to come to the States and have such a huge response to the band’s work, Suga said, “The days never cease to amaze me. Every day is a surprise,” while Jin added that it’s all thanks to their Army. Thankfully the show provided subtitles, so all of the members who aren’t proficient in English were able to answer questions in Korean.
RM revealed that the significance of “7” in their new album title is for three reasons. First, it’s a lucky number, then there’s seven members in the band and they’ve been together seven years. When asked by Jimmy what it is about their music that fans are attracted to, Suga said that, “I think our greatest forte is that we send messages that people in their teens, twenties and thirties can all relate to and give comfort through our music.”
In addition to their subway ride, Jimmy took the band to famous NYC eatery Katz Deli to try pastrami and other very New York foods. Then the guys got back on the subway and headed in Grand Central Station’s main terminal for an epic performance of their single “On.” Surrounded by dancers clad in black, a drum corps and eventually a full marching band, the guys showed off their killer moves and voices that have made them a worldwide sensation. The terminal was completely cleared out for the first of its kind performance.
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Jimmy later revealed in a Twitter video that the terminal was shut down between two and four a.m. one morning for the band, and that they taped three performances of “On.” Jimmy said that most of what made the air was from the second take. With such high energy dance moves, it had to have been so exhausting for the guys to do that routine three times with just a two-hour window. But the end result was so brilliant. The entire show was a love letter to BTS and their Army raved about it on Twitter, making their Tonight Show appearance the top trending U.S. topic.