Yesterday in my opening post about BTS, I wrote about their success over the last year: they’ve just unseated themselves at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, knocking out their own song “Butter” with their new song “Permission to Dance”, their fifth #1 in ten months. And yet, in a year of monumental, unprecedented success, which has made them the biggest band in the world, they have not been able to meet the world, not been able to celebrate with their ARMY around the world for what they have achieved together. Because, of course, there are still travel restrictions in many parts of the world, and with South Korea’s slow vaccination rate, and with all members of the band under 30 years old, it was impossible for them to just roll up on a private jet and fly out…until now. 

 

South Korean President Moon Jae In announced today that BTS has been appointed as a “Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture” and as diplomatic representatives of their country, they will attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. This will be BTS’s third appearance at the UN General Assembly – they delivered an address in 2018 in person and spoke again virtually in 2020. 

So RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook now have permission to travel. Which also, presumably, means they’ll be double vaxxed well in time for their trip to NYC and the UN…and the MTV VMAs? The VMAs are happening that same week in Brooklyn and it is expected that BTS will be nominated in several categories and that “Dynamite”, one of the biggest songs of the last twelve months will be a major factor in the major categories. If they’re in New York anyway, well, it’s inconceivable that MTV wouldn’t want them at the show, not just sitting in the audience but on stage, performing, accepting, like as many times as possible, considering the impact that ARMY can make on social media and with viewership. 

 

New York is always, always busy right after Labour Day. Fashion Week ends on September 12 this year, a Sunday, the night of the VMAs. The next day, is Monday. And what usually happens the first Monday in May is the Met Gala. The Met Gala, however, was pushed back this year, and is set right at the end of fashion week, on Monday, September 13, part one of a two part exhibit by the Costume Institute on American fashion. That’s the night before the UN General Assembly so, in theory, BTS can attend the Met Gala and leave early to prepare for the UN the next morning, should they get an invitation. 

That of course depends on Anna Wintour but she’d be an idiot if she didn’t make space for BTS at her party, seriously. It’s not just that they are a global cultural mega force, but there is a fashion connection too. They are ambassadors now for Louis Vuitton, and just modelled the new menswear collection by Virgil Abloh, who is the American style powerhouse and certainly meets the definition of the theme of the event, which is In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”. Per Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton: 

 

“I’ve been really impressed by American designers’ responses to the social and political climate, particularly around issues of body inclusivity and gender fluidity, and I’m just finding their work very, very self-reflective,” he told Vogue. “I really do believe that American fashion is undergoing a renaissance. I think young designers in particular are at the vanguard of discussions about diversity and inclusion, as well as sustainability and transparency, much more so than their European counterparts, maybe with the exception of the English designers.”

So it’s totally possible for BTS to attend as guests of Louis Vuitton. And I can’t imagine that Anna and the Met Gala committee wouldn’t want them there. Like I said, Anna would be out of her mind out of touch if she wasn’t working on securing their presence. It’s really a matter of whether or not BTS can fit it into their schedule. They’d be the only potential guests, after all, at least so far, who are expected the next day at the United Nations General Assembly. The other person who could also be a good fit for the UN is Amanda Gorman, who is one of the Met Gala celebrity co-chairs this year; she was a UN youth delegate back in 2013 when she was just 16 years old. Amanda is a Met Gala co-chair this year, along with Timothée Chalamet, Naomi Osaka, and Billie Eilish. 

 

Speaking of Billie Eilish, though, there’s a BTS connection here too. Do you remember this tweet? 

That tweet, of Jungkook dancing to Billie’s “Bad Guy” became the most retweeted tweet, in other words the biggest tweet, of 2019.

If Jungkook and Billie actually end up at the Met Gala together, in person, and take a photo, imagine the reaction and the record. In more ways than one.