Intro for January 14, 2026

Dear Gossips,

As promised, BTS yesterday announced the dates for their upcoming world tour. As expected, the tour is massive – 79 shows so far taking them across the planet, with more stops in 2027 “coming soon”. I thought I did what I could do to prepare for the confirmation. A couple of weeks ago I’d dutifully confirmed that my ARMY membership was up-to-date, checked all my passwords, I’ve put off planning trips and booking holidays until I can figure out how much time this year I need to dedicate to BTS, but my friends and I have secured refundable reservations for accommodation in certain cities where we’re trying to see them.

And still it felt like a f-cking panic yesterday when the news came (which crashed the Weverse, the platform where BTS releases statements and manages their fan comms etc etc). In the group chat we were sorting out ticket buying strategies, mapping out where we could be when the pre-sales go live for the best internet connection, coordinating our various work commitments and schedules, untangling scheduling conflicts… and raging over the number of shows in our various home cities and why there aren’t enough of them, while of course qualifying that BTS’s itinerary looks insane for the next 12+ months and appreciating their future efforts. Like a corny pathetic sap, I cried a little when I saw that they’re making a point of being in Korea for Festa, their anniversary, on June 13, going back to Asia from North America and then over to Europe, a zig-zag route that isn’t usually what we see on popstar tours.

My husband told me yesterday that I was unhinged. Is it unhinged that I’m stressing about what I’ll be doing next Thursday and Friday and I how I can somehow block off an hour for the presale? Probably. But I’ve been ARMY for a decade and I’ve never seen them, like all seven of them, live. A ten year dream!

And it feels so close… but also so impossible.

What made me laugh yesterday were all the ARMY tweets and various comments online with people saying, “I hate all of you until I get my tickets”.

I have no confidence that we will get tickets. It’s pretty much my only preoccupation from now until next week. And perhaps longer if we’re not able to lock it down. That said, BTS fans are kind, BTS fans are generous. So if you’re out there, and you somehow find more than you need… your girl is right here. Good luck and borahae!

Yours in gossip,

Lainey