'Dear Class of 2020': BTS surprise fans with 'Spring Day' performance, fans say thank you and pledge #2MforBLM
BTS dropped by the virtual 'Dear Class of 2020' graduation event to share their own memories of graduation and their struggles handling everything that followed, in addition to giving their ARMYs a few heartwarming surprises. With more screentime than all the other acts, BTS had one of the most anticipated appearances of the night. Each member got a chance to speak about their own memories of their youth, before sharing some of the best lessons they learned for navigating the world following graduation.
Suga stated, "Take your hands off what you can't control, and get your hands on what you can change," while J-hope said, "Remember: you are the leader of your own life. And chant it over and over again. You can do it. You got it." Jimin gave graduates hope, stating, "I hope that you never give up. Remember that there is a person in Korea, in the city of Seoul, that understands you," while Taehyung shared, "I urge you to listen to your heart. This may feel a little difficult right now, but somewhere out there, luck and opportunity are waiting for you.
The members also shared their tips on how to keep going forward despite how tough times might seem. Jin shared, "What held me together during those times was a promise I made to myself: take it slow, I would go on my pace, steadily." Leader RM said, "Our way of remembering and communicating is to make music. For you, it could be anything. We are alone. But also together. I know your future will bloom to something much bigger and magnificent."
Jungkook shared a wish for the graduates as well as their fans: "Here I stand today with my members, my faith in myself and the world. And I hope you also will do the same for yourself and move forward." Following their words of encouragement, #THANKYOUBTS began trending across social media as fan messages poured in, expressing how grateful they were to the group for their inspiring them.
One fan said, "#THANKYOUBTS for being such an inspiration!! We purple you!" while another shared, "#THANKYOUBTS You are the reason why I made it, You gave me strength to continue being strong and to make everything possible. You gave me inspiration to continue with life and never give up to my dreams. To all the Class 2020 Graduates, Congratulations to all of us!" Many fans also tweeted about how thankful they were to have followed BTS for the last seven years, stating, "I'm so proud of the boys, my heart just melts."
The group dazzled with their dancing, rapping, and vocals, including a performance of their smash-hit single 'Boy With Luv'. The highlight of BTS' appearance, however, remains their surprise performance of one of their most beloved songs: 'Spring Day'. One fan shared, "They... performed ... Spring Day on a US program... I never thought I would see that," to which another responded, "SAME AND DAMN AM I EMOTIONAL MESS NOW."
"I’m still not over the shock of hearing 'Spring Day' today. like it felt like a bucket of ice was thrown on me and suddenly I was ALIVE," tweeted one fan, "This song is the Queen of all songs" stated another, one said, "Queen Spring Day is come back!!!!! I’m literally in tears rn @BTS_twt it’s early morning but their voices still something that will always calm me and heal me," and another fan shared, "Spring day always hits differently," and one said, "Still on a high and the way I screamed when this song started...I love spring day so much."
J-hope, in particular, got massive amounts of love from the ARMYs. "Hobi's vocal in spring day >>>," stated one fan, and another shared some aesthetic shots of the rapper singing, caption, "Spring Day Hobi." The group had an additional surprise for ARMYs: "Spring day AND THEN MIKROKOSMOS NO WAY," shared one fan regarding the moment the group went into a performance of another one of their hits. One fan said, "When they sang Spring Day and Mikrokosmos I almost lost it, I love those songs so much pleath jahsjshsjjs."
Another fan stated, "It's always expect the unexpected with them, who would have thought of Spring Day and Mikrokosmos??", to which a fellow ARMY responded, "Yes!! I mean when they finished bwl, I did expect them to sing another song but SPRING DAY AND MIKROKOSMOS??! They're always full of surprises I love it."
There was yet another cause for celebration for the ARMYs: following Big Hit Entertainment and BTS donation of $1 million towards the Black Lives Matter movement, ARMYs decided to match their donation through a fundraiser organized by the fan collective One In An ARMY and did so in record time. One fan shared, "I came back to bts singing spring day, army matching one million and all the boys looking amazing ... let me go weep."
Many fans also took the moment to share their pride in being an ARMY in addition to encouraging their fellow fandom members to focus on the positivity, stating, "Just like BTS, the ARMY fandom carries the same pressure in achieving things. We've done a great job despite our differences. We've achieved so much in such a short span of time. I'm proud to be a part of it. I know about 30k+ people participated but imagine if the whole ARMY around the world focused on the positive side of things and just ignore the antis, stop being immature for a moment. We are one, WE are a movement, WE are a fandom, WE are ARMY, WE are one family."