Concert review: BTS’ Suga is a superstar at his peak in sold-out solo show

Suga Agust D Tour D-Day in Singapore

Singapore Indoor Stadium
Saturday

He may be just one man, but K-pop sensation Suga can light up a stage all on his own. 

At the second of his three consecutive sold-out nights at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from Friday to Sunday, the 30-year-old rapper of juggernaut septet BTS gave audiences something truly special – an experience by a superstar at the height of his prowess.

The first in his group to headline his own solo tour, Suga, also known by his alter ego Agust D, performed for 9,500 screaming fans on Saturday.

Singapore is the last overseas stop of his two-month tour that began in North America, which will conclude with two shows in Seoul later this month.

His impressive rapping skills are not a secret to any BTS listener and his heartfelt singing – something he does not often get to do in the group – is a refreshing surprise.

But it was his powerful stage presence that made the show so watchable. 

Aside from his live band in the background and a few numbers that called for backup dancers, Suga was often alone on a large, sparse stage. But he held his audience captive with an incredibly relaxed yet self-possessed energy. 

He took a leisurely stroll on stage while the crowd chanted his name. He went up to the standing pen and snapped a selfie with a lucky fan’s mobile phone. He casually sipped what looked like iced lemon tea between verses of a high-speed rap. 

And whenever he had an instrument, be it the acoustic guitar or piano, he appeared so comfortable that one would think he was playing in his living room.

Everything he did looked easy and effortless. Except, of course, it was not. 

The show, which clocked in at just under two hours, was a deep dive into the journey he had to make to become the person that he is now.

Opening his set with the exciting triple punch of Haegeum, Daechwita and Agust D – the respective lead promotional tracks of the three solo albums he released over the past seven years – the concert was not simply a string of hits, but it also charted his coming-of-age.

His career struggles were all there in his music, from the dismissive comments he heard over the years to his pride at his achievements to how unsettling the experience of fame has been for him. 

Suga laid bare his most personal traumas too, with the closing numbers of Amygdala and The Last, which revealed his father’s cancer diagnosis and the rapper’s long-time battle with depression and anxiety.

His music can be dark, certainly far darker than any of the pop numbers BTS are most known for, but he delivered it all with a cool confidence.

He was not sharing a sob story, he was declaring how far he had come. 

The star’s verve was matched and elevated by the top-notch production too, particularly the cinematic lighting. 

The stadium was awash in an eerie red with bursts of pyrotechnic flames for Burn It; a spotlight bathed Suga in purple while he played and sung Life Goes On on the piano; and gusts of smoke combined with red and blue lighting imitated a ring of fire around the stage at the end of Amygdala. Some parts of the show looked like scenes plucked from a film noir thriller.

While the fans who did not manage to snag a ticket may have wanted him to play a bigger venue, the decision to stick with three nights at the more intimate Singapore Indoor Stadium was the right one.

His show was the most beautifully produced K-pop concert this reviewer had seen in the last year, but its most visually arresting moments would have been lost in the size of the National Stadium.

BTS have sealed their place in music history as one of the biggest boy bands ever.

With his ambitious storytelling and compelling performance on this tour, Suga has cemented his personal status as a bona fide superstar.