J-Hope is officially heading out on his first-ever solo world tour.
The 30-year-old rapper, a member of K-Pop supergroup BTS, will travel to 15 cities, including six stops in North America, for the “Hope on the Stage Tour,” Hybe, the parent company of BTS’ label BigHit Music, announced Tuesday.
Following a three-day run in Seoul, J-Hope, whose real name is Hoseok Jung, will set off to the U.S. for the North American leg of the tour. He’ll begin with two nights at New York’s Barclays Center, starting March 13, before traveling to stops in Chicago, Mexico City, San Antonio and Oakland.
The rapper will end the North American run at L.A.’s BMO Stadium. The L.A. finale is slated to be historic as the concert marks the first time a Korean solo artist headlines a U.S. stadium. From the U.S., the artist, known as BTS’ main dancer, will head to the Philippines, Singapore and more countries around Asia.
BTS member J-Hope is set to embark on his first solo world tour, ending his North American leg at L.A.’s BMO Stadium. Courtesy of BigHit Music
All three nights of J-Hope’s Seoul stop will be available for fans to live stream on Hybe’s fan platform, Weverse. It’s unclear whether any other stop of the tour will be live streamed at this time.
The tour marks J-Hope’s first tour as a solo artist. The Jack in the Box rapper is no stranger to solo performance, however, having headlined Lollapalooza’s flagship Chicago festival in 2022. The jaw-dropping set made history as he became the first Korean artist to headline a major U.S. music festival. His fellow BTS member Suga, whose real name is Yoongi Min, embarked on his own world tour “Suga Agust D Tour” (Agust D is the rapper’s solo alter ego) in 2023, prior to enlisting.
In October 2022, J-Hope and his fellow group members — RM, Jin, Suga, Jimin, V and Jungkook — performed a massive free concert, titled “Yet to Come,” in Busan, South Korea. The concert, which was in support of Korean city’s bid for the 2030 World Expo, brought legions of ARMY, the name given to BTS’ loyal fan base, from around the world.
Days after the performance, BigHit Music announced that all seven members would be moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service, saying it was “the perfect time” and that group’s members were honored to serve. Jin, the eldest member of the group, was discharged in June 2024, with J-Hope joining him in Oct. 2024. BTS is expected to reunite as a full group this year when all seven members have been discharged.
Those with an official ARMY fan club membership will be the first to have a chance at purchasing tickets on Jan. 22, with general on-sale scheduled for Jan. 23. The L.A. stop’s ticketing will be announced at a later date due the ongoing wildfires.
