BTS closed out Friday night at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Festival, performing a four-song set at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 18. Its label, BigHit Music, confirmed the appearance, and the group was billed as a closing act of the night.
The songs were Swim, 2.0, Mic Drop and FYA. It was BTS’ first time at the festival in six years, and the timing gives the moment extra weight: the Latin American leg of the group’s ARIRANG world tour opens Oct. 2 in Bogotá, which makes Las Vegas the last confirmed major US stage of this era so far.
BTS Returns to the iHeartRadio Stage After Six Years
BTS’ previous appearance at the festival came in 2020. Six years later, the seven-member group was back inside the same Las Vegas arena as a closing act, though not the closer of the entire weekend. The festival ran two nights, and Saturday’s lineup carried on without them.
This year’s bill, presented by Capital One, spanned genres on purpose. Alongside BTS, the festival featured Cardi B, Snoop Dogg, Benson Boone, Ciara, Muse, Weezer, Kenny Chesney, Lainey Wilson, the Goo Goo Dolls, Major Lazer, The Smashing Pumpkins and Zara Larsson, plus a special performance by Stella Lefty. Ryan Seacrest returned as host.
K-pop showed up twice on the schedule. LE SSERAFIM played night two on Saturday, Sept. 19, becoming the first K-pop girl group to perform at the festival.
This stage works differently from a tour stop: a shorter set inside a mixed-genre arena lineup, carried to a national audience through iHeartRadio stations and a livestream. For a group this established, the payoff is reach beyond the existing fandom.
The Full Setlist: Four Songs, Two Eras
BTS kept things compact, working with just four songs and pulling from opposite ends of its catalog.
- Swim: reported as the opener, and described in secondary reports as the title track tied to the ARIRANG era.
- 2.0: the song behind the reported “BTS 2.0” chapter-two framing for the set.
- Mic Drop: the 2017-era performance anthem and the set’s bridge to older BTS material.
- FYA: reported as the night’s closing song.
That mix is the interesting part. Mic Drop has anchored BTS’ live shows for years, while Swim and 2.0 come from the current era. Dropping them into the same four-song slot reads as a statement about where the group stands now, with one foot in the catalog that made it a global act and one in its second chapter.
Inside the Reported “BTS 2.0” Stage
Japanese-language reports on the set describe a production built around a “BTS 2.0” theme, with video, lighting and special effects synced to the members’ movement on stage.
Those recaps describe a large tank of rippling water on the rear LED screens during Swim, a rising-elevator sequence for 2.0, a tunnel stretching into open space for Mic Drop, and seven comets crashing into a desert to close out FYA.
One note on sourcing: BigHit Music confirmed the performance and the four songs, but the staging details above come from media recaps rather than official footage. Fans who want to see them should look for clips on official BTS and iHeartRadio channels.
What BTS Said About ARMY
The members also used the night to talk about their fandom. In a pre-stage interview reported by Japanese outlets citing Korean media coverage, BTS called ARMY “literally the best fans in the world” and said it was “really amazing” that fans sing along with all of the Korean lyrics.
The line speaks to something BTS’ US audiences have long prided themselves on: learning the Korean lyrics and singing them back. Keep in mind that the quote comes through translated media reports, so the wording may shift slightly until an official clip surfaces.
How US Fans Watched, and Whether They Can Rewatch
Both nights aired live starting at 7:30 p.m. PT / 10:30 p.m. ET. iHeartRadio carried the broadcast on stations across more than 150 markets, and Disney+ and Hulu livestreamed every performance for subscribers.
Fans in Las Vegas got a separate draw: the iHeartRadio House of Music presented by Hyundai, free and open to the public outside T-Mobile Arena on Sept. 18 and 19 from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. PT. The experience included an immersive room dedicated to BTS, alongside rooms for Cardi B, Kenny Chesney and Zara Larsson.
As for a rewatch, only the live broadcast is confirmed. No on-demand replay has been announced, so the safest bet is to watch official BTS and iHeartRadio channels for posted clips.
What Comes Next: Bogotá on Oct. 2
The next confirmed BTS live date is the Latin American leg of the ARIRANG world tour, opening Oct. 2 in Bogotá, Colombia. The run then moves to Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.
Two things remain open. Whether the reported “BTS 2.0” staging carries into the tour, and whether Swim, 2.0 or FYA land in those setlists, has not been confirmed. No additional US dates or festival slots have been announced either. For US fans, the next thing to watch is Bogotá, and then the first tour clips that follow it.