Future’s Gonna Be Okay: A Closer Look Into BTS Suga’s Solo Tour
What do you become when the world seems to only deal you heavy hands? How do you cope with the weight of big dreams and equally large fears? Can a hardened heart ever soften again? Min Yoongi — also known as SUGA — dared to give answers to such questions and share his story onstage throughout his first solo world tour.
Design by Laura Gomez
Agust D emerged as a third moniker in 2016. Constructed by flames of anger, worry, and insecurity, this persona became the vessel in which he could communicate darker themes on his own terms. From getting scammed while being an underground rapper to working several part-time jobs to get by and more, Min Yoongi endured many trials before becoming a member of BTS; these hardships only shape-shifted once the group debuted.
Agust D’s solo album, D-DAY, is filled with introspection, symbolism, and reconciliation between himself and the adversities he faced over the years — all of which got brought to life in an extremely detailed program that SUGA took to cities across the U.S. and Asia.
Each show began with Agust D getting carried onto the stage, accompanied by sounds of thunder and tires screeching, referencing the real-life accident that took place before his debut, which seriously injured his shoulder. This event in his life is the merging point of Agust D, the rapper; SUGA, the idol; and Min Yoongi, the person.
The setlist tells a full narrative with multiple acts. It begins with “Hageum” and “Daechwita,” anthems of liberation and self-expression that use traditional Korean instruments. This introduction to the story reveals the nature of his identity and exposes the depths of his rage. SUGA is able to show off his flow while simultaneously naming the true antagonists, the sources of his aggravation.
But when the fifth song (“Trivia: Seesaw”) comes around, a transition is initiated into something much softer. With an acoustic guitar that his members signed with well wishes, SUGA sang and offered intimate, stripped-down moments. This part was contemplative and cozy with a TV, chair, a small table that housed his drink of choice for the night, and a lamp.
What followed was a mix of residual grief and anger, honesty about mental health, and declarations of doubt and loneliness. Songs like “Burn It,” “Interlude: Shadow,” “Ddaeng,” and “HUH?!” energetically kicked off the start to an incredibly vulnerable and emotional end.
SUGA offered final messages of hope and encouragement with “Life Goes On” and “Snooze.” Emotions are never linear, and SUGA artfully navigated each turn with finesse and care by choosing songs that cover every phase of his journey to healing.
The stage design also plays a major role in telling this story. It was made to resemble the room from the “Amygdala” music video, where viewers learn more about the origins of Agust D. One by one, each of the nine panels got lifted up to the ceiling over the course of the two-hour show, representing layers of burden and inner turmoil shed.
To close it all out, he gave a powerful performance of “Amygdala,” one of SUGA’s most personal pieces to date, in which he screamed his voice raw, recalling past traumas and pleading with his brain to save him from the torture of reliving them. As the fire burned him, consumed him, and eventually cleansed him, he learned to let go of the past.
He invited the audience to ride along an uninhibited expression of how deeply he’s felt all these years until there he stood on the last panel. And when it was time for an encore, to lay it all down once and for all with “The Last,” there was no stage. He stood in its ashes, reborn like a phoenix.
As if it was not amazingly intricate enough, new heights were reached when additional props were added during the first round of the Seoul shows in June. Books appeared on the previously mentioned side table, one of which was titled ‘Agust D.’
This one stood upright as if someone was in the process of reading it while the others were lying horizontally next to it. The story was in progress so long as the tour was ongoing. Then on the last of the three encore shows on August 6, the once vertical book joined the stack with its spine facing the opposite side of all the others. He finally finished this story.
During the finale weekend that recently took place, SUGA brought out group members Jimin, Jungkook, and RM, and after doing a song together, he walked off with no words and gave the entire stage to them so they could give a solo performance. This act of stepping away from his stage on his tour to gift his friends, his members who have been by his side for everything, time to shine is one of epic love and trust.
He furthered his tribute to friendship by adding “Dear My Friend,” a song that led to a rare tearful performance. Those few minutes of intense emotional release were the pinnacle moment, the zenith; it was everything this tour was about — restoration.
And instead of his usual exit, for the final goodbye, he waved to the audience and walked through a door just like the one in the “Amygdala” music video. He finally left the room he was metaphorically stuck in. He is finally free.
It’s possible that there has never been an artist who has given so much of their pain, love, artistry, and themselves onstage as Min Yoongi/Agust D/SUGA. The chronicles of his life authentically and carefully portrayed through this tour have been the antithesis of everything K-Pop is regularly accused of being — bland and overproduced capitalistic fares for the masses.
The thoughtfulness behind every aspect confirms what fans have known since the beginning: Min Yoongi is a master storyteller and a once-in-a-lifetime artist. His life and work are proof that one day you will heal. One day, your hurt will bloom, and the lotus flower of your heart will live and love again. Everything will be okay.