ARMY Amayaa Marquis / K-POPITCHICAGO — After following BTS for 11 years, Amayaa Marquis was not only waiting to welcome the group back to her hometown. She had spent the past two months helping prepare a welcome of her own.Marquis was one of around 20 ARMYs involved in a fan-organized project for the first night of BTS' "ARIRANG" World Tour at Soldier Field. The idea was simple but ambitious: fill the stadium with handmade yellow suns during the concert's final song, "Into the Sun."The project took inspiration from the song's lyrics about moving through dark days and finding the sun. Fans were encouraged to make yellow sun cutouts at least six inches wide, write instructions on the back and bring extras to share with those seated around them. Organizers began by making and labeling an initial batch of 1,000, while calling on other ARMYs to help expand the display across the stadium."We wanted to make BTS feel welcomed and show them that they're loved," Marquis told K-POPIT ahead of the concert. "Of course, I know they already know they're loved, but we wanted to give them our own special welcome from Chicago."For Marquis, the project came more than a decade after she first discovered BTS. She was in seventh grade when the group appeared on her feed, without one particular song or moment leading her there."I thought, 'Oh my gosh, they're really good,'" she recalled. "I started watching their music videos, and I just fell in love with them immediately."The "Into the Sun" fan project / K-POPITOver the years, what BTS meant to her grew beyond their music. Marquis pointed in particular to the group's message of loving yourself, which took on a deeper meaning for her as she grew older."It's one thing to say that and another thing to actually feel it and grow into it," she said. "I think the biggest thing they taught me is that even if you want to work on yourself and become better, you still have to love yourself where you are."Being part of ARMY also became an important part of that experience. After 11 years in the fandom, Marquis described it as a community where meeting and connecting with other fans had become meaningful in its own right."It's such a welcoming environment," she said. "Getting to know everybody is just an amazing feeling."The Chicago concert marked Marquis' third time seeing BTS live, but she said this tour felt particularly meaningful after the members completed their mandatory military service and returned to touring together."They went to the military, they came back, and I'm just grateful that they all returned safe and sound," she said. "Now they're touring again and getting to see their fans, so that makes this really special."That return also gave Marquis and other Chicago ARMYs a reason to create something specifically for the group. What began as an idea among fans grew into an effort involving around 20 people over two months, with organizers making cutouts themselves while encouraging concertgoers to contribute their own.After 11 years of finding encouragement in BTS, Marquis now had a chance to return some of that support, joining other Chicago ARMYs in creating a welcome of their own, one handmade sun at a time.
Comments (0)
Loading comments…