BTS ARIRANG Setlist at iHeartRadio Music Festival 2026
BTS closed the first night of the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 18 with a four-song set built entirely around ARIRANG, the group's fifth studio album. RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook took the T-Mobile Arena stage in Las Vegas as the night's final act, opening with "SWIM," moving into "2.0," then "MIC Drop" before closing on "FYA."
The set doubled as a marker of how far the group's comeback has traveled since March. ARIRANG debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 the week of its release and went on to spend 12 non-consecutive weeks in the chart's Top 10 - a first for a Korean act. It arrived as BTS's first release as a complete seven-member lineup since 2022's Proof, following each member's completion of mandatory military service. Since then, the group has performed the halftime show at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in July and is now headlining one of the biggest annual live-music broadcasts in the US.
Friday's set leaned on the newer material rather than the group's back catalog, putting ARIRANG's sound in front of an iHeartRadio audience that skews toward pop, country and rock rather than K-pop specifically. The arena crowd sang along through "MIC Drop," the 2017 Love Yourself: Her track that remains one of BTS's most recognized songs in the US, before the group closed on the higher-tempo "FYA" from the new record. Midway through the set, the members paused to thank the crowd directly before moving into the set's back half.
BTS shared the Friday bill with Cardi B, Kenny Chesney, Weezer, Zara Larsson and Goo Goo Dolls, part of a two-night lineup hosted by Ryan Seacrest that also includes Benson Boone, Ciara, Snoop Dogg, Muse and The Smashing Pumpkins across the weekend. The festival broadcasts live across more than 150 iHeartMedia radio markets, with Disney+ and Hulu streaming both nights in full - meaning BTS's four-song ARIRANG set reached the same national footprint as any of the festival's country or rock headliners.
K-pop has touched the festival's stage before - Monsta X played the smaller Daytime Stage in 2019 - but this is the first year a K-pop act has held one of the two main-stage closing slots. Saturday's closing set belongs to LE SSERAFIM, the first K-pop girl group to perform at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in the event's history.
