How BTS’s Suga Defied Standards With His Solo Tour’s Backing Band

BTS‘s Suga recently returned with a new Suchwita episode, and this time, he was joined by CNBLUE‘s leader, Jung Yonghwa.

CNBLUE’s Jung Yonghwa (left) and BTS’s Suga (right) | *@bts_bighit/Twitter*

CNBLUE debuted in Japan in 2009 and debuted in Korea in 2010, and found a few of their promotions overlapping with BTS when the 3rd gen group debuted in 2013.

Yonghwa mentioned how considerate BTS was toward CNBLUE, and the members continue to support each other to this day.

When Suga embarked on his solo tour in 2023, Jung Yonghwa made sure to attend his show, and in a group chat with the BTS member after the concert, he and Korean singer-songwriter Lee Juck noted how they felt there was a “rockstar side” to Suga.

When speaking of rockstars, Suga began to talk about the backing band that joined him on stage for each show and their ritual of drinking whisky together before the concert started.

Discussing their ritual, Suga revealed that the band hadn’t done anything like that before and explained how backing bands are often treated differently in Korea.

Suga explained that Korean companies prefer backing bands to “be like a painting” during the concert, expecting them not to draw attention away from the singer.

The BTS member gave an example, saying that if a backing band member began nodding their head to the music, they would likely be asked to stop.

Suga admitted he felt bad about that standard, which was why he established a more casual atmosphere on stage and encouraged the backing band to have creative freedom during their performance.

Yonghwa understood, stating that backing band members are grateful for the ability to express their creativity, and Suga stated he just wanted people to know how cool bands are.