BTS Set to Reschedule "Map of the Soul" Tour in U.S., Canada

The awaited series of concerts was expected to kick off on April 25 in Santa Clara, Calif. There will be 14 tour dates in the U.S. spanning six states, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, and Chicago. Two are set in Toronto, Canada. Big Hit said that sold tickets would be honored for the unconfirmed new dates.

BTS had earlier canceled the four South Korean concerts planned in mid-April. The world's biggest boyband joined the list of numerous artists and groups who had postponed concerts and events due to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

The European leg that will start July in London remains on schedule.

BTS's Activities During Quarantine

To keep the 7-member band on track with their Army fans, BTS launched a new video content "Learn Korean with BTS" to teach their language. The 30-lesson series with 3-minute classes will feature the boys teaching basic Korean expressions and grammar. They will also showcase parts of the Korean culture. The first drop of three videos was posted on Monday, March 24 on Weverse, Big Hit's free social media app. The initiative was extended to the global fans who have difficulty understanding their music due to the language barrier.

On Monday, March 30, BTS will be live streaming from South Korea to join James Corden in Homefest: James Corden's Late Late Show Special. Several big stars and celebrities will be featured to support efforts in containing Covid19. It will be shown at 10 pm ET with Corden hosting from his garage.

The group also created a video encouraging its countrymen as South Korea reels in the effects of the pandemic. The message of hope was posted March 23 through its "Love Myself" campaign account on Twitter and its official YouTube account. BTS thanked the medical front-liners and everyone who is doing their best in battling the virus. The group showed solidarity by asking everyone to stay home.

Map of the Soul:7

"Map of the Soul: 7", BTS' most recent album, was released on February 21, 2020. The fourth Korea-language studio album has 19 tracks. The line up of songs covers previous single collaborations - "Boy with Luv" (ft. Halsey) and "Make it Right", (ft. Lauv).

One of the songs entitled "On" has reached 138 million YouTube viewers on the "On: Kinetic Manifesto Film: Come Prima" video. The official MV of the same song has scored more than 101 million hits.

BTS is currently ranked number 6 on Billboard's Artist 100. The group peaked at number one and remained in the chart for 180 weeks.

Postponement of shows

More artists are canceling or postponing their shows since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on March 11, 2020, that Covid-19 is a pandemic. Social distancing is the recommended action to prevent spreading the mercurial virus. Concerts draw huge crowds, and it would be best to hold the events to flatten the curve of infections.

As of writing, there have been 542,417 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide, based on John Hopkins Univerity. The pandemic has caused 24,345 deaths.

With 85,991 confirmed cases, the U.S. now ranks as the country with the most number of infections, Al Jazeera reported. It has surpassed China (81,894 cases), the origin of the virus; and Italy (80,589 cases), which the WHO considers the center of the global pandemic.