On the evening of November 20, Jung Kook (BTS) attracted the world’s media attention with the opening performance of the World Cup at Al Bayt Stadium, Doha, Qatar with a capacity of 60,000 spectators. The youngest member of the popular group BTS became the first Korean artist to stand on the stage of the opening ceremony of the World Cup.
The questions kept asking “Why would a K-pop star perform at the opening ceremony of the first World Cup in the Middle East?”.
Jung Kook (BTS) performed the official song of the World Cup Dreamers at the opening ceremony of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, held at Al Bayt Stadium on the evening of November 20. Photo: News1.
Jungkook is FIFA’s choice
At the opening stage, Jungkook performed the official theme song of the World Cup 2022 – Dreamers. At the end of the song, he harmonizes with famous Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaishi. The main vocalist BTS performed most of the song and performed captivating choreography on the grand stage.
Dreamers  was released on November 19 and confirmed by FIFA as part of the theme song series of this year’s biggest football festival in the world. Right at the time of its release, the song topped the iTunes Top Song chart in 102 countries within 13 hours of release.
Jungkook’s Dreamers  stage caught the attention of the world’s media. Photo: Twitter.
This is the first case of a Korean singer participating in the official World Cup title song as a solo singer, not a collaboration. After the opening ceremony, the name Jung Kook rose to No. 1 in real-time search trends on Twitter in many countries such as the US, Japan, etc.
Some are skeptical of this unprecedented stage. On November 20, The Answer  newspaper reported on Jungkook’s performance at the opening ceremony, many Japanese netizens commented, “Thanks to the influence of World Cup sponsor Hyundai Motor Company, Jungkook was able to perform”.
In September, BTS released the song Yet To Come  (Hyundai Ver) under the Goal of the Century  campaign as an advertising model of Hyundai Motor – the official sponsor of the World Cup in Qatar.
However, Chosun Ilbo  said that FIFA directly contacted HYBE’s headquarters, the US branch of HYBE and BigHit Music (BTS’s management label under HYBE) without going through Hyundai Motor.
FIFA did not Ô€isclose it, but had information from the beginning, they chose Jung Kook among the BTS members and á´ˇanted to invite the singer to perform.
The right choice for multiculturalism, diversity and peace
“The Qatari government has asked to emphasize multiculturalism, diversity and peace at the opening ceremony,” said Italian director Marco Balichi, who was in charge of the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Cup. in line with the path that BTS and the fandom ARMY have been walking – to speak out about multiculturalism, respect for diversity and being environmentally friendly.
In terms of box office success, the two names BTS and Jungkook are considered the cards that will simultaneously satisfy the love of the global music market such as North America as well as the host country Qatar and Middle Eastern culture. Meanwhile, Qatar is where BTS regularly tops the iTunes music chart every time they release a new song.
Jung Kook participated in writing lyrics for the theme of World Cup 2022 Dreamers. Photo: Twitter.
Last month, the song with Charlie Puth Left and Right  helped the male singer enter the Billboard Hot 100 list for 17 weeks. Jung Kook’s name is also mentioned in the popular animated series The Simpsons (2021), How I Met Your Father (2022).
In 2019, BTS was honored to become the first foreign artist to hold a concert at the country’s famous Saudi stadium with a capacity of more than 60,000 spectators.
At that time, tens of thousands of Muslim á´ˇomen enjoyed BTS’ music at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, dressed in Hijab and Abaya (traditional Muslim á´ˇomen’s clothing that covers the entire body). body set except for the face and hands and feet) and was praised by foreign media for “Ć…reaking down cultural barriers”.
Critic Kim Do-heon said, “K-pop stars and fandoms often send messages that span generations and races, while sensitive political ϲonflict topics are avoided as much as possible.” he said.