April 29, 2024

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BTS' Suga (Big Hit Music)

Suga of K-pop phenomenon BTS is set to participate in Samsung Electronics' upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event, which will be the tech giant’s first unveiling of its flagship phones at home, according to industry sources Tuesday.

“Suga will attend the event as a guest, but he will not be performing on the stage,” an industry official, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Korea Herald.

Another source close to the matter also confirmed his appearance, saying, “Samsung put considerable efforts into inviting Suga to its first Unpacked event on its home turf.”

“Since the upcoming event means more to the firm, Suga’s presence is expected to make the event more special,” the source added.

Samsung will unveil its new foldable smartphone series in Seoul for the first time Wednesday. The summer edition of its unveiling event will kick off at Coex in southern Seoul, at 8 p.m. It will also be livestreamed on the company’s website, its newsroom and official YouTube channel.

Samsung has maintained close ties with BTS, with the band appearing in promotional videos and photos for its recent flagship phones.

But it will be the first time for a BTS bandmate to appear at a Galaxy event in person. The attendance of the other six members was not immediately confirmed.

Earlier this month, Samsung hinted at an upcoming collaboration with Suga by posting some of his pictures multiple times on the company’s official Instagram.

Recently, Suga also showed his special affection for Samsung on his first world tour as a solo artist.

At a solo concert held in New Jersey in April, the rapper and producer offered to take selfies with fans using their smartphones -- but only with Samsung Galaxy phones.

He repeatedly emphasized the preference for Galaxy over the iPhone, saying, "If you offer me a phone, please give me only Galaxy. No iPhone."

He showed his love for Samsung phones once again when he livestreamed via Weverse, the social platform the band uses to communicate with fans, after the concert.

Showing off his Galaxy smartphone with concert stickers, he joked, “These are the tour merchandise items. Don’t they fit the Galaxy so well? … Samsung must be smiling now.”

Since 2020, BTS has been linked to Samsung’s smartphones -- the flagship Galaxy S20 series as well as foldable products. In July 2020, the company launched the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus BTS edition and Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus BTS edition, aimed at the septet’s global fandom, Army.

Last year, Samsung used the color purple, with which the group is associated, to promote the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Z Flip4. At an event in August of the same year, the firm unveiled two never-before-seen digital films starring BTS at iconic public places around the globe, including Times Square in New York, Piccadilly Circus in London, Kudamm in Berlin and Coex in Seoul.

BTS bandmate Jimin also surprised attendees by appearing in a video screened at the Galaxy S23 Unpacked event in San Francisco in February this year.

Meanwhile, Stray Kids -- another K-pop boy band -- are also reportedly attending Wednesday’s Galaxy Unpacked event, sources said. A new song titled “Fly High,” composed and sung by Changbin, is to be released in August.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)