K-pop superstars BTS channeled The Beatles’ iconic Ed Sullivan performance for their debut appearance on U.S. late night TV.
The Korean band wore sharp suits and ties in homage to the British Fab Four, who made their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show back in 1964, for an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night (May 15, 2019). For the special segment, host Stephen himself dressed up like Ed to introduce the band, and the audience consisted of screaming fans in ’60s period mod-style outfits and wigs.
Fittingly, Colbert records his show at the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan, where The Beatles’ performance was also filmed.
“And now, on the same stage 50 years later, plus 5 years, 3 months, 6 days, a new batch of mop-topped heartthrobs has landed,” the narrator said in the cold open video, as he introduced a black-and-white clip where they all shared their names and a personalized message.
Colbert hammed it up as Sullivan, speaking to the camera: “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we’ve got a big, big show and it continues. You may have heard there’s a new musical craze sweeping the globe. These fellas are really something, and people are so excited, you can only call it BTS-mania.”
“These boys aren’t from America. No, they’re from across the pond-the big one. The one with Hawaii in the middle. They’re really a fine group of youngsters. You can call them the Fab 7. It’s got a nice ring to it,” he continued, in the style of the veteran host.”
The band then introduced themselves to the audience in the studio and at home.
“Hi, I’m Jimin. Nice to meet you guys,” the singer said before blowing a kiss, while bandmate Jin cheekily quipped: “Hi, I’m worldwide handsome Jin! You know?”
“Hi, I’m Jungkook, thank you very much for inviting us,” bandmember Jungkook added.
The chat show host then offered up their nicknames.
“The cute one, the cute one, the cute one, the cute one, the cute one, the cute one and, uh, the cute one,” he joked.
BTS has taken the world by storm in recent months, selling out shows worldwide with super fans camping out in Central Park a week ahead of their Good Morning America concert, where they are expected to perform their new song Boy With Luv, which they recorded with Halsey.
Their appearance comes weeks after they dropped their highly-anticipated album Map of the Soul: Persona, and one day later performed live on Saturday Night Live.
