BTS light stick teaser: Are you world tour ready? With a simple teaser release on Thursday, BTS raised the big question ahead of their highly anticipated full-group reunion, comeback and expansive concert series this summer.
On February 5, the wildly popular K-pop sensation’s company HYBE unveiled the design for the fourth version of BTS’ official light stick, which is also called the ARMY Bomb. The video released online shows the BTS logo embedded in the centre of the globe-shaped design.
BTS light stick version 4 teaser out
The new version also comes along with a light stick stand and several other attachments or accessories with the text “ARMY” and “BTS.”
As was expected, the mere video reveal sent the BTS ARMY down the rabbit hole. Shortly after the light stick teaser hit the Internet, terms like “BTS lightstick ver 4,” “Army Bomb ver 4,” and “BTS Army bomb” started trending on social media platform X.
Watch here:
The upgraded light stick version is being released about 5 years and 10 months after the previous MAP OF THE SOUL Special Edition (SE). In addition to its fresh design and compatible accessories, the BTS OFFICIAL LIGHT STICK VER.4 will also come with a new wireless control system.
Sales details for the new BTS light stick will be announced in a separate notice at 11 am on Friday, February 6 (KST).
Although the video meant that BTS was officially in its full-fledged comeback era, not all fans were necessarily thrilled to see the ARMY Bomb version 4 teaser. Here’s why!
BTS ARMY reacts to new light stick teaser
While many fans were busy celebrating on X, as they couldn’t but fawn over how pretty the new design was, others chose to call out HYBE for being “greedy.”
“I really like the design but I can’t help thinking how greedy and unfair is that from june ver 3/SE won’t be working,” a user commented under the official ‘HYBE Merch’ post. “I mean we just spent a lot for the tickets and lots of us have to pay for the avel and accommodation too…I mean can’t you let us use the ver we already have?”
Another user said, “Ending support for MOTS SE despite not having a full world tour using it… disappointing.”
A third BTS fan wrote, “As beautiful as this new lightstick is, it’s incredibly frustrating to have spent so much money on the previous version only for it to now be unusable in concert. I just barely got mine after wanting it for so long, and now I’ll never get to use it in concert.”
Why are fans angry? BTS light stick announcement explained
While light sticks in themselves stand out as an exclusive piece of merchandise that K-pop fans view as an expression of their loyalty and support to a particular group, they particularly come in handy in making live concerts interactive. Once at the concert, the so-called “identity revealers” are controlled by the staff to manually change the colours of the stick’s glowing light.
And just like that, fans also become a part of the light show.
However, the release of new designs at times indicates that older versions become outdated. As a result, they would no longer be included in the light show.
As per the announcement shared by BTS’ agency in Thursday’s official Weverse notice, wireless control for the light show will be supported on VER.3, SE, and VER.4 Light Sticks from the notice date until the BTS World Tour “ARIRANG” concert in Las Vegas on May 28, 2026.
However, starting from the Busan concert on June 12, 2026, wireless control will only be supported on Ver 4 light sticks. On top of that, the new design’s release will also render BTS OFFICIAL LIGHT STICK MAP OF THE SOUL Special Edition obsolete.
This means that fans who had already purchased the previous light stick versions during the group’s extended hiatus due to their mandatory military obligations will no longer be able to participate in the concert light show from June 12, 2026, onwards unless they buy the new ARMY Bomb ver 4.