BTS fans descend on Raymond James Stadium for the first night of the ARIRANG concerts

TAMPA, Fla - BTS fans were excited to be back after the band took a nearly four-year hiatus. 

What we know:

The boy band held the opening night of its ARIRANG concert in Tampa on Saturday.

"I mean I'm excited with so many people from the ARMY," said Cecilia Medina, who traveled from Orlando for the show. "ARMY means that they follow, they love BTS and you know I do the same now so it's fun and I'm getting a lot of little souvenirs from the ARMY."

"BTS is just so genuine in everything they do, and they truly love all of their fans and they make us all feel like family and the armies here all feel family even though we don't know each other," said Davina Jones, a fan from Raleigh, North Carolina.

The backstory:

Some fans said they did not know if this day would ever come.

The South Korean boy band took a break to complete mandatory military service and work on other projects.

Maria Beltran also traveled from Orlando for the show.

"I just cried, I was like, because, you know, you told them maybe they're not gonna come back since they were separated for a long time, but hopefully, they love us too much, and then they're here," Beltran said. "So excited."

"Sometimes some of us felt like they weren't coming back and to see that they are, it's so just so exciting," Jones said.

For many it is a dream come true to see this group in concert.

Melanie Miranda said she traveled more than eight hours with her friend Heidi Castaeda from Georgia to be here.

What they're saying:

"When I was growing up I kind of had a very long hard life kind of," said Miranda. "I was very insecure and when they dropped like "Love Yourself," all those albums, it kind of made me realize that I had to grow as a person and so being here it's kind of an ‘I did it’ moment for my mom and for myself."

Joseph Winkler flew from Cary, NC to attend his dream show.

"I've been manifesting for this moment ever since I have been asking my mom, when am I ever going to see BTS? And guess what? After their service, they come home, and here we are today," Winkler said.

"This is my first time going to a BTS concert, so it was really a special moment for me," Castaeda said.

Hylain Wright traveled from Durham, NC to see the show after missing other opportunities in the past. 

"I wouldn't miss this for the world. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," Wright said. "COVID came, Map of the Soul got canceled, so this is the next opportunity for me to afford it. So yeah, we flew out here, took a chance in doing day one and day two, so yeah, we're excited."

BTS said it used the time to grow as individuals so they could come back stronger than ever.