With one of the most anticipated pop comebacks of the century, BTS will release their first album in more than five years: “Arirang” on March 20th. It is their first album since each member completed their military service in South Korea. The first single, “Swim,” is already available for pre-order.
The day after the album release, BTS will perform a free concert in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, which will be streamed worldwide on Netflix – followed by a behind-the-scenes documentary on the same platform. A world tour with 82 dates starts on April 9th and will keep the band on the streets of the world until March 2027.
Tickets for all previously announced shows are sold out. “The most important thing,” RM told GQ in the group’s first joint interview since announcing their 2022 hiatus, “is just that we’re here together again. We’ll see the fans all over the world.”
Two months under one roof in LA
In mid-2025, when the last member completed his service, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook moved to Los Angeles together, where they shared a house for two months – the first time the group had been in one place since 2019. RM told GQ they kept a strict daily schedule: “We worked six days a week, like businessmen.” Mornings were for training; After lunch at home, they went to the studio, where they wrote and recorded with changing teams of collaborators until the evening. It felt like their time as trainees, said RM – only this time they arrived with years of stadium tours and billions of streams behind them.
On January 16, BTS confirmed that the album is named after a centuries-old Korean folk song: “Arirang.” “The song has long been associated with feelings of connection, distance and reunion and transcends time and generations,” the label said in a statement. The album was described as “a deeply reflective work” that explores the group’s “identity and roots” – the members chose the title because of its “strong resonance with their current journey”.
Tracklist and credits
On March 3, BTS released the full tracklist: “Body to Body,” “Hooligan,” “Aliens,” “FYA,” “2.0,” “No. 29” (an interlude), “Swim,” “Merry Go Round,” “Normal,” “Like Animals,” “they don’t know ’bout us,” “One More Night,” “Please,” and “Into the Sun.”
In addition to longtime BTS collaborator Pdogg, the album features a star-studded roster of songwriters and producers including iplo, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, Flume, JPEGMAFIA, Mike WiLL Made-It, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, El Guincho and Teezo Touchdown. Diplo told TMZ it was “the craziest album ever.” Tedder wrote on X that working with the group on five tracks was “a journey and so much fun.”
RM is listed as a songwriter on every track except the interlude. Suga and J-Hope have credits on songs such as “Body to Body,” “Merry Go Round,” “Normal,” “One More Night,” and “Please.” Jung Kook has writing credits on four songs, including “Hooligan.” V contributed to “2.0” and “Into the Sun”, while Jimin contributed to “they don’t know ’bout us” and the closing track.
The world tour starts in April
The Arirang World Tour kicks off on April 9 at Goyang Stadium in South Korea and runs until March 2027, with additional dates to be announced. With more than 82 shows in 34 cities in 23 countries, it is the largest world tour ever staged by a single act from South Korea. All stops will feature immersive in-the-round stage design. Tickets for almost every show sold out within hours.
During the break, Jin, J-Hope and Suga went on their own solo tours. In the concert film “RunSeokJin_EP.Tour The Movie,” which premiered in December, Jin said, “Performing without my members? Not even in my dreams. I think I was nervous.” The musician explained that “a performance is not complete without ARMY.” He described the fan base as the reason he performs, adding, “It’s the roar of the crowd that keeps me going.”
More solo projects on the horizon
In a recent interview with ROLLING STONE UK, cover star Jung Kook looked to the future – not just for BTS, but also for himself as a solo artist. “I’m really looking forward to the next BTS album, the promotions I’ll be doing with the members and ARMY [BTS‘ offizielle Fangemeinde] “I’m also looking forward to the work I’ll be doing as a solo artist. I want to learn more about dance and improve, especially in street dance.” This is all part of his plan to be “an artist without borders”.
He added: “During my time in the military, I couldn’t work on music even if I wanted to. It built up a kind of longing. It made me want to be better and deliver something great.” During the solo projects, the BTS members regularly kept in touch and shared preview versions with each other. “I played the song for all the members,” J-Hope told ROLLING STONE last year. “I made sure to share it with each of them when they were on leave from the military, and I was proud to be the first to play it to them. I was very happy that everyone liked what they heard.”
All roads lead back to BTS
The band members’ solo works are all in the service of ARMY and BTS. “In order for us to make music in a healthy way as a team, as we make our own music, each of us goes through personal growth and the pain that comes with it,” J-Hope said on The Zach Sang Show last year. “We are learning a lot of things. And when we reunite after our own projects, these experiences will fill us with new strength and energy. And that is very soon now. Everyone has grown while pursuing their solo projects. I think that will benefit the music we create as BTS.”
