In one of the most anticipated pop comebacks of the century, BTS will release their first album in more than five years, Arirang, on March 20. It’s their first album since every member completed mandatory military service in South Korea. The first single, “Swim,” is available for preorder.
The day after the album drops, BTS will perform a free concert at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, livestreamed globally on Netflix, followed by a behind-the-scenes documentary on the same platform. On April 9, they launch an 82-date world tour that will keep them on the road through March 2027. Tickets to every announced show have already sold out. “The most important thing,” RM told GQ in the group’s first joint interview since announcing their hiatus in 2022, “is just that we are here back together again. We’re going to see the fans all over the world.”
Making ‘Arirang’: Two Months Under One Roof in LA
In mid-2025, once the last member had finished his service, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook relocated to Los Angeles, 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 rigid schedule: “We’d do six days a week, like businessmen.” Mornings were for physical training; after lunch at home, they’d head to the studio and write and record with rotating teams of collaborators until the evening. It felt like being trainees again, RM said, except this time they arrived with years of stadium tours and billions of streams behind them.
BTS confirmed Jan. 16 that the album was named after a centuries-old Korean folk song, “Arirang.” “Transcending time and generations, the song has long been associated with emotions of connection, distance, and reunion,” their label’s statement read. The album was described as “a deeply reflective body of work” exploring the group’s “identity and roots,” with the members choosing the title for its “strong resonance with their current journey.”
The Tracklist and Credits
On March 3, BTS dropped 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.”
Alongside longtime BTS collaborator Pdogg, the album features an all-star slate of writers and producers, including iplo, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, Flume, JPEGMAFIA, Mike WiLL Made-It, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, El Guincho, and Teezo Touchdown, among others. Diplo told TMZ it’s “the craziest album ever.” Tedder wrote on X that working with the group across five tracks was “a journey and so much fun.”
RM is credited as a songwriter on every track except an interlude. Suga and J-Hope are credited on songs including “Body to Body,” “Merry Go Round,” “Normal,” “One More Night,” and “Please.” Jung Kook has writing credits on four songs, including “Hooligan.” V wrote on “2.0” and “Into the Sun,” while Jimin worked on “they don’t know ’bout us” and the closer.
BTS’ World Tour Kicks Off in April
The Arirang World Tour kicks off April 9 at Goyang Stadium in South Korea and runs through March 2027, with additional dates expected to be announced later. With 82-plus shows booked across 34 cities in 23 countries, it is the largest world tour ever mounted by a single act from South Korea. All stops will feature an immersive in-the-round stage design. Tickets for virtually every show sold out within hours.
During the hiatus, Jin, J-Hope, and Suga embarked on solo tours. In the concert film RunSeokJin_EP.Tour The Movie, which premiered in December, Jin said, “Performing without my members? Not in my wildest dreams. I think I was nervous.” The musician explained that “a performance isn’t complete without ARMY.” He described the fanbase as the reason he performs, adding, “It’s the roar of the crowd that keeps me going.”
There Are More Solo Releases on the Horizon
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone UK, cover star Jung Kook looked ahead to the future, not just for BTS, but for himself as a solo artists, too. “I’m really looking forward to the next BTS album, the promotions I’ll do with the members, and being able to meet ARMY [BTS’ official fandom] again,” he said in the cover story. “I’m also excited for the work I’ll do as a solo artist. I want to learn more about dance and improve, especially in street dance.” It’s all part of his plan to be “an artist without limits.”
He added: “During my time in the military, I couldn’t work on music even when I wanted to. That built up a sense of longing. It made me want to do better and deliver something great.” While releasing solo music, the BTS members often checked in with each other to share previews. “I played the song for all of the members,” J-Hope told Rolling Stone last year. “I made sure to share it with them when each of them was on their military leave, and I felt proud to be able to play it for them first. I was very happy that everyone liked it.”
All Roads Lead Back to BTS
Th band’s solo works are all in service to ARMY and BTS. “In order to make music as a team in a healthy way, as each of us are making their own music, we each go through personal growth and growing pains that come with it,” J-Hope said on the Zach Sang Show last year. “We learn many things. And then when we reunite after doing our own things, these experiences will fill us with new strength and energy. And now that’s very soon. Everyone has grown while pursuing their solo projects. I think that will contribute to the music we create as BTS.”
