BTS Returns with 'Arirang': A Deep Dive into Their Highly Anticipated Comeback
BTS is back after a five-and-a-half-year hiatus with their new album, Arirang. This marks a significant moment for the group, filled with new music, performances, and a documentary.
After five and a half years, BTS has officially released their fifth studio album, Arirang. During this extended break, members pursued solo projects and fulfilled mandatory military service. Now, they're making a grand return to the music scene.
The comeback includes the release of a video for their song “Swim,” a free concert at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on March 21st streamed by Netflix, and a performance in the U.S. for the first time in four years at Spotify x BTS: SWIMSIDE in New York on March 23rd for 1,000 fans.
BTS: The Return Doc Trailer
A documentary, BTS: The Return, offering a behind-the-scenes look, will be available on Netflix starting March 27th. Following this, an expansive 82-date world tour kicks off on April 9th, extending through March of the following year. Fans can also experience BTS World Tour ‘Arirang’ Live Viewing in theaters on April 11th (Goyang, South Korea) and April 18th (Tokyo).
To create Arirang, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook lived together in Los Angeles for two months—the first time since 2019. Collaborators included Pdogg, Diplo, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, Flume, JPEGMAFIA, Mike WiLL Made-It, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, El Guincho, and Teezo Touchdown. The album is named after the Korean folk song, Arirang.
Jung Kook Rolling Stone UK
"During my time in the military, I couldn’t work on music even when I wanted to,” Jung Kook told Rolling Stone UK. “That built up a sense of longing. It made me want to do better and deliver something great.”
"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.”
Ultimately, the album is deeply personal. "Drawing on the emotional depth of ‘Arirang’— its sense of yearning, longing, and the ebb and flow of life, the band ultimately chose the title for its strong resonance with their current journey,” they said in a statement. “The new release explores universal emotions of longing and love and will resonate with the worldwide audience as a timeless legacy across generations and cultures.”
Arirang Track List:
- “Body to Body”
- “Hooligan”
- “Aliens”
- “FYA”
- “2.0”
- “No. 29”
- “Swim”
- “Merry Go Round”
- “Normal”
- “Like Animals”
- “they don’t know ’bout us”
- “One More Night”
- “Please”
- “Into the Sun"
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