{"id":549243,"date":"2026-03-20T15:30:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/549243\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T15:30:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:30:07","slug":"bts-release-new-album-arirang-ahead-of-comeback-concert-bts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/549243\/","title":{"rendered":"BTS release new album Arirang ahead of comeback concert | BTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

K-pop stars BTS released a new album on Friday billed as reflecting the maturing boy band\u2019s Korean roots and identity, as buzz built ahead of their open-air comeback concert in the heart of Seoul.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Saturday night gig, which is expected to draw around 260,000 people, will be BTS\u2019s first after a hiatus of almost four years while all seven members served compulsory military service. It comes ahead of an 82-date world tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave deep thought to our identity \u2013 and how best to express ourselves authentically \u2013 across the entirety of our music and performances,\u201d BTS member Jimin said ahead of the release of the group\u2019s album, their fifth studio release.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an extension of that process, we also revisited the significance of our background as a group comprised entirely of Korean members,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Beginning with Body to Body and ending with Into the Sun, the 14-track Arirang album takes its name from a folk song about longing and separation <\/a>that is often dubbed South Korea\u2019s unofficial national anthem.<\/p>\n

An animated trailer for it appears to draw on the story of Korean students whose singing of the song US anthropologist Alice Fletcher recorded on a cylinder phonograph in Washington in 1896.<\/p>\n

As the melody plays, the trailer shows the students sailing to the United States before cutting to BTS at Seoul\u2019s Gyeongbokgung Palace \u2013 the backdrop for Saturday\u2019s concert.<\/p>\n

BTS will play in front of Seoul\u2019s Gyeongbokgung Palace on Saturday. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Excitement meanwhile grew in Seoul, with hotels long since booked out and thousands flying in from overseas, ramming home the immense popularity of a multi-award-winning act singing mostly in Korean.<\/p>\n

BTS are the music vanguard of a Korean cultural wave, which includes Oscar-winning films like Parasite and KPop Demon Hunters, hit dramas like Squid Game, Nobel-winning author Han Kang, food and cosmetics endorsed by the likes of Kylie Jenner.<\/p>\n

In Seoul, the streets were festooned with purple-and-blue \u201cWelcome BTS + ARMY\u201d signs, referring to the group\u2019s fandom. BTS hoodies, wallets and figurines were on sale at new pop-up stores and convenience shops.<\/p>\n

Mara Cristia Yao and Rodessa Ericka Bonon, fans from the Philippines, came to Seoul although they could not secure their tickets for the Saturday concert.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are just going to come to this area anyway. We are figuring out where to position ourselves tomorrow,\u201d Yao said, after taking pictures with each other near the Gwanghwamun Square, where the huge stage was being set up.<\/p>\n

At the concert, BTS is expected to perform the new album, which the group reportedly spent time in Los Angeles recording.<\/p>\n

Grace Kao, a sociology professor at Yale University, said that while it features collaborations with western songwriters and producers, the title works to \u201cremind international fans that BTS is, first and foremost, a Korean group\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are looking towards the future but reminding the fans and themselves of their history,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

It also follows some new experiences for the bandmates, now aged between 28 and 33. Four spent their military service stationed near the heavily fortified border with the North, known for barbed wire, harsh winters and intense training.<\/p>\n

BTS are \u201ccoming back stronger and ready to continue their journey\u201d, Greek fan Loukia Kyratzoglou said.<\/p>\n

After visiting the White House, releasing hugely successful English-language albums and performing at famous venues around the world, the group has chosen a historic stage at home for the landmark comeback concert.<\/p>\n

Seoul\u2019s sweeping Gwanghwamun Square, near the landmark Gyeongbokgung Palace, is an area that has witnessed centuries of history, including major political protests in 2025.<\/p>\n

As well as those present in Seoul \u2013 amidst a gigantic security operation \u2013 millions more will likely watch the concert via a Netflix livestream to around 190 countries.<\/p>\n

This new album \u201cfeels like a love letter to their home country\u201d, said Jeff Benjamin, Billboard\u2019s K-pop<\/a> columnist. \u201cI do think they\u2019ll be remembered the way we remember the Beatles or Michael Jackson \u2013 not just as chart-topping acts but as artists whom the industry calculates time in terms of \u2018before\u2019 and \u2018after\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"K-pop stars BTS released a new album on Friday billed as reflecting the maturing boy band\u2019s Korean roots…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549244,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,341],"class_list":["post-549243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}