“Excited, nervous, but most of all, deeply moved.”
Global superstars BTS are set to release their highly anticipated 5th full-length album, ‘ARIRANG,’ on [Date] at 1 PM KST. This marks their first new album in 3 years and 9 months since the anthology album ‘Proof’ in June 2022. This comeback signals the dawn of a new chapter for the group, “BTS 2.0.” Exploring BTS’s core identity alongside universal emotions, the album’s production was overseen by Bang Si-hyuk, promising a high level of quality and artistry. Get ready for the BTS comeback!
The new album features a total of 14 tracks, including the title track “SWIM.” BTS poured their genuine experiences and reflections from their journey into every song, showcasing “BTS as they are now.” Ready to connect with music fans worldwide, BTS shared their thoughts on the album and their upcoming activities through BIGHIT MUSIC in a Q&A session.
Q. Your thoughts on making a comeback after 3 years and 9 months?
BTS (Group): We’re excited, nervous, but most of all, deeply moved. Just the fact that the seven of us can gather together and do something together makes us happy and grateful. We’ve prepared a great performance to repay ARMY (our fandom) for waiting so long. Being able to show you a good side of us again is a great source of emotion and happiness. We were very excited because it’s our first group album in a long time, but we also have some fears, but we’re not too worried because we have the members and ARMY with us.
Q. What message do you want to convey most through this album?
Suga: We thought about what is most like us. We focused on ‘us’ itself rather than a grand message.
Jimin: I wanted to say that we are constantly moving forward. There is always pressure to show a new and better side of ourselves. There are also many concerns. Nevertheless, I wanted to express my desire to keep swimming forward without stopping.
Jungkook: I hope you’ll think of this album as the most BTS-like album because it contains our individual time and colors intact.
Q. How was the ‘Korean element’ included in the album decided?
RM: First, we threw out various ideas that came to mind. In the songwriting session, we even made a song about taekwondo. It didn’t make it onto the album, but I personally liked it quite a bit. I think the Korean element is an important keyword that can tie the seven of us together. It’s also connected to where we started, to our roots. What is Korean is still being redefined and changed. It would be fun if we could be a part of that flow.
Jin/Suga: The album logo started with Jungkook’s idea. The current album concept was created by adding the members’ opinions in various aspects, and there was also an opinion that it would be good to naturally include Korean elements since all of us are Korean.
J-Hope: We incorporated Korean excitement and culture into the lyrics of the new album. We tried to create more ‘points where the seven of us can be together’ in various parts. I think that showing ourselves as we are, returning to our roots, is ultimately starting from our roots. I believe that we are who we are now because those roots were strong together.
V: All the members came up with a lot of ideas and thought about incorporating their own personalities. ARMY will be able to feel the fun of finding them one by one.
Q. What were the criteria you set when expressing the ‘Korean element’?
RM: Rather than bringing the Korean element as it is, as a fixed frame, I wanted to solve it naturally in our own way. I think that the emotion is conveyed more broadly when there is not too much variation and our own interpretation is added. I wanted to bring ‘Arirang’, which can be interpreted in various ways, in a slightly different way and reinterpret it.
Jin/Suga: Rather than forcing the Korean element, we focused on incorporating it in our own way. We tried to balance the Korean sentiment while maintaining BTS’s color clearly.
J-Hope: I definitely think balance and restraint are important. However, it can be more cool to show it boldly at the moment when it is a point even in that. In this album and stage, I thought about how to make the criteria of ‘not too much, but definitely when needed’ stand out.
Jimin: In the music and overall performance, I thought about our identity and how we speak in our own way, and in that extension, I thought about the background that all members are Korean again. So I made the Korean element an important point. In particular, ‘Arirang’ is a word and folk song that Koreans have been exposed to countless times since childhood, so I felt burdened and responsible for choosing it as the album title.
Q. Why did you choose ‘SWIM’ as the title track?
RM: I spent the longest time holding on to and thinking about the title song. I tried for a whole month to make a song that surpassed ‘SWIM,’ but it wasn’t easy. When I first heard this song, I felt that it had a simple and mellow charm like Pyongyang cold noodles. The more I listened to it, the more I felt like ‘I want to swim together.’
Jin: Rather than a song that immediately whets your appetite from the beginning, it was a song that had a power that you couldn’t forget the more you listened to it. In particular, I remember the rhythm point (“dung-ta-da-dang” sound) that appears in the middle of the song. I don’t know how time goes by when I listen to that part.
J-Hope: I tried to create a performance where the song could be heard well even while watching the stage. There are details such as movements that express waves or points that sink quietly like diving. At first, I was worried that it would ‘feel boring’ among the songs with strong impact, but if you listen to it, you will naturally blend into the sound and become comfortable. We chose it as the title track because it best matched the theme we wanted to talk about.
V: Among the songs with strong sounds, ‘SWIM’ felt the simplest. At first, I didn’t think it was a stimulating song, but as I kept listening to it, I thought I could listen to it for a long time.
Jungkook: It was a song that made me think, “This is right” the more I listened to it. The lyrics also show the point of ‘BTS as they are now,’ and there are new points in the performance that are different from the existing ones, so I hope you pay attention to it.
Q. What kind of song do you want ‘SWIM’ to be remembered as?
BTS (Group): Just a song like life. Just a song for everyone who is just swimming every day, splashing, breathing in and out. It’s a warm song the more you listen to it, so I hope it will be a song that gives you strength as you live your lives. Also, just like ‘Arirang,’ which has been passed down from mouth to mouth and remains by people’s side for a long time, I hope ‘SWIM’ will remain in the hearts of many people for a long time.
Q. New attempts that you challenged in the regular album
BTS (Group): If you listen to all the songs on the new album, the album composition itself is solid. We focused on expanding the genre, sound, and vocal expression widely. We tried hard to do genres that were not familiar to us, and we tried to include expressions that we had not tried before. ‘FYA’ features a hyper-jersey-based sound with rough energy, while ‘Like Animals’ and ‘Merry Go Round’ add psychedelic textures to try music with different grains than before. We also made detailed changes, such as adjusting the sound to sound simple and without force when recording. It’s hard to say that we are 100% satisfied, but we are satisfied enough in that we are still changing and moving forward.
Q. Behind the scenes of the Los Angeles songwriting session in the United States
Suga: We all lived together and worked on songs. We ate together and talked a lot every day. And we spent our leisure time in our own ways. In particular, we talked a lot about our rookie days every evening. I remembered a lot of those memories because we were all together for the first time in a long time.
J-Hope: There were days when the work went well, but on days when it was blocked, we went back to the accommodation and patted each other on the back and took care of our condition. The process of living with the members and making an album felt new.
Jimin: Right after our debut, the members and I said, “Let’s make an album that we make together later.” That’s why it was very meaningful for all seven of us to have a songwriting session this time.
V: On the way back from exercising, I heard a theme, and at that moment, I suddenly got inspired and immediately sang a song. The reaction was good on the spot, and I liked the overall melody, so it was included in this album. That song is the last track, ‘Into the Sun.’
Jungkook: Since there were more than 100 songs to work on, the process of the members gathering together and listening to the demos at once was particularly impressive. There were also songs that were worked on separately, so there were quite a few songs that I heard for the first time, and I remember that process being fun. It was just so much fun and happiness.
Q. What does ‘BTS 2.0’ mean to each of you?
RM: I’ve thought about it countless times, but it’s hard to define it as just one thing. However, I think it’s closer to ‘balance’. The fact that the seven of us are together again is half of it, and the other half is that we have to move forward and change somewhere. It’s not easy, but it’s happy and fun.
Jin: I think we need to be a little more mature. We need to think more seriously and grow in every way. I want to work harder too.
Suga: It’s a ‘new beginning’.
J-Hope: I see it as a step further as an artist. I think the start of ‘2.0’ is expressing ourselves as we are and showing musical freedom and maturity.
Jimin: Rather than attaching a special grand meaning, I have a big heart to continue to work hard and grow steadily as we have always done, even if the way of expression may be a little different.
V: I think it’s a story that includes growth. There is also a newness that naturally starts as time passes, but I also think that BTS is an opportunity to show their experiences and growth up to this point while performing on stage.
Jungkook: It literally means ‘something new’. It means a new direction for anything. I also want to start with a new mind.
Q. One thing that hasn’t changed compared to the past
RM: I like myself the most when I’m with the members. It’s like the purity or innocence of childhood. We often say that we have the most fun when we are together. It’s not easy to meet these family-like friends.
Jin: To pick a point that has gotten better rather than changed, the relationship between the members has gotten closer. The atmosphere of naturally laughing and joking together is the same. These days, if there is a good restaurant, we often go to eat together.
Suga/V: The passion for the stage and the loving appearance will not change.
Jimin: There will be difficulties whenever we take on new challenges in the future. So we have to keep thinking about what is right and choose. Nevertheless, the attitude of continuing to swim without stopping, like ‘SWIM,’ will not change.
J-Hope/Jungkook: Our hearts for ARMY have not changed. We are always grateful and love you.
Q. What do you want to say to ARMY?
BTS (Group): We sincerely thank ARMY for waiting for a long time. We missed you a lot too, and the fact that the seven of us can be together again is more precious than anything else. We will see you with music and stages, the upcoming world tour, and other various activities. Are you ready to enjoy it comfortably and enjoy it with us? We have prepared a lot of stages to enjoy together besides the album, so let’s enjoy it together. We really love you.
BTS will embark on active activities with the release of the new album. On [Date] at 2 PM KST, they will hold a comeback commemorative group live ‘STUDIO NOTES | ARIRANG’ on the global superfan platform Weverse team channel. The next day, on [Date], at 8 PM KST, ‘BTS COMEBACK LIVE: ARIRANG’ will be held in the Gwanghwamun Square area.
