{"id":6519,"date":"2026-04-11T14:58:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T19:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/?p=6519"},"modified":"2026-04-13T16:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T21:43:40","slug":"btss-enlistment-era-didnt-have-much-precedent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/?p=6519","title":{"rendered":"BTS\u2019s Enlistment Era Didn\u2019t Have Much Precedent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe wanted to shake things up,\u201d SUGA tells Apple Music. \u201cWe discussed at length about doing something very new, especially for this album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like most of their record-breaking career, BTS\u2019s group hiatus didn\u2019t have much precedent. RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook\u2014seven of the biggest stars on the planet\u2014took the break in June 2022 in order to complete mandatory military service, as all able-bodied Korean men must do. \u201cEnlistment era\u201d is an inevitable phase for any successful K-pop boy group, but BTS\u2019s departure as one of the biggest musical acts on the planet was more akin to Elvis Presley\u2019s drafting into the US Army at the height of his fame than any other contemporary K-pop happenings.<\/p>\n

ARIRANG, a 14-track album grounded in Korean cultural identity, is the idol group\u2019s return to the spotlight after almost four years. Written and recorded over months of LA-based songwriting sessions in 2025, the album includes a bevy of Western producers and songwriters, including Mike WiLL Made-It, Flume, El Guincho, Diplo, and Ryan Tedder, but finds its center\u2014and title inspiration\u2014in a 600-year-old folk song about the longing, sorrow, and resilience of the Korean people. \u201cIt was all about showcasing who we are, our identity and our roots,\u201d j-hope tells Apple Music.<\/p>\n

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Stream Now! Image Courtesy Of Apple<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cArirang\u201d is used as a framing for BTS\u2019s deeper cultural roots in the midst of global collaboration, but it is also literally present. \u201cWe are all Koreans and we are proud of where we came from, and I think the song has lyrics and melodies [that] are very universal,\u201d says RM. On the album opener \u201cBody to Body,\u201d a percussive statement about the power of \u201cskin to skin\u201d stadium concert togetherness, the beat gradually shifts from electric to acoustic as a pansori-style performance of \u201cArirang\u201d comes in and then fades out again. The interplay links BTS\u2019s modern work to a much older Korean tradition\u2014a sentiment that carries over into the album\u2019s other tracks, even when they are not so explicitly Korean in their sounds.<\/p>\n

Low-key lead single \u201cSWIM\u201d grooves along on waves of lo-fi synths in its attempt to provide comfort to listeners comparing their pace to others. \u201cHooligan\u201d layers the clash of blades, humorless hahas, and the rappers\u2019 precise delivery as it revels in the group\u2019s love for musical experimentation. \u201cMerry Go Round\u201d indulges in melancholic melodies as the singers search for an escape from a painful routine. But for all the experimentation and collaboration, the album\u2019s heart remains the members of BTS themselves. \u201cWe\u2019ve been together for half of our lives, like 15 years,\u201d says RM. \u201cThat\u2019s a long time. That\u2019s like a family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every product\/service is selected by editors. Products\/Services you buy through these links may earn “Streamapse Online Magazine” a commission or revenue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe wanted to shake things up,\u201d SUGA tells Apple Music. \u201cWe discussed at length about doing something very new, especially for this album.\u201d Like most of their record-breaking career, BTS\u2019s group hiatus didn\u2019t have much precedent. RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook\u2014seven of the biggest stars on the planet\u2014took the break in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[346],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6522,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6519\/revisions\/6522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}