Album Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Under South Korean law, Korean men are required to serve four years in the military. BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) went on hiatus in 2022 due to the group members’ mandatory military service, and after four years, the groundbreaking K-Pop boy band made a comeback that shook the world.
Before leaving for their mandatory military service, the seven-member boy band was already widely recognized, especially for establishing K-Pop on the international stage. But also before 2022 they were already breaking records for streams, sales, tour tickets, and more, dominating the global music industry. It seems like just yesterday when I first listened to my very first BTS album; this year makes seven years of being a BTS fan, so it’s no shock that BTS’s comeback made global news headlines and reached global publicity.
Now that BTS has returned with a new album, “ARIRANG,” released March 20th, they have marked their first full-length album in six years since their last album “BE.”
The new album has fourteen tracks; their opening track, “Body to Body,” highlights the cultural music of “ARIRANG.” The album is BTS’ own version of “ARIRANG,” a centuries-old Korean folk song that has over 3,000 versions that represent historical ties to love, sorrow, and Korean resilience.
As I listened to the first track, I could hear different members showcase their different vocals with hints of rap and alternative pop in the song.
Hitting play for the second track, “Hooligans” opened with sound effects of clashing swords intertwined with strings, turning into edgy hip hop, a whole different genre than the first one.
“Aliens” is the third track, a song that references many aspects of Korean culture. J-Hope, one of the few rappers, raps, “Hello, this is your, hello, this is your new honey/clap and shake it to Jungmori rhythm.” Meaning the 12-beat Korean rhythm, the Jungmori rhythm, which is traditionally used in storytelling and instrumental solos by Korean artists, supporting their Korean resilience. I not only love the melody, but I also feel the powerful message they sent to call out the racism they faced, especially the title since they were being labeled as aliens by other global industries.
As I keep on listening to the hard-hitting, hip-hop-influenced tracks turn to melodic synths and pop-rock sounds, “Arirang” tracks are such experimental sounds that I haven’t heard from the group before as a whole. Most older albums always have a general genre they focus on, but now they have created an album with a diverse range of instruments.
The last track ends, and I realize every track had a unique vibe with really powerful messages. One of the most personal songs was “they don’t know ‘bout us” which speaks of BTS’s identity by having lyrics speak for how the group will always be the same people they were before fame. I love the chorus of the album, the layers of the singers’ vocals, and the bridge this group has built by allowing themselves to be different and mixing different music genres together.
Alongside the album release, the group and Korean music company HYBE launched the Arirang World in April with scheduled 82 stadium concerts in 34 worldwide cities. When ticket sales opened for the Arirang World Tour, stadium seats across the 41 North America dates and the 10 European dates sold out almost instantly. They even secured a Netflix live streaming deal for the first show, their first concert in Gwanghamun Square, attracting 104,000 fans, according to HYBE, making their comeback truly a remarkable moment.
According to Spotify, the group has nearly 40 million monthly listeners. When their new album was released, it achieved over 110 million streams on Spotify in its first 24 hours, rising to the most-streamed album in 2026, also breaking the Apple Music record for a pop group.
The 52nd Annual American Music Awards took place on May 25 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with major artists nominated like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, and more major Western stars. BTS won three major awards, including artist of the year, keeping their record of being the first and only Asian act to win this fan-voted honor back in 2021.
No matter what kind of music they make, the South Korean band always succeeds. They were the first Korean group to get onto the Billboard 200 and first to get nominated for the Grammys, expanding beyond the scope of Asia. As they keep attracting fans worldwide with their return, I can only come to the conclusion that their return is the biggest comeback of the century.
