BTS reunited Tuesday to announce it will release a new album early next year and embark on a world tour, ending an effectively four-year hiatus that included mandatory military service.
On Tuesday, all seven members of the boy band — RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook — took part in a live stream on platform Weverse for the first time since September 2022 to announce their return, according to a press release shared with the Daily News.
“We’ll be releasing a new BTS album in the spring of next year,” said the group, whose name stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan or “Beyond the Scene.”
Beginning this month, the group “will begin working closely together on new music,” which “will reflect each member’s thoughts and ideas.”
“We’re approaching the album with the same mindset we had when we first started,” said BTS. “We’re also planning a world tour alongside the new album. We’ll be visiting fans from all around the world, so we hope you’re as excited as we are.”
The announcement comes just over a week after reports that the entire band had finished compulsory military service, following the end of 32-year-old Suga’s stint on June 21, per Today.
Eldest member Jin, also 32, was the first BTS member to do so, followed by 31-year-old J-Hope.
In early June, the latter concluded his first-ever solo world tour, “Hope on the Stage,” which included a show in Brooklyn. In 2022, he also made history as the first-ever South Korean headliner at Chicago’s Lollapalooza.
That year also marked the last time BTS released an album together, “Proof,” though they have all released solo music in the intervening years.
