BTS has released their latest album, ‘Arirang.’ Photos courtesy of Hybe It’s been three years and nine months since the last BTS album — don’t bother to ask who’s counting; there’s millions of fans around the world who have been counting the seconds until this very moment.
Arirang, the highly anticipated fifth studio album from the seven-member trailblazing K-pop group, and its lead single, “Swim,” arrived Friday (March 20). In the years since the last BTS album, all seven members of the group, consisting of RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, have released solo bodies of work and completed their mandatory South Korean military service enlistment.
Fans of the group, collectively known as ARMY, have been waiting in anticipation as each member was discharged over the last year, setting the stage for the group’s return. BTS, never one to shy away from standing in the spotlight they worked hard to earn, has seemingly taken over their home city of Seoul to celebrate the occasion. The group is playing the album live for the first time during a Netflix live stream being broadcast from Gwanghwamun, a well-known Seoul landmark offering views of the city’s iconic Gyeongbokgung palace.
Social media had plenty of opinions on what Arirang would sound like. BTS, and the K-pop groups that have gained popularity after them in the U.S., is no stranger to the allegations of hoping to “westernize” their music. It’s a complicated way of thinking for many reasons, particularly given where the world of K-pop initially took inspiration from. But also is extremely reductive to the reality of K-pop performers today.
The album’s name, Arirang, pays tribute the folk song of the same name, which is the first Korean song recorded by Korean men with American ethnologist Alice Fletcher in the U.S. in 1896. Motifs from “Arirang” can be heard in the first track of the album, “Body to Body.” One of the most striking tracks on the album is “No. 29,” a minute-and-38-second recording of resonant tolling of the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok, which has been designated as South Korea’s National Treasure No. 29. Arirang sends a clear message — BTS is proud of their roots. They are, and always will be, a Korean band, even if their audience has expanded to the entire world.
Arirang is without-a-doubt BTS’ most experimental album to-date. The first half of the tracklist leans extremely hip-hop, not a total surprise, while tracks like the jersey club beat anthem “FYA,” the rock-inspired “Merry Go Round” and the grungy “Like Animals” offer the group a chance to showcase a different side of themselves.
As they long have, BTS was extremely involved in the creation of their fifth studio album. RM, the group’s leader, is credited on every track except the interlude; Suga and J-hope contributed to multiple songs including “Body to Body,” “Merry Go Round” and “Normal”; Jimin participated in “they don’t know ‘bout us” and “Into the Sun”; V contributed to “2.0” and “Into the Sun”; and Jungkook played a key role in four songs including “Hooligan.” The album is stacked with outside producers and songwriters including Diplo, Ryan Tedder, Mike WiLL Made-It, Flume, Kevin Parker, a.k.a. Tame Impala, El Guincho and JPEGMAFIA.
Below, The Hollywood Reporter digs into each track of Arirang from start to finish.
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“Body to Body”
BTS returns to the scene with a bang on this pop-rap track infused with elements of the Korean folk song “Arirang.” Within seconds, it’s clear that the group is using all they’ve learned and wading into more experimental waters. It’s also the perfect concert opener — we’ll see in just weeks if that’s what BTS decides to open their highly anticipated world tour with — thanks to its intro that builds and builds until RM kicks off the song with “I need the whole stadium to jump.” Diplo and Tedder participated in production on the track.
