[0:00]Arirang was really important for us. We all born in Korea, started everything in Korea. And we just wanted our new album and our sound from now on could be universal and eternal like the Korean traditional song.
[0:17]What's going on? My name is Bru. We are in the Rock star suite here at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York City. Today, it's not one guest for this check-in. We have seven incredible humans. They're back with the new album A Dong, a new tour, and Netflix Special, BTS. What's going on, guys? Come on. Here we are. Yeah. Hi, Bruce. Hello, nice to meet you. Thanks for having us. Nice to see you guys. Welcome back. I mean, I just want to dive. I just want to dive. I just want to dive. See what I did there? Let's start with the song that we've been playing on the radio non-stop. Swim is so good. Congratulations on the whole album, obviously. But Swim is such a great focus on moving ahead in life, no matter how hectic it gets. When did it click for you guys to make that the message of the song and then also adopt that into your own lives? So when we were doing the song sessions in the States, this was the track we connected with the most, which is why we chose it as our lead single. What personally resonated with me was the idea that BTS is a team with room for continuous growth, one that keeps moving forward toward better music. That message really stuck with me and felt just right for the lead single. That's what I felt. Absolutely. So, why did it feel right to come back with this, you know, huge project, the album, the tour, everything at once, and maybe not a single or an EP? Like, when did that decision be made and why? We started our service in military. And it's been like almost seven years that we have uh since we ever like released like a like a full album with more than like 10 trucks. So, it's been really a while and we haven't had a tour for also like six years and a half. And fans been waiting for so long time. So we felt like we have to um uh come back with a with a big project with with a fresh with with fresh new songs.
[2:19]We felt like uh that kind of comeback is really natural. I feel like we all have the notes app, you know, where you're just dumping stuff, ideas, thoughts, or maybe it's a group chat where you're tossing in ideas. Was there ever a point while you're away that you were tossing things in like, oh, we got to do this when we're back, um on tour, or maybe when we get back into the studio? I think it was definitely part of the daily conversation in our group chat. We would, very much often, send each other links of the inspiration and the ideas and, "Oh, this looks cool. We should do this," or, "That's cool. We should do that." "What do you think of this?" We would share opinions and ideas quite often. There's so many familiar, yet new collaborations on this album. What was the balance of like bringing in new sounds and new faces while also, you know, sticking to like the formula that has worked so far in your career? So, yes, we did a lot of new collaboration with producers we haven't worked with before and since we were used to working on the songs ourselves with our previous producers, it was a bit unfamiliar in the beginning but we definitely had time to ease into it. But a lot of the producers were enthusiastic about participating and as we had lots of discussions throughout the process, I feel the result turned out great. Absolutely. And there's so much to be proud of on Adida. If you had to choose though, if there's one song, what is the what is the one that you're like most proud of? At least right now from the project. A quick fire. Body to body. Body to body. Fire. Of course, swim. Yeah, swim. Normal. Normal. I think Hooligan that laugh is so hard to nail. I feel like that's tricky, you know? But, yeah, all amazing. I want to know how this album should be listened to. Like what is the ideal experience? Is it from top to bottom, like start to finish? Is it in the car? Is it alone with somebody? Like what is the ideal experience to listening to Adida? So at first, from the overall composition of the album to the arrangement of this tracklist, we had a lot of discussions. When you first listen to the album, I would recommend listening to it from top to bottom. And then after that, maybe you can suit your taste to any circumstance you're in. I listen to FYA when I workout. So we talked about the song you're most proud of, um, and you also talked about new sounds you tried out on this album. What is maybe the most experimental song that you guys felt like is on this project? For me, Hooligan? Hooligan or 2.0? 2.0. Hooligan was made by L Gwincho and he's really uh he he does like so many songs of Rosalia. And Mike will made and made 2.0 and, you know, uh he made amazing tracks of like Kenrik and all those like hiphop stars and uh I like to pick um like animals. We made it with Diplo and Artemis. And also, uh Mary around with with um Tame Impala and they're very psychedelic and um like trip pop dark. I think we've never tried that sound before in our career. Yeah. Well, it worked out. It's so good. Thank you. You know, I feel like not many artists get to unplug like you did. And I know you're obviously in the military, but like being away from the industry, I'm so curious on how it affected you, whether it was like, you feel that desire to get back into the studio and get back to work. Was it a gap where you felt grateful for it and needed that time and space? I think the first emotion or the first thought that came to mind was just curiosity about what it would be like when we get back together and what kind of music would we do as a group? So we just wanted to get back together as soon as possible and just get on to it. We wanted to make our music and that was what our minds were full of. Yeah. It's like, what if, you know? Um, you guys, it's so fun seeing what you guys missed about each other being away. Um, I want to know more about the FOMO. What was it that you saw that you're like, oh my gosh, like I got I have FOMO. I'm missing out on this, whether it's from the single career or just in general life? So I was the first one who got discharged from the group. I went to the Paris Olympic for the torch relay. That's when Jimini's album was released when he was in the military. And I felt like it would've been really nice if Jimini got out to enjoy this and celebrate this together. Love that. I was there too. I don't know how I missed you. We must have crossed paths. How wild is it to have individual solo eras that, you know, have done so well, but also they're ingrained kind of into the BTS brand as a whole. I feel like that's really interesting that not many groups get to experience. I felt a lot of that while working on this album, like J-Hope mentioned earlier. That was why I have been looking forward to working together again as a group. Because we couldn't be there to witness each other growing through all those experiences and time. So I was very much looking forward to this song session and then this project. That's it. Yeah. Amazing. I want to talk about the Netflix special. It was so good, guys. So much fun. What was the priority coming back for your first performance in over four years, and how was the preparation different for that event? Since it was our first performance in a long while, our priority was to show the fans 100% of what we had prepared, what we had prepared. They've been waiting for such a long time, so the only way to repay them was through great music and great performance. We did our best to live up to that. Totally. Shout out to them. Get into be, uh, I'm sure you've seen this, the Netflix profile icon is iconic in itself. Question is, who do you pick as yours? Like do you pick yourself or do you pick each other? Like mine is Jon Cook right now. I'll switch it every day though. I'll I'll rotate so it's fair. How about you? I already changed it. Did you? Me. Me. Like RM for Monday and Jimin for Tuesday and SUGAR for Wednesday, seven members for a whole week. Yeah, one member for each day. I did have my friends change to me as their Netflix profile picture, which was interesting and funny. Arirang has such a strong like Korean root in culture. Um obviously, that was the plan. When you think about your legacy and how you want to be remembered, what comes to mind? Uh, thank you for a great question. I thought about, uh, we all thought about this a lot and talked about this a lot. But I think, um, you know, when you have some some sort of specific intention when you make something, especially like music, uh, it always fails, I think.
[10:00]So, um, we've been, uh, we've been bacon for like years and I think what I've realized is that, um, it's just uh we just met our fans yesterday last night, Jimmy Fallon. And to just see their eyes and their energy, just I think, I felt like that was everything that we need as a as a as a maker uh for our content. So we just, uh, want to have a good time uh with the armies and the people that, uh, love us and listen to us. And the Korean Arirang Arirang was really important for us because we just want to like claim our claim ourselves again like as we started, um, rooted in Korea. And now we're here, like we're in New York, we're in Europe, we're everywhere, but still, we just want to, um, make it clear. We all born in Korea, started everything in Korea. And we just wanted our new album and our sound from now on could be universal and uh like uh eternal like the Korean traditional song. Well, thank you for a great answer. Absolutely. Shout out to the fans too. That was amazing on Fallen. to see how like crazy they got the 6-7 thing was wild. I don't want you to do it. I don't know what's what that is still. No, not at all. But speaking of the fans, like how wild is it to have so many day ones that have been here since the debut, mixed in with people that are just now becoming fans and seeing them stand shoulder-to-shoulder and, you know, from 2013 to 2026, like what does that mean? So there is a really interesting fan culture whenever we have a show. For example, they would crop our faces out of photos and share with the fans sitting next to them. Or pack small portions of snacks, like jelly, and share with other fans. Even with our official light sticks, if someone runs out of batteries, they'll step in and share their extras. Seeing long-time fans who've been on this journey with us help new fans settle in makes me feel so proud and touched. Our fans really are such amazing people. Like a big old family. Love to see it. If we looked at BTS's resume, it's a long one, but I mean, you're global pop stars and then there's fashion icons. I mean, look at the fits. I don't need to explain today. Take a look. Um, do you guys ever think you would be fashion icons and how does fashion kind of inspire like the BTS branding and music and videos and everything that goes into that art? Yeah. As a younger version of me, I was very excited and interested in fashion. When I first came to Seoul, I used to look at SUGA's fashion and I was like, "Oh, I want to wear this. I wanted to follow that." Honestly, back when we first debuted, I don't think I had much room to think about things like matching the outfits to the music. But now it just goes shoulder to shoulder. Fashion inspires our music and I definitely think that fashion is a way to express our music in a better way. That's why fashion is so important to us and we try to put a lot of effort into it. You've accomplished so much in your career already. Um what else is on the list? What's the the BTS bucket list? What else do you want to do and accomplish before it's all said and done? Just successfully finishing off our tour. We haven't kicked it off yet, but it's important to finish it well. So that would be our priority. No, 1 on the Billboard for 30 weeks? Jokes, man. Seeing all seven members healthy and happy while working together, I think that's just what I have on the bucket list to just keep swimming. We have the same bucket list. That's amazing. Thank you so much for the time, the check-in. Congratulations on the new album, the tour, Netflix Special is out now and can't wait to see you on the road soon. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Really thank you. Bro is like too handsome. So. I'm happy to join anytime. If you need an eighth, I'm ready. BTS. Thank you, boys. Thank you.
