K-pop BTS superstars have announced that it will take some time to work on solo projects, but members of the band, including J-Hope, who will be Lollapalooza’s co-head of the lineup, were crying during the surprise announcement.
The seven members, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, who are credited with generating billions of dollars for South Korea’s economy, dropped the bomb on their official YouTube channel.
“We’re getting into a break now,” Suga said about 20 minutes after the clip, where the group left some candid comments about the struggles they had, despite the recent success of hits like Butter, Permission to Dance and the Dynamite global success. .
The most discordant comments came from rapper RM and vocalist and dancer Park Ji-Min, who both said the group was exhausted and in trouble.
The RM band member, also known as Rap Monster, said that after the band’s last singles “I didn’t know what kind of band we were anymore”, and later added that the band members were “exhausted”.
“I’ve always thought that BTS was different from other bands … But the problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature,” he said.
The group, which is the first South Korean act to reign on Billboard’s singles chart in the United States, was celebrating the new anniversary of its debut release.
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Jimin, 26, said members “are starting to think about what kind of artists we want our fans to remember.”
“I think that’s why we’re going through a difficult patch right now, we’re trying to find our identity and that’s a long and exhausting process.”
At the end of their annual “FESTA” dinner, the band members burst into tears as they said thanks to their fans, known online as “ARMY”, a base of over 40 million followers.
J-Hope, 28, said the group “would have to spend some time apart to learn how to do it again.”
“I hope you don’t see this as negative,” the artist begged fans. “And look, it’s a healthy plan.”
Is this the end? Or a break for BTS?
BTS has said they were taking short breaks before, first in 2019 and later in December 2021.
But the video suggests that this is not the case.
“It’s not that we’re dissolving, we’re just living apart for a while,” Suga said.
The group spoke in Korean and the word “hiatus” was used in the English subtitles of the video.
A statement from Hybe, the entertainment company behind BTS, said they will continue to work on projects as a group as well as individually.
Jungkook said, “We promise that we will one day be even more mature than we are now,” and called for the “blessing” of the fans.
J-Hope told the clip that separate time could help BTS “become a stronger group” and that the timing was “important … for the second chapter of BTS.”
ARMY fan reaction
The announcement shocked ARMY members
Vanessa Madden runs the BTS Australia fan account on Twitter.
He says the band is identifiable and inspiring to young people.
“Many of the emotions we feel especially during puberty and all that, the big changes in our lives, their songs and their messages are a great consolation. Their genuine kindness and we have been able to see their struggles and their work. hard and determination, “Ms Madden said.
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BTS was planning a world tour before COVID arrived which could have included Australia. It’s unlikely to happen now and it’s a blow to fans who may now never see their idols perform as a group.
But Mrs. Madden says true fans will understand.
“I along with every other ARMY in the world, we just want them to be happy,” he said.
On Twitter, fans soon shared their lovelessness with the ad.
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“Namjoon is the best leader and our love for you will never change,” a fan told Twitter.
“Dear BTS, I can’t stop crying,” one person shared, “tears of sadness and happiness.”
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“I’ll wait for the day to come back like this again,” another fan said.
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“I can’t. I broke up,” tweeted another. “I’m still streaming, but I’m crying at the same time.”
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The Late Show tweeted “ARMY FOREVER” after the announcement. BTS performed on the show with Stephen Colbert in 2021.
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BTS breaking records
The news comes just days after the group released Proof, an anthology album that included a new single, Yet To Come.
Launched in 2013, initially as a hip-hop group, when many members were teenagers, they dominated the South Korean K-pop scene, but their biggest hits have come from abroad.
The band became one of the few bands since the Beatles that had four number one albums in the United States in less than two years, began to sell out stages and in 2018 performed at American Music Awards nights and on Saturday Night Live.
V even put his tongue in this year’s Grammys thanks to a flirtatious cameo with American singer Olivia Rodrigo during a theatrical performance by Butter.
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The group recently addressed the UN General Assembly and visited the White House to deliver a message on the fight against anti-Asian racism.
Suga called for tolerance, saying, “It’s not bad to be different. I think equality begins when we open up and embrace all our differences.”
AFP / ABC
Posted 10 hours ago 10 hours agoWednesday, June 15, 2022 at 5:26 AM, updated 8 hours ago 8 hours agoWednesday, June 15, 2022 at 7:22 am