It’s been a few weeks since BTS came back, and bringing with them were 14 bangers that I have immersed myself in day and night (stream Arirang!). This time, I’ve decided to observe the promotion rollout and consume the contents first before contemplating how (1) the Tannies wanted to convey and (2) what this album really means for me as a fan.
Arirang – The Album Title and Promotion Rollout
Arirang was announced as the album title in January 2026. Honestly, I’m still in awe of the title due to its historical value. The Guardian reported that some scholars believe “ari” comes from an old Korean word for “beautiful” or “aching,” combined with “rang,” meaning “beloved,” but this interpretation is “contested fold etymology”. A quick search will lead you to the most common interpretation of Arirang: sorrow or longing to one’s beloved. It is also closely connected to the concept of Han, which is vital to Korean identity. Han—the internalized feeling of deep sorrow or regret towards an injustice—is rooted in Korean experiences of war, colonization, division, and/or oppression. Arirang (the album) serves as an equally perfect title for a comeback album, just as Arirang (the folk song) is arguably the ideal hymn to express the sentiments of the people. Familiar yet impactful. Like a reunion.
I’m not exactly good at dates, but as a lurker at X (formerly Twitter), the theories almost instantly began, even as far as connecting to the HYYH lore (iykyk). Out of all the stories I’ve read, there were two that I enjoyed and were found to be actually references to their concept: (1) the seven Korean men who sailed to America in the 1800s and sang the first ever recorded Arirang, and (2) the story of a weaver and a herder, who can only meet every Chilseok through a bridge formed by magpies. I suggest you dive into this story because it is rich with details an army could relate, military enlistment and all.
In this comeback, you could initially feel that they want to do this on their own terms. They were steering the ship for real, from the track selection down to the content drop, especially the content that they wanted to make. Antis, aka the Korean media and k-poppies, waited for their downfall. They’ve given you years, but BTS can never be replaced. BTS is the brand.
A really, really, really smart move, because if I spend another concert livestream through WV, I’m going to go cuckoo crazy. Why not Disney, though? Well, Netflix has a wider reach, and I surmise the Netflix team have given a better deal. (We remember Yet to Come: Busan, don’t we?)
It was an emotional rollercoaster, because at this point you only knew of the album for one day. But trust: BTS will never let you down. I will discuss the songs one by one after this section, so let’s get into the performances for now.
First off- Body to Body was, and will always be, a great opener for this CB. I would tweak a few things on how they’re just standing during the first line, but it was exceptional, nevertheless. The mics are ON and you could see that they came back with stronger vocals (their solo stints immensely helped them in that department). And imagine foreigners chanting “Arirang” led by the pansori performers at the end of the song? It was a total goosebumps moment. You feel proud; you feel patriotic, even when you’re not Korean!
The new choreographies were nothing short of cool. The audience enjoyed the hip-hop heavies like Hooligan and 2.0. I bet Aliens will be a cult classic, too.
It was a short performance, just an hour, but enough to keep you excited for the concert. But my personal favorite from the Arirang tracks? Animals. It highlighted the vocal lines’ growth as singers and the rap line’s versatility. What do you expect when Yoongi Butter;Butter;was all over this track? He truly knows his brothers’ strength. The Tannies also slipped in some of the classics between the Arirang tracks: Butter, Mic Drop (that mianhae eomma for the first time in a while?!), Dynamite; and of course, my favorite BTS song, Mikrokosmos. (It must be Tete’s doing, my fellow Mikrokosmos enjoyer!)
My takeaway for this documentary is just simple. They’re still the same seven boys from Korea who wanted to share their music with the world and are hoping that the world listens to it first without prejudice and bias. Every track was produced with hard work, literally blood, sweat, and tears. Every track means something to them and was put out in the album with intention. They decided to take a leap of faith for every choice they made for this album because that’s how strong they believe their fans are. I just hope armys don’t let them down.
In addition, it is understandable that the documentary is just an hour and a half long. It’s like a first look at how they planned the new chapter, the terms and conditions laid out, their intentions, and a precedent. Whereas, if they’ve done it as a series like some of the fans want, it would strip away the focus on the contents they’ve prepared for this comeback. People would glaze over the documentary, for sure. Unless The Return is released some time in the future, then it calls for a longer story. However, that also poses a challenge, given that the comeback concert is just around the corner.
(As a non-native, I’ve waited for our reliable army, doolsetbangtan for accurate translations. They provided explanations of wordplay and some of their ramblings as well. Borahae, doolset!)
Body to Body, as previously mentioned, is a great opening track. It set the mood of the first section of the album, that being able to tell that “BTS is back” and “enjoy the music as you please, but enjoy it sincerely”. The addition of Arirang in the late part of the songs was delightful. In one of their interviews, J-hope better described the feeling as ‘having a tingling feeling throughout your body’ once you hear the traditional instruments hit. Having watched the documentary, they did a great job in choosing the shorter sample of the song, so as not to be overly sappy. Just the right amount of patriotism, Bangtan style. In addition, this song reminds me of their Idol performance on MMA 2018. I can’t wait to see the concert version!
Hooligan and Aliens are proving to be fan favorites not even a month after Arirang’s release. In hooligan, it can be interpreted where as hooligans, they are about to make trouble again. How would others surpass their legend? How would the haters even reach the level of success this comeback is gonna bring? Yes, they are seven hooligans in a sense that they’re about to shake the industry again.
Aliens on the other hand, are them addressing the fact that they were treated as such trying to breakthrough in the west in the early years of their career. The metaphor of using aliens is just appropriate. The west acts fascinated but is not willing to acknowledge Asian excellence, so they box them in special categories as merely 'k-pop acts’, like they have the divine authority to decide what music is all about. They invite them to gain traction but do not give them that in-depth conversations their music deserves. Now, they are done with that. Fight for their attention. And when you have it, be sure to be respectable.
FYA is a bop. That’s all I’m gonna say. It’s not my cup of tea. But will I play it again? Yes, of course. The production, the labored breathing, the slow-mo parts - automatically a Step-Up ost.
Similar to Hooligans, 2.0 cries out the same sentiment - 'you continue to belittle us but is there even a worthy opponent?’. The industry had fun for a few years, manifesting their downfall. But how do you trample down years of genuine brotherhood and friendship, hard work, passion, and grit? You don’t.
The first half of the album visualized in my mind is a concert where the Tannies are singing “I need the whole stadium to jump!” and the audience don’t have phone in their hands, eyes closed, feet jumping to the beat, hand-in-hand with other armys in a circle, feeling the pride of having BTS back again, and feeling Jeong in their hearts. After all, music that transcends boundaries should be felt, shared, and celebrated.
No. 29 is a special track. I thought my devices died because I couldn’t hear a thing aside from a thin frequency in my ear.
According to Forbes, No. 29 is the sound of The Divine Bell of King Seongdeok, cast during the Silla dynasty. It can be found in the Gyeongju National Museum and is designated as South Korea’s National Treasure No. 29 which is where the track gets its title. During a livestream, RM said that the length of the track is as long as the resonance of the bell when struck.
No. 29 is exactly placed where it should be. Buckle up.
Swim, being the title track for this album, raised a few eyebrows even from the BTS fans. But that’s how you distinguish between the genuine fans who enjoy their music and actually listen, nay, comprehend, their intentions on their decision, and the casual listeners. In colloquial terms, it can be called a 'grower’ song - a song who you might not get attached to after a few plays, but you’ll find yourself humming 'swim, swim’ while doing your chores. It reflects their current headspace as a group, a stylistic choice of chill steady pace that could still evoke something in your hearts.
Shot in Portugal, the music video stars BTS and Lili Reinhart in the middle of the sea carried by a sailboat. BTS portrays seven sailors, perhaps representing the seven Korean students who first recorded Arirang. Lili’s character does not see them but could feel their presence. I interpreted it as BTS trying to comfort the listeners in their struggles by creating a strong and reliable presence through their music.
In Namjoon’s Instagram post, he previously posted a toy Dory, which turned out to be spoiler. In Finding Dory, there’s a quote that says 'When life gets you down, do you know what you gonna do? Just keep swimming’. Maybe this is what they want to imbibe and want us to imbibe ourselves, the strength to keep moving forward despite adversities.
Merry Go Round, on the other hand, is my favorite out of all the tracks. It tells a story of trouble person, who feels like his life is just a never-ending cycle or worries. It’s simply a plead of stopping the carousel. Merry Go Round was written and produced succinctly. 10/10
There’s a saying “Heavy is the head that wears the crown”. This originates from a line in Shakespeare’s Henry IV (Part II, Act 3, Scene 1), “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” Those with power bears immense responsibilities and pressure. The tracks Normal and Like Animals reflect this sentiment a lot. Even Jimin’s line in Normal lightly touches on it. Several anecdotes from BTS themselves repeatedly mention similar feelings. Some that immediately comes to mind were (1) Suga before their first AMA performance, (2) Jin during their MAMA 2018 AOTY speech, and (3) RM’s post-military Weverse live.
It is hard enough to be dictated by society and industry, especially in Korea who value superiority and power. But as fans, it’s sometimes too easy to demand things from idols in general, so easy to react after nitpicking every little action, and every little comment. Aren’t we too linear? We empathize with our idols not knowing that the pressure comes from us, too? What do you want from them?
They Don’t Know About Us, for me, is a dig to those who downplay Tannie’s efforts in staying at the top of their game. We probably just pass by the Hybe building in Yongsan and go about our day. They are not from the Big 3. Most of the younger K-pop fans and casual listeners might not know and/or remember that there’s no Hybe without BTS. Of course, it’s hard to imagine that seven boys at the peak of their youth decided to live together in a basement and tough it out. It’s hard to imagine that these boys hardly had any exposure in their early years. It’s hard to imagine, because then they’d have to accept the fact that an underdog surpassed their glory.
The tracks One More Night and Please are lighter than the previous ones. Both tracks are romantic (or however you want to interpret that) and have the feel of a love letter, a confession to someone you want to spend more time with, and what you’re willing to do for the sake of it. After the heavy tracks preceding these two, I’m thankful that they steered the ship towards a lighter mood, like finding light in the dark.
Last but not least… Into the Sun. The vocoder is a stylistic choice, and I love it very much. The story is well written into the song. It speaks of reaching your hand, assuring you that all is well, and you have them in your corner. You feel airy, literally, and butterflies will definitely camp in your stomach, because imagine them saying they’re willing to fly into the sun with you, even if they melt (lore: Icarus)? Isn’t that romantic?
Overall, I enjoyed the whole album and now I can say, that it is a well-structured ensemble. It was intentional, heartfelt, and gut-wrenching. I can’t wait to hear them live and watch their performances. Here’s to us getting those tickets! Stream Arirang!
The Rolling Stone have slowly released the individual interviews, and I would like to build on what Jimin said about TDKAU. The "you make me weak" bit is a bit telling to the stan culture nowadays. It is not shocking because they've already touched on that topic during the LA sessions, if you really watched watched. I agree with his sentiment. Some fans (some call them 'helicopter fans') arguably limits their growth by 1) 'tolerating' them (in reference to Tolerate It by Taylor Swift) without true and substantial inputs, and 2) expecting repetitive concepts, deciding their identity for them. But what do we know about them, really? Besides the persona they portray in public and a few fan-idol interactions? In Bong Joon Ho's Oscars speech, he mentioned "The most personal is the most creative". So who are we to decide on what kind of music BTS should release without blocking their self-expression? Do we really understand their intentions?
But, it is worth noting that there's a thin line between constructive critisism and hate-speech. Freedom of expression is a right, but it is not absolute; most especially when you harm others. Exhaust your ability to think and discern first before you react.
BTS always champion identity and self-expression. Indeed, Arirang truly captured those values.
gracieabrams
origamiaround
baratheonpilled
turnnoffyourmind
amandla
