Dhe globally successful K-Pop band BTS is taking a break. The seven band members announced on Tuesday that they would temporarily focus on solo projects. At the annual “Festa” dinner, which the musicians celebrate BTS’ birthday with, singer RM said he doesn’t know anymore “what kind of band we are”. In addition, the musicians are “exhausted”.
“I always thought that BTS was different from other groups,” said the 27-year-old South Korean. “But the problem with K-pop and the whole idol-based system is that they don’t give you the time to mature.”
“You have to keep making music and doing something,” RM continued. “I’ve changed as a person over the past ten years, so I needed to think and have time to myself.” His 26-year-old bandmate Jimin said, “We’re starting to think about what kind of artists we are considered by our fans in want to be remembered.”
The South Korean band recently released their anthology album Proof with new single Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment). The song “My Universe” released with the British band Coldplay last year was also extremely successful.
It’s not the first time the South Korean band has taken a break. J-Hope, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Suga and V all took breaks in 2019 and then last December. Recently, it was also speculated that the seven would face extinction because of Jin, the oldest member’s military service.
Known for their meticulously rehearsed dance choreographies, the boy band is South Korea’s most successful music export. The band primarily sings in their native language, but has millions of fans around the world. In 2020, BTS became the first South Korean band to top the US charts with their English single “Dynamite”. The abbreviation BTS stands for “Bangtan Sonyeondan”, which means something like “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”.
The seven musicians were recently guests of US President Joe Biden in the White House. They used the visit to denounce racism against people of Asian origin.