CNN
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Their reunion? It’s as smooth as butter. K-Pop Septet BTS will return in Spring 2026 with a new album and a world tour.
Jin, RM, V, Jimin, J-Hope, John Cook and Suga made their announcement Tuesday on LiveStream, Weverse, an online fan platform owned by BTS management company HEBE. This was the first time that all seven members have been broadcast together since September 2022.
“We plan to release a new BTS album next spring. Starting in July, all seven of us will begin working closely with new music,” the band said in a statement. “It will be a group album, so it reflects the thoughts and ideas of each member. We’re approaching the album with the same mindset we were when we first started.”
According to a press release, the band will be in the US this month to start work on new music.
The 2026 album marks the 2022 anthology “Proof,” the 2021 Japanese compilation album “BTS, The Best,” and the first album since the last studio album “BE” and “BE” released in 2020.
They also announced their first world tour in nearly four years. The news came weeks after BTS superstars RM, V, Jimin and Jung Cook were discharged from the South Korean military after serving mandatory services.
In South Korea, all healthy individuals ages 18 to 28 must serve 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system to stop attacks from rival North Korea.
Six of the group’s seven members served in the Army, but when Suga returned last, fulfilled his duty as a social service agent, an alternative to military service.
Jin, the oldest BTS member, was discharged from the hospital in June 2024. J-Hope was discharged from the hospital in October.
Korean law offers special exemptions to athletes, classic and traditional musicians, ballet and other dancers if they are rated as having won the highest award at a particular competition and strengthened national fame. K-pop stars and other celebrities are not subject to such privileges.
However, in 2020, BTS postponed services after the South Korean National Assembly revised its military service law, allowing K-Pop stars to delay enlistment until they were 30 years old.
