By Reuters
K-pop supergroup BTS will head to the United States this month to start working on new music and will launch its next album early next year, ahead of a world tour, it said on Tuesday.
The seven members of the group, who have been reunited after completing South Korea鈥檚 mandatory military service, announced during a livestream on Weverse, a superfan platform owned by HYBE, an entertainment firm that manages BTS.
鈥淗ey guys, we are back,鈥 BTS member Jimin said in the 30-minute livestream. HYBE stated that the video attracted more than 7.3 million real-time views and that the world tour would be BTS鈥檚 first in approximately four years.
The upcoming album, which BTS will produce in the United States and other countries, will be the band鈥檚 first full-length album since 2020, BTS leader RM said.
BTS鈥 Proof (2022) was an anthology album 鈥 a type of full-length album. The 3-disc project comprised several of the band鈥檚 singles through the years, including a selection of discography 鈥渇avourites鈥 chosen by the band members, and various demos and previously unreleased tracks.
It also included five new songs, the album鈥檚 lead single 鈥榊et to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)鈥, 鈥楻un BTS鈥, 鈥楩or Youth鈥, 鈥楺uotation Mark鈥, and 鈥橃暊毵ろ暅 靷澊 (Young Love)鈥.
The band made its debut on June 13, 2013, and spearheaded a global K-pop craze with lyrics and social campaigns aimed at empowering youngsters.
The group鈥檚 members put their global music career on hold in 2022 to begin military service.