Before BTS officially came back as a group in 2025, one of its founding members, RM, was deciding whether or not they should disband. But those lingering thoughts motivated him to push on and would eventually inspire their most recent album, Arirang. The seven-man group from South Korea has experienced it all, from their heavy rap beginnings in 2013 to the English-heavy era in 2021 that eventually launched them into the global stratosphere with singles like “Butter” and “Dynamite.” Their humble beginnings stand in stark contrast to their current aspirations, including, as RM puts it, the group’s desire to explore more and push themselves to the edge sonically. Since 2022, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook have had a lot to say about their time in the military and community service.
In their latest Rolling Stone cover story, the group shares the existential questions they had to face, what it was like being away, and how they really feel about their new album. Here are seven takeaways from their latest interview.
Jung Kook Came Up With ‘Hooligan’
As Spanish producer El Guincho met up with the band during the making of the new album, he played two beats for the group, which eventually merged into what would become “Hooligan,” one of the album’s biggest highlights in terms of production experimentation and boundary-pushing instrumentals. Jung Kook, who gravitated most toward the beat, came up with the flow, while the rest of the band followed suit with dance moves that flawlessly matched the song’s drum patterns.
RM’s Time in the Military Was Heavy
When RM enlisted in the military back in December 2023, he described the experience as a “cave,” where much of his time strained his mental health. At one point, he would sing Tyler, The Creator’s “Darling, I” during his free time, with the lyric “Forever is too long” hitting closest to his situation. “Maybe at that time, the military felt too long for me,” RM says. “I just kept singing the phrase all the time. And I was being healed just by singing along to it.”
V and Suga Helped Out With ‘Into the Sun’
During a band jam session, three of the album’s producers Pdogg, Tyler Johnson, and Nitti were working closely together when V stepped in and contributed to what would become “Into the Sun,” the album’s closer. The track features a hypnotic autotuned harmony and a wave of instruments colliding into an expansive finish where all members came together and sang the chorus. Suga later took on the rap section while working at the house the group shared. “Before this album, I never imagined working on a song outside,” Suga says. “You only really need a notebook and pen.”
BTS’ World Tour Was Initially Smaller in Scale
The Arirang world tour, announced in January 2026, was initially planned as a smaller comeback run until the group realized they needed to meet more fans along the way. What was meant to last for only four months grew into a full-scale global tour spanning several continents. “When we first got our tour plans, it didn’t have very many stops,” Jin says. “And it was only going to last about three to four months. I said: ‘Now that we’re back, we promised so many people that we would come and meet them, and I feel like this is breaking our promise.’”
J-Hope Felt the Pressure
After becoming one of the first Korean artists to headline Lollapalooza in July 2022, J-Hope feels pressured to come out of his own shell during the making of his debut solo album, Jack in the Box. Known for his upbeat demeanor outside of writing sessions, he ultimately transforms into a different person in the recording booth, with one collaborator comparing his delivery to hardcore rap legend DMX. “Maybe while everyone was cheering for me, I should just turn it all off,” he says. “And I wondered whether I wanted this. All I had was a tiny flame inside of me, and it had just spread like wildfire. I felt a lot of pressure around that.”
Jimin Wants to Make Another BTS Album Immediately
As one of the last members to enlist and later be discharged in 2025 alongside Jung Kook, Jimin expressed interest in writing and releasing more music with the group soon after their current world tour. That suggestion, however, met some hesitation from the rest of the group. “Time is moving so fast, and trends change so quickly,” Suga says. “It was last September when we finished the album at the prerecording stage. But it took all this time for it to be released. So when we made it, we had no idea about the trends in March and April, or what kind of genres would be popular. It was tricky to try and make good music. For a lot of those reasons… maybe we’ll make a single, maybe a mini album, something along those lines.”
BTS Wants to Keep Things Small
When compared to artists like Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and Harry Styles, RM immediately downplays the comparison during the interview, choosing instead to position the group with humility. “They are greater artists than us,” he says. “We’re just so small. We’re just a boy band from Korea.”
