BTS Deliver a Homecoming for the Ages with ‘ARIRANG’

For nearly four years, fans of BTS — known as BTS ARMY — awaited the band’s safe return home from their mandatory service in the South Korean military, hopeful the seven-member band would reunite to produce more groundbreaking hits. ARMY’s wishes were fulfilled when BTS released their tenth studio album “ARIRANG” March 20. 

The band’s seven members — Jin, j-hope, Suga, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — range in ages from 28 to 33 years old. Debuting in 2013 when their youngest member was just 15 years old, the K-pop boyband reached their global stardom years later with the release of Dynamite in 2020. 

In 2022, the members took a hiatus to account for the mandatory South Korean military service each was individually serving for 18 months. Now, nearly four years later, “ARIRANG” marks their homecoming — to each other, to music and to the world.  

In a recent Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, BTS’s leader, RM, explained the band chose the word “arirang” because it’s the title of a historical Korean folk song detailing a nostalgia for a hometown, lover or friends and family. 

“In the military, we naturally thought about where we came from and if we unite again what do we have to do,” RM said. “If BTS should go on, what word could make us into one group?” 

With a blend of BTS’s hip-hop roots, traditional Korean folk influences and a touch of exploration into new genres, “ARIRANG” explores this natural reflection of who the band has always been and where they hope to go. 

“Body to Body” opens the record with thunderous percussion and lyrical rap weaving its way around the drums. The track features a rap break with traditional Korean drumming and folk vocals, highlighting the use of the word “arirang” for their album title. 

Sticking with the hip-hop style, “Hooligan” is reminiscent of the band’s debut album “2 Cool 4 Skool.” The rap follows a rhythmic and repetitive format, creating an exhilarating beat sure to be caught on repeat in listeners’ minds. 

“Aliens” places heavy emphasis on synthesizing Suga, j-hope and RM’s vocals to produce reverberating rap that quickly builds into a powerful chorus dominated by vocal stacking, with the support of booming percussion. 

The album turns electrifying with “FYA,” an anthemic track with a pulsating tempo and gritty, high-voltage vocals from Jung Kook. 

The experimental and explosive song is inherently rebellious with its club-focused lyrical themes, illustrating BTS’s confidence in their ability to cross musical boundaries and play with fiery lyricism. 

The album comes to a silent halt midway through with “No. 29,” a confusing turn for listeners after the rap-heavy first half. Upon a closer listen, the track, while seemingly silent at first, is actually the reverberating echo of a bell. 

It’s a recording of the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok, built in 771 and now displayed in the Gyeongju National Museum, which was struck for the first time in decades for “No. 29.”  The use of this bell symbolizes the band’s dedication to their South Korean roots, both musically and culturally. 

Shifting away from hip-hop, “SWIM” renews BTS’s alternative-pop soul with its retro beat and rich, mellow guitar tunes evocative of lapsing ocean waves. 

Co-written with Ryan Tedder, the song explores loving devotion to a partner through the metaphorical illustration of diving into deep waters. 

On “NORMAL,” cathartic electric guitar beats and aching vocals produce an introspective and haunting account of the emotional toll of “chemical induced fantasy and fame,” and the ways its consequences have been forcibly normalized for the band members. 

The track paints a heartwrenching description of identity loss amidst a history of severe stalking and harassment as a result of their fame. 

An enduring legacy of music dedicated to their fanbase continues on the record’s final song, “Into the Sun.” 

The uplifting tempo, backed by synthesized keyboard and breathy vocals, gradually ebbs and flows like a river moving downstream as BTS promises to follow their fans into the sun. 

“The refuge that we seek / A human with breath, rebels / I just want to go home to where you are,” RM sings in Korean. 

BTS’s album, fraught with symbolism and a peaceful nostalgia for home, conveys a hopeful message to listeners across the globe — the greatest act a person can accomplish while longing for the past is to pen a love letter to their future selves. 

With “ARIRANG,” BTS has done just that. 

“ARIRANG” is available to stream everywhere.