BTS Taking A Break, Not A ‘Hiatus’
• After nearly a decade together, K-Pop supergroup BTS is taking a break. As reported by The New York Times, NPR and about a zillion other sources, the South Korean boy band caused a planetwide panic among their massive fanbase — known as “Army” — on Tuesday after releasing a video sharing their plans to take a break from their current arrangement in order to explore their individual music careers; the move, they said, would also take some pressure off their lives as international pop sensations.
BTS officially debuted in 2013. The band’s members — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, are now nearly 30, and after nine years together have achieved unprecedented global success, culminating with their recent appearance at the White House with President Biden to send a message against anti-Asian hate. However, after all this time, and given the tremendous pressure they are subjected to, the group members feel they have lost their creative direction. “We’ve talked among ourselves several times and we believe it’s good to take some time apart,” J-Hope said in the video. “I hope that people don’t think negatively about this step and that they see this is a healthy, important part of our plan that will let BTS grow stronger.”
“I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but the problem with K-Pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature,” said RM, who noted it was challenging for him to balance his own artistic work with the demands of acting as the group spokesman. Jin commented, “I have my own hobbies, too, and things I want to do on my own.” Suga noted that it’s been a struggle to even come up with lyrics that mean something, commenting, “I should be writing about what I’m feeling and the stories I want to tell, but I’m just forcefully squeezing out words because I need to satisfy someone.”
For the band to go on, the guys said they need to take a step back and grow and mature as individuals. That said, RM clarified, “I want BTS to go on for a long time,” and the band did say they plan to return after this break. A representative for HYBE, the company that represents the band issued a statement that reads, “To be clear, they are not on hiatus but will take time to explore some solo projects at this time and remain active in various different formats.”
• And speaking of which… it was recently announced that J-Hope was booked as one of the headliners at this month’s Lollapalooza in Chicago, making history as first South Korean artist to headline main stage at major U.S. music festival. His performance is scheduled for Sunday, July 31. [Photo credit: Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP]
