‘We’ve changed’: BTS announces indefinite hiatus, plans for members’ solo projects
International superstars BTS announced that the group will go on an indefinite hiatus while its seven members pursue solo projects.
The K-pop group members announced the decision during their Festa dinner, part of an annual celebration to commemorate the group’s founding and show appreciation for their fans. The event came shortly after the group released “Proof Live,” a half-hour showcase featuring three songs and including guest Anderson .Paak, Vulture reported.
This year marks the group’s ninth anniversary, and its members — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook — spent the dinner reflecting on their careers while discussing their plans for the future, Variety reported.
Group leader RM said the hiatus will allow the members to focus on personal growth, and that the group hasn’t had much time to think about the direction they’re taking — an issue he believes is common among performers in the K-pop industry, Billboard reported.
“They don’t give you time to mature,” he said, according to the outlet. “You have to keep producing music and keep doing something.”
Since the group’s debut in 2013, they’ve essentially been working nonstop. And with recent releases, including hits like “Butter” and “Permission to Dance,” they became less sure of “what kind of story (they) should tell now,” RM said, according to Billboard.
“And it’s not just about music and work,” he added, according to the outlet, saying he feels he’s also changed “as a human” over the group’s career. “So I need to think and have some alone time and then those thoughts can mature into something uniquely mine.”
Jimin added that the group has been going through a “rough patch” as the members try to figure out its identity, and that it’s “an exhausting and long process,” Rolling Stone reported.
J-Hope said he hopes the group’s fans don’t interpret the announcement as negative, but see it as a “healthy plan” instead, Variety reported.
“I think we should spend some time apart to learn how to be one again,” he said, according to the outlet. “I think BTS will become stronger that way.”
Suga promised that the group is not disbanding, according to Variety, and Jungkook said that the members will “return someday, even more mature than we are now,” E! News reported.
BTS first debuted as a group in 2013, but the group’s members spent several years training to become K-pop idols beforehand, according to E! News. The members are all in their 20s -- the group’s oldest member, Jin, is 29 years old, and its youngest member, Jungkook, is 24 years old.
The first of the members’ solo activities during their hiatus has already made history. On June 7, member J-Hope became the first South Korean artist announced to headline a major U.S. music festival, Teen Vogue reported. He’s scheduled to perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago on July 31.
And days before the group’s hiatus was announced, Jungkook released a solo song, “My You,” that he dedicated to the group’s fans, known as ARMY. The song, released on June 12 and recorded in English and Korean, features lyrics about being grateful for fans’ support and promising to continue working hard, Billboard reported.
The group also released an anthology album, “Proof,” on June 10. It features some of the group’s biggest songs from their prior releases, such as “I NEED U,” “Blood Sweat & Tears” and “Danger,” as well as several new tracks. The album has 35 tracks, and its physical release includes three CDs.
This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 11:44 AM with the headline "‘We’ve changed’: BTS announces indefinite hiatus, plans for members’ solo projects."