BTS is backkkkk! Well technically, they never left. However, this is the first time that all 7 members are here together in front of us again! So BTS comeback of 2026 is onnnnnn!!!

With the new tour underway and new music, it’s hard to sit and wait. So, I mean now I’m sitting and writing about it as the countdown begins.

BTS is going to release their 5th studio album! The album is titled ‘Arirang’! Pre-orders have already started, but more on that later.

Let’s do a quick disclaimer…

Disclaimer:

This might be a yap session…thought yeah no. I am confirming this is a yap session. Please use the headings and bold text to help you get to the information you need.

I am a BTS ARMY so that being said, I will do my best to give you advice, but it is a bit biased. What can I say? This is about their album! However, I will do my best to give my opinions as a reviewer. So, if some stuff does seem a bit “harsh” this is why. I will not talk about controversies and will not touch too much on actual album release as I do not have information for that available right now. I will update along the way as I learn things! Okay. Let’s get into the review.

I’ll do a very short intro as this is going to be a long article already. BTS is a 7-member group that consists of (ARMY sing it with me): Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, Jeon Jungkook, (BTS!). BTS is releasing their 5th studio album this year titled: ‘Arirang’.

Arirang? “Arirang?”

Why are we commenting Arirang? Yes that was a reference from the resurfaced clips of Jungkook being confused about the word popping up in his comments a few years back. ARMY is doing their research! Okay back to the important part!

Arirang (아리랑) expresses- as described by The Academy Of Korean Studies, “the complexities of love, loss, and grievances”.

Another fact: The folk song has 3,600 variations. The one I know the most is when it was by So Hyang! It literally gives me chills.

So how is this connected to BTS? They have covered the song before and since people are rediscovering it, it’s blown up. It could be a cover of the song. They have done their takes on songs before on an album. For example: ‘Coffee’. Which is one of my favorites.

But on a deeper level, what can this mean? Well, BTS is a group from South Korea. I do believe these are going to tie into their story a bit more of who they are.

More specifically their story and identity of the artist we know, the artist we used to know, and the one they want to be today. As well as the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful parts of being an artist. It wouldn’t be the first time they make a song with more than one meaning. These are topics artists have to fight through all the time, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they touch on this topic again. I think it will combine culture as well as personal narrative all in one song.

We have seen them talk about this in a similar way with their song ‘idol’. Which combines culture, pride, and takes on their popularity. And a lot more, listen to it. And if you really want to see something inspiring, watch their performance of it in 2018 at the MMA awards. Something that I will always treasure. I do think that this song might have some similarities with culture and pride. And also framed in a narrative way with lots of imagery.

Possible topics

As we know there has been debate on the direction BTS was taking. For example: Global expansion. The reaction is split. “BTS paved the way”, but at what cost? Truly, I will 1000% agree they did pave the way. Doors many artists didn’t see possible was opened due to the popularity of BTS. And of course, there’s people before them and will be people after them, but we have to be honest and give credit where credit is due. Now circling back to the topic of “how much” global expansion is too much”? I think it’s ridiculous. And if the songs have been too westernized…that’s a whole other debate. We can discuss these another time.

Regardless on if you agree or not, it’s their life and their choices. We have been getting many hints from them from their lives that flew over most ARMY’s head. For example, the album cover (which we will discuss more in a bit), people said if you move those circles around, they turn into 해. Which people also looked at a live where they said “hey” a “strange” number of times and thought it was a spoiler. I do wonder if it is or is BTS messing with us because they know we crave spoilers. Guess we won’t know until the album drops.

I do wonder if any of this will connect with the old storylines as well or if this is a new beginning. BTS’ concepts are unmatched as I said before, but it’s really something that got me into the K-POP scene.

I do know that they will be performing some of the songs from this album on tour! So, I cannot wait for that.

I know that we will have to wait a while to see more stuff, but honestly I am so ready. With all the new music, how will I feel? I mean I have some catching up to do for sure with the updates on here, but I will get to it. And know this will be updated many, many, manyyyyyy times as it is just the beginning.

Albums

I know, this is what you were waiting for! Me too!

Right now, depending on where you are in the world, there’s 16 different versions of the album. And 32 forms of it (in packs, soundcheck, and Weverse specials).

Track list

The track list is going to have 14 songs. However, there were over 100 songs they wrote for it. I wonder if they will see the light of day anytime soon or if they will be options for a repackage.

They said they are confident in the album in their live today, and I mean that makes it even more exciting for me!

Update: March 3, 2026 we got an update on the track list!

The 14 tracks are called:

1. Body to Body 2. Hooligan 3. Aliens 4. FYA 5. 2.0 6. No. 29 7. SWIM 8. Merry Go Round 9. NORMAL 10. Like Animals 11. they don’t know ’bout us 12. One More Night 13. Please 14. Into the Sun

I believe Swim will be the title track as it was the only one in black instead of red. I do wonder if these are different from the Spotify songs.

Speaking of which, Spotify had a chance for listeners to vote on their type of love. Premium listeners to 2 votes a day and normal users got 1 vote. This was launched February 6th with the artist What is Your Love Song. An anonymous channel that did not have an artist name and was not tied to BTS’s account. However many ARMY speculated this was apart of promo. Especially since it has all the graphics of the comeback with the phrase: “What is your love song”. And their old building being wrapped like this, stair cases, and even a QR code. And BTS themselves doing their own playlist of songs for their “love songs” playlist. BTS did a lot of promo without revealing too much, but just enough to have you hyped about the comeback.

It’s a total of 6 songs with The Who EP being a total of 5 minutes. Each of them being around 58 seconds. The tracks are: ‘Self-Love’, ‘Fandom Love’, ‘Romantic Love’, ‘Healing Love’, ‘Unrequited Love’, ‘Nostalgic Love’. My persona favorites were ‘Nostalgic Love’ and ‘Self-Love’. I think it reminds me of the older sounds of BTS as well as the ‘Love Yourself’ series. Both are very special and are near and dear to my heart!

Final Thoughts

Don’t know how many times I said this online and irl, but I am really excited. It’s been a long time, and I really cannot wait to explore this new music. Hear the layers of the elements in each song. Dive deep into the lyrical elements. And do some reviews on them! And of course, add them to my playlist and create new memories!

Remember, there are many ways to support your artist. Send them positive comments as this is going to be a long preparation and performance period. I mean they are booked certainly up until next year (2027)! And that’s just for the tour. Send them encouraging comments. And also remember streaming is just as important. But make sure if you want achievements to search up the requirements as they change all the time. Streaming just for streaming sake, have fun with it! All of these things support your artist. As I always say, money is not the only way to support. So, Share, Stream, and Save the album!

So, are you going to cop the album? What are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments!

In the meantime, while waiting, check out our other content on BTS! Alright take care, and I’ll see you soon!

Written and illustrated by: A.P.