BTS to Return in March With First Album in Nearly Four Years

Key Highlights

• The long-awaited album will be BTS’ first since “Proof,” a June 2022 release that was followed by a long group hiatus.
• The gap saw the individual members fulfilling mandatory military service in South Korea and recording a multitude of solo projects.
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• BigHit confirmed the reports with a post on its Korean-language X account.
• Popular on Variety Prior to the official announcement, group members had already gone direct to fans with the release date, sending letters with handwritten messages to some ARMY members’ homes with the telltale dateline of “2026.3.20.” Among the messages, RM wrote that he’d been “waiting for this moment more desperately than anyone.” Said Jin, “I greeted you all as a soloist in 2023 and 2024, but I can finally greet you as part of a team again.” J-Hope wrote, “Finally, it’s the year that we will all be together with you!!” Said Jungkook: “Please take good care of us this year as well.” BTS also got together to participate in a countdown to the New Year on Weverse.