BTS are getting more candid than ever.
The Arirang boy band spoke out in a new cover story for Rolling Stone UK, which will also be published in 16 international editions of the magazine.
Keep reading to find out more…
During the conversation, the band discussed their comeback following their required military service, their tour, reuniting to make music again, obstacles within the band, haters, and much more.
RM on BTS’ mindset going into recording Arirang:
“I’ve been saying to the members, ‘If we don’t challenge anymore, then I think there’s no reason that we should keep doing this as a team.’ We have to show the world that we are still ongoing and still exploring. It’s so complicated sometimes. But still, I think we have to push it to the edge even more, even more, and it’s still not enough.”
J-Hope on his doubts:
“Is getting all this love and attention actually a good thing? Maybe while everyone is clapping and cheering for me, I should just turn it all off. And I wondered whether I wanted this. All I had was a tiny flame inside of me, and it had just spread like wildfire. I felt a lot of pressure around that… In the end, I felt that keeping the flame burning is what I truly want, and the choice that’s most authentically me.”
Jin on pushing to extend BTS’ tour:
“When we first got our tour plans, it didn’t have very many stops. And it was only going to last about three to four months. I said: ‘Now that we’re back, we promised so many people that we would come and meet them, and I feel like this is breaking our promise.’”
Jin on the internal debate over BTS’s musical direction:
“I actually didn’t totally agree with the others on that issue. Because with music, you see certain results, right? So I believed that our most beloved songs is our identity. But not everyone felt that way, so after a lot of discussion, I was convinced by the opinion that our identity is in the music we used to make.”
RM on intervening with Hybe over Jung Kook’s “Seven” lyrics:
“I told the label, ‘Please don’t change! Why not? He’s all grown up. He can sing an f-word.’”
RM on addressing haters on the track “2.0″:
“There are really people who just pray in their home. ‘Please, BTS, just go fall down. Just break apart and collapse.’ So we’re thinking about ‘OK, guys, for two, three years, we have been apart … and three years passed, and there are ARMYs waiting for us, the world waiting for us, so you guys had your little fun.’”
V on the group dynamic post-solo careers:
“I thought that meant everyone would have much stronger opinions when we came back to work together. But to my surprise, all of the members came in so open-minded, and had grown the depths of their character.”
J-Hope on why the group works:
“Now that we’re back together, the other members are filling in any gaps that I feel in my expression, in my performance. In a lot of ways, I realized that this is why there were seven of us.”
Jimin on BTS potentially playing the Super Bowl:
“We can’t do it unless we’re invited.”
RM on playing the Super Bowl:
“Maybe if time goes by, and the thoughts in the people change. All of the people in the world are watching Parasite, all these great things in Korean culture, so if there’s a chance, we definitely want to, some day.”
RM on competing with Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and Harry Styles:
“They are greater artists than us. We’re just so small. We’re just a boy band from Korea.”
For more, head to RollingStone.co.uk.
