By Illianna Valenzuela
BTS poses for picture before “Comeback Live | Arirang” on Netflix featuring their new album. Photo via Netflix Tudum.
The wait is finally over for K-pop fans around the world as BTS successfully reunites with the release of their fifth studio album, “ARIRANG.”
The live event in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, which marked a major global comeback, had approximately 104,000 in-person attendees despite only 22,000 winning tickets. An estimated 300 million people tuned in through Netflix, and the event was broadcast across 190 countries.
The album became the most streamed K-pop album in Spotify history in just 24 hours, 110 million first day streams, set the highest first day sales (3.98 million copies) on Hanteo Chart, and achieved the biggest first day streams for a pop album by a group in Apple Music history.
Seeing as the group has such devoted fans, it is no surprise that the album has made such an impact. Band devotees, known as Army, have dedicated their full support to ensure the groups’ success.
BTS leader Kim Namjoon spoke about Army in a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, saying,“When we had our debut, they were like elementary school students and now they are like 25 and someone got married, and it’s amazing getting old.”
He added, “We are for them and they are for us…. it’s really amazing to see growth…”
Image of “ARIRANG” album progress via @songs_quotebts on Instagram.
BTS’ album was deeply inspired by their Korean heritage, even titling their album after a Korean folk song by the same name (Arirang). It’s all about getting back to their roots, especially after a four-year hiatus for Korea’s mandatory military service. It addresses Korean social issues, in addition to responding to accusations of becoming too westernized. “A defining virtue of Arirang is its respect for human creativity, freedom of expression and empathy, with everyone able to create new lyrics and add to the song’s variations,” said Hannah Abraham for Forbes. “This democratic, ever-evolving nature mirrors BTS’ own artistic philosophy of giving voice to individual experiences while creating collective meaning.”