If these days you hear more crying than necessary in the park or when you reach the school gate, there is an explanation. BTS, the boy-band with the largest number of followers on social networks worldwide (most of them minors), has announced its separation a few days after the release of its anthology ‘Proof’.
The seven members of the group (RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V Taehyung and Jungkook) communicated their decision during the special Bangtan Dinner of FESTA 2022, an event in which they interact with their fans from all over the world. “We have been together for nine years. As we reach ten, I want to thank the members and fans who have always been with us.
Now, we have talked with the members and I think we should spend some time apart to learn to be one again. I hope you don’t take it as a negative, it’s a healthy plan in our opinion. Right now, we have lost our direction and just want to take some time to think. We never know how long we’ll be together, but I hope we last a long time. I hope you can understand us.” In their ‘temporary’ farewell, they also point out that “BTS remained active to interact with their fans in 2020 and 2021 amid the COVID-19 situation, and achieved dazzling results to establish themselves as the best world artists.”
The group was formed in 2010 and debuted with their first album in 2013. Since then, their career has only gone through the roof, reaching considerable milestones, such as receiving the ‘Top Social Artist’ award for three consecutive years in the Billboard Music Awards or being named by Forbes as the most influential celebrity in Korea.
The news is a historical fact within a genre, K-Pop, which is famous for ‘burning’ its stars very quickly. Just the path to fame, full of castings, training and even extremely demanding diets, is a most tortuous path for young aspiring artists. Once successful, these groups face Stakhanovist promotional campaigns that accompany them almost every minute of their lives, due to the presupposed presence in networks. It could even be said that for BTS, the pandemic, which made them cancel a colossal planetary tour, came in handy to hold on a little longer before separating. “I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but the problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature. You have to keep producing music and keep doing something,” said one of its members during the event. One of his colleagues agreed, assuring: «We can not help but think of our fans no matter what happens, we want to be the type of artists that are remembered by our fans. I think now we’re starting to think about what kind of artists we want each of us to be remembered by our fans. I think that’s why we’re going through a rough patch right now, we’re trying to find our identity and that’s an exhausting and long process. Being a group for so long, it feels like I’ve become a machine. I also have my own hobbies and things I want to do on my own.”
The statement, as expected, has been accompanied by another announcement: the start of the solo career of some of its members. “BTS’s perspective on independent promotions is going to change a lot now, I think it’s a change we need right now,” Jung Hoseok said. The first will be J-Hope, who will release a first album that will give continuity to the 2018 ‘Hope World’ mixtape, which he has already presented live at major events such as Lollapalooza 2022, being the first South Korean artist to headline a main stage in an important US music festival. «I have received the songs of the disc and I am ordering them. Other members already have a date set for theirs, and I think mine will be left for last. I hope they do very well, “explained the artist.
Just before the pandemic, the group already showed signs of exhaustion by announcing a first break in their career after six years of constant work. “It will be the first official long-term vacation since the band’s debut in 2013,” the agency that manages their career, Big Hit, said through social networks. “This period of inactivity will give time for the members of BTS, who have worked non-stop since their debut, so that they can return refreshed as musicians and as creators. It will also leave time for themselves to enjoy life as ordinary 20-somethings,” the agency added. But in view of what happened this week, all that was insufficient.
