K-pop: BTS stars Jimin, Jung Kook complete military service – DW – 06/11/2025
With all members completing their mandatory service this month, BTS is expected to reunite in 2025 — a comeback predicted to make a major global impact on streaming, sales, and concerts.
Deafening cheers and joyful screams of thousands of fans greeted K-pop group BTS members Jimin and Jung Kook who were discharged from South Korea's military on Wednesday.
This is another step toward the group's long-awaited reunion.
"Thank you so much for waiting for us," Jung Kook told fans, promising an "even better version" of BTS ahead.
The pair are the latest members of the seven-man group to complete the country's mandatory military service.
Jin, J-Hope finished their service in 2023, and RM and V returned to civilian life just a day before Jimin and Jung Kook.
The last member SUGA, who is working as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service, is set for discharge on June 21.
Fans cheer and cry for their K-pop idols
Crowds gathering near military bases to catch a glimpse of the stars were so large that mobile networks briefly crashed, and satellite feeds faced interruptions.
Fans travelled hundreds of miles across the globe to see their idols.
"I think I'm gonna cry," Anaisa Silva, 30, from Portugal, told AFP news agency, while 64-year-old Rosie Tanquilut from the Philippines said, "We couldn't sleep! We've been counting the days since they entered [the] military."
Why is the BTS reunion a big deal?
The group, which went on hiatus in 2022 to fulfill their military duties, is expected to reunite in 2025.
Fans from around the world have flown to South Korea to welcome the return of the stars this week Image: Senyum ARMY
All seven members signed renewed contracts with their agency HYBE in 2023, and industry analysts predict their comeback will spark a major wave in global music sales and concerts.
Before their hiatus, BTS generated more than $4 billion (€3.5 billion) annually in revenue, roughly 0.2 percent of South Korea's total GDP, according to official data.
Analysts are expecting BTS' comeback to make a major global impact across streaming, sales, and concerts.
Celebrations have already begun in Seoul, where fans are gathering for the group's 12th anniversary on Friday as banners proclaimed — "WE ARE BACK."
Edited by: Rana Taha
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DW
2 days ago
- DW
K-pop: BTS stars Jimin, Jung Kook complete military service – DW – 06/11/2025
With all members completing their mandatory service this month, BTS is expected to reunite in 2025 — a comeback predicted to make a major global impact on streaming, sales, and concerts. Deafening cheers and joyful screams of thousands of fans greeted K-pop group BTS members Jimin and Jung Kook who were discharged from South Korea's military on Wednesday. This is another step toward the group's long-awaited reunion. "Thank you so much for waiting for us," Jung Kook told fans, promising an "even better version" of BTS ahead. The pair are the latest members of the seven-man group to complete the country's mandatory military service. Jin, J-Hope finished their service in 2023, and RM and V returned to civilian life just a day before Jimin and Jung Kook. The last member SUGA, who is working as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service, is set for discharge on June 21. Fans cheer and cry for their K-pop idols Crowds gathering near military bases to catch a glimpse of the stars were so large that mobile networks briefly crashed, and satellite feeds faced interruptions. Fans travelled hundreds of miles across the globe to see their idols. "I think I'm gonna cry," Anaisa Silva, 30, from Portugal, told AFP news agency, while 64-year-old Rosie Tanquilut from the Philippines said, "We couldn't sleep! We've been counting the days since they entered [the] military." Why is the BTS reunion a big deal? The group, which went on hiatus in 2022 to fulfill their military duties, is expected to reunite in 2025. Fans from around the world have flown to South Korea to welcome the return of the stars this week Image: Senyum ARMY All seven members signed renewed contracts with their agency HYBE in 2023, and industry analysts predict their comeback will spark a major wave in global music sales and concerts. Before their hiatus, BTS generated more than $4 billion (€3.5 billion) annually in revenue, roughly 0.2 percent of South Korea's total GDP, according to official data. Analysts are expecting BTS' comeback to make a major global impact across streaming, sales, and concerts. Celebrations have already begun in Seoul, where fans are gathering for the group's 12th anniversary on Friday as banners proclaimed — "WE ARE BACK." Edited by: Rana Taha
DW
2 days ago
- DW
K-pop: BTS' Jimin and Jung Kook complete military service – DW – 06/11/2025
With all members completing their mandatory service this month, BTS is expected to reunite in 2025 — a comeback predicted to make a major global impact on streaming, sales, and concerts. Deafening cheers and joyful screams of thousands of fans greeted K-pop group BTS members Jimin and Jung Kook who were discharged from South Korea's military on Wednesday. This is another step toward the group's long-awaited reunion. "Thank you so much for waiting for us," Jung Kook told fans, promising an "even better version" of BTS ahead. The pair are the latest members of the seven-man group to complete the country's mandatory military service. Jin, J-Hope finished their service in 2023, and RM and V returned to civilian life just a day before Jimin and Jung Kook. The last member SUGA, who is working as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service, is set for discharge on June 21. Fans cheer and cry for their K-pop idols Crowds gathering near military bases to catch a glimpse of the stars were so large that mobile networks briefly crashed, and satellite feeds faced interruptions. Fans travelled hundreds of miles across the globe to see their idols. "I think I'm gonna cry," Anaisa Silva, 30, from Portugal, told AFP news agency, while 64-year-old Rosie Tanquilut from the Philippines said, "We couldn't sleep! We've been counting the days since they entered [the] military." Why is the BTS reunion a big deal? The group, which went on hiatus in 2022 to fulfill their military duties, is expected to reunite in 2025. Fans from around the world have flown to South Korea to welcome the return of the stars this week Image: Senyum ARMY All seven members signed renewed contracts with their agency HYBE in 2023, and industry analysts predict their comeback will spark a major wave in global music sales and concerts. Before their hiatus, BTS generated more than $4 billion (€3.5 billion) annually in revenue, roughly 0.2 percent of South Korea's total GDP, according to official data. Analysts are expecting BTS' comeback to make a major global impact across streaming, sales, and concerts. Celebrations have already begun in Seoul, where fans are gathering for the group's 12th anniversary on Friday as banners proclaimed — "WE ARE BACK." Edited by: Rana Taha
Int'l Business Times
30-05-2025
- Int'l Business Times
'My Greatest Dream' - Taylor Swift Buys Back Rights To Old Music
Pop sensation Taylor Swift, who was locked in a feud with record executives since 2019 over ownership of her music, has bought back the rights to her entire back catalog, she said Friday. "All of the music I've ever made ... now belongs ... to me," she wrote on her website, after years of disputes over her first six albums, a number of which she rerecorded to create copies she owns herself. "To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it," she wrote in the letter to her devoted followers. "To my fans, you know how important this has been to me -- so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released four of my albums, calling them Taylor's Version." Those records included the award-winning "Reputation" and "Taylor Swift." Swift bought back her masters from Shamrock Capital, an LA investment firm, for an undisclosed amount. The re-recording power move came in the wake of public sparring with industry mogul Scooter Braun, her one-time manager whose company had purchased her previous label and gained a majority stake in her early work. He later sold Swift's master rights to the private equity company. The situation left Swift publicly incensed: "I just feel that artists should own their work," she said in 2019. "She's a vocal advocate for artists' rights," Ralph Jaccodine, a professor at the Berklee College of Music, told AFP previously. "She's built her own brand." Before her public efforts to regain control of her work, Prince, George Michael, Jay-Z and Kanye West all also fought for control of their masters -- one-of-a-kind source material that dictate how songs are reproduced and sold -- but none had gone so far as to re-record them completely. The queen of pop, whose recent nearly two-year-long, $2 billion Eras tour shattered records, said that she was "heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry." Swift's lucrative tour which wrapped last year was a showbusiness sensation, and will have helped offset the costs of buying back her catalog. The 149 shows across the world typically clocked in at more than three hours long each. Tour tickets sold for sometimes exorbitant prices and drew in millions of fans, along with many more who didn't get in and were willing to simply sing along from the parking lot. "Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I'm reminded of how important it was for all this to happen," Swift said in her letter.
