3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
BTS' Suga warns ‘the market's not the same' as group confirms 2026 comeback and tour
BTS has officially announced their comeback during a Weverse live held on July 1. The full group — RM, Suga, J-Hope, Jin, Taehyung, Jungkook, and Jimin — joined fans for a half-hour session, talking about where they're headed as a group and finally dropping details about their long-anticipated world tour and album plans. RM shared that they're aiming for a full album release in spring next year. The livestream pulled in over 7.3 million viewers in real time. This update comes shortly after HYBE announced BTS's first live album 'Permission to Dance' release, accompanied by 'BTS Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul'
Also read: 'BTS' Suga is the Eminem of K-pop': Grammy-winning producer reveals why the West wants to work with the singer
BTS has been gone for 18 months as a group, with their last live concert in 2022. It's already been three years, and while every member has launched their solo career, with a few like J-Hope and Suga even kicking off solo world tours, they're well aware the market they're returning to might not be the same. During the album announcement, the group recalled when their last proper album dropped (excluding the anthology Yet to Come) and pointed out that by the time the next one lands next year, it'll have been nearly six years. 'That's enough time for four people to finish their military service,' RM joked. 'But honestly, it doesn't feel real yet — we still have to start working on it,' Suga said. 'I have no idea how it'll turn out. We'll just have to keep talking about it for now,' Jimin added, to which Suga replied, 'The market's changed a lot in the meantime.' RM summed it up, saying it's best they 'stick together,' no matter what. 'Probably around July or August… maybe Lollapalooza, Jin's tour, and more things. There'll be a lot of individual stuff too, but we'll try our best to communicate,' RM added.
Also read: BTS' 2026 announcement just made HYBE's global staff 6.21 million KRW richer, here's how
According to Kim Namjoon aka RM, 'Starting in July, all seven members will begin working closely together on new music.' This will be their first full group project since 2022's Proof album, and their first album of entirely new songs since 2020. The new album is described as something that will reflect 'each member's thoughts and ideas' and take them back to the mindset they had when they first debuted, since this comeback will pretty much mark phase two of their debut after a long break. 'We're approaching the album with the same mindset we had when we first started.' BTS V, aka Kim Taehyung, dropped an extra detail, revealing that the new album shoot is happening in America, which may or may not have been a spoiler. The group looked a bit surprised at the slip, but RM just laughed it off.
Meanwhile, BTS is also gearing up for a world tour next year. 'We're also planning a world tour alongside the new album,' they said. 'We'll be visiting fans all around the world, so we hope you're as excited as we are.' Their last tour, BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage, was held after the pandemic and drew over 4 million attendees.
