05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Is BTS working on Michael Jackson tribute album? Agency issues statement
A BTS tribute to Michael Jackson, as claimed by a news report, is not happening. BigHit Music has clarified that the K-pop superstars are not involved in any project dedicated to the King of Pop.
Fans of the South Korean boy group were beginning to get excited, making edits of their dance performances to Jackson's songs, after The Irish Sun reported that BTS was at Grouse Lodge in Ireland and recorded one of Jackson's unreleased tracks.
The report claimed that the tribute album would be called 'Jackson's next 'Thriller'', to released alongside a documentary about the pop icon and his family's summer in a cow shed in County Westmeath, Ireland.
Jackson, who passed away in June 2009, had stayed in Grouse Lodge, an Irish recording studio, in 2006 while working on an unreleased album. The studio's owner Paddy Dunning told The Irish Sun that BTS had visited the studio and re-recorded one of Jackson's unreleased tracks.
However, BTS' agency shut down the reports saying the members have never visited the studio, nor are they participating in an upcoming Michael Jackson tribute album.
'BTS has neither visited Grouse Lodge Studio in Ireland nor recorded any music there. Reports claiming the group participated in a Michael Jackson tribute album are also untrue,' BigHit Music said in a statement on X. 'We are continuing to take action to prevent the spread of inaccurate information.'
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— BTS_official (@bts_bighit) August 5, 2025
Dunning had also claimed that 'there's about 10 more' songs on the tribute album, written especially for Jackson by collaborators he worked with in Ireland, including producer Rodney Jerkins and rapper Nephew.
The news of the Jackson tribute spread excitement among BTS' fans who have often found influences of the American pop icon's dance style in BTS' choreography. Their hit song 'Dynamite' was considered a tribute to Jackson, especially with a dance break that was inspired by the 'Thriller' hitmaker's style.
One fan posted the 'Dynamite' dance break synced to Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal'.
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All seven BTS members have now completed South Korea's mandatory military service. While some members, like Jin and J-hope, have been busy with their solo projects, the members are expected to put out a group album in 2026 and a world tour soon after.
