Photo: Getty Images
BTS are officially going on hiatus. The beloved K-pop group announced the news during their FESTA dinner, part of an annual celebration that commemorates their founding. While celebrating their nine-year anniversary with their dedicated fanbase known as the BTS ARMY, they told fans it was time for them to take an extended break and pursue projects on their own.
In the video for the "2022 The Real BTS Dinner Party", bandmember RM said that while they've accomplished so much as BTS, the seven of them still need to grow and mature as individuals. He explained, “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."
RM also said he wants to take the time to think about BTS' new direction as individuals and as a group. The rest of the group revealed that it was a tough decision to come to and felt like they were letting down their fans.
“We can’t help but think of our fans no matter what, we want to be the kind of artists that are remembered by our fans. I think now we’re starting to think about what kind of artists we each want to be remembered by our fans,” said Jimin. “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.”
Every member of BTS, RM, Jungkook, Jin, Jimin, Suga, J-Hope (who will headline Lollapalooza), and V has released solo music. Their latest anthology album Proof is a perfect note to end the era as it contains new music as well as their hits, debut singles, and demos.