Netizens worry this may affect the group’s official comeback later this year.
On February 18, Insight reported that BTS had encountered problems in the process of releasing their new album. On February 17, the cover for BTS’s new album titled “Forever” appeared to be leaked on Youtube. The new album’s playlist includes links to 34 songs, including many of the group’s iconic songs that were already released like Butter, Euphoria.
However, this album was questioned for its legitimacy when the record label was shown as J Records, not HYBE Entertainment or Big Hit Music – BTS‘s management company like previous songs. Fans suspect that there was a mistake by the staff when posting or the official account had a technical glitch that caused BTS‘s new album to be leaked. Currently, Big Hit Entertainment has not addressed the incident.
In mid-March, BTS will hold an offline concert in Seoul (Korea) after nearly three years. This is the group’s first in-person concert in their home country since the world tour in October 2019. “BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul” will also be live broadcast through social media platforms.
After 8 years of debut, BTS has become a globally influential group. In Korea, BTS leads in both music achievement and income among celebrities. In 2021, BTS won big at the American Music Awards and received a Grammy nomination. BTS is currently the most sought-after Asian artist in the Western market. The 7 members all get paid huge amounts of money from endorsement deals.
In early 2022, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the results of voting for the 10 most influential Hallyu artists in 2021, with BTS ranking 1st place. Recently, many BTS members tested positive for Covid-19. The latest infected member is V.
