The boys are back. In a Weverse livestream Tuesday (July 1), all seven members of BTS reunited for the first time since completing all of their military service requirements and shared plans for their future.
Squeezing in together on a cozy-looking couch, RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook smiled while greeting ARMY as a unified group for the first time in years. Laughing and joking with each other, they shared in a group statement, “We’ll be releasing a new BTS album in the spring of next year.”
“Starting in July, all seven of us will begin working closely together on new music,” they continued. “Since it will be a group album, it will reflect each member’s thoughts and ideas. We’re approaching the album with the same mindset we had when we first started.”
The performers also announced plans to hit the road again in 2026. “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.”
ARMY has been waiting for this moment since Jin became the first of the Bangtan Boys to enlist in the South Korean military in December 2022. Over the next two-plus years, the remaining members gradually completed their own service periods, with RM, Suga, V, Jimin and Jung Kook becoming the final groupmates to be discharged in June.
Leading up to their long-anticipated reunion, BTS has been teasing plans to make a comeback as soon as possible. In April, j-hope told Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe that he anticipated the band’s next steps to have “massive energy,” while Jimin told Jimmy Fallon in May, “It was great to be alone, but when they come back [from the military], since they worked very hard, I’m going to honor them and give them great respect.”
Now that the band has officially confirmed when they’ll return with new music and shows, fans will be counting down to spring 2026 to see what the septet has in store. BTS last dropped an album in 2020, with Be reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200, spawning Billboard Hot 100-toppers “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On.”