"BTS, who was worried about soup, got hit."The behind-the-scenes Billboard interview on the birth of Bang Si-hyuk's "ARIRANG." [K-EYES]

*This content was translated by AI.

With BTS BTS' comeback album "ARIRANG" maintaining the No. 1 spot on Billboard for 2 consecutive weeks, executive producer Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, gave a press interview for the first time to reveal the behind-the-scenes stories of the production.

"BTS 2.0 is the Declaration of the New Chapter"

In an exclusive interview released by Billboard on the 8th (local time), Chairman Bang described the project as "a work that has devoted more than a year and a half of life and energy." It was announced that the "ARIRANG" project was started when members serving in the military proposed it themselves. His conclusion was clear. "BTS 2.0 was supposed to be a declaration opening a new chapter, not an extension of the past."

There was only one key question in the album. What kind of music would BTS have made now if they released their debut album '2 Cool 4 Skool' without any genre variations for 13 years?' From this question, the musical identity of 'ARIRANG' started.

From Gyeonggi-do Pension to LA Song Camp...Contact producers who haven't been invited

The production process was meticulous. In early 2025, Diplo was selected as the lead producer and held two "free song camps" in LA to create about 100 prototype tracks. In July, after all the members were discharged from the military, they set up a monitoring room at a pension in Gyeonggi-do and set their direction while listening to the track all day with the members. After that, everyone flew to LA and entered Song Camp in earnest.

"When I sincerely asked the members who planned their personal schedules after being discharged from the military, they all canceled the schedule without hesitation and joined together," Chairman Bang said. "This is why they are BTS." The L.A. camp was also a hot topic in the industry. Famous producers who were not invited directly contacted the HYBE and asked them to participate.

The reason for choosing "Arirang"...the intersection of 1896 and 2025

It was also Chairman Bang who proposed the album title "Arirang." "Arirang is a living legacy that sublimates the sorrow of separation (恨) into a lively rhythm," he explained. He also said that the moment he heard the sound of the new species of King Seongdeok under the guidance of director Yoo Hong-jun at the National Museum of Korea, he felt that he should use it for the album interlude.

It also brought up the story of seven young men who recorded the first Korean song in the United States in 1896. "The appearance of proving one's existence through music on the land of this country overlapped with BTS returning to the global stage after being discharged from the military."

The biggest adventure was a complete last-minute choreography reset. When the choreography of "Swim" and "Hooligan" was changed to an extremely restrained form, the members asked back, "Is this BTS?" Bang's answer was this. "You have an aura that overwhelms the stage just by existing. It does not fit your weight to repeat the way the next generation follows."

"BTS, who were worried about Kookppong marketing..."I think you were right"

Another behind-the-scenes story revealed by Chairman Bang is that the members were initially concerned about the insertion of Arirang elements, saying, "It could be seen as a marketing of soup." However, when I played it to the Koreans around me first, the response came back that I was thrilled the moment Arirang came in. The members laughed later and said, "I think my brother got hit again this time," according to Chairman Bang.

When the interview was released, the ARMY community was shaken. Billboard article comments were praised for "Bang PD, say it louder," "true mentor," and "you were right, too." On X (formerly Twitter), related remarks spread into memes and became a global trend.

Meanwhile, "ARIRANG" was the first K-pop album to hit No. 1 for the second consecutive week on Billboard. The first week of 641,000 units is the highest record in 2026 and the highest in the group's category since 2014, when Billboard introduced the unit system.

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*This content was translated by AI.