BTS Discusses Their Evolving Sound and Thoughts on Grammy Aspirations
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BTS is preparing for a much-anticipated comeback with their new album Arirang, set to be released this spring. In a recent interview with GQ published on February 13, the band members discussed what fans, known as ARMY, can expect from the album and their approach to the Grammy Awards.
Scheduled to arrive on March 20, Arirang will be the septet’s first full-length release since their 2020 album Be, which topped the Billboard 200. According to Suga, this forthcoming album promises to reveal a “more mature side of BTS,” featuring a “diversity of genres.”
“What I can tell you is that it’s going to be quite different from the BTS albums and sounds that you’ve been listening to,” he stated. “Being idol groups and boy bands and girl groups in the K-pop industry, it might feel like it’s a little bit restraining about the negative sides of life. But I think as artists and as individuals, you have to be able to express both the positive and the negative sides of life.”
Suga highlighted that the album includes “a lot of introspection and thoughts,” noting the band’s ongoing evolution. “Things have changed, and we are still changing,” he remarked.
As BTS prepares for their return, excitement among fans is palpable. During the past three years, Suga and his bandmates—RM, Jin, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook—have individually released solo projects while completing their mandatory military service in South Korea. They reunited last summer to reassure fans during a Weverse livestream that a new album and a world tour are on schedule for 2026.
Though the group took a break, they appear to maintain their momentum. The members reflect on their previous Grammy nominations, particularly their historic candidacy in 2021, when they lost to the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award in both 2021 and 2022.
“I don’t know,” RM expressed candidly in the GQ interview. “Time has passed. There are a lot of K-pop-related nominees you see in the general field and, really, I want to send big applause for them.” (Notably, in 2026, ROSÉ of BLACKPINK became the first K-pop soloist nominated in a general field category at the Grammys.)
He added, “I mean, we’ll try. Maybe we’ll submit our album to the Grammys again. But I don’t know—we don’t want to be desperately eager for it … We don’t want to say anymore like, ‘Ah, man, we want the Grammys.’ I mean, it doesn’t mean that we really don’t want it—but we’ll try. But if not, then OK.”
BTS is featured on the cover of GQ as they prepare for this exciting chapter.
