At midnight on January 16, BigHit Music added another wave of heat to the global anticipation for BTS’s comeback by officially announcing the title of the group’s fifth studio album, “ARIRANG.” The album will be released in four different versions, featuring striking names such as Rooted in кσяєαn, Rooted in Music, and Living Legend.
Explaining the choice of a title drawn from кσяєα’s most iconic folk song, BigHit Music stated, "It encompαѕѕes BTS's identity as a group that started in кσяєα, as well as the emotions they wish to share with music fans." The album is said to contain deep longing and profound love held within the members’ hearts.
Immediately after the title was revealed, international media and fans turned their attention to the folk song “Arirang.” U.S. business magazine Forbes commented, “‘Arirang’ is a кσяєαn folk song with approximately 3,600 variations across 60 different versions. The song is estimated to be more than 600 years old and holds a unique place in кσяєαn identity. The ‘Arirang’ title signals a return to roots after the group’s nearly four-year hiatus during military service. It suggests themes of reunion, homecoming, and collective кσяєαn experience, all of which are fitting for a group that spent years apart and is now reuniting both with one another and with their global fanbase.”
However, as NME magazine selected BTS’s upcoming release as one of the “most anticipated album releases of 2026,” predicting, “Expect this comeback to be mαѕѕive,” the wow factor of ARIRANG does not stop at this layer of meaning alone. Shortly thereafter, fans discovered a detail that makes ARIRANG an unprecedented album in the group’s history: its genre—Pop.
Fans noted that on Apple Music, BTS’s album is officially clαѕѕified entirely under the Pop genre rather than the traditional K-pop category. Over more than a decade of their career as the world’s leading K-pop superstars, the group has released dozens of albums categorized as K-pop, despite incorporating numerous elements of pop, R&B, EDM, and hip-hop. Now, ARIRANG’s complete shift into the pop genre marks a new breakthrough.
This also carries enormous significance: every track on ARIRANG will be released directly onto Apple Music’s Pop charts and even onto many other global charts. BTS is no longer confined by the label of “K-pop idols” or any niche market. They are stepping straight into the main arena of global music, fully living up to the title of “21st-century pop icons.”
Notably, by pairing a purely pop album with a title deeply rooted in national identity, fans were left even more αωєstruck by the message BTS intends to convey. The superstars are sending a clear statement: while their music may carry modern pop sounds and be accessible to ears around the world, their soul and roots remain unmistakably кσяєαn (Rooted in кσяєαn).
This transformation is not a rejection of K-pop, but rather an affirmation that K-pop has grown strong enough to redefine global pop music itself. One fan proudly commented, “And that’s on global pop living legends rooted in кσяєα AND rooted in music. I know that's right.”
For BTS, releasing a pop album for the first time is a declaration of status. They do not need a “separate lane” to shine; they will run on the biggest road and lead it. ARIRANG promises to be a brilliant milestone where traditional кσяєαn values and the global flow of music intersect, creating a new glorious chapter for the seven members and millions of ARMYs worldwide.
On social media, fans and netizens alike are buzzing with discussion around this historic moment, further pushing the atmosphere of excitement to its peak:
- BTS is redefining music industry. BTS transcended K-pop now they exist as pop on a global scale finally
- That’s a great thing. It proves they’re no longer limited to the K-pop label, but fully recognized as global pop artists. Their music stands on its own, beyond categories.
- One letter and the whole world's meaning. Oh they crossed that bridge aren't they :')
- They didn’t erase where they came from to go global. BTS carried кσяєα with them and made the world listen. True living legends
- ARMYs we have come so far!!!! Let’s dominate the world!! ARIRANG IS COMING BTS IS COMING
- Rooted in кσяєαn culture, leading global pop. BTS proved you don’t have to lose your identity to reach the entire world
- This is literally gonna be the biggest comeback in the history of comebacks
- Oficially breaking free kf that "K-pop" taggggg! Let's goooo you alll
- That means new records to break under POP oh bts you are about to go even higher
- Man back then everything has to go through the kpop genre first before the pop chart. We’re finally free
- I’mma say this: now that y’all clearly see that BTS is on a whole Nother genre, I don’t wanna hear any of you K-pop fans say that your faves are “the next BTS” because they are still in the K-pop bubble and BTS are well… actual pop artists. Thank you and good night.
- BTS finally being able to break away from the kpop label and be fully respected as musicians like they should’ve always been….oh I could cry
- Only BTS could make a global pop album and still keep their кσяєαn soul at the core. That’s not just success — that’s legend status
