One day after the release of their album ARIRANG, at 8 PM on the 21st, BTS held a free concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, marking what many called “the return of the kings.” The performance also kicked off the group’s promotional activities for their fifth full-length studio album. Immediately after the event concluded, in the early morning of the 22nd, the BTS members departed for the United States to continue their promotional schedule.
On the 23rd (local time), BTS hosted a special event titled “Spotify x BTS: Swimside” exclusively for ARMY (their fandom) at the rooftop of Pier 17 in Manhattan, New York. This marked the first time BTS stood on stage together as a full group in the U.S. since 2022. Appearing before 1,000 fans and greeting them with their signature line, “We are BTS,” the group heated up the atmosphere by performing new tracks, including the title song “Swim,” along with “Normal” and “FYA.”
During the talk segment that followed, BTS revealed that the “Hahaha” part in the track “Hooligan” was the most difficult section to execute during the album production process. The group also introduced the new album by mentioning the artists they collaborated with. In addition, there was a fun Q&A session where the interviewer asked side questions related to the album, as well as fan-curious topics about BTS.
One particularly memorable moment came when the interviewer asked if any member disliked swimming. Suga immediately replied, “I hate swimming. I don’t like to swim,” sending the au∂ιєnce into laughter. Not stopping there, sensing an opening in SUGA’s answer, RM quickly teased, “You hate ‘Swim’?”—to which SUGA instinctively responded, “Yeah, I hate SWIM,” without realizing the implication of the leader’s wordplay.
It took Suga a few seconds to realize what had just happened. Upon recognizing that he had been “set up” by RM, he quickly and flusteredly clarified, “WAIT WAIT NO NO! I LOVE SWIM! I don’t like water,” a reaction that made ARMY scream even louder. Fans couldn’t help but laugh at his adorable response, joking that he would never escape the “cat allegations.”
Clips from this conversation quickly went viral across social media, drawing waves of humorous reactions from fans online:
- namjoon he's out there doing his best in his cute english and you're clowning him HFLQVFKSJ
- Cats don’t like water. He’s a cat so understandable, lil meow meow
- Oh my baby boy, he was trying his very best aksksksks
- I cant believe I used to feel bad about thinking about him as the "kitty one" when I was a baby ARMY trying to learn names. Little did I know, half a decade later he'd still be the most kitty-coded person I've ever seen.
- baby how do you swim if you hate water? what do you swim in? jello? oil? milk?
- The way he defended himself.. even standing up.. he definitely lives his work
- For namgi, bickering is their love language
- Never beating the cat allegations and as usual, Namjoon’s playful teasing—oh, my family
- Yoongi was not about to let him twist his words. So adorable. Just a cat behavior
- Now why Namjoon set my boy up like that. Yoongi is so cute im going to cry
- He had to get out of his seat to defend himselfhgfdoijhfodjks
Meanwhile, “Swim” and the ARIRANG album continue to dominate music charts with impressive achievements. According to their agency Big Hit Music, the title track “Swim” topped Spotify’s “Daily Top Songs Global” chart for two consecutive days (March 20 and 21). The B-side “Body to Body” ranked No.2, while all 14 tracks from the album entered the chart.
As of the 22nd, in נαραи’s Oricon market, the album recorded sales of 540,000 copies, claiming the No.1 spot on the “Daily Album Ranking.”
After achieving “Million Seller” status (selling over one million copies) within just 10 minutes of release, ARIRANG went on to set a record with nearly 3.98 million copies sold on its first day.
These figures once again reaffirm BTS’s status as a “world-clαѕѕ” act! Following the “Spotify x BTS: Swimside” event, BTS will continue their promotional schedule with appearances on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on the 25th and 26th (local time)—marking their return to the show as a full group after nearly five years, since their last appearance in 2021.
