After coming back from their “extended period of rest” in early March, BTS is going on a hiatus so the group can focus on their solo careers.
The septet broke the news when celebrating their ninth anniversary at their annual FESTA dinner on Tuesday. The annual event sees the group chowing down on a mighty feast while recapping everything that happened over the past year and their fondest memories as a group, which is why they felt that was the best moment to break the news.
The Grammy nominees understood fans would be disappointed by the announcement. “We can’t help but think of our fans no matter what, we want to be the kind of artists that are remembered by our fans,” Jimin noted. “I think now we’re starting to think about what kind of artists we each want to be remembered by our fans.”
He added BTS is “going through a rough patch right now” and explained, “We’re trying to find our identity and that’s an exhausting and long process.”
RM spoke of why the hiatus is a good thing, telling fans, “I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but the problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature. You have to keep producing music and keep doing something.”
“I don’t know what kind of direction our group has to take,” he added, but J-Hope expressed optimism the hiatus will let “BTS… become stronger.”
V chimed in that with this decision, “I think 90 percent of our fans would root for us no matter what kind of music or what kind of direction we choose.”
The group didn’t go into detail over a timeline of solo releases or when their hiatus will end.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.