BTS will return in spring 2026 with a new album and world tour
Members Jin, RM, V, Jimin, J-Hope, Jung Kook and Suga made the announcement Tuesday during a livestream on Weverse, an online fan platform owned by BTS management company Hybe. It was the first time all seven members have broadcast live together since September 2022.
'We'll be releasing a new BTS album in the spring of next year. Starting in July, all seven of us will begin working closely together on new music,' the band said in a statement. 'Since it will be a group album, it will reflect each member's thoughts and ideas. We're approaching the album with the same mindset we had when we first started.'
According to a press release, the band will be in the United States this month to begin working on new music.
The 2026 album will mark their first since 2022's anthology, 'Proof,' their 2021 Japanese compilation album 'BTS, the Best,' and their last studio album, 'Be,' released in 2020.
They also announced a world tour, their first in nearly four years. The news arrives a few weeks after BTS superstars RM, V, Jimin and Jung Kook were discharged from South Korea's military after fulfilling their mandatory service.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea. Six of the group's seven members served in the army, while Suga, the last to return, fulfilled his duty as a social service agent, an alternative to military service.
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Jin, the oldest BTS member, was discharged in June 2024. J-Hope was discharged in October.
South Korea's law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige. K-pop stars and other entertainers aren't subject to such privileges. However, in 2020, BTS postponed their service after South Korea's National Assembly revised its Military Service Act, allowing K-pop stars to delay their enlistment until age 30.
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Winnipeg Free Press
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- Winnipeg Free Press
When it comes to Winnipeg stylophiles' caches, only the write stuff will do
In 2010 a fountain pen manufactured by Italian company Tibaldi set a record amount paid for a writing instrument, fetching an astounding $8 million at an auction in Shanghai. Renz Adame laughingly admits the so-named Fulgor Nocturnus pen, which is adorned with 945 diamonds and features a solid-gold nib, is a tad out of his price range. Nevertheless, the professional musician and dedicated stylophile — the term assigned to one who collects fountain pens, a style that relies on an internal reservoir or cartridge to hold ink — still plans to reward himself with something special when he toasts a milestone event later this month. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Professional musician Renz Adame has been collecting fountain pens — writing implements with an internal ink reservoir or cartridge — since he purchased his first in Ottawa in 2017. 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'As your taste develops, you start liking better and better wine. It's the same thing with pens.' RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Adame says he really went down the fountain-pen 'rabbit hole' during the pandemic lockdowns. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Adame says he really went down the fountain-pen 'rabbit hole' during the pandemic lockdowns. Adame, the eldest of four siblings, was born in the Philippines. He was 11 when his family immigrated to Winnipeg. He recalls his initial impression of his new home, as if it was yesterday. It was mid-April when he stepped out of the airport. Given the glowing sun and bright-blue sky, he expected to be greeted by a warm breeze, except he was immediately halted in his tracks. 'It was absolutely freezing out. The second the cold hit me, I was like, 'nope, I'm getting back on the plane.'' He toughed it out, and as he got older he developed a fascination with stationery, journaling and calligraphy thanks to his mom, an expert at cursive writing who never failed to create elaborate signs for family celebrations. Adame was studying music at the University of Ottawa in 2017 when he happened upon a store called Paper Papier in that city's ByWard Market. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS INTERSECTION Renz, collector of fountain pens, Close up photo of one of Renz's favourite fountain pens created with hand-poured resin. Story: Intersection piece on Renz Adame, an avid collector of fountain pens, both modern & vintage. He has close to 300 that he sorts according to colour, brand, age, etc. He is also a calligrapher and classical musician. Reporter: Dave Sanderson July 2nd, 2025 RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS INTERSECTION Renz, collector of fountain pens, Close up photo of one of Renz's favourite fountain pens created with hand-poured resin. Story: Intersection piece on Renz Adame, an avid collector of fountain pens, both modern & vintage. He has close to 300 that he sorts according to colour, brand, age, etc. He is also a calligrapher and classical musician. Reporter: Dave Sanderson July 2nd, 2025 He poked his head inside and thought 'my goodness' when he spotted a $50 price tag attached to a Faber-Castell Loom fountain pen that caught his eye. He left the shop empty-handed. After mulling it over for a few hours, he retraced his steps and splurged on the aluminum model. 'Because I didn't know very much at the time, what I failed to realize was that the pen, which has a smaller nib, was more for map-making than calligraphy, so it wasn't overly practical,' he says, adding he would bring it along to class from time to time, but for the most part it was kept in a drawer in his apartment. Adame moved to Vancouver in the fall of 2019 to pursue a doctorate in music at the University of British Columbia. His pen predilection might never have moved past that first specimen, he feels, if COVID-19 hadn't come along in the spring of 2020, throwing the world into lockdown mode. Practically overnight, he went from rehearsing and performing '24-7' to being stuck at home, unable to do much of anything. One afternoon, he was scrolling through YouTube, only to come across video after video of individuals showing off their penmanship by writing with fountain pens. There was a chat function and after posing a few queries about what he was witnessing, 'the rabbit hole opened up,' he says with a wink. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Adame was initially intrigued by stationary, journaling and calligraphy thanks to his mother, who is a skilled cursive writer. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Adame was initially intrigued by stationary, journaling and calligraphy thanks to his mother, who is a skilled cursive writer. Unable to shop in person, he began perusing online stores. 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Winnipeg Free Press
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World's largest Legoland opens to tourists in Shanghai
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