Global superstars BTS are coming out with a new single on August 21, 2020. The group took to Vlive to announce the release of their upcoming single, stating, “We think this single can give energy to ARMYs. We felt helpless due to the COVID-19 pandemic and we believe ARMYs also feel the same.”
Jimin said since the group has so many international fans and because of this situation, he thinks it’s good to add an English song. (That’s a rough translation of his explanation; official translations will be released soon.) The 7-member group also said their next album will be released in the last half of 2020. However, no confirmed date was announced.
BTS, who sing predominantly in Korean, have dabbled in English songs before on features for other artists but never for their own songs. The closest they came was on their 2017 hit “Mic Drop ft. Steve Aoki.”
BTS also revealed to their fans what they’ve been doing during the Covid-19 pandemic. They’ve been filling their downtime by spending private time with their families and working on their new album. Member V says he has been working on his mixtape and Suga and Jin have been practicing musical instruments – Suga the guitar and piano (Suga has played the piano since childhood) and Jin on the piano.
2020 has been a rough year for the music industry due to many artists relying heavily on tour ticket bundles to help boost album sales. Their tour was postponed due to COVID-19, but BTS has still managed to snag a number one album in the US on the Billboard 200 chart for Map of the Soul: 7 and most recently a number one album in Japan for the Japanese release, Map of the Soul: The Journey. Their impressive album sales also earned them the current top spot in the United States (pure sales) for selling 528,000 units to date.
BTS also smashed the record this year in Japan, selling 500,000 copies in just two days. More impressively, they have the bestselling album in the world. Map of the Soul: 7 sold 4.02 million copies immediately upon release with pre-orders and first-week sales.
So, what can fans look forward to next from the group besides the new single coming in August? They’ll be headlining the iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 18 & 19. As we previously reported, the two-night event will be streamed online this year. This is the first time the music festival’s gone virtual, a decision necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The festival wanted to make sure fans would be entertained with great music while still doing their part to keep both artists and fans safe during this difficult time.
