Photo: Our Today
South Korea’s top-rated boy band, BTS, has announced that they will be taking some time off as a group in order to focus on their solo projects.
In a move that was announced with little warning, K Pop bandleader RM announced at this year’s FESTA dinner, an annual celebration commemorating the group’s founding, that he was feeling the urge to take on a new venture outside of BTS life.
“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,” stated RM, alongside his six co-members and using the Korean language.
A clip of the dinner was uploaded on the band’s Twitter account.
Read Also: Jennifer Hudson Becomes an EGOT Club Member
Per an English translation of the speech, one of the members dubbed the break a “hiatus,” which a representative of BTS has debunked.
“To be clear, they are not on hiatus but will take time to explore some solo projects at this time and remain active in various different formats,” said the statement.
When the band BTS was released in June 2013, it became a global pop icon with its music hits and social campaigns targeted at empowering youth. They issued their most recent album, Proof, on Friday evening before their break announcement.
BTS marked the first time an Asian band won the artist of the year category for the American Music Awards last year. And they met US President Joe Biden at the White House in May to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes.
Read Also: Sir David Attenborough Honored with a More Prestigious Award for Work on Television and Conservation
