ARIRANG – BTS Album Review

Arirang – BTS
Rosie Chappell
BTS is a global sensation kpop group from South Korea. Originally debuted in 2013, BTS’s
members include RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook. They currently have 39
million monthly listeners on Spotify. BTS’s new album, Arirang, released on March 20, 2026.
The album contains 14 tracks and has a run time of 41 minutes and 20 seconds.
Arirang is BTS’s first group album in 4 years after each member had to go through mandatory
military service. The album focuses on BTS’s identity, making callbacks to their early days as a
group and their Korean roots. The album name, Arirang, comes from the traditional South
Korean folk song of the same name, and is even sampled on the track “Body to Body.”
“Swim” is the lead track off the album, and is fully in English. “Swim” is all about moving through
life’s hardships and moving at your own pace. The members themselves have described this
song as “a love for life itself” and that it represents a new chapter for them as a band.
Two of my favorites off this album have similar messages. “Aliens” and “2.0” remind me a lot of
their early music when they started out as a hip hop group. “Aliens” focuses on how they were
treated when they first came to the West and uplifts their Asian culture. “2.0” focuses on their
comeback as a group and how they are taking back their place as kpop’s number one group.
Two more favorites of mine are “One More Night” and “FYA.” These songs are just so addicting.
The music is very upbeat and gives a club sort of vibe. “FYA” is also fully in English, and I can
not get over how catchy the lyrics are. “One More Night” is a mix of Korean and English but it’s a
really fun song about being with someone you love and wanting to spend another night with
them.
Finally, a controversial favorite of mine is “Into the Sun.” Many didn’t like this song because of
the vocoding effect they use on their voices in the chorus. But this song feels like such a comfort
song and is nostalgic to me. The vibe is so similar to BTS’s vibe when I first got into them in
2016.
I definitely recommend giving the album a listen and especially in order. The album tells a story
all on its own throughout the original order of the songs. Even if you are not a BTS fan, I think
giving this album a chance would find you a reason to like them!
Top Favorite Tracks – “Into the Sun”, “2.0”, and “One More Night
Rating – 10/10