By now, most pop culture and music fans know that Korean pop icons BTS recently visited the United States. Following their explosive performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards earlier this month, the K-pop sensations took the stage at Las Vegas' Allegiance Stadium for three straight days of "Permission To Dance On Stage" performances.
Although they didn't win the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, the band made it clear that the awards ceremony was just a stopover on the ultimate goal of their journey: "We didn't come to Vegas for the Grammys. We came to Vegas for the ARMY," bandleader RM said during their April 9 performance. Permission to dance follows an earlier series of four concerts in Los Angeles in November and December 2021. Despite only lasting four days, these concerts were so popular that they achieved the largest single-venue concert engagement for almost any act in a decade.
Amid a hectic and record-breaking year for the seven members - RM, Jin, Sugar, J-hope, Jimin and Jungkook - they ended their PTD tour with the announcement of a new album. The first teaser came at the end of their final concert on April 16, when RM left the stage with the phrase "We Are Bulletproof" — the name of the 18th track of their 2020 album Map of the Soul: 7. These words were immediately followed by a black and white montage containing the group's previous albums. The 50-second video ended with a date: June 10, 2021.
In fact, BTS' fan base — nicknamed ARMY — blasted Twitter with trending hashtags like "BTS Is Coming" just seconds after the announcement. Known for their keen sense when it comes to connecting BTS Easter Eggs, ARMY cracked the code in no time. They were convinced that a new album announcement had come hours before the official confirmation of the release of We Verse by the management of BTS, Big Hit Music. Some fans even went so far as to use clips from BTS' 2015 music video "RUN" to crack the mathematical code behind the album's release date.
"New album called We are bulletproof????" asked one fan. "They said goodbye to PTD tonight when Jon said we wrapped the 12th concert and basically said it was time to move on," said a Fan. "Three days before their 9th wedding anniversary??! Oh my god!!!" commented one fan.
Some fans also recalled BTS' Permission to Dance music video, which read on the cover of a magazine, '2022. The beginning of a new era', while on the back the words 'The daily 2022 vol. 10" stood. One fan said, "It was all before our eyes, we're back..." Another person tweeted, "IT WAS RIGHT DAE."
While Big Hit Music has yet to release any further information about the upcoming release, that hasn't stopped ARMY from making their own predictions. Proposed hypotheses include that the album's name will be "WE" to reflect "ME" and that the album's cover will be purple to symbolize the growth of BTS.
Whatever the future holds, BTS will surely have their trusty ARMY at their backs - no matter what color they choose for their cover art.
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