K-pop superstars BTS have announced that a new single is coming ... and it will be in English.
The group said the song, set to be released on Friday, August 21, will come out ahead of a full new album scheduled for later in the year.
“We are preparing an album for the second half of this year, but decided to first release a single because we wanted to reach our fans as soon as possible,” the group said on Korean broadcasting app VLive.
“Due to Covid-19, people around the world have been going through tough times and we wanted to share some positive energy with our fans.”
While BTS didn’t reveal the name of the song, fans were given some insight into why the band decided to record it in English this time.
“We thought that the song sounded perfect as it is in English. We recorded the guide version and felt that the result was something totally new and fresh,” they said.
They explained it had been written because “we also needed a breakthrough during these unforeseen times”.
“This is a new challenge for us as well,” they said.
The band had been set to go on a highly anticipated Map of the Soul world tour, but had to postpone it back in April due to the global coronavirus outbreak.
But BTS have since upped their online presence to better connect with fans. The group recently held Bang Bang Con: the Live, an online live-streamed paid concert event that set a Guinness World Record for viewership in June. The seven-piece band also hosted a two-day event on YouTube that provided online streams of previous concerts, as well as past meet-and-greet sessions in April.
They also launched a series of Korean-language teaching videos to establish a stronger connection with fans around the world, called Learn Korean with BTS.
Scroll through below to see a gallery of the group through the years:
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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