“I just want to tell you that we missed you.” Tonight show host Jimmy Fallon told the seven guests crammed onto two couches during Wednesday’s show.
These seven guests — RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — make up K-pop megagroup BTS, who made their first U.S. late-night appearance since 2021 on the NBC late-night show. After releasing their first album nearly four years ago, Arirangthe group is in the middle of a press conference involving a big live stream for Netflix’s return.
BTS spoke with Fallon about their return from mandatory military conscription in their native South Korea, and they even noted what each member missed about each other during that time. The group recounted their experience living together for the first time in years while working Arirang. Jin, the eldest member, took a moment to lovingly speak to Jungkook, the youngest, for being the messiest member in the house because he didn’t completely unpack his belongings in the house.
As Fallon has done in the past with guests, the group surprised unsuspecting fans, whose reactions ranged from utter shock to screaming and even throwing themselves to the floor and putting themselves in a timeout — an average reaction to seeing BTS in the flesh.
The group took Fallon questions from viewers, and even built a starter pack for BTS fans that includes five must-listen songs — “Swim,” “Mic Drop,” “Mikrokosmos,” “Spring Day,” and “Dynamite.” They were also asked to describe how they felt about their dedicated fanbase, collectively known as ARMY, in one word. They decided on “Love,” which elicited an audible swoon from the assembled audience.
Naturally, the questions had to get a little silly. The group was asked if RM, whose real name is Kim Namjoon, had ridden in the car with him yet. It is known that the rapper, leader of BTS, did not have a license until recently. V joked that it was “so scary.”
After the interview, “Swimming”, the theme song, was performed Arirang. Instead of sticking with 30 Rock’s studio, the show brought the group and a select audience to the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Members began visiting different sections of the famous museum before gathering on stage in the center.
As a historic pioneer in the globalization of K-pop, BTS took over the entire heart of their hometown of Seoul to celebrate their comeback last week, holding a Netflix livestream at the historic location. The choice to perform their comeback performance in front of Gwanghwamun, the main gate and historic entrance to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, was no coincidence – as the new album is in many ways a meditation on the band’s cultural identity.
album name, Arirangpays tribute to a cherished Korean folk song of the same name, which is reputed to be the first song in the country, sung by Korean men, ever recorded (preserved for posterity by American ethnologist Alice Fletcher in 1896). Motifs from the original “Arirang” feature prominently in the closing minutes of the new album’s opening song, “Body to Body.” One of the most striking tracks on the album is “Number 29”, a song consisting solely of the sound of a bell being rung once, the bell ringing lasting for 1 minute and 38 seconds. The bell used in the recording is the original Divine Bell of Korea, which is 1,255 years old and is the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok. The song’s title is a reference to the official designation of the historical piece as “South Korea National Treasure No. 29”.
Arirang It sends an unambiguous message – BTS is no longer just promoting in Korea, but they are proud of their roots. They are, and always will be, a Korean band, even if their audience expands to include the entire world.
BTS is expected to make a comeback The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Thursday night (March 26).
