BTS wants to 'reaffirm' group brand with 'Arirang' world tour: 'We're locked in as a group'

To the ARMYs keeping up, you might have noticed that the "Arirang" World Tour setlist is all OT7 songs.

In their previous eras, BTS used to allot time for solo or subunit performances during tours, but not this time around.

Jungkook told Weverse in an interview that their intention was to "remind everyone what BTS is like as a group" following their hiatus and solo eras.

"And since it’s been so long since our last tour, we tried to focus on the kind of energy we have when we’re all together. Obviously that makes things harder, but we wanted to immerse the audience in that feeling of all seven of us putting on the show together, all the way through," he said.

V said that all members felt that they should focus on the group rather than solo or subunit songs, and thus, that became the "core" of their tour.

"Having the seven of us back together after all this time feels special, and it’s also our way of saying we want to keep doing this together," he said.

Leader RM added that they wanted to put more weight on reaffirming the BTS brand that’s brought all of us this far."

"It’s like, we have to do something to show that we’re locked in as a group, now that we’re back after such a long time away. After all, we’re talking about 13 years of history that the seven of us and ARMY have been building together."

Although their "Arirang" era intends on introducing BTS 2.0, not much has changed when it comes to the members' closeness.

"These guys are the best, you know?" Jin said. "I’ve done promotions and even toured without the others before, and there was a lot of pressure there."

"There was this fear in the back of my mind. Performing without them taught me something—how grateful I am that we get to do this together and how much it means to me. When I’m with them, we end up laughing our way through everything, and onstage, too, I’m so happy that I just can’t help smiling."

Jimin said he is "grateful and happy" that all seven of them get to perform together again.

"I think seeing all seven of us onstage together from start to finish during this tour says everything about how we see our group and how we feel about each other," he said.

Suga shares the same sentiments.

"I’m just grateful that, even 13 years later, we still get to go on tour and keep being singers," he said.

Meanwhile, for J-Hope, none of the members is any way replaceable.

According to the rapper, they each have a role to play and "there’s a kind of beauty you only get when we’re all lumped together."

"And more than anything, I think there’s this connection with people all over the world that only exists when all seven of us are together," he added. "Since this tour is our first time being back with our fans in a long time, we wanted to give them as much time with the whole group as possible. That’s really all there is to it."

After a four-year hiatus, BTS made a comeback with the record-breaking "Arirang" in March. A month later, they kicked off their biggest world tour yet. Almost all 14 songs in the album made it to the concert setlist.

The South Korean supergroup is set to hold three shows in the Philippines in March 2027. —JCB, GMA News