BTS enters the decade with new ‘Map of the Soul’ album

Jan 9, 2020 | Entertainment

By Ashley Cruz

Concept Photo from the mini album ‘Map of the Soul: Persona’ SOURCE: BIGHIT ENTERTAINMENT

2020 has just begun but award-winning South Korean band BTS is already in for a bigger comeback.

BTS is back with a new album, “Map of the Soul: 7,” set to be released on Feb. 21, with pre-orders to begin Jan. 9. This is the band’s fourth full-length album following “Love Yourself: Tear” (2018).

BigHit Entertainment made a brief announcement on Weverse, the official channel for fans, at 11 p.m. (local time) on Jan. 7, exactly 270 days since the release of their sixth mini album, “Map of the Soul: Persona.”

Unlike any other comeback (a comeback in K-pop means the launch or debut of a new album), the BTS ARMY believe this is going to be huge given the scale of its promotion.

On Jan. 8, BigHit released more details on the new album that would come in four versions, like “Persona.” Each version of “7” is in a different shade of the classic blue, which is coincidentally the Pantone color of the year.

BigHit then released a comeback roadmap providing a schedule of content releases leading to the official launch in February — an unprecedented promotion strategy that has never been seen and experienced before by fans.

BTS will drop its first comeback trailer called “Shadow,” marking the birth of a new era. Much to the surprise of fans, BTS will also be releasing a single on Jan. 17, accompanied by an art film performed by the MN Dance Company.

Another trailer, called “Ego,” is slated for release on Feb. 3. The most-anticipated album debut on Feb. 21 will come with a Kinetic Manifesto Film. The official music video for the lead single will drop on Feb. 28.

The whole schedule might be overwhelming for some fans, especially those who are new to the scene. But for the BTS ARMY, this only proves that BTS members are artists who continuously explore the depths of their skills and challenge the norms in pop culture.