Buzz builds for BTS’ return with Arirang: new teaser, late-night talk show appearance and more

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K-pop superstars BTS are making their return on Mar 20 with new album Arirang, and the wait has been electric.

On Thursday (Mar 19), they dropped their second music video teaser for their upcoming album’s lead track, Swim.

With a slightly more upbeat melody than the first teaser, the video features a ship with the album’s name imprinted on its side, sailing through the ocean. 

The 26-second teaser ends with the seven members of the group – RM, Suga, J-Hope, Jin, Jungkook, V and Jimin – standing on the ship, gazing out at the sea, as a longer snippet of the song plays: “I just wanna dive.” 

The ship and nautical theme of the teasers tie back with BTS’ animated trailer for the album and the name of the song, which has been described as an upbeat alternative pop song that captures the spirit of perseverance. 

Late-night American talk show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, also announced in an Instagram post on Mar 18 that BTS is set to appear on the show on Mar 25 and 26 (local time) in two back-to-back episodes. 

According to Billboard, in the first episode on Mar 25, the group will sit with Fallon for an interview and perform a song from Arirang. In the second episode, which will also separately feature American actors Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, BTS will appear again to perform a second track from the album. 

A surprise drone show also took place in New York City on the night of Mar 18, which was livestreamed on the BangtanTV YouTube channel, in the lead-up to the album release.

With the album dropping on Mar 20 and Seoul city coming alive with events and festivities in celebration of the group’s return, along with BTS The Comeback Live Arirang taking place on Mar 21 at the historic Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, there has been a large influx of fans from around the world flying into South Korea.

According to social media posts and a report by Korean entertainment site AllKpop, Seoul’s Incheon International Airport arrival hall is seeing overcrowding, long queues and delays with reports of one to two hours of waiting time at immigration. 

After the 14-track album drops, the group will perform the BTS The Comeback Live Arirang on Mar 21, which will also be livestreamed on Netflix. After that, they will head to New York on Mar 23 for an exclusive fan event with Spotify, marking the group’s first performance in the US in nearly four years, before heading on to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. 

The group is also set to release the documentary, BTS: The Return, on Netflix on Mar 27.