Time to Enlist in the Army: BTS Teases Newest Release, “Proof”

K-Pop phenomenon, BTS, surprised fans at the end of their two-hour long “Permission to Dance” stop in Las Vegas. 

What seemed like a nostalgic montage of old BTS clips playing on the giant screen, turned out to be more as the video blacked out to reveal the numbers “22.06.10.”

From this announcement, there was speculation of an upcoming album amongst the BTS ARMY, their fanbase. This speculation became a reality as BTS announced that they would be releasing their newest album, “Proof.” 

This album will drop on the same day as the anniversary of their debut as a group, and the era of singles will now be replaced with a full tracklist of new BTS songs.

Not much is known about what the album will look like but fans aren’t deterred from making their theories. The announcement video, Grammy performance, and every live-stream since then has been analyzed for possible hints of what’s to come.

The first clue is that the album will possibly feature a sound more like their older releases. 

Yoongi, also known as Suga, one of the rappers of BTS stated in a BBC1 interview last year that, “I’m sure we’ll have more hip-hop tracks in future albums. So if you’d like to hear more of them, you shouldn’t have to wait long.”

There’s also the case of the Snoop Dogg collaboration, which has been disclosed but kept under tight wraps. 

When asked about it on the red carpet, Snoop said, “You gotta talk to them. But my parts are in.”

Namjoon, also known as RM, revealed his personal long-term goals as the leader of the group via a candid live-stream.

During the live-stream, he stated that, “In terms of what is to come from now on.…these days, what I’ve been thinking about continuously is that we should put ourselves back to the starting point of our journey. And get more actively involved in our album-making process and speak our voices.”

Considering that Namjoon already has 186 KOMCA (Korean Music Copyright Association) writing credits to his name, as well as a third place position on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songwriters Chart, an even deeper involvement would make their upcoming album a diary of sorts that they share with their fans.

ARMY noted that Namjoon’s statement rang true after further inspection of their 2022 Grammys performance. 

Although it featured a museum heist to match their theme for “Butter,” there were also subtle references to their HYYH (The Most Beautiful Moment in Life) era from 2015.

Many are expecting them to revisit their earlier career and retell their story with newer perspectives now that the members are nearing their thirties.

Scheduling “Proof” on their debut date, which also is the week of their annual Festa anniversary celebrations, is a very purposeful decision. As of now, they have allegedly booked Jamsil Indoor Stadium for five days, beginning with the album’s release.