Just days after dropping the teaser for their upcoming new song “Yet to Come” from the album ‘Proof’, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook announced they are taking a hiatus in a video posted to social media on June 14.
“We’re each going to take some time to have fun and experience lots of things,” Jungkook said. “We promise we will return someday, even more, mature than we are now.”
As of now, the pop stars are unsure how long the hiatus will last. However, since they expressed their desire to explore solo projects, the hiatus is expected to last for some time. “I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but the problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature,” RM said per NME’s translation. “You have to keep producing music and keep doing something.”
It is clear the band thought long and hard about their decision. “We can’t help but think of our fans no matter what; we want to be the kind of artists that are remembered by our fans. I think now we’re starting to think about what kind of artists we each want to be remembered by our fans,” Jimin added. “I think that’s why we’re going through a rough patch right now; we’re trying to find our identity and that’s an exhausting and long process.”
In 2010, Big Hit Entertainment founder Bang Si-hyuk recruited RM followed by Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, with the band officially debuting in 2013. Since then, the artists have gone on to experience worldwide success, including two Grammy nominations, six no. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and one of, if not the biggest fanbase among all music artists.
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