BTS: ‘OUR FANS INSPIRE US, GIVE US DIRECTION'

The South Korean boy group discuss their songwriting process, lyric distribution and their aspirations post ‘Love Yourself: Her’

- RIDDHI CHAKRABORTY

As the world holds its breath in anticipation for their fifth mini-album Love Yourself: Her, it’s hard to imagine how South Korean boy band BTS are currently feeling. Our September 2017 cover stars have come a long way from their 2013 debut and have recently dominated the music scene by making the difficult crossover from K-pop band to global pop stars.

Love Yourself: Her has garnered more than 1.05 million within a week in sales of physical copies through pre-order while the comeback trailer “Serendipity” and teaser trailers for the lead single “DNA” shot to millions of views within hours of their release on YouTube. Fan demand in India alone forced Apple Music to feature all of BTS’ discography on their Indian platform last Friday and after the album’s release today, it’s possible the group’s popularity will double in the country.

While gearing up for what is now being called one of the biggest comebacks in K-pop, RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook sat down to answer a couple of questions for Rolling Stone India as a group. They discussed their songwriting process, lyric distribution and their aspirations post the release of Love Yourself: Her.

What can you reveal about Love Yourself: Her? Can you tell us about some of the new themes and genres you are exploring?