The K-pop boy group BTS needs no introduction.
And now, their long-awaited Arirang album is out. Arirang is BTS’s tenth studio album, released on March 20, 2026, their first comeback since 2022, with all 7 members returning from military service and solo activities. The name Arirang comes from a Korean folk song, reflecting the group’s cultural pride. The album features 14 songs: “SWIM” (title), “Body to Body,” “Hooligan,” “Aliens,” “FYA,” “2.0,” “No. 29,” “Merry Go Round,” “NORMAL,” “Like Animals,” “they don’t know ‘bout us,” “One More Night,” and “Please and Into the Sun.”
After listening to all 14 songs in the album, sadly, there are only three and a half songs I would listen to again. The title song, “SWIM”, is described as an alternative pop song with fully English lyrics. For me, it doesn’t feel like a typical, high-energy K-pop title song; it’s not the worst song in the album, but nowhere near the best either. Overall, it feels very forgettable and could’ve nicely been replaced by “Body to Body.” “Body to Body” is easily the best song on the album, being described as a pop hip hop song. It also samples Gyeonggi Arirang, a regional variant of the Arirang folk song, and actually has Korean lyrics, unlike “SWIM.” “Body to Body’s” ties to the meaning of the album and the group’s Korean heritage should’ve made it a no-brainer for the title song. The other songs I would listen to on the album are “Hooligan” and “2.0,” which sound pretty similar to me. They’re both hip-hop songs with an emphasis on rap and dance. The music video for 2.0 went pretty viral, and the “Hooligan” dance is also a popular dance challenge, which adds a lot to the songs themselves. “Alien” is the only other song on the album I would listen to; the rest of them were honestly very forgettable.
I appreciated the concept of Arirang and the meaning behind the album, and while there are a few songs I genuinely enjoy, this album as a whole is not my favorite. Public reception of Arirang was at best mixed; many were disappointed in the album, calling it inauthentic. In particular, fans pointed out the exaggerated use of English in the lyrics and the lack of BTS’s own creative freedom. Several videos have come out now of the production process showing how even the BTS members themselves were unsure about some of the songs in the album and were pressured to use more English in the lyrics by company officials. As BTS receives more international attention and becomes more of a global group than just a Kpop group, it’s naturals natural for them to be using more and more English, a trend that started all the way back with their first English single, “Dynamite,” back in 2020. While these English-focused songs have had no issue charting and gaining plays, an increasing number of fans are calling for a return to the old BTS sound. Overall, I would give the album a 2.5/5 stars.
