K-pop group BTS has announced its official comeback with a new album set for release on March 20, 2026, followed by a global tour spanning 2026 and 2027. This return marks the end of a nearly four-year hiatus during which all seven members completed South Korea's mandatory military service. The extensive tour is scheduled to begin in April 2026 and will include over 70 performances across Asia, North America, South America, Australia, and Europe.
Military Service Completion
The group's hiatus facilitated the completion of mandatory military service by all its members: RM, Jin, Jimin, V, Suga, Jung Kook, and j-hope. South Korean law mandates 18 to 21 months of service for able-bodied men aged 18 to 28, though BTS members had previously deferred their service. Jin, the oldest member, began his service in 2022, and all members completed their obligations by June 2025.
Rapper Suga was the last member to conclude his service in June 2025, having served as a social service agent, an alternative reportedly undertaken due to a shoulder injury. The other six members served in the army. The staggered enlistment schedule allowed members to pursue individual projects during the group's temporary break.
New Album Details
The upcoming album, which is yet to be titled, is scheduled for release on March 20, 2026. This will be the group's first collective album since "Be" in 2020, "BTS, the Best" in 2021, and the anthology "Proof" in 2022.
Production for the new album was anticipated to begin in July 2025, with reports indicating it was recorded over six months in Los Angeles the previous year and was nearing completion by December. The group stated the album is expected to "reflect each member’s thoughts and ideas," with individual solo projects influencing the new music.
Global Tour Announcement
BTS will embark on a global tour from April 2026 to March 2027, their first headline performances since the 2021–2022 "Permission to Dance on Stage" tour. Tour promoter Live Nation has described it as the largest global K-pop tour to date, encompassing 34 regions and 79 shows.
The tour is set to commence with three nights in Goyang Stadium, South Korea, on April 9, 2026, followed by performances across various continents.
Confirmed 2026 Tour Dates Include:
- April: Goyang, South Korea (9, 11-12); Tokyo, Japan (17-18); Tampa, Florida (25-26)
- May: El Paso, Texas (2-3); Mexico City, Mexico (7, 9-10); Stanford, California (16-17); Las Vegas (23-24, 27)
- June: Busan, South Korea (12-13); Madrid, Spain (26-27)
- July: Brussels, Belgium (1-2); London, UK (6-7); Munich, Germany (11-12); Paris, France (17-18)
- August: East Rutherford, New Jersey (1-2); Foxborough, Massachusetts (5-6); Baltimore (10-11); Arlington, Texas (15-16); Toronto, Canada (22-23); Chicago (27-28)
- September: Los Angeles, California (1-2, 5-6)
- October: Bogotá, Colombia (2-3); Lima, Peru (9-10); Santiago, Chile (16-17); Buenos Aires, Argentina (23-24); São Paulo, Brazil (28, 30-31)
- November: Kaohsiung, Taiwan (19, 21-22)
- December: Bangkok, Thailand (3, 5-6); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (12-13); Singapore (17, 19-20, 22); Jakarta, Indonesia (26-27)
2027 Tour Dates Include:
- February: Melbourne, Australia (12-13); Sydney, Australia (20-21). These will be the group's first major performances in Australia since 2017.
- March: The tour is scheduled to conclude in Manila, Philippines.
Additional dates for Japan, the Middle East, and other regions are expected to be announced.
Ticketing Information
A presale for ARMY Membership holders, requiring registration on the Weverse fan platform, will be available on January 22 and 23. General public sales for all regions will begin on January 24. Specific venue and ticketing information for some locations is yet to be released.
Group Activities and Industry Context
During their hiatus, individual members pursued solo careers. The group also achieved their first US number one single, "Dynamite," and collaborated with Coldplay on "My Universe." A planned 2020 world tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BTS, formed in 2010 by Big Hit Entertainment (now BigHit Music, a label under HYBE) and debuted in 2013, has released nine studio albums. The group has received two Grammy Award nominations, broken 25 Guinness World Records, and charted four No.1 albums faster than any group since The Beatles. In 2022, BTS met with former US President Joe Biden to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes. Their 2022 album "Proof" reached number one in 18 countries and accumulated approximately 16.7 billion global streams.
The group returns to a K-pop industry that has seen global expansion, referred to as the "Korean wave" (Hallyu), but also faces challenges in market differentiation, maintaining global fan engagement amidst increased competition, and internal disputes within companies.