BTS’s fifth full-length album, “Arirang (ARIRANG),” has been repeatedly selected by global music publications as the best album of the first half of the year, proving its overwhelming standing.
On the 23rd, according to the agency BigHit Music, major outlets around the world—including the U.S. publication Complex, the U.K.’s The Telegraph, the U.S. magazine Rolling Stone, and the U.K. music magazine NME—named BTS’s “Arirang” as the best album of the first half of 2026.
A sophisticated pop take on Korean sentiment... “The return of the world’s biggest boy band”
Overseas press spared no praise for the group’s new release. Rolling Stone in the U.S. said, “BTS’s comeback is the biggest event in the music world this year,” adding, “They perfectly captured the most Korean flavor in modern, polished pop.”
In the U.K., NME called them “the biggest and most influential boy band on the planet,” highlighting the impact. The Telegraph also focused on the global syndrome sparked by “Arirang,” saying it is “the true face of K-pop and an artist you can’t replace.”
Busan World Tour Wraps Up... Heads to Five European Cities Including Madrid
Amid acclaim from overseas music critics, BTS is stepping up its world tour. The group’s first performance of the “Arirang” world tour, held over two days on the 12th and 13th in Busan, ended successfully with enthusiastic responses from fans worldwide.
After concluding its Busan stop, BTS is now embarking on a full-fledged European run. Beginning on the 26th and 27th in Madrid, Spain, it will hold a large-scale tour in five major European cities, including the U.K. and France, for 10 shows in total. With BTS taking hold of both musicality and mainstream appeal, global attention is focused on the new chapter in K-pop history that the group will write during this European tour.
