Seoul [South Korea]: K-Pop group BTS on Tuesday announced that the group are going on 'hiatus' to focus on their individual careers with a line-up of solo projects for the K-Pop superstars.
This announcement came during BTS' Festa dinner, which is part of an annual celebration of their founding. The group detailed their tentative plans for solo projects and explained to fans that they 'need the time to take an extended break,' as per Variety.
The group consisting of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, has marked their ninth anniversary as a band.
In the one-hour Festa video, the members look back on their successful journey together before discussing plans for their solo projects.
RM said while they've accomplished tremendous feats as a band, "the members still need to develop and mature as individual people and artists." "I think we should spend some time apart to learn how to be one again. I hope you don't see this as a negative thing, and see it as a healthy plan. I think BTS will become stronger that way," added J-Hope.
As per Variety, the band went on to say that the decision was not an easy one to make and expressed their sadness for potentially disappointing their 'BTS Army.'
"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 as," Jimin said.
In an attempt to soften the conversation, Suga optimistically went on to say, "It's not like we're disbanding!"
According to the group members, J-Hope and Suga's solo release plans are underway, both of whom have released their solo mixtapes in previous years. Jungkook also shared that he will be releasing a solo album.
Although the group has not revealed a solo release schedule yet, J-Hope's confirmation of the new project ties into his upcoming performance as the first Korean artist to appear on Lollapalooza's main stage, or particularly any major American music festival.
