Say this about BTS: They don’t like to take time off. The K-pop septet released their record-breaking new album, Love Yourself: Tear, in May, and on Monday (July 16) they took to their official Twitter to announce a new project, titled Love Yourself: Answer, slated for an August release.
Love Yourself: Answer is the fourth and reportedly final installment in BTS’ Love Yourself series, following May’s Tear, April’s “Love Yourself: Wonder” video and 2017’s Love Yourself: Her EP. Upon its release, Love Yourself: Tear became the first K-pop album to ever top the Billboard 200 albums chart, and lead single “Fake Love” became the first K-pop single to debut in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. The “Fake Love” music video also earned a whopping 35.9 million YouTube views in its first 24 hours, the highest debut of 2018 until fellow K-pop act BlackPink edged them out with their “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” video.
On Saturday (July 14), South Korean media outlet Sports Donga reported that BTS would release a special project consisting of two or three new songs in August. While the boy band has previously repackaged multiple EPs into larger compilation albums, Billboard reports that Love Yourself: Answer will be a “separate entity” from Tear and Her, though the group’s label Big Hit Entertainment has yet to confirm the album’s contents.
With each subsequent release, BTS have enjoyed exponentially greater success at home and abroad. Not only did Love Yourself: Tear debut atop the Billboard 200, but it became the ninth-bestselling physical album of 2018 on Nielsen Music's Mid-Year Report. It makes sense for BTS to capitalize on their global momentum and release a new album while the hysteria surrounding them is at fever pitch.
BTS will release Love Yourself: Answer on Aug. 24, one day before kicking off their Love Yourself world tour at South Korea’s Seoul Olympic Stadium. From there, they’ll visit North America for 14 sold-out arena shows, and then Europe for an additional seven sold-out arena dates.
