BTS’ new album: how will the coronavirus affect Map of the Soul: 7’s release and tour plans?
The K-pop boy group has appeared on US TV shows with Jimmy Fallon and James Corden, and used TikTok and YouTube to promote the new album – but is asking fans to stop attending television shows during the current health crisis in South Korea
Many know how loyal the fans’ BTS Army can be, but the fanfare was unprecedented when the K-pop group teased a 30-second snippet of their new track, On, on video-sharing social platform TikTok just hours before the full album release. The traffic was reportedly so high that some users experienced error messages on the TikTok app.
On Twitter, BTS also dominated the trending page on February 21, with top hashtags including #MAP_OF_THE_SOUL_7, #BTSComeback2020, and #ONChallenge, where the band challenged fans to use the track in TikTok videos. In just 48 hours, the Bangtan Boys had garnered an astounding 17 million Tweets worldwide.
So, dare we ask, does the album live up to all the hype? According to reviews coming in from Rolling Stone, Variety and Pitchfork, “Map of the Soul: 7” seems a worthy addition to BTS’ award-winning discography – was reportedly the most pre-ordered South Korean album of all time.
Billboard also announced “Map of the Soul: 7” was on course to hitting No 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. This would be the fourth time that the Korean pop masters have reached this position, following its last three albums, “Map of the Soul: Persona”, “Love Yourself: Answer” and “Love Yourself: Tear”.