BTS fans have a reputation for being extraordinarily passionate, not just when it comes to things they love, but also in regards to the things they don’t. And so on Wednesday (March 4), Diplo — who produced five of the tracks on the boy band’s ARIRANG — asked with ARMY to go easy on him once the album drops.
Sharing a throwback photo of himself posing with members Jung Kook and RM, as well as screenshots of the newly released ARIRANG tracklist with his name listed on the production credits, the DJ wrote on Instagram of BTS’ new songs, “ARMY please be nice … I made 5 of these.”
Diplo also included a video of himself and the Bangtan Boys in 2020 hanging out backstage at the 2020 Grammys with Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus and Mason Ramsey, with whom they performed “Old Town Road” at that year’s ceremony.
As revealed Tuesday (March 3), Diplo worked on the tracks “Body to Body,” “FYA,” “One More Night,” “Like Animals” and album closer “Into the Sun” on ARIRANG. The project has 14 songs total, with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, Mike WiLL Made-It and Ryan Tedder also helping produce. Members of the band — which is also comprised of Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin and V — had hands in producing every single one of the tracks.
The EDM titan had been open about his role in ARIRANG even before the tracklist’s release, which precedes the album’s drop on March 20. In February, Diplo told TMZ that BTS’ next album was “gonna shock the world,” adding, “I just feel so lucky … to link up with a group like that and have them trust me and do some awesome music.”
ARMY has certainly been waiting a long time for new BTS music, which means the pressure is on — for Diplo and everyone else who had a hand in crafting ARIRANG. The record will mark the band’s first full-length since 2020’s Be, which topped the Billboard 200 and spawned several No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, fueling an unprecedented run for the K-pop group over the next couple of years before they pressed pause to pursue solo activities and complete military service requirements.
