The Bangtan Boys, prominently known as BTS, a widely loved Korean pop group, recently came out with a new album titled Map of the Soul: 7. The album was released on February 21 and was a “follow-up” to their last album, Map of the Soul: Persona. Previous to the Map of the Soul series, BTS and the entertainment company that they are signed under, BigHit Entertainment, released their Love Yourself series all about feeling comfortable in one’s own skin.

Nevertheless, the latest album has a total of 19 songs with multiple of them being an add-on from Map of the Soul: Persona. The songs include: Intro: Persona, Boy with Luv, Make It Right, Jamais Vu, Dionysus, Interlude: Shadow, Black Swan, Filter, My Time, Louder than bombs, ON, UGH!, 00:00 (Zero O’Clock), Inner Child, Friends, Moon, Respect, We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal and Outro: Ego.

The K-pop group, which consists of seven members (V, Jungkook, Jimin, SUGA, Jin, RM and J-Hope), recently spoke out about the true meaning of their album and what it means to them.

“Love is not always about the good things. When we love something or somebody, it’s like admitting, recognizing all the history that someone or something’s got. It could be shades and shadows, maybe some dark sides. So yeah, it’s basically a love song for our career,” RM, the leader of the group and in an interview with Billboard, said.

Map of the Soul: 7 is intended to be a reflection of BTS’ career and the tough moments they have gone through in their own lives. RM even went on to talk about the meaning of ON, which has become one of the boy bands’ lead singles.

“We might face some shadows or maybe disasters even from now on, but we already admitted these as part of ourselves. It’s like a big statement and a manifesto that we’re going to carry on,” RM said.

With that being said, many fans have loved getting to hear their latest album and “manifesto” of all things personal. All of the songs on their latest album allude to each members’ individual struggles in a harmonious and melodic way, but also to the inspiration they have for the future.

BTS also recently held a “unique” press conference for their latest album, occurring entirely via YouTube’s live streaming platform. Amid growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, BigHit Entertainment and the K-pop sensation BTS decided to hold the global conference online in order to reduce the risks of contracting the viruses. The company even went on to release a statement regarding this decision.

“Due to the spread of coronavirus, BigHit has decided to proceed with the ‘BTS Global Press Conference’ via YouTube livestream only, without inviting the press onsite, as a measure to mitigate the risks. Due to the spread of Corona 19, events that bring together large numbers of people need to be refrained. Once again, we ask for your understanding as we are actively cooperating with the measurements taken by the government in regards to the Corona 19…such measurements are taken for the press’ safety,” the company’s statement said.

However, this did not stop millions of fans and news outlets from tuning into their live stream for all the details on the group’s latest album. Map of the Soul: 7 continued to remain on iTunes’ top songs and albums charts as number one and became BTS’ fourth number one album on Billboard 200 Chart. Their latest album also reached the biggest sales week for any album in 2020, having sold 347,000 copies right alongside Harry Styles’ Fine Line, selling at just around 393,000 copies.

BTS continues to reach new highs in album sales and views and will only continue to grow with each album they release. For the time being, many fans are excited listening to Map of the Soul: 7. But soon enough, hundreds of thousands of fans will be wanting another album…which may not be as far as they all think.