Korean boy band BTS celebrated its ninth anniversary with a shocking announcement: The group is going on hiatus.

RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook broke the news during “Festa,” their live-streamed annual anniversary event. The K-pop sensations said they decided to take this time to pursue solo projects and “learn to be one again.”

The band thanked their fans, and urged them to think of this as a necessary step for the group: “I hope you don’t see this as a negative thing, and see it as a healthy plan,” J-Hope said. “I think BTS will become stronger that way.”

Along with discussing their future individual ventures — things are already in the works for J-Hope, Suga and Jungkook — they reflected on their many accomplishments.

Since BTS emerged on the scene in 2013, they have been a force. Calling the band successful would be an understatement: In 2019, BTS was the first group since the Beatles to have three No. 1 hits in a year on Billboard’s Top 200. They sold out London’s 90,000-person Wembley Stadium in 90 minutes. Three years ago, ticket sales for their tour crashed the Ticketmaster website, with an average price of $452. BTS doesn’t just have fans, they have an army — which is coincidentally what said fans call themselves.

News of the break is obviously devastating for their followers, especially those who recall some other famous boy band pauses. One Direction famously went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2016 and have yet to reunite. NSYNC has technically been on hiatus since 2002, and members of the band fun. said they were not breaking up seven years ago, but they have yet to release new music since.

But there is hope: Just look at Big Time Rush’s big-time return, the Jonas Brothers’s recent world tour, Fall Out Boy’s bounce back and more.

The band’s future is still unknown, but Suga made one thing clear: “It’s not like we’re breaking up!”

Source: Washington Post