And now we begin our epic month-long coverage of all things Festa, BTS’ annual celebration of the anniversary of their Debut. It typically lasts ten days, from the 3rd of June until the 13th (which is the actual date of their Debut in 2013. It will be really fun to explore the evolution of Festa, from the small dinner party they had for themselves in 2014 where Jin cooked for all of them, to the epic fireworks display the city of Seoul put on in 2023 to celebrate their 10th anniversary. These four weeks will take us all the way through until this year’s (2024) Festa-tivities (haha) and Jin’s return from the military!

As we continue our look at You Never Walk Alone, BTS was undergoing some tough times in 2017. Allegations of chart manipulation (ultimately proven false) momentarily threatened their credibility. The song “Not Today”, all about not giving up in the face of adversity, seemed perfectly timed. BTS was determined to work harder and to leave their mark on the world, and it wasn’t just ARMY who was noticing. It was during this time that Seo Taiji, who introduced hip-hop and Western popular music culture to South Korea in the 90s, asked BTS to be a part of his 25th Anniversary concert. He also declared them his musical successors, telling them: “This is your generation now.”

With the release of the special repackage of WINGS, entitled You Never Walk Alone, BTS reminded us that while we may have just undertaken a journey of self-reflection, we didn’t do it alone. Songs like “Spring Day” and “A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone” give us a glimpse of the softer, more supportive side of BTS. The journey to find our “wings” may have felt lonely at times, but they were with us the whole time.

When we began our exploration of WINGS, we found ourselves in a very dark place of self-examination—surrounded by temptation, and feeling very lost. This has been a journey of discovery, allowing us to acknowledge the duality within ourselves that is necessary for growth and change. And now here we are—our last week with this amazing album.

As we continue exploring the landmark album WINGS, this week features more incredible music that focuses on exploring the duality of self, and looking inward to find what’s important for learning and growth. We’ll also touch on some absolutely legendary moments in BTS history, such as moments from backstage and VLives that are responsible for countless memes and inside jokes.

As we continue our exploration of WINGS this week, we dive into the rest of the album’s solo songs. They’re all uniquely tailored to the member performing them, as each member actively participated in the writing process (except Jung Kook, though he did contribute ideas). Each song also continues to deal with how ‘facing temptation’ affects the struggle between appearances and self-realization, and how important it is to embrace duality.

Released on October 10, 2016, WINGS was BTS’ second full-length studio album, and their most ambitious to date. It contains 15 tracks, including (for the first time ever) a solo song from each member. The theme this time—what happens when ‘youth’ faces temptation?

As 2016, and promotions for The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever, continued, BTS was busier than ever. They continued to explore the VLIVE experience and have fun interacting with ARMY. This week we’ll explore the unique parts of HYYH: Young Forever with remixes of previous songs, more live performances, and the group’s iconic FIRST ever Daesang win.

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever, is the culmination of the HYYH era. Largely a compilation album, it contains all of the tracks from the first two albums, but also four new songs. This week we will explore how it feels to come out of the haze of uncertainty that overshadows the transitions of ‘youth’ and into a more determined state of mind. BTS jumped off the cliff, unfurled their wings, and now it’s time to see where they land.