BTS, comeback after 6 years with ‘Spring Day’… Waiting like an Army

'Spring Day' by the group BTS, all of whom are serving in the military, succeeded in making a comeback on the charts for the first time in six years.

The title song 'Spring Day' of 'WINGS Side Story: YOU NEVER WALK ALONE', released by BTS in 2017, ranked first on the iTunes 'Top Song' chart in 83 countries/regions from 8 a.m. on the 12th to 14th. I took a picture. On this chart, they made a comeback after 6 years and 10 months and reached the top spot.

In particular, with carol songs gaining strength at the end of the year, 'Spring Day' surpassed Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You', which is synonymous with carol songs, and ranked as the iTunes' top song in several countries/regions. 'It dominated the charts.

'Spring Day' also maintained first place on the 'World Wide iTunes' and 'European iTunes' song charts for two consecutive days from the 12th to the 13th. Considering that as of the 11th, this song was only included in the 'Top Song' of Nepal (44th place) among the overseas iTunes charts, the turnaround in just one day is amazing.

In addition, the song 'Outro: Tear' from the 3rd full-length album 'LOVE YOURSELF 轉 'Tear'' released in 2018 ranked 1st in iTunes 'Top Songs' in 43 countries/regions around the world as of 8 a.m. on the 14th to 15th. As of the 14th, it reached the top of the ‘World Wide iTunes’ and ‘European iTunes’ song charts.

The prevailing analysis is that ARMY (fandom name) drove the unusual comeback of 'Spring Day' and 'Outro: Tear'. Big Hit Music, the agency, explained, “It seems that the warm hearts of fans waiting for BTS, whose members have all entered military service as of the 12th, to be fully promoted in 2025 are reflected in the chart results.”

Following ‘Spring Day’, which sings about waiting, such as “After the end of the cold winter/Until spring comes again/Until the flowers bloom/Stay there a little longer,” ‘Outro: Tear’ includes, “You are still with that smile that used to look at me.” The lyrics “Could you love me like that again?” represent the current feelings of both BTS and ARMY.

Kim Se-ah, Ten Asia reporter haesmik@tenasia.co.kr