Leading the world’s biggest boy band is no easy task, but RM says he finds strength in the “family” he has with BTS bandmates Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook.
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In an interview with Apple Music 1’s The Zane Lowe Show posted Friday (March 20) — the same day BTS’ first album in six years, ARIRANG, dropped — the designated leader of the band opened up about his ever-changing responsibilities. “We’ve been together for half of our lives. Like 15 years. That’s a long time,” RM began. “That’s like a family.”
“We get it. ‘You’ve been through your hard times, bro. Then I’ll do some more. I’ll take care of you,’” he continued of the ways the septet takes turns looking out for one another. “We can just do that without any words or something. So they support me, and I can do my roles, but it’s always tricky that I sometimes put too much weight on myself as a leader.”
“But at the same time, I feel like I’m just one of the members,” RM added. “I’m just one of the team. I’m just one of the seven. Sometimes you’ve got to just let it go, just go with the flow, just be part of the team. So I’m still figuring out what is a good leader.”
Pressure on BTS — and therefore RM — has never been higher, with the band members currently contending with the world’s high expectations for their long-awaited comeback launched via the release of ARIRANG. Not only is it their first album in six years, following up 2020’s Billboard 200-topper Be, it’s also their first LP since reuniting after time spent in the South Korean military and pursuing solo projects.
RM has already faced a new challenge going into the new era, with label BigHit announcing Friday that he’d suffered an ankle injury just ahead of BTS’ comeback concert in Seoul on Saturday (March 21). Though RM apparently “expressed a firm commitment to deliver a high-quality performance,” the company decided it would be safer to limit his movement on stage at the livestreamed event, according to a statement posted to Weverse.
Elsewhere in their conversation with Lowe, the Bangtan Boys discussed the unprecedented reach and longevity they’ve achieved in their career so far — and touched on how long they think they can keep BTS going. “Nothing lasts forever,” said Jin. “But we have to make an effort so that the good times can last.”
SUGA added, “I think we can make it happen, if we wanted, even when we’re 80 or 90.”
Watch BTS’ full interview with Lowe above.
