On Friday, Korean megastars BTS released a new anthology album and a music video for the main single “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment).”
Fans had been long awaiting the release, and they were rewarded with multiple clues and references to former moments throughout BTS history for ARMY to pore over in the new video.
Of the 48 tracks on the three-disc album, just three, including the main single, are brand new. The rest have been remastered, and many are available on streaming platforms for the first time.
In a press release, one of the rappers of the group, Suga, said that they carefully chose the order of the songs on the album to tell a story.
“We are honored to capture our nine-year journey in this album,” he said. “Listening to the album will trace you back in memory and the paths BTS have walked.”
RM, the leader of the group, said, “Proof is a special album that closes the first chapter of BTS before going into our 10th year. We especially paid more attention to the lyrics as our message to our fans, ARMY who have been with us for nine years, is the key to this album.”
You can listen to a Twitter Spaces we recorded on Friday reviewing Proof.
If you already have #BTS_Proof on repeat, this Twitter Spaces is for you. Tune in now to hear our resident K-pop experts @ikran and @stefficao_ discuss the highly anticipated new BTS album. https://t.co/myT5cEKwzO
In the music video for “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment),” the BTS members stand in a desert, joined by plenty of self-referential items that may look familiar to ARMYs.
We've gone through the video and tried to reference all the moments in past BTS songs and videos that it pays tribute to.
To begin, this seating formation at the start of “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” is almost identical to the one from “Just One Day,” which was released in 2014.
This carousel, with the words “you never walk alone” written on it, appeared first in “Spring Day,” which was released in 2017.
This next moment appears to reference two previous videos. Firstly, the angel statue that Jin approaches while sitting on a pickup is a throwback to “Blood, Sweat & Tears” from 2016. However, the car he is sitting on appears to be a reference to the one used in the video for 2015's “Run.”
This infamous cargo container that resurfaces every comeback has actually made it into the music video.
For context, ARMY has been obsessed with trying to decipher the number on this cargo container, 20219, ever since its appearance in BTS's video Run. Did it mean something would be happening in 2019 or 2020, or did the numbers need to be added up to find some secret?
Stan Twitter has not been at rest since this cargo container arrived, so hopefully its appearance here gives fans some closure.
This time around, it is not an item but rather a familiar gesture. V did this in the “Yet to Come” video and also in the “Spring Day” music video.
The most iconic thing in the music video — aside from BTS themselves, obviously — is the yellow school bus.
It is not the exact same one, since now it has some funky stripes, but a yellow bus first made its appearance in BTS' debut music video, “No More Dream,” nearly a decade ago.
And finally, Suga had a piano that, for once, was not on fire and instead was surrounded by flowers.
Yoongis piano was finally not on fire or broken