BTS delivered the television debut of their new song 'Swim' from the Guggenheim Museum during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The group also sat for an interview with host Jimmy Fallon, discussing their album Arirang and life after military service. The performance featured the seven members spread across different levels of the iconic New York museum before uniting on a ground-floor stage.
BTS made a memorable return to late-night television on Thursday night, taking over New York City's Guggenheim Museum for the debut performance of 'Swim,' a track from their first full-length album since 2022, Arirang. The septet—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook—appeared on various levels of the spiral building before converging on a circular stage on the ground floor, delivering the reflective song with its propulsive beat to Jimmy Fallon's audience. Before the performance, the members joined Fallon in the studio for a candid interview about their hiatus, reunion, and creative process. Several members exclaimed 'Finally!' when Fallon asked about reuniting after military service. RM reflected, 'In the military, literally, time stops. And after it, time just flows by. We can’t believe that it’s been nine months since we all were discharged.' Jin added, 'I felt like I had reunited with family.' To create Arirang, the group lived together in a Los Angeles house for two months—the first time since 2019. RM described the album's title, drawn from a Korean folk song embodying joy, sorrow, longing, sadness, and resistance, hoping their music achieves similar universality. J-Hope explained 'Swim' as capturing daily struggles: 'People feel different weights and tides in life. But nevertheless we need to keep swimming and move forward. This is just about the love for life itself.' The band also previewed '2.0,' fielded fan questions, and shared recommendations for newcomers. This follows their March 21 free concert at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, live-streamed by Netflix. A documentary, BTS: The Return, arrives on Netflix today, with an 82-date world tour starting April 9 and concert screenings on April 11 and 18.