BTS album ARIRANG lands on early 2026 best-of lists
Rolling Stone, The Telegraph and NME highlighted the album’s Korean cultural roots as BTS prepares to open the Europe leg in Madrid.
BTS’s fifth full-length album, ARIRANG, has been included in lists of the best albums of the first half of 2026 by several U.S. and British music and pop culture outlets. Complex first put ARIRANG on its list of the best releases of 2026 on June 12, followed by The Telegraph on June 13, Rolling Stone on June 15 and NME on June 16. Rolling Stone called BTS’s return one of the biggest music stories of the year and said the album reflects their Korean cultural roots. NME described BTS as the world’s biggest boy band, while The Telegraph called the group the face of K-pop. BTS is now on the ARIRANG world tour through 2027, after performing in Busan on June 12-13 and is scheduled to begin the Europe run in Madrid on June 26-27.