--- title: BTS Kicks Off New Era with 'Map of the Soul Persona Teaser description: K-pop group BTS hint at their new 'Map of the Soul: Persona' era with a "comeback trailer" music video featuring RM rapping. canonical: https://time.com/5559673/bts-comeback-trailer/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-27T16:44:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:08.466Z og:title: BTS Kicks Off Buzzy New Map of the Soul: Persona Video og:description: The "comeback trailer" is the first video in the K-pop group's new era og:url: https://time.com/5559673/bts-comeback-trailer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc35486b1f405bd80/69894767457a5261d6d60c53/rm-bts-map-of-the-soul.png?branch=production&width=745&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 745 og:image:height: 419 og:image:alt: rm-bts-map-of-the-soul og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: BTS Kicks Off Buzzy New Map of the Soul: Persona Video twitter:description: The "comeback trailer" is the first video in the K-pop group's new era twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc35486b1f405bd80/69894767457a5261d6d60c53/rm-bts-map-of-the-soul.png?branch=production&width=745&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # BTS Kicks Off a New Era with a _Map of the Soul: Persona_ Teaser > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0f12239e-b923-46d6-a403-e04872d0d804&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: In United Nations Address, K-Pop Group Singer Urges Young People To Love Themselves [Watch (HLS stream): In United Nations Address, K-Pop Group Singer Urges Young People To Love Themselves](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/050xEdBJ.m3u8) (1:25)  _Published 2018-09-25. In United Nations Address, K-Pop Group Singer Urges Young People To Love Themselves_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 27, 2019 4:44 PM UTC  YouTube  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 27, 2019 4:44 PM UTC They’re back — or at least, [RM is back](http://time.com/4833807/rap-monster-bts-interview/), in a new “comeback trailer” kicking off K-pop [supergroup BTS](http://time.com/collection-post/5414052/bts-next-generation-leaders/)‘s next musical era. Following up their past two years’ run with the _Love Yourself_ album trilogy, which continues to top charts, BTS announced they were entering a new phase entitled _Map of the Soul_. Their new album _Map of the Soul: Persona_ is scheduled to drop April 12\. (They’ll also perform on [_Saturday Night Live_](http://time.com/5418566/who-is-hosting-snl/) for the first time on April 13.) So this surprise teaser gives fans the first taste of the new sound and direction for the [world’s biggest boy band](http://time.com/collection-post/5418827/bts-members/), which consists of RM plus J-Hope, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, Jimin and V. In the teaser, group leader RM (real name: Kim Namjoon) raps in Korean without stop for nearly two whole minutes before a chorus break; it’s a flex. “Where’s your soul? Where’s your dream? Do you think you’re alive?” he asks, mining existential questions for lyrical value and nodding at his own history of self-doubt and personal pressure. (Hint: for the full effect, non-Korean-speakers should turn on YouTube’s subtitles.) BTS have long focused on themes of struggles with self-confidence, self-knowledge and self-actualization in their songs, but _Map of the Soul_, which references a [Jungian psychology theory](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812693760/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time037-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0812693760&linkId=d5bbceecc4003bf3f655186b508502df), seems to be going further. It also sounds different, thanks to a guitar-heavy beat. As for the visuals in the video, there’s plenty to unpack, from an army of clones led by RM to a hall of mirrors and a graffitied classroom. While this may be titled a “comeback trailer,” BTS hasn’t exactly gone anywhere. [_Love Yourself: Answer_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F99WH5Y/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time037-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07F99WH5Y&linkId=81126bab741f4fd81fea0ee6ecebdfe4) was released in August, RM dropped an independent collaboration with English electronic duo Honne [earlier this week](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Y1ZSLNLjM) and the seven-member group have been [performing at shows](http://bts.ibighit.com/btsworldtour/) this year so far in Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, with a series of U.S. tour dates scheduled for spring. And that’s not to mention [their new dolls.](http://time.com/5554547/bts-dolls-mattel-first-look/) ## Transcript I used to look up at the night sky and wonder, and I used to dream the dreams of a boy. I used to imagine that I was a superhero who could save the world. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] And in intro to one of our early albums, there is a line that says, my heart stops when I was Maybe nine or ten. Looking back, I think that's when I began to worry about what other people thought of me and started seeing myself through their eyes. There was a small voice inside of me that said, wake up man, and listen to yourself. But, it took me quite a long time to hear music calling my real name Even after making the decision to join BTS there were a lot of hurdles. Some people might not believe, but most people thought we were hopeless. And sometimes I just wanted to quit. But I think I was very lucky that I didn't give it all up, so. Let's take all one more step, we have learned to love ourselves. So now I urge you to speak yourself, no matter who you are, where you're from, your skin color, your gender identity, to speak yourself. 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