RM of BTS announced his upcoming album, Right Place, Wrong Person, this morning. This will be the K-pop star's second official solo album, following up 2022's Indigo. That record peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making him the highest-charting Korean solo artist at the time. Indigo's lead single, "Wild Flower," reached No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100.
RM, née Kim Nam-joon, is currently serving in his country's military, which is required of all able-bodied South Korean men by age 28. He began his conscription as an active duty soldier at the end of November 2023 and is set to be discharged in June 2025.
All seven members of BTS are currently enlisted in the military. The first member to return home will be Jin, whose discharge is set forJune of this year. J-Hope is the next to be released, with an expected return date in October.
Because of this required military service, the group went on hiatus in 2022 and will not return until at least 2025. Despite this break, BTS has continued to release music and a docuseries, BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star.
"The military services used to affect artists very much in the past, but now it doesn't. The service got shortened, and it's easier for artists to prepare both for joining and the come back after," said Jae Yoon Choi, CEO and co-founder of K-pop creative agency KAI Media and the retailer Hello82.
BIGHIT Music, BTS' record label, announced Right Place, Wrong Person on WeVerse, a South Korean platform created by Hybe Corporation. The app hosts multimedia content and emphasizes artist-to-fan communications for musicians. Prior to their enlistment, members of BTS frequently live-streamed on the platform.
In an X post, BIGHIT linked the WeVerse announcement and included what may be the cover art for Right Place, Wrong Person. The image is filled with smaller patches of black and white drawings. One mini-drawing features a blank-faced, cartoonlike person staring at a painting. Another features a circular frowny face.
BIGHIT revealed that Right Place, Wrong Person will feature 11 tracks and fall "within the alternative genre, boasting a rich sound coupled with frank, honest lyrics." The label described the album as capturing "some of the universal emotions that we all experience at some point in life, such as the feeling of being an outsider who doesn't fit in."
The label encouraged fans to get excited for RM and his upcoming second solo album, writing that "your anticipation and support...would be much appreciated."
Right Place, Wrong Person is not just another BTS album. BIGHIT wrote that the album "embodies facets of RM as a solo artist, distinct from albums released under BTS." The record "delves into RM's authentic essence."
Neither RM nor BIGHIT have divulged further details about the album, with the tracklist remaining a mystery.
Right Place, Wrong Person is the BTS leader's second full length solo album, but he released two mixtapes prior to Indigo: RM (2015) and Mono (2018.) RM marked the first solo project from a BTS member. Since then, each member has released at least solo album, song or mixtape.
Right Place, Wrong Person is set to release on May 24 and will be available for preorder Apr. 26.
