BTS member Suga and solo artist IU are supposedly getting back together for yet another project.
The two K-pop idols are expected to release a new song together, according to South Korean media outlet SpoTV News, which reported this today (March 10). It would be the duo’s second collaboration, following their 2020 single “eight,” if it were real.
After the report surfaced, Big Hit Music addressed it in a statement to Sports Today, claiming that it is now “impossible to confirm” whether or not Suga and IU are collaborating on brand-new music.
The first BTS member to embark on a solo global tour will be Suga. The K-pop star will play 11 performances around the US and Asia as part of the Agust D Tour from April to June, with the final performance scheduled for June 25 in Seoul, South Korea.
Since Ticketmaster cancelled subsequent ticket sales for the tour due to “very strong demand” in the first ARMY members pre-sale, it became clear that there was a high demand for tickets for the US leg of Suga’s tour.
Suga is also expected to enlist in the South Korean military sometime in the coming year, but he is supposedly not an active-duty soldier but a social service agent. Big Hit Music, however, said in a statement that they “cannot confirm information about their personal concerns”.
Bandmate Jin, meanwhile, formally enlisted for his required military service in December. He posed alongside J-hope and Jimin in his first Instagram image since enlisting earlier this week.
Suga and IU
In January 2021, rumors of a collaboration between BTS member Suga and singer-songwriter IU began circulating on social media. As the speculation grew, fans of both artists eagerly anticipated an official announcement, and their wishes were granted in April of the same year, when Big Hit Music confirmed that the two musicians had indeed worked together on a song.
Suga, whose real name is Min Yoongi, is known for his role as a rapper and producer in BTS, while IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, is a solo artist renowned for her emotive vocals and songwriting skills. The collaboration between the two artists was highly anticipated, as both are considered some of the biggest names in the K-pop industry.
The collaboration resulted in a song titled “Eight,” which was released on May 6, 2021. The track, which was co-written by Suga and IU, has a dreamy, nostalgic sound and features IU’s signature vocals alongside Suga’s rapping. The lyrics, which were also co-written by the two artists, explore the theme of growing up and the passage of time, and the song has been widely praised for its emotional resonance.
“Eight” was an instant hit, topping various music charts and breaking several records. Within hours of its release, the song had already surpassed one million streams on the Korean music streaming platform Melon, and it went on to become the fastest song in the platform’s history to reach 10 million streams.
