BTS's 5th studio album 'Arirang' has been consecutively named the best album of the first half of 2026 by major international music publications. According to an announcement by Big Hit Music on the 23rd, renowned music outlets including America's Complex (12th), Rolling Stone (15th), the UK's Telegraph (13th), and NME (16th) selected 'Arirang' as the year's best album. Rolling Stone praised it as "the biggest news in the global music market in 2026" and stated that BTS "beautifully implemented Korean characteristics through music." NME introduced BTS as "the biggest boy band in the world," while Telegraph called them "the face of K-pop." Meanwhile, BTS completed their world tour 'Arirang' concert in Busan on the 12th-13th and will launch their European tour starting in Madrid, Spain on the 26th-27th with 10 performances across 5 cities.