RM Had Subtly Spoiled the New Album to ARMYs Long Ago, but Fans Are Only Just Noticing

 

 

On the 5th, the central staircase of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, located near Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, was completely covered with BTS visuals. The outdoor staircase was decorated with the logo, release date, and team name of the group's fifth full-length album, which is scheduled for release on March 20. The event drew significant attention, particularly as the Sejong Center is regarded as one of the most iconic spaces representing Korean culture and the arts.

BTS's agency, BigHit Music, explained the significance of the event, stating, "BTS began in Korea and has grown into a team that now performs on the global stage. as this marks their first comeback as a complete group in a long time, we chose to hold an offline promotional event in Korea—specifically in the heart of Seoul, which represents their cultural roots."

 

The company added, "We plan to expand outdoor advertising to major cities around the world, including New York, Tokyo, and London." The excitement surrounding BTS's return has indeed reached New York. The Empire State Building shared a video on its official TikTok account showing the landmark illuminated in purple, accompanied by the message, "BTS IS COMING BACK."

 

As BigHit Music gradually rolls out promotional plans at globally recognized landmarks, fans worldwide have ignited social media, competing to share countless theories related to BTS's fifth full-length album. Discussions speculating about the album's theme and concept have dominated online platforms, creating an atmosphere more electrifying than ever.

Notably, fans have recently discovered an amusing detail: RM—widely know among ARMY as the "spoiler king" whenever BTS has new plans—may not have been as tight-lipped as previously thought. In reality, he never changed his habit of subtly dropping hints. He had been revealing clues about the new album long ago; "It's always been right in front of us," but ARMYs simply didn't realize it. Only now, after connecting the dots between new information and RM's past posts, fans begun to laugh at the realization.

The first detail fans pointed out was the new album logo: a symbol featuring three red circles. ARMYs officially saw it for the first time on December 31 through handwritten letters BTS sent to Gold Membership members on Weverse. However, RM had actually hinted at this symbol as early as November 30, when he humorously shared a photo on his personal Instagram wearing glasses with three lenses.

Moreover, he referenced the three-circle motif once again when he changed his Instagram profile picture to a photo of a dog trying on fence-like "glasses" featuring three closely aligned patterns resembling circles. At the time, fans simply found the photos amusing, unaware that these playful images were early signals of the upcoming album.

 

 

 

The second major detail fans believe RM may have spoiled in advance related to the album's title track—or at least its theme: the "crown." During a live broadcast on his birthday last September, while speaking candidly about the immense pressure BTS faced while producing the album, RM suddenly brought up the weight of power and fame, saying, "Lots of burdens—heavy is the crown. Do you wanna be the king?"

 

"The crown" was not mentioned just once. On September 15, RM shared an Instagram story of himself wearing a toy crwon. Later, in several comments on Weverse, he used the king emoji with a crown. In a Samsung Art TV lineup advertisement—where RM serves as a brand ambassador—he was also seen standing in front of a screen displaying a cartoon dinosaur wearing a crown.

At the time some fans speculated tha the crown could be part of the upcoming album's narrative—especially since V had shared similar imagery, including a photo of himself wearing a crown and a drawing of a crowned prince with the caption, "I hope you like it~." However, as it was still too early to draw any conclusions, fans did not believe that RM and V were spoiling the album

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 In hindsight, the symbolism fits perfectly with BTS's current position, as the world closely watches their first steps following a three-year hiatus. Now, when fans place RM's past images and words into context, they are stunned to realize that he had been signaling ARMYs all along—only for the hints to go unnoticed at the time. The "crown" imagery and the concept of "heavy is the crown" have quickly been added to the growing collection of clues pointing toward BTS's fifth full-length album, further amplifying excitement within the fandom.

 

Meanwhile, RM has previously taken a firm stance against fans trying to extract spoilers from him during a Christmas live broadcast.. He confidently declared, "'Can we get some spoilers??' NO!! I'm sorry. Because if I start spoiling, I will talk too much." Indeed, RM has remained tight-lipped in recent months, faithfully following BigHit Music's and BTS's guidelines—but that wasn't always the case. As fans now jokingly conclude, RM remains one of the two spoiler kings ARMYs trust the most, alongside V. 

After finally uncovering the "breadcrumbs" he had been leaving all along, ARMYs can only laugh in disbelief at how much had already been revealed.