Unbelievable! "Swim" was spoiler in an interview 10 years ago... RM really had it all planned

 Original article: Naver

The title track of BTS's fifth full-length comeback album ARIRANG is "SWIM," written by the group's leader, RM. BigHit Entertainment explained that the song conveys "the determination to keep moving forward without stopping amid the waves of life, and to calmly swim through the incoming currents at one's own pace." 

Is it merely a coincidence—or part of a long-term vision he had a decade ago? Around 10 years ago, RM already had an idea that could be seen as the seed of "Swim" in an interview with Sports Kyunghyang. BTS appeared as exclusive interviewees in the outlet's 12th anniversary special issue dated May 16, 2017.

At the time, BTS were in the midst of their second world tour, The Wings Tour. Marking roughly four years since their debut, the members were asked what they might be doing 10 years later, imagining what their lives would be like if they had not become BTS.

RM, who was then promoting under the stage name Rap Monster, replied, "I think I would have just been a student in business or economics," adding, "In 10 years, I hope to be making music and performing in a more relaxed state, like after the waves have passed." 

His desire for a calmer state after the waves have passed aligns perfectly with the message of "Swim." Whether this is simply a coincidence or part of RM's meticulous habit of managing lyric notes and ideas remains unknown. However, it seems that the concept for BTS's upcoming title track—set to shake the world—was subtly "spoiler in that interview 10 years ago.

And it wasn't just the themed of "Swim" that came true. RM had named Tablo and Younha as artists he wished to collaborate with. He later worked with Tablo on "All Day" from his first solo album Indigo (2022), as well as on Tablo's single "Stop The Rain." 

He also collaborated with Younha by featuring on "Winter Flower" from her fifth mini album Unstable Mindset (2020), and even participated as a speaker in her 20th debut anniversary project.

Jin, meanwhile, had dreamed of collaborating with Coldplay. In 2021, that dream became reality with the global hit collaboration single "My Universes."

They dreamed—and through relentless effort, they turned those dreams into reality.