Jin on Rolling Stone
BTS’s Jin is the May cover subject for Rolling Stone, talking about his 'worldwide handsome' persona and citing rock influences such as Coldplay while noting he doesn't have writing credits on the group's newest album. (x.com) Social charts also show BTS holding strong on Artist 100 metrics during the same period. (x.com)
Jin is Rolling Stone’s May cover subject, using the interview to frame himself as BTS’s rock-leaning member and to address why his name is missing from the group’s new album credits. (rollingstone.com) Rolling Stone published Jin’s solo cover interview on April 15, one day after launching a May package built around eight print covers: one group cover and seven individual member covers rolling out through April 20. (rollingstone.com 1) (rollingstone.com 2) In the interview, Jin said he has “always wanted” rock-adjacent sounds in his solo work and pointed to Coldplay as a favorite, extending a connection BTS listeners already know from the group’s 2021 No. 1 single “My Universe” with Coldplay. (rollingstone.com) (billboard.com) He also leaned into the “worldwide handsome” persona that has followed him for years, telling Rolling Stone he thinks he is “more good-looking than the other members” while adding that “everyone is very handsome.” (rollingstone.com) The timing matters because BTS is in the middle of its largest reunion push since military service split up the seven members. Rolling Stone’s group feature, published April 13, presented the comeback as the center of the magazine’s May issue and tied it to the band’s new album and tour. (rollingstone.com 1) (rollingstone.com 2) That comeback is built around *ARIRANG*, BTS’s fifth studio album, released March 20 after what BigHit Music described as about three years and nine months since the group’s last full-group album cycle. BigHit says the 14-track record draws on the Korean folk song “Arirang” and is meant to reflect the group’s roots in 2026. (ibighit.com) Jin’s comments on credits touched a fan debate that had been building around *ARIRANG*. In the Rolling Stone interview, he said he thought it “would have been better” to have writing credits, but said the other members “did a beautiful job,” according to a video excerpt published by Yahoo from the interview. (yahoo.com) (rollingstone.com) Commercially, the group’s return has held up. Billboard reported on March 31 that *ARIRANG* opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 641,000 equivalent album units in the United States, while BTS returned to No. 1 on the Artist 100 for a 22nd total week. (billboard.com) Billboard said 13 songs from *ARIRANG* entered the Hot 100 in the same week, led by “Swim” at No. 1, and described Artist 100 as a chart built from album sales, track sales, radio airplay, and streaming. (billboard.com) So Jin’s Rolling Stone turn lands as both image management and comeback promotion: a solo profile inside a group-wide magazine package, with the oldest BTS member talking rock, looks, and the work he says still lies ahead with the band. (rollingstone.com 1) (rollingstone.com 2)
