BTS shows they're anything but 'Normal' with new music video teaser

A promotional teaser of BTS' song "Normal" / Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC

K-pop supergroup BTS will release the music video for its song "Normal" exclusively on Spotify at 1 p.m. Friday, alongside three new versions of the track — including Korean-language and instrumental versions — the group's label, BigHit Music, said Thursday.

A teaser for the video was uploaded at midnight Thursday on the Youtube channel of HYBE Labels, BigHit Music's parent company.

The clip is set in a restroom, showing the members standing in a row with their backs to the camera before BTS leader RM squeezes past them — an unguarded, comedic moment the label said offers a glimpse of the band's private, everyday side beyond the stage.

The teaser also solved a mystery that had circulated online for days. Attention-grabbing advertisements styled like sensational news stories ran in the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Post in mid-July, showing a photo with a headline suggesting members had been caught in an odd, ambiguous situation.

Fans speculated widely about the image's origin; BigHit Music confirmed the picture was in fact a still from the "Normal" music video, part of the promotional campaign for the release.

"Normal" is part of BTS' fifth studio album, "ARIRANG," which was released in March. Described as an alternative pop track built around heavy drum and snare sounds, the song addresses the members' ordinary daily lives and thoughts.

It debuted at No. 41 on Billboard's Hot 100, the chart that ranks the most popular songs in the United States, on the chart dated April 4.

"ARIRANG" itself spent three consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the top U.S. albums chart, and remains at No. 25 on the July 18 chart.

The album's lead single, "SWIM," sits at No. 84 on the Hot 100, marking its 16th week on that chart. Five songs from the album, including the newer track "Come Over," currently appear on Billboard's Global 200 chart, with 10 songs charting on the Global Excl. U.S. chart.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.