MANILA (UPDATE) -- South Korean boy band BTS on Friday marked the start of a new era of their musical recordings with the release of an extended play (EP).
The 7-track "Map of the Soul: Persona" comes 8 months after "Love Yourself: Answer," the final installment of BTS' three-part "Love Yourself" series.
Released alongside the record was the music video for its lead single "Boy With Luv," where BTS collaborated with American singer-songwriter Halsey.
The 4-minute video featured the septet, and in some scenes, with Halsey, clad in pastel ensembles, dancing in sets including a movie theater and vintage diner.
Halsey shared the music video on Twitter with the caption: "This is history."
The comeback proved of great interest to online Filipinos as related hashtags dominated Twitter's trending lists here. These include #PERSONAWelcomeParty, #BTSCOMEBACK2019, #MapOfTheSoulPersona, and #PERSONAISCOMING.
BTS, or Bangtan Sonyeondan (Bulletproof Boy Scouts) in Korean, was formed by Big Hit Entertainment and debuted in 2013.
The group is composed of Kim Namjoon (RM), Kim Seokjin (Jin), Min Yoongi (Suga), Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung (V), and Jeon Jungkook.
The group topped the US Billboard album charts twice in 2018 with "Love Yourself: Tear" and "Love Yourself: Answer," becoming South Korea's best-known and most valuable musical export.