BTS on “Butter“ and the Sounds of Summer | TIME

J-Hope isn’t worried about change. In fact, the 27-year-old member of Korean pop group BTS insists, he and his six bandmates thrive on it. The change in this case? A move toward more English-language music. “I think it’s interesting to see results from trying out these new things,” he explains to TIME over Zoom with the assistance of a translator, as the others—RM, Suga, Jimin, V, Jung Kook and Jin—nod along. “I started to take more interest, my English improved and it’s actually fun.” V agrees: “It wasn’t an easy process, but the results were good.” The two singer-dancer-performers are referencing their group’s recent summer songs, “Butter,” released in May, and “Permission to Dance,” their latest from July. Both tracks have been major hits: “Butter” has now notched eight weeks at the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, a personal best for the septet, and was only knocked down after the first seven weeks when they replaced themselves with “Permission to Dance.” (A week later, at the beginning of Augu