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 begin